Page 706 - Reading Mercury

WASTE PAPER CONTEST
A special campaign has been launched in Wokingham in connection with the
January Waste Paper Contest. Boy Scouts and Girl Guides have been asked to canvass
all the houses in the area, and the W.V.S. are going to concentrate on the business
premises. “What we want the firms to turn out are their ledgers, obsolete records, old
journals, etc.,” said the Borough Surveyor to a representative. A guarantee of
confidence will be given in case of documents of a private nature, and those
concerned can see their waste paper disposed of. A loudspeaker van is touring the
town, and the Ritz Cinema have been showing a film, “It All Depends On You”
throughout this week. At each performance collections of waste paper have been
made. There is a display, showing the utilisation of paper in one of Heelas, Sons and
Co.’s windows, and in the Market Place there is a container into which waste can be
dumped.

th
Fri 6 Feb
OUR WARSHIP WEEK
FEBRUARY 21--28
For the second time the residents of the Borough of Wokingham and the Rural
District will shortly be asked to make a supreme effort in support of the War. In
March 1941 they surpassed all expectations and lent to the nation the -magnificent
sum of £225,000 for the purchase of War Weapons. In a few weeks’ time they have
yet another opportunity of helping their country in its hour of need. We have
undertaken to raise between February 21st and 28th a minimum of £400,000, being
the cost of a fully equipped Destroyer of the Hunt class. If we succeed we shall have
the satisfaction and honour of adopting a fighting ship which has been allocated to us
by the Admiralty, and which has been named H.M.S. GARTH thus forging a close
link between this neighbourhood as a whole and our gallant Navy, on whose
unceasing vigil our food, our munition supplies and our very existence depend. In
order to commemorate the association between this district and the “adopted” ship,
the Admiralty will present a replica of the ship’s badge for permanent exhibition in
the Town Hall of Wokingham. Moreover as a further link, a plaque will be placed on
the quarter deck of H.M.S. Garth, bearing the familiar stag and oak in gold on a green
background , so long associated with Berkshire, together with the Royal Crown,
witness -to the fact that Windsor Castle is situate in the County.
Honour indeed but before we can claim it as ours, a tremendous challenge must be
met. WE MUST IN FACT, RAISE BETWEEN US IN ONE WEEK THE SUM OF
f400,000. Such a task can only be accomplished at the expense of personal sacrifice.
While facing this fact, we shall do well to remember two things. First THAT MONEY
SAVED AND LENT REMAINS THE .PROPERTY OF THE LENDER. Secondly,
that our very existence depends on the sacrifice of lives of the men in our Navy and
Merchant Navy (900 of the latter are killed every month) and that only by complete
subordination of our personal interests to those of the nation can we ensure that the
men who are GIVING their all shall be adequately safeguarded in their dangerous
duties.
In-asking the House of Commons for a fourth Vote of Credit to cover war
expenditure during l94l-42, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, while expressing the
opinion that “savings so far achieved, and particularly in small sums had been very
impressive, and far greater than many at one time thought likely or possible,” called
once again upon everyone to “pull his or her weight.”

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