KEEPING IT CLEAN
This four page
article has an intriguing title. Keeping
what clean, exactly? Is this about hygene? Censorship? Men Only? No, it is
about conduct in war. Of course, the
full extent of the horrors of the Nazis weren’t apparent when this was
published in March 1941. Johns runs
through a brief history of conduct in war, concentrating particularly on acts
of chivalry. “Lord Wolseley
taught his officers, “We are bred to feel it a disgrace to succeed by falsehood”. In these circumstances the higher command can
hardly be blamed for failing to make full allowance for Nazi crookedness. They just didn’t think on such lines”.
As a postscript, in the
following months edition of “Men Only” (April 1941) there was a
reader’s
letter referring to this article. It is reproduced
below with the relevant letter highlighted.