17 NOVEMBER 1939, Page 6

Arising out of a discussion between normally well- informed people

who were not well-informed on this—the shortest flying distance from Germany to the coast of Britain, assuming the neutrality of Holland and Belgrum to be respected, is just under 30o miles. The nearest point of Britain to Germany, on this basis, is somewhere on the Lincolnshire coast, in the neighbourhood of Skegness. The distance from the nearest point of Germany to the Shetland Islands, which were bombed on Monday, is rather over 5oo miles.