13 OCTOBER 1939, Page 20

TIMBERYARD FIRES

SIR,—It is surely a sinister thing that quite lately three—I am told four—of the finest timberyards in the West of England have been burnt out. I saw one of them last week—even machinery destroyed utterly. It is close above the river and a part of the railway station. One has been warned lately that all sentries challenge and are armed with ball cartridge. There seems almost excessive care of the civilian ; surely sentries should be on guard at such valuable depots as timber- yards—even if " Safety first " has become a mania.—Yours