It could once be said with some truth that the
Navy was called the silent Service, but it was voluble compared with the Royal Air Force. That is so no longer. We are being told a great deal, and rightly, of the exploits of the R.A.F., and thrilling stories they make. The newspapers are now receiving from the Air Ministry a most admirable weekly news-letter, and the extent to which they draw on it is the best proof of their appreciation. But in one quarter less than due honour is being paid. We hear less than we did, perhaps for very good reasons, of the leaflet-dropping raids, but they still continue, and the work imposes on officers and men engaged a dangerous, exacting and thankless mission. They have often to face a hail of anti-aircraft fire, they have none of the satisfaction of inflicting military damage, and they may possibly enough fail even to console themselves with a conviction that what they are doing is worth while. Actually they deserve as much applause as the men who are making spectacular attacks on Heligoland or Sylt.
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