GIBRALTAR EVACUEES SETTLE IN JAMAICA

But Many Remain in London
Several thousands of evacuees from Gibraltar, who were brought to England last summer, are now in Jamaica. They travelled from this country in October and November, and more are following.
These ex-inhabitants of the Rock arc bi-lingual, Catholic, and very proud of their British citizenship.
Just outside Kingston, the capital of the island of Jamaica, there is another Gibraltar, and it nestles against the seaward side of a large mountain, looking something like the famous Rock; 6,000 women, children and old men are now accommodated there, and they are in spiritual charge of U.S. Jesuits, with Fr. J. Feeney, 5.J., at their head. Many of these evacuees were found to be sick on their arrival, and all in need of material and spiritual care.
When the first batch arrived at their new home on October 25 they turned up in great numbers for Mass, said for them in a diningroom, and the Fathers have had to secure
more suitable accommodation in an unfurnished building for the large and unexpected congrega t ion ,
The evacuees' camp has two levels, the upper comprising 54 uniform buildings, each with accommodation for 60 persons.
THOSE LEFT IN ENGLAND
While these evacuees are now definitely settled in their new home, where climatic and other conditions will remind them more of their European Gibraltar, there remain 11,000 in London, accotrunodated in ten centres in the capital and suburbs.
There is only one priest of their own ministering to them, the Rev. T. Azzopardi, who was parish priest of one of the Gibraltar churches, and who followed the evacuees to England. For the past five months Fr. A. Urrutia, of the Spanish Claretian Missionaries of Hayes, has, at the request of the Catholic War Refugees' Spiritual Welfare Committee, been assisting in this work, while the Superior of the Loughton Claretian Fathers attends, with the clergy from Ilford, to 800 evacuees now accommodated within this parish.
One of the Claretian Fathers at Hayes writes: " Though they are sincere Catholics, the Gibraltarians, in the practice of their religion, at times have their own peculiar ways, due to their special psychology, very different from the English. They need sympathy and assistance, and as Catholics they need special facilities for the practice of their religion.These refugees, though British. do not feel at home in our London churches. They have many children who could not follow their mothers to church for fear of disturbing our congregations."