/46/41 -nNo. 1 Air iviinistry No.. 4047 ~--. ..----- AIF. MINISTRY AND MINISTRY OF .HOME SECURITY QOiviMUNIQUE Enemy activity over this country ~ant night \7as on a s:tTialJ. scaleo Bombs were ,dropped at po:i,nts in North and North-East England and in the YTest ·Midlands. Some damage was done and at t\w places there Yrere a number of casual::l±es, including some people who lost their li'ies. Yesterday . evening, our fighters··. shot doYm a Me$·serschiiiitt -109F into the Channel~ a;nd an enemy bomber off .the North-East coast shortly before dark, making a total of two enenw aircraft destroyed 'during the aa;v. -..:­ ·--"'.'"---~~---~~--­ To bo chocked vvith 1?_:i:£.~~c_§-_s_t•.. No. ].!'.. TEXT OF BROADCAST 0 FROM THE Y:RONT BLNQH'~BY MR. G~ORGE HiCIG:L. PARLIAlCNTAR:f_.§~Ifil'.i;__ARY1 MilHSTRY OF HOR.KB AND BUILDINGS-L._J:Ii J~ HOl~ SBRVJ.._G1~ AT 9. 20_.)?•M. A year ago tonight 1m 'NCre a sorely troubled people. The: evacuation of Dunkirk was being completod --an cxploit of military genius made possible only by countless feats of British heroism by our soldiers, our sailors, our airri1on and all those others who so 'bravely went dovm to the sea in ships. Dunkirk loft ·us memories of vvhich WG shall ,always bo proud; but Dunkirk's significance, as a milestone in this yrar against tho Nazi campaign to enslave tho world, lay in tho fact that \;rG in this island wero threatened, and seriously threatened, with Invasion. It was that threat which brought homo to us oven more emphatically than bombs OT food oconorny, that we Yvoro most dosporatoly at war. Tho next day, June: tho fourth, tho Primo Ministur gavo us hard facts about tho evacuation. lfr, Churchill has ncvor mollycoddled us. Ho truats us as grown-up folk, sturdy in i:1ind, partnurs with him in this battle. He told us we had lost nearly a thousand guns; all our transport; and all tho a1~nourod vehicles that wore vrith the Army in the North of France. Since June the third, 1940, the nation has put its back into thG job of repairing tho losses of rn.atorial in France and Belgium. Factories have lJoon hwmning night and day, to turn out for our fighting men tho guns, the ships, th0 aeroplanes, the shells, th0 bombs, the tanks, mld all other weapons of wa:y they need. It has beon a tremendous effort; one of which our v.rork-peoplo can feel proud. But tho job is not finished. \io are proceeding to-day at a speed, and on a scale, greatcr than ovur. lily friend Ernie Bevin has taken stops, as you know, to ensure that ovury one of us '.Yho can work for the-vrar effort shall work for the ;yar effort. Thousands of men, and vromon, are being trainud for vrork in the now war factorios, and many r!1oro thousands arc awaiting tho call to leave their homes for training. I hardly noed toll you how v:Ltally nocossary this gigantic effort is. Each one· of us knows only too well, of tho povrer o.nd magnitude of tho Gorman ,,~rar machine, the plant for which was laid down, behind closed doors, while tho world was iivin.!2: at peace. Each one of us knows how tmt wFJ:r machine has boon oxtondod, and how it is fed to-day; by the peoples whom Hitler has conquered and enslaved. But we also know, thank God, that t J.10 willing work of tho free peoples of this country and the Empiro is butter Yrnrk. In tho very nature of things it is bound to be. The free, voluntary ship's crew will always b?at tho crow shoved a)oard by the press-gang. We know, too, that 'Ve have the friendship and tho output of tho United States of America, a freedom-loving people like ourselves. But horo I would, if I may; utter a reminder to us all, that it would be fatal to think for onu moment that tho United States arc going to give us all tho tools. In this v ar, the time factor is tho all-important factor. Tho United States ~ould~ no doubt, give us all the tools to finish the job; but when ? All through this war, becauso Hitlor began to plan for it years ago, thu time factor has boon against us. We have had so much to cn.tch up, so many things to do, that wo have always been, and in some ways aru novr, several month~ behind GeTifl.any in production of vital war materials. Tho United Stat0s will give us some of tho tools to finish tho job, but tho more vro turn out ourselves, and the quicker we turn them out, thon tho more s w.·oly wo shall finish tho job, and tho sooner we shall do it. /Now -2 ­ Now, I, as many of you knovir, am a building man. I have spent the whole of my life in the building industry, part of it as a working member of the craft -an old and honourable craft -and part of it as a representative of our work people. For years I have devoted myself to the improvement of conditions,. and I have lived to see the establishment of conditions better than ever before; conditions almost good enough -I will go no further than that -almost good enuugh for the men who are normally employed in building your houses, and your roads, and your cinemas and your factories. We have heard very little of the part played in the war effort by the Building industry, and it is time we did hear about i"jj. We have been told, and quite rightly, of the magnificent zest with which the men and wcmen_}n the aircraft factories have stuck to their jobs. We have seen photographs of girls working with enthusiasrn in the shell-filling factories, and on parachutes, and on the land and so forth. But I am going to tell you now that the most thrutlcless, most unromantic, and most cheerless of all important tasks in the war effort, yet one of the · most important of all, is the task of the building industry. There are men thousands and thousands of them -who have left their families and their homes to work in isolated places, for months on end, with but occasional weekend breaks, building the factories, and the hostels, and canteens, -and recreation rooms, where the workers will work, dwell, eat, drink and relax. There are thousands •f others laying down runways for new aerodromes. I sent a man the other day to look at. one of these aerodrane sites, a~d one of his comments was this: "Nearest pub, two and half miles. No Transport". That will give you a very sl"'.i.ght idea of the loneliness of these places. Later on, of course, they will be filled with communities, with their own amenities. The factory hostel towns will have their shops and ci:nemas: the aerodromes will be hununing with activity. But some of these sites present a very different picture to-c:iay. ·T,hey present a picture of roads half-made, of mud everywhere, stacks of b;"ioks-, half-roofed buildings, lorries lumbering in among the gum-booted workmen, and, spread over perhaps hundreds of acres, out there in the wilderness of cement, knots of building operatives at their job.. Some ef them may get the morning paper in the evening. Some perhaps will not get a paper a.t all. They certainly can1 t go home mid-day to a cooked meal. They work when the temperature is low and when it is high. They often work in the rain. .ffi.nd I think you other workers will agree with me when I say that the most sevel"e handicap o~ all, under which our building men are working on the~e isolated jobs, is that they are virtually cut !:':ff from the glamour of the war effort itself. I mean by this that they are never there to see the fulfilment of their labours. The factory they build -they leave as t.he plant goes in, and as the factory workers stream into the hostels. The aerodrome -the men who build it are not there when the bombers taxi off at dusk, to drop their visiting cards ori the enemy. Instead, they are . transferred to another site, and there they start turning over the soil for another war plant. I hope that these stout-hearted men of the building trade -my colleagues and workmates -are listening to me now, and aacepting our thanks for their all important share in the war effort. I .would like to tell them that there are new conditions coming in the industry -conditions which are vitally necessary for victory. · · · One/ -3 ­ One is the application of a modified form of the Essential Work Order; which vvill mean, in effect , that building men must stay building men. Our industry has been greatly weakened since the war began by the claims of the fighting Services, and by the usual wastage that takes place at all times. We cannot afford to lose a \..._,,, single hour of building labour from novv onward. You will knovv more about the new conditions in due course; but rest assured that it is a wartime measure, and'' that every sympathy is felt for the men in the industry, and every effort is being made on your behalf. I would like you to remember that in the vast and complicated machinery of production which we have set in motion, it would be asking the impossible to hope that everything should go without a hitch. Hold-ups are bound to occur. I know that you can1t help feeling when a factory has been completed with a great effort, and then is not :immediately occupied., that you have been spruced into a. great effort for nothing. But to mention only one difficulty, the job ..,fmobilising our man and woman-power, is not one which admits o: producing trainees in exactly the right number on the right day, and in the right place everyt:iljle. So it may happen that the factory has to wait for workers for a short vvhile; but on the other hand, workers may be waiting for the factory to be finished. I have heard complaints that materials were not alw~ys on the job when they were wanted, Well, in peacetime, vvhen transport would be ordered to be at the door at a given minute, and when the brickyards carried huge resorves of bricks, and the ti.mber yards of timber, those complaints would have been justified. To-day, we simply e!lllllot guarantee to synchronise, though we do the utmost within our power. We must not allow ourselves to be discouraged. by these factors wl1_ich delay us. Certainly, you may grumble, That is the EnglishJnan1s privilege. But don1t let us assume that the hold up is caused by someone's blunder. Rather let us make up our minds that1 whether anyone was at fault or not, . it is up to u.s 1 as part of our war effort, to get that lost tirne back. I should be sadly lacking in my duty tonight if I failed to mention, and to thank for all of us, those building workers whose job it has been to make our horr.os habitable after a blitz. I have seen these men at work, and their speed is often astonishing. They have the great advantage of being right in the front line. They see the damage which has been caused, and they see people who live in those homes, men, women and children, waiting to go bank. We may be calling soon for volunteers for a large mobile corps of building ·workers1 who can be moved ·about the country as required. Part of their work will be the repair of houses, and very :important work it is. The other day, one of the repair squads working under the Ministry of Works, was called in to patch up some sadly battered premises in London. On the door, which hlll1g drunkenly on one hinge 1 they found a notice: "A reward of five shillings" it said "will be paid to anyone securing the conviction of persons damaging these premises"• Lord Reith and I are asking the building indust:i:w to go all out for that five shilling reward• We are asking it to strain itself to the limit of its capacity for work; we aro asking employers and operatives to bend themselves to the task;we·e.re asking the worb:a.:.n to understand. the difficulties of those vmo serve them from higher positions. We look to all of yc;iu; we depend on you. Boys, up 11vith the line. MI:NISTRY OF WORKS AND BUILDilJGS I ,. URGENT NE1NS. ROYj:L i-1IR FORCE .A'.:..rnDs NO. 219. The King has been graciously plessed to spprove the following awards in recognition of gallantry displayed in flying operations against th~ enemy:­ Bar to the Distin~;uished Flying Cross. Flir;,ht Lieutenant John ::::·aston McFall, D.F.C. 9 No.?..2_ Squadron. In May ,1941, during the onerny odvance in Libya 9 this officer performed splendid ~ork in conveying vital information to tho various cornmonders, During the action ho landed beside a battery of artillery 0hich, by his timely warning, ~os oblo to move to o bettor p6sition, Flight Lioutoncnt McFoll displayed outstanding gollontry ond devotion to duty throughout o difficult period. Squadron Loader Arthur Thomas Droke SAlIDI:RS No. 264 Squadron. This officer· -hos tokc11 port in rnony oporot ionnl missions against the cnomy, On one occasion ho corriod out o very fine rcconnDissonco of vVilhclrnshovcn in tho focc of intense anti-oircroft opposition ond under appalling vrnothcr conditions. J~s o s:iuodrion comnandcr he hos proved hirnsclf to be o fine loodcr ond o determined pilot who hns contributed in o lorgo · moosure to tho mony su ccossos obto ined by his squadron. Ho hos recently destroyed two enemy aircraft ot night. _,..,cting Hquodron Lo.:ldor Ronald Ogilvy Maurice GRAHAM B.£.lol Air Force Volunteer Rosorvo2 No.10,h_Squodr0i1:'" In Moy, 1941, this officer led o forrnotion of oircroft which ottocked o convoy of onomy shipping ncor Boulogne. Although the convoy was soiling within tho protective range of its o~n lond anti­oircroft defences 9 Squadr_on Loodcr Grohom brillinntly cxccu tod a most d0turQinod attack. In thu foce of intense f ire from tho convoy escorting tho vessels and land dofonccs, ho descended to on Dxtrernely lon level and obtained tYJo direct hi ts on tho lorgest vessel in the convoy. It wos subsequently learned thot this vessel wos sunk~ On o previous occasion he commnndod o flight which operated rvi th much success against enemy shipping. Squadron Loader Grohom nos carried out numerous opcrotionol missions and 9throughout, hos displayed groot lcodorship, courage and determination. · ;\cting Flight Lioutonont EdrJOrd Brion Iv1ortimor-Rose 2No.234 8_9.£odron. This of'ficor hos displayed groat skill os a fighter pilot~ In o recent combat ho dcstroy0d two of five enemy oircroft destroyed by his flight thus bringing his vtctorios to ot least six~ Ho hos sot o splendid cxomplo ond hos contributed materially t6 tho high stondord of efficiency in his squadron, Flying Officer Robert Lional Pronk DAX.:..}fo, 141 Sg,uodE.912:. Pilot Officer _Francis Chorlos .L;ntho~LANNING9 Royal .Air Force Vo.lunteor Rosorvo 2 No.141 Squadron. In Moy, 1941, Flying Offi ccr Doy ond Pilot 0fficor Lanning wero tho pilot and oir gunner rospec~ivoly of on oir­croft ongogod in night fighting operations, Qbsorw~g on enemy oircroft ot obout 1,000 foot below him, Flying Officer Ioy skilfully closed in to ottoclc ond enabled Pilot Officer Lonning to shoot down the raider. Tho same night 2 an further patrol those officers destroyed another enemy aircraft. Flying Officer 2.. . Doy and Pilot Officer Lanning hove carried out many night oporotionol flights ond both hgvo dioployod groot courage and devotion to duty•. · , ... .. Pilot Officer Jack .Aloxondor Jomes B1HL:GY2 Royol .Air Force Volufil££E..,_Resorve, No.111.~r Squodrdn. QJ;ic night in May,1941, this offi c.or WDS''·~·tno ·:ptlPt.. of on o ircroft which carried out .on ..ottaek: tigbinst on important target at Homburg •.. ;·When ··over the North Soo, on tho . outward journey, a Juilkors 88 wos oncountorod. · Evading on ottomptod ottock from tho roor ,Pilot Officer Bailey skilfully monoouvred his aircraft, enabling his roor gunner to fire o burst of about 400 rounds into tho enemy oircrnft which croshod into tho sea in flames. Pilot Offi cor Bailey floVJ on to Homburg, bombed his ob joctivo successfully and returned safely to base. Sineo Fobruo.ry,1941 ho has participated in mony oporot iom1 flights and throughout hos shoVJn similar courogo, determination ond devotion to duty. Disti~ishud Flying Cross • .Actil}B Flight Lieutonant Cu thbort R~;YMON]), No .15 Squadro!lJ... Dis tingu ishod Flying Modal. 901384 SergQQ,nt Jack R£ginald BUSHELL, No.15 Squodrog. Ono nighif in May,1941, Flight Lieutenant Raymond ond Sergoont Bushell VJoro captnin and roar gunner respectively i:l an aircr3ft ~-~hich carried out on attack against Borlin. After spending o considerable time over tho target oreo waiting for a brook in tho clouds to permit of accurate bombing, o steady run was mode over tho target, and, despite heovy ond accurate anti-oircraft fire, a well aimed stick of bombs was finally released over tho objective. Tho aircraft was then hit by shell-fire. After flying for o short distance it caught fire ond began to lose height. After the fire hod boon put out tho aircraft wns subjected to o determined attack by on enemy fighter, but Sergeant Bushell cooly engaged the enemy and onoblod his captain to monoeuvro his aircraft and finally evade the attacker. In the face of many difficulties Flight Lieutenant Raymond flew his aircraft back to his base and landed sof'oly. Flight Lieutenant Raymond and Sergeant Bushell both displayed tho grootost courage and doterminotion throughout. Distingu ishod Flying Modal. 758032 Serfteant Berti.c George OOOK:P$Royal .Air Force ~nteor Resorvoio,101 Sguadron. This airman was . tho pilot of on aircraft which par•ticipotcd in on ottDck against throe enemy merchant ships and their escorting vessels. Descending to only 50 foot~ Sergeant Oookeattocked one / of the escorting vessels and obtained direct hits with two of his. bombs. A few days lotor, ho took port in another attack on enemy shipping off Boulogno. In tho faco of intense and accurate fire both from tho ships and shore bottorios, he bombed his ob jectivo from on extremely low level. Sergeont Cooke disployod considerable ability in flying his aircraft bock to base from this ottac~. Ho hos displayed groat courage, initiotivo ond devotion to duty throughout. 3 NOTES .ON C1\RB:CRS, E.±ight Lioutonont McFoll 2 D.F.C, vrns born ot Port Glosgow in 1913. Ho wos cducotcd ot St.Mary's Sccondory School, Grccnock ond ot st.Bonudict"s College, Fort 2;ugustus, Ho wos commissioned in 1937 onc1 was promoted Flight Liou tonont in Morch,1940.. Ho vJon tho D,F ;C. in. Polestino in ~\pri1,1939. Squadron ~·.ondor Sonders was born at Tiverton, where his mother lives, in 1913. Ho was odu coted at Tiverton Middle School. Ho enlisted as on aircraft opprcntico in 1929, ond ofter passing through Cronwell wos commissioned in 1933. Ho become Squadron Loader in Juno ,1939;' Acting Squpdron. Lcoder Groh~ wos born o t Freshnater, Isle of Wight in 1914, His father lives 0,t Ringwood.;Honts• He v1os edu coted ot Eton and enlisted ns on o ircroft:inon in 1935.· Ho become a pilot and in 1937 transferred to the R • .:LF.V.R. boirg commissioned in 1938• He was promoted .Acting Squadron Leader in December ,1940 • .Acting Flight Lieutenant Mortimer-Rose vrns born at Littleport, Combridgoshiro 9 where his father lives, in 1920. He was udu coted nt Nnileybury ond wos commissioned in 1939. Ho was promoted .~cting Flight Lieutenant in Novombor,1940, nnd wos mentioned in dospntchos in Marchil94li· Flying Officer Day was born ot Herne Boy in 1920. His father livos ot Catorhorn. He wos educated ot Horne Bay College ond was commissioned in 1938. Pilot Officer Lanning was born at Sydenhom in 1907~ His wife livcs ot Corstor:phine 9 :Cdinburgh.,. Ho wos commissioned in May,1940. Pilot Officer Bailey was born at Didsbury,Loncsi in 1917, Hoonlistod in the R • .tl.F, V.R. in Juno ,1939 and was commissioned in Soptcmbor,1940. ,Acting Flight Lioµtonont Raymond was born in 1916• His father lives ot Woipukurau 9 New Zealand. Ho vvos commissioned in tho R.N.Z..L~.·R., in 1939 and tronsforred to tho R • .A.F. in June,1940.-Ho was promoted ~cting Flight Lieutenant in Morch, 1941. , S_Qf'_goont Bu.shell v~os born ot Li ttlchampton in 1908 .-His wife lives at Hurst 9 noor Rending. Ho wos o cattle food solosmon before enlisting in tho R.,:i~J!'.V,R.os air observer in 1939. Sergeant Cooke wos born at LovJostoft whore his father lives in 1920. Ho was on occountont before enlisting as pilot in tho R.Ji,F.V.R. in 1939­ Directorate of Public Rolotions, l1ir Ministry, King Charles St., Whitehall, s.w.1. 2nd June,1940. · • 3. 6.JtJ_ No. 10. --:----<--,..-, -­ v It is learned in London that in Abyssinia, in the Soddu area, the remainder of the 16th Italian Colonial Ba"italion, amounting to 650 prisoners, has been rounded up. +++++++++++++++++++ ' . '..; 3. 6._4,....1.....~-No•. 12. AIR MINI s;rRY COMUUNIQUE -·--------~·~---···--­ In dayligh~ J.-estel"day aircraft of Bomber Con:rnanc1 made attacks on shipping in the Kiel Canal and also bombed objectives on land in Schleswig­Hols~ein. One vessel in the canal redeived a ciirect hit~ Cf:C' the coast of Norvvay an enemy supply ship was scri.k. From these operations two of our aircraft are rn~~. , ~sing~ Last night aircraft of the same command attacked Dusse1c1orf 9 the inland port of Duisburg-Rt.::..h1•ort and other 6b jectives in ti"ie Ruhr. Uany fire8 v•'ere started among indust:rial buildings. A small force of aircraft attacked targets in BerJ5n v-vhere large. 1'ires were started. The at Ostencl vrere also bombed. docks Four aircraft ope1•ations.. are missing from these night Atrc1'aft of Coastal Command last night attucked the ciocks at St. Nazaire without loss~ • from One aircr•aft of Coastal Cornn1and operations yesterday. is missing •Cl' .... N