15/7/41 No. 1. Air Ministry News Service Air Ministry Bulletin No, 2)489 MADRAS FIGHTER SQUADRON GETS FOURTEEN RAIDERS Following the designation hy the Air Ministry of a famous R.A.F. squadron as the "Madras (Defiant) Fighter Squadron" the Commanding Officer has sent the following message to the Governor of Madras "On behalf of the squadron under my command I would like to tell the people ofPresidency the Madras, through you, of how much we enjoy flying the Defiant aircraft subscribed for by the people of Madras, This Madras squadron already holds the daytime record fighter of 37 enemy aircraft destroyed in one day and the hoys will not he happy until we also hold the record for shooting down most at enemy bombers night. Up to now we have destroyed fourteen night raiders.” " No. 2. BRITISH PRISONERS IN ENEMY HANDS Next of kin, if able to identify the men from the information published, are requested to advise the Casualty Branches of the Services concerned, forwarding Regimental or any other details. The following is the latest list of British prisoners of war captured in Grote, as received from enemy sources J- IN GERMAN HANDS* Name Home Town •AflQ Lance Bombardier James COOPER 27 Liverpool ” ” Frank GUNN 20 Liverpool n “ William NEVILLE 26 Liverpool Leslie MOORE 22 Warmley (or Walmsley) S/“ • George PYE 21 Liverpool ’* John NENBY 33 Liverpool ” John DOHERTY .21 Liverpool Joseph OADDICK 20 Wo Iverhamp ton Gunner John DURKE 29 Kildare George ATKINSON 22 Blythe Frank jVLLEN 22 Liverpool Glenoaim Stevenson 23 Brechin James CLIFF 24 Liverpool Alexander DRISMAR 22 Gerald O’PREIGH 20 Thomas DUNN 32 Gerard WHITELAM 28 Richard TANSFIEID 30 George GIBBONS 28 William FITZPATRICK 22 Laurence SHEPHERD 30 Ronald HATHAWAY 21 Gerard MURPH! 25 William PROUT 30 George HAMILTOT 29 George TAYLOR 24 Thomas O’SULLIVAN 32 Leslie JOHNSTONE 23 Leslie DEAN (or DEMTS) 24 MINISTRY” OB’- INFORMATION, 15.7.41 - No# J. Air Ittaistry, No v My * ' AIR ICTISIRY. .TO ’JbTISTRY OF IQ.g STOJ-FTY COITOTIQTO Last night a small number enemy aircraft operated over this country. Their activities being confined t> Eastern England. An attack was made on a coastal town where some damage was done but the number of casualties reported is not large. Elsewhere in this area some bombs were dr pped at a few points but only minor damage was done and no casualties have been reported. Tuesday, Judy 15, 1941 MINISTRY OF INFORMATION NEWS BULLETIN No,> 4jB HOYr HOLIDAY MAKERS CM BEST HELP V/ITH HARVEST Many good citizens, anxious to combine public service with a brief holiday, have been approaching County War Agricultural Committees with a view to accommo- dation on farms where work can be found for them. It is true that shall be short of labour this and it is we harvest, equally true that every extra hand in the harvest fields will be welcomed. But reflection will show that it is quite impossible for the already over-worked County Committees to undertake such a formidable task as finding accommodation for relays of volunteers who usually can only offer their services for a few days. The local population is already swollen, in many districts, by evacuees and billets are difficult to find. No farmer could yet say, within a day or two, when his harvest will start. Volunteers to help with the harvest are welcome and wanted. But the most helpful •way for them to go to work is to make their holiday arrangements wherever they want to and, when they get there, offer their services to local farmers. go, If this does not bring results, they should get into touch with the nearest Em- ployment Exchange, where farmers notify their labour requirements. Ministry of Agriculture M*o*l* 1 SCHOOLBOYS FOR HARVEST TRACTORS Government Training Assistant Drivers Last harvest great help was given by schoolboys, of whom at least 8,000 gave a hand to getting in the crops through harvest camps. Others helped by other means. This year their assistance will be of even greater value, and helpers will be needed with some experience of tractor probably many who driving. There arc would like to undertake this form of national service during the holidays, especially boys say of 16 and upwards* They will need some training, however, and the Ministry is arranging this. They are providing the tractors and the instructors. The training is spread over three weeks and amounts to a total of not more than 16 hours, so there is no inter- ference with school work. Instructors and tractors arc being allocated to each school, generally on The is the basis of one instructor and tractor to evciy 20-24 learners* course fhirly intensive, but even so it is expected that skilled drivers will be pro- not duced in so short a time. But the training, with a little further practical tractor experience, will enable them to do useful work on the farms as assistant stubble drivers, taking a turn at mealtimes, for example, doing straightforward ploughing and assisting tractor drivers generally* M, o, Ministry of Agriculture CANADIAN SOLDIER DUG WITH TIN HAT RESCUED BURIED CIVILIANS . How a Canadian soldier, Pte. J. R* Garvie of Toronto, rescued civilians buried in a bombed building in London by digging with his steel helmet is described in the latest Canadian Any Routine Orders. ‘‘During an intense air raid.”', the official account states, n Pte. Garvie, of a regiment, who a short time previously had assisted in extricating central Ontario persons entrapped in a bombed house, was called upon by the civil authorities to assist further in rescuing civilians who were buried beneath the wreckage of another bombed house* Notwithstanding the continuance of the air raid, lack of lights, of a leakage of domestic gas, danger due to the possibility of collapse of the wall /an M, o. I. News Bulletin No. 438 - Page 2* an adjoining building and complete lack of tools, Pte. Game, with some others, worked for several hours, shovelling debris with his steel helmet and removing fallen timbers. Finally they succeeded in rescuing alive two of the five persons who were beneath the wreckage. "By direction of the Senior Combatant Officer, Canadian Army in the U.K, .this act of distinguished conduct will be recorded on Pte. Garvie’s Field Conduct Sheet," - Canadian Military Headquarters (Through. Dominions ‘ Cfiice Press Section), o* I, 3* "ACE HIGH" REVUE TO HELP AIR "ACES" The Minister of Aircraft Production acknowledges with gratitude the following gifts towards the purchase of aircraft. Members of the Horticultural Trade towards the cost £ sw d* of a fighter aircraft 2243*12*1 The Ace High Company, Biggin Hill, raised by an original revue written and produced by Miss R,M. R, Allanson, daughter of the Vicar of St, Marks, Biggin Hill 16, o,oa Children of Beckington, Near Bath, Earned by Eleanor Mollie, and John Walker by giving penny rides on their pony Gipsy during War Weapons Week 16« o.o* Bank notes for which remitted to this country £3 were and seized under the Defence (Finance)Regulations i 939 Bank No tes. In the circumstances Bank of England Foreign Exchange Control have agreed to the suggestion of the sender that the money be used for defence 0.0. purposes. • 3« The Ma.yir of Sudbury (Suffolk) towards Sudbury Spitfire Fund which now totals £lBOO. .800. 0,0., Ministry of Aircraft Production j.'/..1 » O>_J. » Aj-» THREE YOUNG BELGIANS WANT TO FIGHT Following is a copy of a letter addressed to the 8.8.C, by three young Belgians who escaped from the occupied countiy. Dear Friends the British, We are three young mon aged from 20 to 23 years who have recently escaped from Belgium, in the hope of joining the Belgian Forces* We have attempted to embark, in all French ports, but have failed in all our endeavours. Our only chance, now, of success, is to ask you with all the jbrvour of our youth, to send us all that is necessary to embark, cither in France or at Lisbon, whichever the you judge better, We feel sure that you alone can help us to fulfil our ardent desire to fight with our Belgian brothers* My friend 0*..• is a candidate pilot, so am L The third is willing to volunteer for any kind, of arm. We shall see brothers, and please you soon, do all you can for us* Belgian Press Bureau* M« o« Io 5® 15.7.41 No. 8. SPECIAL MIDDLE EAST WAR COMMUNIQUE A convention for the cessation of hostilities in Syria ..as ianally signed yesterday evening, July 14. MINISTRY OF INFORMATION Please check against actual broadcast. 157.41 No. 9 **••»**•• L tai' Mm -t »■! I*l iai .!■■■ H.* »■*. ar: --n NOT FOR PUBLICATION BEFORE' 9.40 P.M. TEXT OP MINISTER OP HEALTH’S BROADCAST ON TUESDAY, 15TH JULY. 9.20 P.M THE WAR ON THE DOORSTEP I want to talk to you to-night not about Departmental policy, but Whitehall, or about the. provinces, and the people who live there. You cannot get a real picture of what is doing the the Home Front and what is on long line of - what is going right going wrong from office in affects millions of - an London. Evacuation, for instance, homes. There are 700,000 women most - of them voluntary workers - engaged in war activities organised by the Ministry of Health alone. There are 3,000 hospitals. And there are hundreds of cities and. towns faced with the enormous problem of preparing for air raid’s and repairing the damage, human and material. Liverpool’s difficulties are different from London’s, Newcastle’s from Nottingham’s, This is a job which, in the. main, must be tackled by the men and women on the spot. So, since I became Minister of Health, five months ago, I have taken every chance I could get to see the bombed, areas, the d.octors and nurses who are caring for their wound.ed, and the people who are looking after their children. I have visited all the Civil Defence Regions in England, and Wales. I was deeply moved, but came back wiser, encouraged - and. very proud. I thought you might be interested in a few of my impressions Lord Beaverbrook recently broadcast a well-deserved tribute to the "boys in the back rooms" who design big and beautiful bombs. And I take off my hat to the girls in the back rooms, in the back streets - ordinary women in ordinary homes who defy the German bombs. They stick to their damaged, houses, they sweep up the mess and make the clean pin again and. determined, that will Hitler rooms as as a new - they are never drive them out. I have talked to hundreds of them, on their own doorsteps and in their own parlours - in Manchester, Merseyside, Birmingham, Cardiff and Portsmouth, There was an elderly woman whose house was rather badly d.amaged, and they thought it would have to be condemned. Just before I came along the Borough Engineer had called to tell her that he could do first-aid repairs - she could stay. The tears streamed down her cheecks as she said, to me, "This is the happiest moment of my life". Several'incidents arising from the Government’s evacuation scheme remain vividly in my memory, One was in an evacuees’ social centre in a Cornish town, where JOO children from the East End of London Were singing with their Cornish children friends: "Till we have built Jerusalem In England’s and Pleasant land". And that lovely song "Where’er You Walk". 1 I smile whenever I think of a preparatory school, or a home for ’difficult 1 boys, when, looking at the cricket score sheet I saw "J.Smith 10 80/ffiLIED, ' - J, Cohen ' The young scorer had made sure of the end of J. Smith. It was splendid to realise,, as* only those who have seen for themselves can realise, how generously the good folks in the mining valleys of South Wales, who have much hardship, hospitality to the and children from Birmingham, uown so are giving women Coventry and London. Then there is the individuality shown in Yorkshire and other ■ industrial Counties in developing Welfare work. And everywhere in the Counties, North,South, East and West in the small towns and villages, the infinite variety of “ separate problems solved. •. Wherever I went, in reception area and evacuation area alike, I was impressed by the way the British each other in time of trouble. The housewives- of the people help safer areas arc playing a key part in a great war service, involving heavy sacrifices for the children’s sake. /If .Li you take, as .^.nillixxn..hal^‘‘ ,^nMnfVu« all individuals with. their personalities own away from the towns, from their - o’vn homes- and families, from familiar scenes, and mix them vd.th other families, strangers, in rural parts of the country, with all the differences of upbringing, outlook, habits and interests, you can hardly expect a 100 per cent, success, even in war-time. There are so many and such difficult issues involved. We have seen it working, both parties making /llcwances and building a new life together. We call it an eighty per cent, success. Airway, a scheme which nearly has kept a million children a way from the most dangerous areas, and already saved thousands of lives, was well worth :7hile. , It lias " called for tremendous efforts. All this year- the local councils and their staffs, Women's Voluntary Services and thousands of other helpers, teachers, our own officers at Headquarters and in the regions, all have been hard at wrk- to improve conditions and health services, and particularly to start welfare schemes which will help the evacuee mother and relieve -the housewife. Mothers’ clubs, play centres, feeding centres, "make and mend” classes, have sprung;up in hundreds. They are helping evacuation to ’settle down’. ‘ -■••■■-■ v believe that tremendous size this local the huge stakes I the of revolution, and the extent of its achievements of life-and happiness involved, so far, are now generally appreciated./ We will with speed and 100 per more carry on get as near cent* success as we can. iy I must again to parents what my predecessors, Mr. Malcolm MacDonald and say :Mr. Walter Elliott, have said so often before. Don’t be deceived by quiet periods. Look ahead and leave your.-children in the reception areas. It is not fair to them, to you, to their foster parents, to the Civil Defence services in your home town; it benefits unless ..-it be Hitler, to bring them back now, to take advantage of no one evacuation when the weather is foul and lose interest when it looks fair again. It is certainly not ’’Set Fair” on the war barometer now. The storm may break‘.without •warding.. Don’t take a risk you may regret for the rest of your lives. children like Write to them • Hcmcmbcr, too', that the to hear'from you, regularly -it helps them a lot. And don’t forget they need clothes and boots, and a little pocket money now. and again. Help their foster parents all you oan* They are doing a lot for you. ■ ; : The war is teaching us a good deal about children and children a good deal about us. I have seen some..of the ’’hostels for difficult children”, children whom Sir Waiter Soott privileged nuisance”, and how troublesome ways and called "’A sort of habits can be cured skilled and patient treatment. There are 7,000 little children under 5 from the bombed cities, whose parents cannot take them away themselves, in i . residential nurseric., some of wp'xh are run through the generosity of our American have time nurseries which have been set for friends. seen, too, some of the war I up the younger children of y/omen who -have been evacutod or have gone into war factories. You :70uld enjoyed visiting one . of these nurseries in an Oxford college where I have watched forty ”under-fives” playing happily and fairly quietly in a pavilion formerly- - - used the college cricket team. ’ by I have asked the local ■war-time ... ..We vH 11 have more of day .nurseries. these councils to let me know what their needs are, and the,Ministry will pay their costs. The war good deal about medical treatment, is also teaching The surgeons us a advances which of the Ministry’s Emergency Medical Service are making great go some way at least towards offsetting the vast increase in the destructive power of men and machines. In an emergency hospital there is a'baby who was found in a demolished, house, beside the bodies of his father and mother, with bitms extending over two-thirds of his body. Two years ago that baby would certainly have died. He is alive to-day, alive and well, with scars removed, hardly a mark you can see a living miracle, and a smiling - tribute to the care of the nurses and the skill of a New Zealand plastic surgeon. Cases such as these-and there are many more - are the rich rewards which come to men and women of the medical and nursing professions. To any girl who is considering how . best she can serve her country, I would say very earnestly, consider nursing, or nursery work among the babies. I visited, all kinds of hospitals-from the big base hospitals outside the cities, where soldiers, sailors, airmen and air raid casualties are treated in the same bin Idi ng, to emergency maternity homes, Two thousand officers of the Emergency Medical Service, including leading specialists, help to work this great scheme. There are special centres for different types of injuries and ailments, mobile teams,of surgeons who move swiftly from one hospital to another as they are needed, and mobile blood transfusion teams ’ carrying that modem wonder, powdered blood. "/We - 3 - 11 We are doing more and more of what is called ’’rehabilitation” or mending ’’breaks that is:-, restoring injured limbs, by special processes and exercises, after the ordi- nary medical treatment is finished. Yes, great work is being done to reduce the human havoc of war. And again and again I was struck by the thought that none ofihis work would be possible but for the devotion of the nurses, lam proud to say that of 30 and three George Medals awarded to women so far, 15 have been won by nurses by women doctors. -G’ . ■ ’ . 25,000 babies have .been bom in maternity homes in the country. . More than our war There are 90 of these homes of them in historic mansions - where mothers from the many - evacuation areas go to have their babies in peaceful conditions and under skilled care. In addition, there are 60 hostels where women spend the time just before can going into the maternity - home, and another month or six weeks’ after the baby is born. Nov; about the nation’s health generally. Medical Officers of Health whom I met agreed that it is true of their districts as of the country as a whole, that our health has been remarkably well maintained. That is a most cheering "report. But we must be v^Yy;’-careful. ■ Another -'winter looms ahead, Remember the advi.ee of the Chief Medical Officer, Sir Wilson Jameson up health by getting as - store much, fresh air as you can during the summer. I‘know it is - difficult .when you are working long hours, but get into the much you possibly.can. ’ " open as as ' Another-piece of advice I would like to give you, if you are a parent, is tills, Hdve your children immunised against diphtheria. The Health Department of your local Council will tell you: All about it. This protection takes a month or. two to take effect. So now is protect children against- the risks of the autumn and winter. the'-time to It is a safe and simple process, and the. local authority, makes no charge. lam glad to say .'. "that Medical Officers and parents are backing up oUr effort to get as many children as possible protected during the summer months. But we want thousands more at the many ’ clinics during the ‘ next few weeks, ; '-I-flant to speak for a moment, of first-aid repairs t© damaged houses. A big scheme was worked out,- and reserves of "material collected together at suitable centres, before the war. The work has been carried out by the Local Councils in the face of tremendous difficulties. Local builders, council staffs and building trade workers have worked as a team, worked hard and worked long hours because know how important they job was. their Where there have been delays, in the most hard-hit areas, people have been wonderfully patient. Local.-authorities help each other, and. the period between damage and repair has been considerably shortened. . They are,only simple repairs -we hope to do more as soon .as we can - and no two towns are alike - but 90 per cent of the houses damaged in this country have been made wind and waterproof again, many of them on the very first day • after the raid, some of them two, three, or four times. J cannot tell you the total number of houses damaged throughout the country; but I make this prophecy, that when the full story comes to be told, this-work by . the local councils will be acknowledged as one of the finest achievements of the war on the Home Front. There is a fashion in ■ criticism just, now, in some'quarters, to suggest that the local authorities are responsible for nothing-but shortcomings. Don’t you believe it. They make mistakes just as I do, and you do.- Their preparations were not always as... ~ complete they might have been. as Anybody who works at heavy ..pressure, even in ordinary/* knows that when it is you are doing the things that must be done, to-day, very easy to miss some of the things ..that ought to be got ready for the day after to-morrow. In problems tumbling after the Biildings, equipment and staff are other. ' * war, come one harder to get than they were in peace-time. You can see what is wrong more quickly than you can put it right. Of course, in any battle, certainly in this war on the doorstep, things must sometimes go wrong. Do you think everything in the garden is lovely these nights in Hamburg, Bremen, Dusseldorf, Munster, Cologne and Hamml « The local authorities of Britain have done great work, Those who have seen it on the spot, know the power of local initiative, local knowledge and pride. local And the local authorities will do better work yet. In these summer days when they are pre- paring to meet new and sterner tests, they deserve all the support the Government dan give them and they will get it, not only advice and money, but actual help from the - Regional staffs, with mobile teams to relieve them if they need help after a heavy raid, jid the local councils, and their voluntary workers, deserve all the help and encourage- ment give them too. you can Have you yourself made preparations in case the right to war comes your doorstep? There are rest centres to provide you with food and a place sleep if your house is to damaged. We have 10,000 of them in England and Wales, with accommodation for a million people, and are arranging for more where necessary. But these centres arc intended to provide only temporary shelter to give time for the making of npre permanent arrangements* They cannot be kept fully occupied for days at a stretch else there would be no temporary shelter for those bombed out of their homes on the second or third or fourth night of a. j ...g raid. Besides there is no doubt about this, that if you are bombed out, the best centre that the Government can provide is nothing like as good as a house you know with people you know. 4 with friends relatives living in another part of the Why not arrange now or town if possible, not less than half a mile away to go straightlo them if - - you are bombed out; and if they are the unlucky ones, they will come to your house. If this mutual aid pact comes into operation. a lodging allowance of 55.. fof each person will be paid by the local council if you apply for it - for the first fortnight? in any case, and longer if you need it. The Sheffield City Council have organised this scheme vigorously and efficiently. They have a ”Come Right m" Societywith, thousands of members. Where people cannot make arrangements, the Society can arrange for families to "pair up" with "Air. raid friends." Walsall, and quite a number of other . districts, have similar schemes, and I am'asking all local authorities.in. target areas to follow. .. ? > noeeu/' ■ - •'.* ■ If you cannot arrange to walk right into a friend’s house, remember that the police or wardens will tell you where to find the rest centre. We have done our best to broadcast this in every possible way, but J. found on my tcur that there are still people who not. know what to do. when they are bombed out. do The police or wardens will tell you. "Ask the Warden”., "Tell the Warden”/ are good mottoes. Find out now what the "after the raid” schemes are in your afea - where the Information Centre will operate,'for-instance -..just as a soldier studies his battle orders. There is still a tendency to • that all the., bombs will-fall somewhere else «- Nope of us - Government Departments, local authorities, .or individuals - oughb to be caught that way. There is still -a tremendous lot of work to be done/ We must get op with 1 what’Raymond. Gram Swing calls the "urfimshed business’ We for our part are-- . .working hard and With speed, to make the most of the summer days that , remain to us, putting, right faults and adapting our schemes in the light of criticism, experience and changes in the enemy’ s tactics. But it would be just as big a mistake to forget the triumphs' of bur.people and our free democratic institutions, throughout’this island/under the fiercest and most sustained bombardment ever launched against a civilian population. What a story it will make for coming generations! The .areas.in which the war have been problems solved most successfully are the areas ,in which the inhabitants have all pulled together, planned in advance, and_co-operatedfwhole-heartedly with the local and. authority, with the police, and the wardens, and the rest of the services set up to help them. The more determined we are to go on in that fine spirit I have seen in the provinces, the sooner will the. day dawn when the judgment of God will fall on the aggressor and oppressor." The day when it will be said of Hitler as of an ancient tyrant' "And he shall come to his end and none shall help him.” : ’ .. - '• MINISTRY- OF t. HEALTH. 157.41 No, 1p THE BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC Results Disappointing for Hitler V/hile His Own Shipping Losses Grow It will be seen from the monthly statement of mercantile tonnage losses for June issued today (N 0,6) that the total tonnage sunk during that month was less than in any month twelve, except January. the losses Although incurred during the first six months of this year show an increase of about 240,000 tons on those of the second half of 194-0 this result of his maximum effort against our shipping so far this year must be very disappointing to Hitler. The better figures for June, grievous and heavy though they do give hope for decreasing figures in the future. What must be the thoughts and morale of the enemy’s submarine crews and airmen who are engaged in the Battle of the Atlantic? The German submarine crews have to look forward to an ever increasing attack from the sea. and air escorts of our convoys, increasing help for us from America, and the constant replacement of the and in and Dominion yards. ships they sink, by others built in our own American They have been sinking, now for twenty months, and they still see large convoys all the Atlantic. This must feeling somewhat akin to that of plough- over produce a ing the sands. Our staying power should indeed give us encouragement; not only the wonderful of merchant increase of staying power our seamen, but the constant escorting vessels, the return to service on the high seas of damaged tonnage and some improvement in the turn round of our ships. The enemy’s loss of 180,000 tons captured, sunk or scuttled since the last figures were issued do not include ships mined as in our own returns. This gives some idea, of the ever increasing success we are obtaining and it is due to the fact tha.t the enemy has found that he must use sea transport for coastal traffic, which means more targets for our Navy and Air Force, The more our Air Force interrupts the German railway communications by bombing, the more the enemy has to resort to the sea and the more difficult he will find the transport of war material and stores to the East for his campaign against Russia. His losses in ships on between Libya and Italy and elsewhere passage in the Mediterranean have been heavy, end he must be beginning to feel anxious about his shipping position in that theatre of war. The enemy has gone further and further afield in his effort to find new hunting grounds for our ships* He continues to make just as fantastic claims as in the hope of finding out what has really happened, as the reports of his ever, U-boat commanders and airmen are necessarily inconclusive. Hitherto the monthly statement of our losses has been a useful check for it is not intended to oblige him in this him, but way in future* MINISTRY OF INFORMATION 15/7741 - No. 15 Air Ministry No, 4492 AIR MINISTRY COMMUNIQUE Industrial areas in Bremen and Hanover were heavily attacked by bombers of the Royal Air Force last night. Many tons of heavy . high, explosive bombs and thousands of incendiaries were dropped in both cities. Extensive fires were started and considerable damage was done in the docks at Bremen and among industrial buildings at Hanover, Several other targets in North West Germany were also bombed. A smaller force attacked the docks at Rotterdam. Five of our aircraft are missing. It is now known that during the operations on Sunday night (13th/14th) one of our bombers shot down an enemy fighter, MIDDLE EAST COMMUNIQUE. The following official communique was issued from British G.H.Q. Cairo today: Libya Offensive patrols from our forces in Tobruk have been active. In a recent hand-to-hand encounter we captured prisoners and inflicted many casualties on the enemy who were surprised in their positions. So successful was one of these raids that it was incorrectly described, in an enemy communique as a serious attempt to break out of Tobru Abyssinia. No change. Syria, Action is now in progress to give effect to the terms of the Convention which was signed, yesterday. MINISTRY OF INFORMATION (MILITARY AFFAIRS) No .18 REFRESHMENTS PUBLIC AIR RAID SHELTERS The Minister of Pood has made an order authorising the Bournemouth Borough Council to provide refreshments in public air raid shelters within the Council area, and regulating the conditions under which refreshments may be supplied. The Order is on the same lines as those already issued applying to the London Metropolitan and City Police Districts, and to Liverpool, Coventry and other towns. Persons or firms appointed as caterers in the shelters will he specially licensed, and will work under the general directions of the Borough Councilo W. OF FOOD 15.7.41 No. 19. RATIONED MATERIAL FOR USE IN SCHOOLS Arrangements to enable all schools in the country to obtain supplies of rationed materials for instructional purposes are announced today (Tuesday) by the Board of Education. (Circular 15%, H.M. Stationery Office. Pride 2d.). Schools maintained by Local Education Authorities will be able to get limit©! quantities of rationed materials for instruction in needlework, dressmaking, knitting, textile design etc., v/ithout coupons. Other educational institutions can got a limited supply of coupons from the Board of Education or from Local Education Authorities to enable them to buy what they require* Coupon free material, obtainable by Authorities, will also include clothing and footwear specially provided for physical training-lessons, and special clothing subject to exceptional wear and tear required by the staff of the Authority. Pupil s and staff will not be asked to surrender coupons for clothing and . footwear lent to them by the Authorityymd in the case of other educational institutions, the coupons received can be used to purchase such material providing it is only loaned to pupils and remains the property of the school or college. Goods made at school may not be sold to pupils without coupons but teachers have been asked to see that only garments which form an essential part of the wardrobe are made • Recognised efficient Secondary and Preparatory Schools, schools receiving direct grant from the Board, Training Colleges and Training Departments not conducted by Authorities can obtain coupons direct from the Board of Education. In other cases, including Private Schools, application should be made through the Local Education Authority for the area in which the school or college is now situated. The Board point out that the supplies for these purposes are much smaller than in peace time and only the bare minimum necessary for immediate requirements should be purchased. Stocks in hand should be used before new goods are ordered and there should be no hoarding. Teaching methods should he wherever possible so as to use smaller adapted quantities of rationed goods and among the suggestions made by the Board arc that the age at which children begin to profit by instruction in needlework should be carefully considered and that there must be more thought in selection and in choice of style and greater care in upkeep and repair. BOARD OF EDUCATION. 15.7.41. 20 Air Ministry Bulletin No. 4493 Air Ministry News Service lAST CHANCE FOR R.A.F. UNIVERSITY COURSE HUNDREDS OF VACANCIES FOR AIR CREW CANDIDATES This is the last week for sending in nominations for the next Special University Courses which the R.A.F. has organised for Air Crew Candidates. The courses are being held at Universities all over the Kingdom. They commence in October and last for six months. Practically all the expenses of the students arc met by the Air Ministry, There are hundreds of vacancies open to young men who are between the ages of 17 years and 18 years 8 months on September 1,194-1 • They must hold a School certificate or an equivalent qualification and be keen to fly. They should possess good physique, initiative and powers of leadership. The last is important because successful candidates are looked upon as potential officers of the Royal Air Force. Any suitable young man -who wants to bo considered is urged to get his schoolmaster or, if he has left - school, his former schoolmaster to nominate him immediately. - Nominations must be made by July 20 and should be sent direct to the Air Ministry (P.7*A.), Kir.gsway, London, W. 0. 2. 15/7/41 - 2 l 2l REGISTRATION OF EX-MINERS. On Thursday and Friday, 17th and 18th July, 1941, all men between the ages of 20 and 60 inclusive on the 17th July, 1941, other than those specified below, who have been employed in the Coal Mining Industry as underground or surface workers (other'than clerical workers) for a period of not less than six months since the Ist January, 1935, are required to register particulars about themselves, even if they are employed on Government work or have registered under the National Service Acts the Industrial Registration Orders, or the Registration for Employment Order. The following are not required to register:- (1) Men at present serving in the Armed Forces of the Crown (other than the Home Guard). (2) Men at present employed in the Merchant Navy. (j) Hen at present employed in the Coal Mining Industry* The men concerned should attend for registration at a Local Office of the of Labour and National Service between the hours of 9 Ministry a*m. and 4 p.m. MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND NATIONAL SERVICE. 15/7/41 N0.22 When the ’Lanoastria’ was sunk by enemy action, the Chairman of the West rloughton Urban District Council suggested that the Urban District Councils of Lancashire should present a number of Spitfires to be named ’Lancastrian Forty-one Councils have now presented their first cheque, £26,000 to the Minister of Aircraft Production. Lieutenant Colonel Moore-Brabazon in his letter of thanks says:- ”1 know of the many calls which the Lancashire people have had. with the various appeals and war weapons weeks, and for this reason alone, I think that their gift is a magnificent gesture of citizenship”. The of Lancashire have presented £350,000 for fighter and people over bomber aircraft. MINISTRY OF AIRCRAFT PRODUCTION, 15/7AI - N0.23 STORING FERTILIZERS Simple Precautions To Avoid Loss Hundreds of thousands of tons of fertilizers will be delivered to thousands of farmsteads this summer. There they will be much safer from enemy action and free from transport delays, against the day they are wanted. With dry shelter and proper treatment modem fertilizers can he stored for months. But a few simple precautions must be observed if caking and sweating are to be A new single page leaflet, free avoided. on application to the Ministry at Hotel Lindum, St. Annes-on-Sea, Lancashire, gives helpful guidance on "Storing Fertilizers on the Farm", MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE 15.7.41. 24 FEA APHIS An outbreak of the Pea Aphis (Green Fly') has been reported from a district in East Anglia, and it is suggested that growers should be on the watch for this pest, which can cause serious damage. Nicotine fumigation (requiring special*apparatus) is the best method of destroying the aphis, but in hot'weather reasonably good results may be obtained by dusting the crop with a 4% nicotine dust at the rate of not less than cwt, an acre. Heavy storms or continual rain arc likely to check the development of an outbreak, which is favoured by dry hot weather. MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE 15/7/41 -N0.25 Air Ministry No.4494 Headquarters ,R. A. F. 3 Middle East, July IW. MIDDLE EAST COMMUNIQUE LIBYA - Bomber aircraft of the Royal Air Force yesterday carried out an attack on the aerodrome at Zuara in Tripolitania. Bombs were seen to hit the aerodrome buildings and a number of enemy transport aircraft on the ground were imaged by machine-gun fire. One Ju. 52 was set on fire. During the night of July 13/14 heavy bombers raided Bardia and Benghazi, causing a number of explosions and fires. A Ju. 88 and a Savoia 79 were shot down by our aircraft in the western desert during recent operations. SYRIA “ Ourfighters attacked and severely damaged a Savoia 79 which at approached the Syrian coast yesterday. The enemy aircraft last seen out was sea emitting clouds of black smoke and appeared unlikely to reach its base. All our aircraft returned safely from these operations, 15/7/41 No. 26. NOT FOR PUBLICATION, BROADCAST, OR USE ON CLUB TAPES BEFORE 00*30 D f B.SoT a ON '..HDNESDAY, JULY 16, 1941. A new War badge will shor+ly make its appearance in the streets. T.ho will wear it? It is the badge of the women and men who work in the Royal Ordnance Filling Factories without whose day and night labours not one of our fighting Services could operate. They are pushing up production to such a pitch that we should never again experience tragedies due to lack of supplies like Dunkirk, Greece and Crete. Their badge a crossed bomb and shell in silver colour with the letters R.O.F. and the inscription "Front Line Duty" will be something that deserves at all events a mental salute from members of the public. For these and in the front line women men are as assuredly as any of those in uniform. I have seen tne women at one of our leading factories, a Woolwich Arsenal set among the trees and fields ofEngland. Here they do the bulk of the lighter mechanical work on shells, bombs detonators, trench mortar charges, fuzes and hard grenades, Nary of them are examiners. They come by train and ‘bus from cities, towns and villages within a 30-mile radius. They ages. are of all One shell filling gang includes a grandmother and a girl just turned 18, I saw one red-headed girl not five feet in height filling cordite charges for anti-aircraft shells with a rapid rhythm that would give Nazi airmen a headache, and a woman of 65 who spends three hours a day travelling to and from work, weighing strands of cordite to a minute fraction of a gramme. Their 'wages average about £3,7.6. a week. Their production is high, their absenteeism will be shopkeepers carry out lower when their local a scheme now under consideration of reserving rations for them, since being compelled to stand in food queues is one of the few things that keeps these women away from work. Today the crew of a Wellington bomber that has made 26 trips over Germany and bombed Berlin, Emden, Kiel, Bremerhaven, Ihnster, Wilhelmshaven, Hamm, Gelsen-Kirchen as well Antwerp and Brest, toured some of the as women’s sections of the bomb factory, and the girls who make them and the boys who take them over there had lots to talk about, especially the young Flight Sergeant who got the D.F.M. bringing the bomber back from for Poland by directional radio after the navigating instruments had "phutted". He was the man who, when it seemed impossible for the bomber to have sufficient petrol to cross the North Sea on the homeward journey radiod to his station asking for some petrol coupons. The Station Commander’s reply was "No coupons but we have bacon and eggs waiting for you. Better come and get them." They got them. They jv.st reached the English coast and landed with empty tanks. They told the story today and the women workers* reply was, "You may be short of petrol some time but if we can help it you will never go short of stuff to drop on Jerry c " But it is not merely "stuff” to drop on Jerry that these women are turning out. There is not a branch of the fighting forces who fire guns and mines and mortars that these women don’t feed. They are not only in the front line, they help to keep all the other front liners in action. Pictures of the design of the "badge will he available on Wednesday. MINISTRY OF SUPPLY, W.C.2 0 AsZ^!irJL o.*A8 , Indiscreet Talk The Army has started another private war this time against indiscreet talk amongst troops. Troops are to be warned about the dangers - and possible consequences of tailing carelessly to their friends and relatives about military matters or when they are due for embarkation, and Commanding Officers have been told to impress upon their men the vital necessity of reticence regarding movements of troops. "Knowledge of these facts is of paramount importance to the enemy and enables him to interpret our dispositions or to intercept our convoys and thus to states the anticipate our plans," Army Council. "The fact must be impressed upon all soldiers that such disclosure of information by number of when confided to their closest a men, even relatives, inevitably becomes common property and thus probably known to the enemy. The lives of all are thereby endangered. "It is realised that great hardship would be entailed if troops were moved without it must be remembered that the country at this warning, but time of crisis cannot afford to lose valuable lives and ships through avoidable indiscretions." WAR OFFICE 15/7/U -N0.29. DOMINIONS OFFER HOMES FOR WAR ORPHANS Speaking on the Children’s Overseas deception Board at the Annual Meeting of the Victoria League in London Mr. Under today, Geoffrey Shakespeare, M.P., Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs, said that the scheme had been so successful that the Dominions had approached him as to whether they could not take war orphans, not necessarily going through the complicated system of adoption, but taking them under the conditions the C.0.R.8. that is in the homes of same as children, approved foster parents. "If they cannot get the children now, owing to shipping difficulties, I believe," said J/ir. "that Shakespeare, they will take them after the war and that many of the objections which have hitherto been felt about adoption -will disappear." "I think it is true to say," he added, "that no single event or movement in this war has aroused such widespread interest in the Dominions as this opportunity of sheltering children from the Homeland ... It has the germs within its breast of something most significant and far-reaching far the of the future is as as Empire concerned." Mr. Shakespeare said that had the scheme not been suspended, he believed that 300,000 to 400,000 children would have been by taken the Dominions and at least 500,000 by the United States. Although the actual numbers sent were small, the interest taken out of proportion was all to the arrivals and the degree of sympathy and anxiety to help could not have been exceeded if we had sent a million children. The total cost of the scheme, excluding the cost of shipping, had been =£56,000 (approximately £2l per child), towards which we had received contributions from parents amounting to and £25,000 in donations from associations £23,431, over or persons interested in this Commonwealth adventure. Mr. Shakespeare went on: "Had it cost £56,000 outright, taking a long view of Empire history, it might have been cheap at the price." Mr. Shakespeare said he could tell endless stories of the marvellous treatment our children were receiving and how well they were responding. "I like to think that these children from the bombed areas have had the chance of this and thereafter the in these lands long sea voyage opportunity of living new with broader horizons", he said. "Will they come home to us when the war is over?" he asked. "We have guaranteed that we will repatriate them. If they come they will come as missioners of the Empire. They will talk in season and out of season of the customs and kindnesses of the newer lands and of the welcome given by men and women of British stock; of the great opportunities for of the greater freedom with development, which problems are viewed, of the generous impulses that actuated those who live in the UILL/ daughter LrtZ/X Dominions. jJUllLLlilUllQ • "They will never lose the vision that has thus inspired them. And I believe a great number of uhem will return there and be welcomed to the countries which they I believe the foster parents will have so fond temporarily made their homes. grown of them that they will work for their return and will advocate a policy by which the parents can come out to the Dominions as well. This is something of which have dreamed. "There are infinite possibilities. we This is the first in volume of settlement conceived on wise chapter a new overseas lines I believe the last be better than the first." and chapter will Mr. Shakespeare went on: "Suspended, the scheme may be, but we have lit a candle that will not easily be put out. From this war the Empire will emerge closer knit; its people tempered in fires of sacrifice. In a world where chaos may reign round about, the edifice of Empire will stand unassailable, the true temple of peace - a real league of nations, in close co-operation, I hope, with the U.S.A. "If this proves true, I for one shall claim that in this glorious fulfilment the children evacuated overseas, by their conduct and bearing and by the generous impulses they have liberated, will have played no small part." Speaking of medical treatment, Mr. Shakespeare said that no child had died and they had had few cases of serious illness. Doctors and dentists very often attended C.0.R.8, children free of charge and the Governments paid the cost of hospital treatment where necessary. In all, he said, 1,530 children had been sent to Canada, 577 to Australia, 202 to New Zealand, 353 to South Africa and 838 children to the United States under the auspices of the American Committee, making a grand total of 3,500 children. DOMINIONS OFFICE 15/w No, 30 WAR OFFICE AIMOUNCEMENT AGREEMENT COVERING THE CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES IN SYRIA Al© THE LEBANON General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson, G.8.E., K.C.8., D.5.0., General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Allied Forces in Palestine and Syria acting in the name of the Commanders-in-Chief Middle East on the one hand and General de Veilillac, Commander of the Legion of Honour, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the French Troops in Syria, acting in the name of the French High Command, on the other hand have agreed to a convention ‘which ends hostilities in Syria and the Lebanon, of which the following are the terms: 1. Hostilities ceased on the 11th July 1941 at 2101 hours G.M.T. 2. The Allied Forces will occupy Syro-Lebanese territory. The French Forces will be concentrated in certain areas selected by a committee formed of representatives of both parties. This concentration will be completed by Tuesday 15th July 191/-1 at 1200 hours, at which hour Allied Forces will move to occupy certain strategic points. Up to the time of their repatriation the French troops will remain under French Command with a restricted establishinent which will provide for their maintenance foreseen for from existing stocks. Special measures are the Jebel Druze where for security the French remain in reasons troops will garrison until relieved by British troops. 3. In order to ensure public security the occupation of the principal localities in Syria and the Lebanon will accordance with the programme which be undertaken in will allow immediate replacement of French by the occupying forces. 4. Mine fields whether on sea or on land will be disclosed to the occupying authorities. 5« Full honours of war will be granted to the French Forces., The latter will retire to the selected areas with all arms including guns, machine guns, tanks and armoured cars, and their ammunition. All measures will be taken by the French Command to prevent arms and ammunition being left unguarded on the battlefield or elsewhere. French Military Authorities will give every assistance in recovering arms which may be in the hands of the population. 6. In consideration of the honours of war, French officers and non-commissioned officers and soldiers are permitted to retain their individual arms (rifles or carbines: revolvers: bayonets: swords: or sabres). However the soldiers will not be allowed to carry ammunition. In each unit, for security reasons, a small of ammunition will be retained. The Gendarmerie will retain its quantity arms and limited amount of ammunition. All other war material, including guns, coastal batteries, anti-aircraft guns and military transport will be stocked under British control. The latter will inspect this material and will have the right to take over the material that may be required by them. The remainder will be destroyed by the French Authorities under British control. Prisoners of the Allied. Forces will be forthwith set free, including those 7. who have been transferred to France. As regards the latter, the British Authorities reserve the right to hold as prisoners of war an equal number of French officers as far as possible of similar rank until those prisoners transferred to France have been released. /The French 30 The French prisoners vdll be released when the whole of the Syro*Lebanese territory has been occupied and the clauses of this convention have been fulfilled. They vdll then be enabled to join their units for repatriation. The alternative of rallying to the Allied cause or of being repatriated will be left to the free choice of the individual whether military or civil. In the case of civilians who do not rally to the Allied cause individual applications to remain in Syria'or Lebanon will be considered by the British Authorities. 9’. ■ Executive officials. Officials of the technical services and special service officers will remain at their posts so long as it is necessary to ensure the continuance of the administration of the country and until such time as they can be relieved. They can then be repatriated if they so wish. Their services may be dispensed-vdth if their work or attitude is not satisfactory. 10. The British Authorities agree to the repatriation by French ships; of French troops and of French subjects, with the reservation that this repatriation vdll be •limited to those who have opted therefor. The British Authorities reserve, the right to control all matters relative to the repatriation, of these people.. 11 . be repatriated will be Holdings of French subjects to transferred in accordance with terms These people vdll receive treatment not less favourable to.be arranged. than that accorded to British subjects who have lately left; Syria. , l hr 12. French'cultural institutions, including hospitals, schools, missions etc. are assured, thattheir rights, vdll be respected. The rights of these institutions must not be allowed to conflict vdth Allied military interests. 13. All public services, including railways, tramways, public transport, electricity. and water will be maintained in operation and handed over intact. 14* All means of -communication, including telephones, telegraphs, wireless and the submarine cable will be handed over intact to the occupying authorities. The French Command will, have the use of telegraph facilities with Franco on the same conditions as the general public. ■ . v. 15. Port installations, naval establishments and all ships..including British in Syrian and Lebanese territorial waters vdll be handed over intact .to the occupying „ authorities. -i,! 16. All aircraft and air installationsand equipment in Syria or the Lebanon will be handed over intact. On the signature of the present agreement British aircraft are empowered ta use any air base and alighting area in the Lebanon and Syria. 17* Fuel stocks shall be handed over intact. The quantity neoessaiy for military transport will be placed at the disposal of the Trench Command. • - 18. Currency and other means of payment in circulation or in reserve in possession of "banks or other public authorities vdll be safeguarded. 19. military authorities reserve the right to take into their The British service "Troupes Speoialos du Levant" progressively as they are discharged by the French Authorities.. The aims of these troops will be handed over to the British Authorities.... ' r \/20. 31 20., The British. Authorities .vd.ll. not prosecute;'in. any v/ay native Syrian and Lebanese -who- have been involved in the recent hostilities or • . ; official capacity. ' \ ;V 'The the terms of this ..convention willbp', 21, carrying into-effect of controlled and regulated, hy a. "Commission pf-Control"which will sit-gat and will he composed of five, members. Three.of the members .tine ludihg-the'*"./ '/; Presidentwill he nominated hy the. British Authorities, the remaining two by the French Authorities, This "Commission of Control" is empowered to. appoint.sub commissions and to co-opt the services of such experts as may he necessary, 22. This convention is drawn up in English and in French. In case of dispute the English -text will he authoritative. Sgd, H,. Maitland Wilson ■ ; A.A. g- General Officer Commanding-in-C|»ief Allied Forces in Palestine and Syria* Acting in the name of the Commanders* in-Chief Middle East/- Sgd. de Verdillac, • Deputy Commander-in-chief the French Troops in Syria, Acting, in the : name of the French High' Command, WAR OFFICE WHITEHALL PROTOCOL With reference to para 9 of the convention the following arc considered to he executive officials. The Chief Secretary of the High Commissioner. The members of the ‘Civil and Military Cabinets, and of the Direction of Political Affairs* The Financial Adviser. The Economic Adviser. The Legislative Adviser. The Delegates and Assistant Delegates of the High Commissioner, The Administrative Advisers. The Officers, on the Active List, of the Commissariat (Supplies), Special Service Officers, French Officials of the Surete (CID) and P o lice and Gendarmerie. All other Officials are considered to he Officials of the Technical Services. Signed H, - Maitland Wilson General Officer Commanding in Chief Allied Forces In Palestine and Signed Deputy Commander in Chief The Syria, French Troops in Syria de Verdillac. 14 July, 1941 • WAR OFFICE WHITEHALL 15.7.41. No. 31. Air Ministry Bulletin No. 449 6 Air Ministry News Service HEAVY ATTACKS ON BREMEN AND HANOVER Pilots who dropped our most powerful bombs during last night’s attack on N. IV. Germany report that they exploded with "immense flashes". At Hanover the destruction and blast caused by these shattering missiles must have been spread and details of over a great area, lit by the brilliance of the bursts, to buildings, sprang clear the eye. Both at Hanover and among the docks at Bremen there were raging fires and impressive clouds of smoke following direct hits on large industrial buildings. Our aircraft had a hard journey over the North Sea, meeting thick, cold clouds rising to a great height. Over both Bremen and Hanover, though clear weather made for accurate bombing, there was a vicious barrage through which the bombers had to But with shrapnel bursting around them, and pass. even when hit by flying fragments, they kept a straight course over the target. One pilot, though his aircraft was hit several times over Hanover, went and bombed. The bursts directly the This aircraft on were seen on target. was in fact so badly shot up that when it was later attacked by an enemy fighter the front found his unworkable. But by diving almost gunner guns to sea level the Captain shook off the fighter. Soon after this he found that the undercarriage had been hit and that the wing flaps were out of control. Petrol was running short as well, and when he reached the coast the Captain ordered the crew to bale out. With so much damage he doubted whether he could make a safe landing* The crew all came safely to the ground and were eventually taken to their own aerodrome by lorry. When they got there they found their Captain waiting for them. He had managed to land the aircraft after all. 15/7/41 N0.32. Air Ministry No. 4497 AIR MINISTRY AND MINISTRY OF HOME SECURITY COMMUNIQUE Early this afternoon a single enemy aircraft flew over South Wales and the West of England, but apart from this there is nothing to report. Up to 8 o’clock this evening there of are no reports any bombs having been dropped. 15/7/41 - No, 53. Must be checked against delivery POSTSCRIPT TO THE 9 O’CLOCK NETS TONIGHT,. 15.7.41 BY "CASSANDRA." IN THE 8.8.C. HOME' SERVICE I have come to tell you tonight of the story of trying a rich man to make his last and It is a greatest sale that of his own country. - sombre story of honour pawned to the Nazis for the price of a soft bed in a luxury hotel. It is the record of P.G. Wodehouse ending forty years of money-making fun with the worst joke he ever made in his life. The only wisecrack he ever pulled that the world received in silence. When the war broke out, Pelham Grenville Wodehouse was at Le Tcuquet - gambling. Nine months later he was STILL there. Poland had been wiped out. Denmark had been overrun and Norway had been occupied. Wodehouse still went on with his fun. elderly playboy didn’t believe in The politics. He said so. No good-time Charlie ever does. Wodehouse y/as throwing a cocktail party when the storm-troopers clumped in oh hib shallow life. They led him away*- the funny Englishman with his vast repertoire of droll butlers, amusing young men and comic titled fdpsi Politics in the. form of the Nazi Eagle came home ’to roost. Bertie Wooster faded and Dr. Goebbels hobbled on the scene. He saw in*P.G. Wodehouse a useful weapon to wield, against the outraged people of America and Great Britain. The blood of Europe stained the earth. Goebbels wanted the. place tidied up a bit. He needed a human blotter to dry up the blood. ' He found a sponge -'ready in his hancfs-. So he treated his prisoner gently. Wodehouse was stealthily groomed for stardom, the most disreputable stardom in the world. the limelight of - Quislings. On the last day of June of this year, Dr. Goebbels was ready. So too was Pelham Wodehouse. He was eager and he was. willing, and when they offered him Liberty in a country that has killed Liberty, he leapt at it. And.'Dr. Goebbels talcing him into a high mountain, showed unto him all the Kingdoms of the world ... and said unto him: * “All tills power will I give thee if thou wilt worship the Fuehrer." pelham