22/12/4l - No, 1 Air Ministry No, 5922 AIR MINISTRY AND MINISTRY ON HOME SECURITY COMMUNIQUE A very few enemy aircraft were over Eastern England early last night. Bombs were dropped at one point in the Worth-East, and at two in East Anglia, No casualties have been reported, but at one place in East Anglia slight damage was caused. 22/1 2/41 Not 2 Air Ministry N0:5924 AIR MINISTRY COM UNIQUE Aircraft of Coastal Command last night attacked objectives at St, Nazaire. One of these aircraft is missing. An aircraft of Bomber Command' is missing from offensive patrol yesterday. An enemy 'bomber was destroyed over this country last night. 22,12,41 - No, 4 HEEDING A HAND WITH THE CHRISTMAS MAILS Offers to lend a hand with the Christmas letters and parcels have reached the General Post Office from all quarters* The peak of the mail traffic was reached during the week-end, and the whole of the Post Office staff, reinforced with 50,000 extra men and women and 2,000 soldiers, are working at full pressure to keep the sorting offices clear. At Bristol students form the majority of the additional staff* There is also a Czech who served in his own army until the fall of France when he escaped and came to England. At Bristol a daughter of a General is driving a parcel van, while in Buckinghamshire the wife of another General is delivering the Christmas parcels in her own car. Two little girls, aged 12 and 14, at Plymouth, offered to take the letters round in their pony trap. Soldiers, -university students and secondary school boys are assisting at this town* Many women over sixty years of age are doing well at Bourne- mouth on sorting and delivery duties, and the local report on the women driving mail vans in the blackout is "very good". At Helensburgh applications for employment were received from some 9-year-old school girls and from a man aged 74* ' One young lady at Aberdeen when filling in her application form said she was 3 feet in height* In one town a woman resigned at. the end of her first day as "the strain on my silk stockings is too great”. GENERAL POST OFFICE 22.12.41 No. 5. GRATINGS TELEGRAMS FOR CHRISTMAS The Postmaster General wishes to remind the public that unless Greetings telegrams for delivery on Christmas Day are handed in before mid-night on Tuesday,- December 23, they are unlikely to “be delivered on that day* GENERAL POST OFFICE 22.12,41 No. 7 NOT FOR PUBLICATION, BROADCAST, OR USE ON CLUB TAPES BEFORE 00130 B.S.T, (i,.e. FOR HORNING PAPERS) TUESDAY, DECEMBER ON 23. THIS EMBARGO SHOULD BE RESPECTED OVERSEAS BY PREFACING ANY" MESSAGES FILED WITH TIE EMBARGO. EXPANSION OF CADET FORCE The War Office announces that the Cadet Force is to be largely expanded, The annual capitation grants are to be increased to 11/- a head for school units and 13/- a head for open units, for boys between 14 and 17 years. Free uniform is also to be provided for Cadets between these ages, but owing to the supply position it may be some time before issues can be made. Future entrants to the Junior Training Corps will also have free uniforms,and the capitation grant payable to contingents will be issueable at 15 instead of 16. The training of the Cadet Force has during recent months been brought up to date, and is now designed to afford boys pre-military instruction which will be of value to those who join both the Regular Array and the Home Guard, Units of the Cadet Force are already affiliated to Home Guard Units, and although the Cadet Force is not part of the Home Guard every encouragement is given for Cadets to join the Home Guard as soon as they are old enough. In this way, the Cadet Force will play its part, not only in its special task of affording pre-entry training for the Army, but also in the larger scheme for the training of youth which is under the direction of the Board of Education. • Enquiries regarding Cadet Force, the. or the formation of Cadet Units should be addressed to the Honorary Secretary of the County Cadet Committee C/o the offices of the Local County Territorial Association, or to the British National Cadet Association, 67., Wat ling London, E*C.4# NOTE; - The Army Cadets were taken over by the War Office in I larch this year, and cadets are now encouraged to join the Home Guard on reaching the age of 17, But they remain in the Cadet Force as N.C.O’s and instructors, and so complete their pre-military training. The Army Cadets thus supply the Hone G-uard with trained young recruits, and they benefit in various ways from their connection with the Hone Guard. Units normally become affiliated to their local Home Guard Units, from whom they can borrow rifles and automatic weapons for training, drill halls, instructors, etc. WAR OFFICE 22.12. A 1 - No. 8 Air ministry News' Service. ■ Air Ministiy, Bulletin No. 592. • NOT FOR PUBLICATION, BROADCAST, 'OR USE ON CLUB TAPES BEFORE 00.30 8.3.T. (i.e, FOR'MORNING PAPERS) ON TUESDAY, DECEmBER; 23. ... THIS EMBARGO SHOULD BE RESPECTED OVERSEAS BY PREFACING ANY ■ MESSAGES PILED WITH ONE EMBARGO. damage TO THE scharnhorst and gneisenau Photographs taken on December 18, during the daylight attacks on the battle cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, in have been examined. Brest, now The ships were attacked, as they lay in two dry docks side by side, with heavy armour-piercing bombs which send up a great volume of smoke when they explode. The problem of photographic interpretation is to discover from a scries of photographs, some of which show the first thick mushroom of smoke and others the smoke streaming upwards, higher and higher in each successive picture, exactly where the bombs hit, More damage may be done than can be detected. In some instances the smoke may hide the effect of other bombs. It is quite certain that a heavy armour-piercing bomb fell between the starboard side of the stem of the Gneisenau and the side of the dry dock in which she lay c The distance between the ship and the side of the dock is only some 20 or 30 feet, and the effect of an explosion in this confined space would be appreciable. Similarly, another bomb fell between the port side of the stem of the Scham- horst and the side ofher dock. There is reason to believe, though the confusion of smoke precludes certainty, that a heavy bomb has fallen amidships and penetrated the deck of the Scharnhorst. The gates of the two docks were closed at the time of the attack. Both gates slide into a recess between the docks when they open and this recess has had a direct; hit. It is reasonable to suppose that the mechanism of the docks’ gates has been damaged, and that the ships cannot be moved until it has been repaired. There has also been a great number of bombs dropped very close to the battle oruis,ers, though how much damage these will have done can only be conjectured at the moment. The important submarine pens at Brest were also heavily bombed during the attack, and received one certain and two probable hits. Buildings, possibly v/orkshops behind the submarine pens, have been demolished. After all the bomb bursts shewn in the long series of photographs taken during the attack had been plotted, it was considered that this attack was one of the most remarkable instances of accurate bombing under heavy fire. in the commercial port of Brest. Not a single bomb fell in the civil town or The bombing was from a great height in order to enable the bombs to penetrate the ship’s amour, and it was therefore absolutely necessary for every aircraft to make a very steady bombing run, even while the fiercest barrage was being sent up by idle Germans. The warships themselves, each with M+ anti-aircraft guns, contributed to the barrage, and, even apart from this, Brest is one of the most heavily defended of all targets. Our fighter escort did magnificent work hy keeping the main body of the enemy fighters away from our bombers - an achievement that demanded, at such a distance the most the part of both bombers and fighters but from base, perfect timing on - the air-gunners of the bombers had always to be on the alert, even during the off those Messerschmitts that through the bombing run, and ready to fight did get fighter screen. /The .The Scharnhorst and the G-neisenau were driven out of the Atlantic and reached Brest -at the end. of-March, Within a .few hours of their arrival, aircraft of Bomber Command Were at them* ■ Since then, these formidable, battle, cruisers, which if loose would be. a grave danger, to our convoys in the Atlantic, have been immobilised by Bomber Command# Whenever their departure from the port seemed possible, Bomber Cemmand has turned from its main task of attacking Germany, and bombarded the docks or anchorages in which the ships were lying# Once, the Scharnhorst escaped for a triad run as far as La Pallice a little further dcvm theiopast.*. _ , Immediately our heavy bobbers went out both hy day and night end within a day she'was™creeping' back-, -once more crippled,, , to Brest c Not' only have''t'hbse -attacks..had to. be made in the" face-bd-'Very..formidable •defences, but they have also been a supreme test of the accuracy ofour bombing. PHOTOGRAPHS AVAILABLE PROM Bi.P.P.A. AND P^n.A,* , 22/12/41 - N 0.9. POPULAR SAVINGS CHRISTMAS CARDS One Customer Buys Two Thousand Savings Christmas Cards are among the most popular of all presents this year. Reports are reaching the G.P.O. of heavy demands at post offices throughout the country. In eastern England post offices have already issued over fifty thousand cards, while at one town in the north-east a customer asked for two thousand cards and bought £2OO of stamps to go with them. But the half-crown savings stamp is the favourite. Many of the cards are apparently being sent to men in the forces, for numerous requests have been received for cards bearing the crests of the R.A-F. and different regiments. GENERAL POST OFFICE. 22.12.41 No.10 HOUSEHOLDERS RESENT ENQUIRIES BY AIR RAID WARDENS Air Raid Wardens in many parts of the country have been calling at houses in their sectors during the lull,inquiring about the number of people living there and other details which the Civil Defence Services ought to know. In some cases the wardens have found no welcome. Some householders appear to regard inquiries of this kind impertinent as and inspired merely by the personal inquisitiveness of the warden*. This is extremely foolish. These visits part of the form Air Raid Warden’s ordinary duty of keeping his Post accurately informed about every occupied house or building in the Sector, and it is in the personal interest of every householder that the warden should be provided with all the information he requires. People should make it a habit to leave word at the Wardens’ Post whenever there is any change in their normal household arrangements, when they leave the house unoccupied for a night or more,, or whenever a visitor is to stay with them. They should also, give any other information that would help, the Civil Defence Services during and after an air raid. The present lull gives an opportunity for developing this kind of co-operation with the Services, and all householders are urged to play their part. MINISTRY OF HOME SECURITY 22.12.41 No, 12 Air Ministry News Service Air Ministry Bulletin N0,5926 HUDSON BOUNCED ON THE SEA Plying low in a thick haze over the Atlantic coast of Prance last night, searching for a target to bomb, a Hudson aircraft of Coastal Command struck the sea, shuddered violently, and bounced off the water. The pilot pulled hard back on the stick and opened the throttle wide; the port engine spluttered, stopped and belched shoots of flame. The wireless operator, thinking a sea landing might be necessary tapped out an 3.0.5., Only a few score feet above the sea, the pilot nursed the Hudson skilfully and finally got the -port engine going again. He climbed to 3,000 feet before he took his eyes off the controls in front of him and ordered a general survey to he made. The hydraulic undercarriage system was tested and found to be allright, hut the bomb doors would not open and the airspeed indicator - the pilot’s speedometer - was out of action. A course was sot for a home station, and the wireless operator was able to get in touch with the ground and get a bearing. More than three hours after the accident, the aircraft landed safely. The crew stepped out unhurt and examined the damaged Hudson, They found that:- The three blades of the starboard propellor and one blade of the port propellor were bent backwards; the bomb doors on the starboard side had been wrenched off; three bombs end tail unit of a fourth weremissing; the cowling on the starboard engine was smashed and an aeriel was damaged. The crew trooped into the operations room to make their report. Then the navigator found that his log was missing* So the report had to be compiled from the combined recollections of the crew. 22.12.41. No, 13. Air Ministry Bulletin No. 5928 Air Ministry News Service THE WILL TO WIN AN AIRMAN'S FAREWELL LETTER A few hours before he set out to fly to Berlin, a sergeant navigator in a Wellington Bomber squadron wrote a letter to his parents. It was his last letter to them before ho was reported missing. They had expected that he would be given a temporary rest from operations and when they learnt that he would first have to make some more flights he wrote:- "If you knew/ the case as I do I’m sure you’d think as I do, that it can’t be helped and make the best of it. "It will be a chance in a very directmy to increase our war effort and that is, after all, all that matters. When all is said and done, the main thing is to get the war over, not to quibble about it. I only hope the people in the workshops realise that as forcibly as we do, I am sure if they only realize what our war effort at this moment means to us, to this country, to our daily lives, for the rest of our time on this planet, there would be such a revolution in the attitude to this war, that production, morale, the very mil to win, would all soar up to unprecedented heights. "It is everyone’s job at the moment who can think to make those less fortunate realize that we are now at the critical stage of our history and nothing, short of absolute sacrifice of everything to the one aim will be of the slightest use - and that taken to the point past endurance, where only the mil hangs on: mil to win,.... "I’m afraid something has happened to me that I thought never could. I’ve got hopelessly service-minded and don’t live for anything else much these days. The more you see of this racket, the more wonderful you realize the majority of the men in it are. It gets you in fhe end. I'm happy now and very much at peace inside myself, which is a great thing. I can’t explain it. It just is." Within a few fyours of writing this letter the sergeant was detailed for an attack on Berlin. The aircraft in which he was frying did not return, hut news has since been received that he is safe and a prisoner of war. 22/12/41 No: 14 NOT TO S 3 PUBLISHED BEFORE 3 P.m. 8.3.T. The Motherland Government, taking note of the ..agreement concluded on the 11th December, 1941? between Germany Japan' and Italy, and observing that Italy has thereby expressly taken the side, not only of Germany, but also of Japan, pavers with ’./horn the Kingdom of the Netherlands is at war, consider the Kingdom of the Netherlands at war with Italy as from the 11th Dec ember, 1941 * The Italian Government has been informed accordingly. FOREIGN OFFICE MENS DEPARTMENT On "behalf of NETHERLAND GOVERNMENT INFORMATION BUREAU 22/12/41 - No. 13. NOT FOR PUBLICATION, BROADCAST, OR USE ON CLUB TAPES BEFORE 0030 B.S.T. (i.e. FOR MORNING PAPERS) ON TUESDAY, DEC. 23 THIS EMBARGO SHOULD BE RESPECTED OVERSEAS BY PREFACING ANY MESSAGES FILED WITH THE EMBARGO r Ministry News Service* Air Ministry Bulletin No. 3927 PRESENTATION TO DUNKIRK DEFIANT SQUADRON Fighter Command* s first Defiant squadron, which took such heavy tell of the German Air Force during the B.E.F. withdrawal in 1940, has had its prowess recognised by the presentation of a silver- salver by Boulton Paul Aircraft, Ltd. the manufacturers of this two-seater fighter. On May 29, 1940, the squadron, then a day fighting but now a night fighting unit, set up a record unbeaten even in the Battle of Britain with tin destruction of 37 of the enemy. They had taken tho enemy completely by surprise with their backward firing gun turret. A flying officer, who won the D.F.C. for his share in this historic episode of the air war, was in the party of squadron members who recently visited the Boulton Paul works to be presented with the silver salver by Lord Gorell, C.B.E., M.C. the chairman of directors. Others in the party who net the heads of the firm and the work- people were a D.F.C. flight lieutenant and a D.F.M. flight sergeant- air-gunner who have fought together team since August, 1940. as a Both their awards were gained for night fighting for which the squadron has been used since the Battle of Britain. After the pilots and air gunners had toured the factory the presentation was made in the open where the workers assembled in front of a line-up of tho latest Defiants. The flight commander, who received the gift on behalf of the squadron, said that the care and energy which went into the construction of a Defiant gave those who flew it every confidence. Thus workers were playing a prominent part in the destruction of Hitlerism. 22,12,41 - No, 1 6 MIDDLE EAST WAR COMMUNIQUE Cairo, December 22, 1941 By yesterday evening our mobile Columns which had advanced through and south of the Jebel Akhdar were pressing back the enemy holding covering positions east of Benghazi while further columns were operating against enemy forces which were •withdrawing south- wards towards Jedabya. Severe weather conditions again hampered movement on both sides particularly in the air. Nevertheless our air forces again reaped a rich reward, from intensive action against concentrations of enemy mechanical transports on roads and tracks along the seaboard of the Gulf of Sirte. A few days ago one of our mechanised patrols operating over a hundred and fifty miles into Tripolitania carried out a brilliant 'surprise against an enemy aerodrome which had just been taken into use. No less than twenty four German and Italian aircraft were destroyed on the ground, dumps of petrol arid bombs were demolished and the entire garrison, which outnumbered the raiders by six to one, was accounted for, WAR OFFICE PHIS SCRIPT IS SUBJECT TO LAST-MINUTE ALTERATIONS PLEASE CHECK WITH BROADCAST. , 22#12.41 -No# 1 "AID TO RUSSIA FUND” "by .MRS. WINSTON CHURCHILL POSTSCRIPT TO THE 6 o. ' CLOCK : NEWS: MONDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1.94-1 It is not quite ten weeks since I launched appeal to you to the an support Red Cross ’’Aid to Russia” Fund. This evening I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the truly marvellous response you have made to that appeal.# From the first you have made this great cause your own, and this applies not only to you people in these islands but to the whole Empire and all the British oommunities abroad. And now, I r m proud and delighted' that -as you ru’obably heard in the News last night - the Fund has passed the £1,000,000 mark. And this sum does not include the results of the Flag Days that were held last week all over the country* * * .. The success- of the Fund can, I think, be very simply explained. The people of Britain were waiting on tiptoe for the opportunity to' express what was in their, hearts. - admiration, gratitude and compassion# We were awed and moved by the indomitable courage and endurance of the Russian people# We felt deeply for the sufferings and. the sacrifices that had been forced upon the Russians by those evil men who'-have steered the world in blood and anguish. And we all wanted in some way to give thanks to the nation whose dauntless resistance has given us breathing space before the next round of the struggle* As we watched the progress of that Titanic conflict, we held our breath in a dreadful suspense. Russia was to most of us a land of mystery* Hoc long could she possibly hold out .against Germany"s invincible armies? Gould she hold out at all? - But we reckoned without the death-defying fortitude of the Russian people arid the masterly strategy of their leaders. As the weeks went by, our doubts were turned, to hopes, and our hopes to Confidence that at least the armies of Russia would be kept in being, whatever happened to their cities and villages. The German hosts crept forward like the flowing tide, but they' could- not engulf the defenders of Leningrad, of Moscow, of Sebastopol, they could not approach the coveted oilfields. The aggressive waves hurled themselves in vain against the recks of the defences. And then at last came a day when the tide .turned and ebbed# For the second time in history there was a Retreat taking place from Moscow, through the snows of a Russian winter. The drama in Russia is still unfolding, hut already we have seen the German and. those who plans for speedy conquest confounded,, went destroy out to are new themselves being destroyed# Hitler,, who boasted a few weeks ago of the imminent capture of Moscow, is no longer at his General Headquarters* He has gone back to Germany to promise his disillusioned people - victories in the spring# hearts# The These great events have touched chords that lie deep in our we felt to help Russia, in everyway that was open to us, has been very urge widespread and very powerful. /This This million pounds which you have given to the people of Russia, has been a spontaneous expression of national feeling, I should like the people of Russia to know this. As I have read the letters which accompanied your gifts, have been deeply I moved by the generosity and sacrifice which you have shown. A large part of the total comes from the people's Red Cross Penny-a-Y/cek Fund. The v/hole of its income for the last three-months of this year has been dedicated to Russia. That Fund has increased its membership by many hundreds of thousands under the stimulus appeal of ,Today, more-than the for Russia. 8,000,000 people are- contributing their weekly pennies through'factory and house^.tp-house collections, . But they are doing much more than this. In .towns and villages all over the country warm-hearted and and ..children too have been men women - yes - •devising every.'conceivable kind of plan.for raising money for the Fund. An* old. lady of nearly 80 has sent me a doll "in a cot to be auctioned*. She made everything herself the cot of twisted bass, - the bedclothes, the doll’s'clothing, an enq.uis.ite piece-of needlework. Only the doll was not her oY/h work - that was a. gift, of her grand-daughter• , . ... .. A small boy had the idea, of buying a cwt. of coal and selling it lump , - >•, by lump at every house down the street. He found a ready market. It was a .real piece of black marketing'because the profit he made for the Fund amounted to hundreds per cent. - ; And so I could go on, telling you of all the clover and. ingenious ways in which you people have contrived to raise money for a cause on which your hearts were set, 1 lore than 1,000 schools and youth organisations have collected and sent me close upon £lO,OOO, I have had scores of gifts in kind and thousands upon thousands of postal orders and cheques. For weeks following ny broadcast appeal on October 29 my daily post came to me in sacks. I received more than $O,OOO letters. It has been very difficult to keep pace with them and.-sec that they were all promptly acknowledged. If there has been delay in some cases* hope that the kind senders will have been indulgent. It has been a wonderful experience for me to watch the.progress of the. Fund, I have been given an insight that I could- have got in no other way, into something, very ra,rc and very precious people - the kind -heart edne s s of our and their eagerness to ■help; -: #.cuase by-which their emotions have been stirred. .1 must devote a few words of special' thanks to the Red Cross and St, John Organisation. It has given me large sums from its main Fund for my Russian Fund. Its great army of workers throughout the Country have been generous in their..help and support. And, of. course, It•is through the Red Cross and its. great organisation able that despatch we hale been to to Russia, the hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of the medical supplies and surgical'''instruments that she needed, And it is to you, who have answered the cry of the stricken Russian . people, that I'want to say 'Thank You 1 , "kind in saying this to you oho are listening I think I nay claim that lan speaking not only on.-my own. behalf but on.bpha.lf also of our Russian Allies uho are joining us’ in fighting for all nhicli ’is summed up in the word 'civilisation.| BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION . 22/12/41 - No, 18 POSTAL ORDERS INSTEAD OF TOYS Children are likely to remember Christmas 1941 as the Christmas when the postman brought them Postal Orders in registered letters instead of their customary toys. The parcel traffic, so far, is much lighter than last year, but there has been heavy purchases of Postal Orders and a marked increase in registered letters and packets. GENERAL POST OFFICE PLEASE CHECK WITH BROADCAST 22,12,41 - No, 21 TAX ON LITER INCOTIES The following is the text of a broadcast by professor J.M, Keynes to follow the nine o’clock news tonight:- Last Friday the Chancellor of the Exchequer explained to you the importance of paying readily the income tax which most weekly rage earners will find deducted from their pay beginning next month. I have a point about this which is both interesting and important. I can make it clear in a few sentences. The goods which can-be supplied to the public are limited in amount. There is not enough man-power to make more for .you. There are not enough ships the to bring more into country. Thus, unless prices go up, the total amount which can be bought in the shops and spent on rent, light, fuel, travelling, entertainment, and all else you can spend your money on, is a fixed amount. It can't be increased* We can actually calculate it, because we know with some accuracy both quantities and values* It comes to about £12,000,000 a day at the prices you are now paying. But other incomes before have your personal wages or you paid your income tax are more like £16,000,000 a. day. All these arc figures of personal incomes* Mr, and Mrs, John Citizen and all the other Hr, and Mrs, Citizens are, between them getting incomes of £16,000,000 a day. All the things on which you and the others can spend this money arc worth only £12,000,000 a day. That means there is a balance of £4,000,000 a day which it is useless for you to try to spend, For if you do try to spend it, there can only be muddle and waste and nuisance. Either prices are forced up so that you pay more money for the same things; or the money just cannot be spent, for there is nothing to spend it on. But the effort to spend it, besides raising prices, will mean mere black markets, longer queues, more waiting, more disappointment, and no one will be better off except at his neighbour’s expense. The best system of rationing we can organise will not prevent all this. Therefore, I say, there is an excess of £4,000,000 a day which must net be spent. Personal savings are now, I suppose, in the neighbourhood of £2,000,000 a day - not bad, very good comparatively, but it covers only half the gap. So tha.t.a balance of another £2,000,000 a day still remains, I an giving you round figures. A tax ori income is much the fairest way to meet this. Per such a tax can take proper account of the size of people’s incomes, and their family responsibilities, which is not possible with any other kind of tax. Now if you agree with me that the money must not be spent; and if you agree with-me. that people left to. themselves will not save the whole amount required - and even if they did, the war has to be paid for - is not a tax on income the right policy? Besides, there is a concession which you oust not forget. A large part of what those with small earnings have to pay in income tax is only taken from them temporarily, and they will be given a post-war credit to be paid back when the war is over. Take the married man who earns £4 a week. If he has a child, he pays nothing. If he has no children, ho pays nearly 6/- a week in income tax, practically the whole of which will be returned to him after the war. How can he complain? A bachelor pays a bit more - and so he should. I emphasise the fairness of the system, because for many taxpayers it is new - by next year there will be more than three million income taxpayers who have never paid income tax before - because it looks worse than it is; and chiefly because people wall pay.cheerfully if they can see that it is fair. Besides which, the fact remains that even if the tax wore not charged, you could buy no more goods than you arc buying non. BRITISH BROADCASTING- CORPORATION 22/12/41 No, 24. SERVICE PATIENTS IN CIVILIAN HOSPITALS: ALLOWANCES OF RATIONED POOD-' The Ministry of Pood announces that the allowances of rationed food obtainable by civil hospitals in respect of Service patients will in future be calculated on the civilian ration scale* Until now these allowances have been based on the scale of rations for Service personnel billeted, with subsistence* under which the meat ration is double the civilian ration. The fact that civil hospitals obtained supplies for Service and for civilian patients on different bases gave rise to the complaint that a merchant seaman in hospital was less we11 treated than a naval rating* and even that he was not being adequately fed. The matter was referred to the Special Committee of the Medical Research Council by whom the Minister of Pood is advised on matters of invalid diets. The Committee reported that there ’,/as no medical reason why Service patients in civil hospitals should have a larger allowance of rationed foods than civilian patients suffering from the same disease or injury. The Service Departments accepted this finding and have accordingly agreed to the application of the civilian ration scale to Service personnel when patients in civil hospitals* MINISTRY OF FOOD. 22.12.41 No. 2 NOT FOR PUBLICATION, BROADCAST., OR USE ON CLUB TAPES BEFORE 00.30 B.S. T.(i.e. FOR PAPERS) ON TUESDAY. DECEMBER 23. SHOULD BE RESPECTED OVERSEAS BY PREFACING ANY MESSAGES ' FILED WITH THE EMBARGO The Ministry of Supply announces that the control of rubber will in future be Ministry by a Rubber Control exercised for the Board, of which Sir George Beharrel has been appointed-chairman. Other members are Sir Walrond Sinclair, who mil be particularly concerned with our relations with the U Mo. W.G-. Essex, and .S.A., Mr. Rupert S. Thompson* An additional member mil be appointed later e MINISTRY OP SUPPLY 22/12/41 - No , 29 NOT FOR PUBLICATION, BROADCAST OR USE ON CLUB TAPES BEFORE 00,30 TUESDAY, 23rd DECEMBER. The Ministry of Supply issued the following statement tonight;- A large number of Valentine and waltzing Matilda, tanks have been taking part in the victorious Russian push which has lead to the retreat of the German Army and the sacking by Hitler of its. Commander in Chief, Reports just received from official sources in Moscow? show that the presence of British tanks at the front came surprise as a the to Germans, who evidently -*