1 0/2/40 - No 1 •

FRENCH OFFICIAL COMMUNI QUE.

Th e f ollowing official c ommunique was issued this morning from French G.H. Q. :-

NOTHI NG TO REPO RT.

++++++++ ORDINARY NEWS. .A.M. Bulletin No.371:_

I

MAROON~D .ARMY CAMP F~D FROM Tff,~ AIR. R.A.F. Ar1rSWERS S. 0. S. FOR FOOD. OVER 2, 000 POUNDS OF BR ~ ~AD .AJ\.TD MEAT DROPPED.

Not to be quoted as an Air Ministry announcement.

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED BE:l?ORE SUNDl-1 Y MORNING P.AVi~RS OF FEBRUARY 11th, OR BROADCAST BEFORE 7. A. ht . G. M. T. ON THAT DATE.

The full story can now be told of the plight and

relief of 400 stranded officers and men of an R.A.S.C. Unit in South Western Scdtland, who had been marooned by snow drifts for four days. Completely cut off by road and rail for a distance of 40 miles around their camp, they had only enough bread and meat for one more day. Through their one remaining-telephone line the Commanding Officer was able to get a call through to head­ quarters asking for immediate help , The following morning pilot instructors of a Royal Air Force Air Observer Navigation School took off in a giant air

liner, loaded with 700 pounds of bread in sacks which were stowed in the cabin normally used for navigational instruction. The panel in the bomb aimer ' s ccmpart ment was removed to enable the

sacks to be dropped through the hol e~

After 35 mjnutes 1 flying the R.A.s.c. Unit was reaahed and the whole camp turned out to see the food dropped • • Six times the aircraft flew across the camp, each time unloading a number of sacks until all the 700 pounds had been safely delivered. Bad weather on the following day prevented supplies of meat being dropped, but a small trainer aircraft was able to take off with a 7 pound bag of yeast, to enable the civilian

/populati~n ~ . .

2.

population near the camp to make their own bread. The next morning the aircraI't was loaded with 1,000 pounds of meat,

together with a further 400 pounds of bre~d, all of which was safely dropped on the camp. On his return the pilot reported that the roads leading to the camp were so deep in snow that they were hardly discernible from the air. In some places the tops of the telegraph poles were completely hidden.

I!Q.I];: Photographs to illustrate th.is article may be obtained from the British International Photographic Press Ageneiee.

Preas and Publicity Branch, Air Ministry, King Ch~rles Street, Whitehall, S.W~l. 9.2.40. 10.2.40/No.3. P.N.1620.

PRESS NOTICE. Cmnforts for Members of His Majesty's Forces.

The Postmaster General announces that persons wishing to post packets or parcels to the Committees arranging f 0r the distribution of can.forts to sailors, soldiers, or airrnen nru.st prepay postage at the ordinary inland rates. The Postmaster General is not empowered to transmit them free of postage. The addresses of the Comnittees are as follows:-

For Sailors:- The Royal N~vy War Comforts Coimdttee, Admiralty, Whitehall, London, S .W.1.

For Soldiers:- Army Comforts, 12, St. Mary's Butts, Reading, Berks.

For Airmen:- The Royal Air Force Comforts Comnittee, Air l,linistry, Berkeley Square Hause, Berkeley Square, London, W.l.

GENERAL POST OFFICE. 10th February, 1940. 10/2/40. - No. 4.

NOT I'OR PUBLICATION BEFORE

DELIITEi:?.Y AT 2. 30 P. M. SATURDAY 9 1 OTH

Addressing a ~! est :-: iding La1) our :a.eginal Conference

at Sheffield toda y 9 Vir. HeI'ber t r.J orrison 9 lLP. said -

11 I commend to the understanding considePation of the nation and

indeed to the people: s of other lands 9 including those of Germany,

the declaration of the Labour Party Executive on Labou1" 9 the War and the Peace.

11 It is a declara tion which will 9 I believe 9 live in history a s an objective statement of the c a. uses of the war 9 the principles involved in it and the purpose which should animate the peace.

11 The Nazi system of -tarbaric beastliness and vindictive violence has ma.liciously distur·bed Europe for years. With the people of Fra nce vve entered the war to smash the Nazi regime which had become a nuisa nce to Euj:ope genera lly as well as a curse to Germany. "We cannot compromise with that regime; we cannot rrake peace with it.

11 And let it be und.ers tooa_ that a rw mere re-shuffling of

N9. Zi personali tie s 9 as for example 9 t~rn subs ti tut ion of Goering

for Bitler 9 will make no diffe;::' ence. A Nazi is a Nazi whether his name is Hitler or Goering; Nazi rule and Nazi blackmail must go.

1'Let the German people recognise that fact ; let them j'.'ecognise also that in so f a r as they are parties to continuing

the Nazis in power 9 they will be sharin~ , :resp onsibility with the Nazis for the continuance of the war.

"I have spoken with empha sis upon that aspect of the matter 9 an emphasis which I trust wil1 be appreciated both by our own

Government and by the Germa n people

"With no less emphasis 9 however 9 I wish to add this; that if the German T'AO;_, ~ e d estro ~r the Nazi Government and. /substitute - 2 -

substitute an enlightened, democratic regime, anxious to co-operate with other nations in the building of a free and tidy Europe, then the purpose of the war will have been served and there will be no need for its continuance. Just as we must continue this struggle for the destruction of a tyrannical and abominable regime until that end is attained, so we must be ready and indeed. anxious for peace with the German nation when that nation has achieved the pre-requisites of fundamental change in German policy and has withdrawn its forces from territories which Germany has no right to occupy. "Finally, British Labour appeals to all peoples, belligerents and neutrals alike, to be ready to co-operate , in a great moral effort to build an international order in which just.ice and economic fairplay will obtain; from which war willhave bean banished; and which i,,vill provide the necessary means f'or the preservation of peace between the na tions, no less than our police force at home preserves peace between the citizens. 11 A vital part of the purpose of that new international order must be the promotion of social justice and security for I the individual; for poverty is not only a disgrace to a world

that is naturally J. world of plenty: it is a menace to good. relationships between nations.

1'Let the neutra ls be ready to play their part in the kno~k- out blow to Fascist insanity and in the building of a wiser world". -·..

-10~2.40 No. _5- .

The War Off ice should NOT be quoted as Official ~ource~

THE WHITE SUIT CAMOUFLAGE.

The British Army can adapt itself to any conditions. On the Western Front during the snowy weather in January, soldiers in advanced posts wore white suits and covered their tin helmets with white cloth. Completely camouflaged, they were able to carry out

import~nt reconnaisance work unobserved by the enemy.

Official Photographs are available from B.I. P.P.A., 89, Fleet Street, E.C.4~ 10.2.40 No. 6. ·

1NARTIME SALVAGE - APPOINTMENT OF EXPERTS. Expert advisers have been appointed by the Ministry of Supply Salvage Department to assist Local Authorit i e s where necessary with practical guidance in organising wa rtime Salvage work designed to s ave and utilise articles and ma teria ls normally wa sted in household refuse. The expert advisers, all of whom have accepted honorary apDointments, are Municipal Officers with considerable experience in Salvage work. Each adviser will a s sist Local Authorities within a district allotted to him. Districts so far covered by this scheme include :-

The Metropolitan Boroughs, North and South of the Thames, Middlesex Berkshire Buckinghamshire Oxfordshire Warwickshire Worcestershire Staffordshire Shropshire Herefordshire Lancashire Cheshire Westmorland Cumberland N. Wales Durham Northumberland Yorkshire Lincolnshire Leicestershire Northamptonshire Rutlandshire Derbyshire Nottinghamshire Gloucestershire Somerset Hertfordshire BedfordshiI'e Essex Cambridgeshire Huntingdonshire Suffolk Surrey Sussex Kent Ham]'.) shire Wiltshire Dorset -2- The following districts are covered in Scotland:- Midlothian East Lothian Peebles Berwick Selkirk Roxborough Dumbarton Renfrew including Glasgow Aberdeen Kinca rdine Moray Na irn Perth Angus & Ea st Fife Stirling West Lothian Cla ckmannan Kinross West Fife Lanark Ayr Wigtovm Applications for advice from other Areas should be addressed, in respect of Eng land and Wales, to the Controller of Salvage Civil Division) Savoy Hill House, Savoy Hill, London W.C.2.,

or in respect of Scotland to Mr. T.B. Crooks, F~Ins~. o.c., De partment of Heal th for Scotland, St. Andrews House, Edinburgh 1. There are about 2000 Local Authorities in England, Scotland and Wales, having Salvage or Cleansing Departments. An en qi.iry sent by the Salvage Department of the Ministry of Supply to Local Authorities with a population of over 10,000 (in Scotland, 5000) ha s brought returns from 800 in respect of their salvage oper a tions. Of the 300, 300 have indicated that so far they have done nothing in the way of special wartime collections. Authorities· representing a population of about 26 millions, more than half the total popula tion of the country, have wa rtime salvage a rrangements.

ri1 J.NISTRY OF SUPPLY 1 0/2/40. - No. 7. MINISTRY OF SHIPPING ANNOUNCEMENT.

The attention of the Minister of Shipping has been oalled to the fact that engineering apprentices whose intention d.s to join the Mel'.'cantile Marine as junior engineer officers, are in some doubt as to the action they should take when called upon to register under the National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. This matter has been discussed by the Ministry of Shipping with the Ministry of Labour and Nn. tional Service, and it has been arranged that all Engineering apprentices who intend to become engineer officers in the Mercantile Marine should be registered as 'sea faring.! All such apprentices should inform the Minist l'.'y of Labour clerk of this intention at the time of registration in order that their registration papel'.'s may be mal'.'ked accordingly and transferred to the appropria te Mercantile Marine Office. As soon as possible after registration apprentices will be asked by the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen for information as to the extent to which their appI'enticeship has been completed 9 etc. 9 but until instructed otherwise they should continue in their present employment. The Minist ry of Shipp ing hope that employers will ensure that this information is brought to the notice of all apprentices in their works.

MI NISTRY OF SHIPPING 10/2/L,LO. - No. 8.

MINISTRY OF FOOD ANNOUNCEMENT.

The following appointments are announeed :-

Mr. John Loudon 9 formerly Assistant Director of Bacon Importsj has been appointed Director of Bacon Imports in succession to

Mr. E.R. Tidma rsh, C. B. E. 9 who r esigned from that or:rice on the 31st January .

Mr. Percy Hall has been appointed Assistant Director of Bacon I mports. 1o.2.40 No. 9. MI NIS?RY OF FOOD ANNOUNCEMENT POTATO MiillKET ING Potatoes 1939. Crop Control) Order 1940. Potato 1 9 Control Cha r es Order 1940.

These Orders, which come into force on Monday, 12th February, prescribe revised maximum prices for ware potatoes and int roduce minimum price s t o growers for both ware and see potatoes. Maximum retail price s for single lb. sales are substantially unchanged. Hous ewives in England and Wales will the refore still be able to buy KinCT Edward class a t 1id per lb. and Majestic (or white) class a t 1d. per lb. In Scotland the price s of Golden Wonder at 4d. per 3~ lbs; Kerr's Pink , Redskins and Red King at 3td. per 3t lbs; and whites at 3d. per 3t lbs. all remain at previous levels. An Insurance Fund is e stablished by the collection of a tonnage l evy from "first Buyers" which will b e used, subj ect to a deduction in r espect of the cost of the sche ~ e, to ensure to growers a r easonable r e turn on any surplus ware pota toes of the 1939 crop. It will b e unde rstood tha t the Minister's assurance (given in t h e House of Commons on the 13th Dec ember) of a r easonable r e turn to growers for any surplus crop r emaining at the end of the s eas on doe s not imply tha t the Insurance Fund will be used t o guarante e the payment .of the presc!iibed minimum price s for sale s of surplus stocks. 'rhe levy payable by merchants wh o 2r e first buyers of ware potatoes is

5/- per ton - equiva lent to 3d. per cwt. or ap~roximately 1/37th of 1d. per lb.

Growers, b e ing given an a ssured ma~ k e t and stabilised prices, will b e r equired t o conf or m to c ertain s t andards of dressing which will provide the consume r with a gunrantee of soundne ss. Pr ovj_sion is m? dc f or the s ale of sub-standard samr,il e s

/under -2-

under ~pecial licence. From the date of the Order growers of ware potatoes in Great Britain and Northern 1reland may sell only to "licensed :ftirst buyer" i.e. licensea_ merchants and licensed retailers. Grower-salesrr.en will be licensed to sell their own ware potatoes. Similarly, growers of seed potatoes may only sell to "licensed seed potato merchants". Provision is made, however, for sales of both ware and s eed potatoes through the agency of "licensed auctioneer~". I Sales of ware potatoes of 1 cwt. or less may be made to unlicensed buyers. "TI.icensed first buyers" are required to keep at their principal places of business records of their dealings in ware and seed potatoes, which records are subject to inspection, and also to render monthl~ returns of their dealingc. Growers are also required to keep records of their sales. l~tailers need only keep separate reeord3 of potatoes purchE".'.'>tid from merchants ana_ growers. This applies to both seed and ware potatoes. Records of sales by retailers to ~consumers are not necessary. The Potatoes (1939 Crop) (Control) Order, 1940 codifies the existing Orders of the Ministry of Food relating to potatoes and applies to the whole of the United Kingdom w:iith the e:;::ception of certain specified areas in Scotland and Wales to which the Potato (1939 Crop) (Charges) Order, 1940 also does not apply. The Orders apply to the Isle of Wight but sales of potatoes by wholesale and retail in the Island are not subject to the maximum prices l aid down in the schedule for ware potatoes.

~hese plans have been prepared by the t'I inistr~r of Food with the co-operation of the Agricultural Departments of England and Wales , Scotland and Northern Ireland, and after consultation with the potato producers, merchants and .retailers. 10/2/40. - No. 10.

THE FOLLOWING. IS ISSUED TO THE PREGS BY NAVAL AFFAIRS FOR SUCH - - -·- - ~ USE AS THEY MAY WISH TO MAKE OF IT.

SUCCESS OF OUR CONVOY SYSTEM.

V/h ile the British blockade is strangling Gerrnany, our convoy system is defeating Germany's efforts to Lmpose a counter blockade. The odds against a merchant ship being sunk when in convoy are five hundred to one. Here are the figures:- Up to the end of January of this y,ear a total of 7888 ships had been convoyed by the naval forces of the Allies and of this total only fifteen ships have been lost. THAT IS A PERCENTAGE LO SS OF 0.2 PER CENT. Thus, the convoy system developed by the Allies is giving to merchant shipping a degree of safety which makes it guite impossible for Ge rmany to hope for ··"tictory by her attacks upon shipping. Ge rman propaganda persistently elaims

huge tonnage figures of alleged losses by the Allies. The ~acts prove these claims grossly exagger ated. Reiteration, however, may create a false impression - but the facts remain. German propaganda has , moreover, studiously avoided mention of the fnct that the British merchant navy is constantly receiving large reinforcements in ships, either from the completion of new tonnage, captures from the enemy, or chartering. WHEN THE TOTAL LO SSES OF BRITISH MERCHANT SHIPS - 2 -

SINC:C THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR ARE CONSIDERED IN CONJUNCTION WITH THESE REINFORCEMENTS TO THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE, IT I S FOUND THAT THE NET LO SS OF BRITISH MERCANTILE TONNAGE IS LCSS THAN ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH OF THE TOTAL BRITISH MERCA.NTILE TONNAGE AVAILABLE. This is a fraction so small as to reduce the

German war effort at sea to proportions ~uite incapable of hnving any bearing upon the outcome of the war. mhanks to Raeder's policy of ordering his submarines to sink defenceless and unaccompanied neutral ships on the high seas, neutral shipping began to take advantage of the proved security of Allied convoys, ALRE.ADY, NEARLY FOUR HUNDRED NEUTRAL SHIPS HAVE -· SAILED SAFELY IN ALLIED CONVOYS. OF THE 117 NEUTRAL SHIPS WHICH HAVE BEEN SENT

TO THE B0 1rTOM BY GERL1ANY'S ILLEGAL METHODS OF WARFARE, ONLY THREE HAVE BEEN LO ST WHILE IN CONVOY. The facts answer the German threats.

NAVAL AFFAIRS. AIR MINISTRY BULLETIN _10...... /_2 ...... /4 __0 __ ~_ RC>_. llo

NO R. A. F. RAID ON SYLT

The Air Ministry announces:-

A report coming f'rom a foreign source states that a lone British bomber raided the island of' Sylt and drop1'.)ed four bombs this morningo This report is without f'oundation.

' AIR AFFAI RS 10.2.170 No.12."

THE KING·' '.S PRESENTS TO ,THE CJ\NADIANS,

As a memento of the historic visit to Aldershot camp on January 24 when he inspected his Canadian troops,· the King has presented two autographed portraits of himself to Major-General McNaughton and the First Division of the Canadian Active Service Force. The portraits are head and shoulder portraits, the . , · very latest taken of the Monarch, wearing Field~Marshal's uniform and cap. At the bottom right-hand corner of the

11 mounting appears the Royal signature, "George R.I. 24/1/40 • Accompanying the gift was a personal note from His Majesty to the Canadian G.O.C.

If it is found impracticable to take the Pi6tur0 - wi th the Division when it leaves for a more acttve theatre of war it will be sent to Canada for safe keeping• In such an event it has been suggested that a place of honour would be given to it on the walls . of the Royal Military College at Kingston, Ontario.

It is also proposed to send to Ottawa the ~iginal of the King's message of welcome on December 17 to the First Flight of the Canadians where, with appropriate ceremony, it would be placed in the archives with other historic documents.

EMPijE · ~~AIRS·• . As a result of enemy a irci->aft attacks in the North

Sea yestera_ay (Friday), the Se cPe tary of the AdmiI·al ty pegrets to armounce that H. F . Tr·av1 lers ROBnRT BOWEN

(Ski::;i:'..Je I•-Lieutenant J , Clark, R. N. R.) and FORT ROYAL (Lieutenant- E . King, R. N.) wePe sunk with the loss of four officers and e i r.: hteen I·atint;s. The next of kin have been infor•med . 10/2/J ~o . - No. 14.

The following is issued to the Press by Naval Affairs for such use as they may wish to make of it.

FRIDAY'S AIR ATTACKS ON SHIPPING

Now that a ll reports have been received, it is possible to give the details of the results achieved by the German a ircraft which attacked shipping off the East coast of Great Britain on Friday. A number of ships were attacked by bombs and mschine gun fire, but no me rchant ship vvas sunk and only three merchant vessels we re drui1<:.ged. The largest of these merche.nt ships was the British steamer OLI:NTONIA of 3, 106 tons. This ship was bombed and . ,a chine gunned and suffered some damage. She was , however, able to proceed into harbour under her own steam. The 371 ton co ast er BOSTON TRADER was alo machine gunned and bombea. No bombs hit the ship, but a bomb which exploded in the wa ter a lo;_1c;s i de her caused her t o lenk. The mud hopper FOREMOST of 306 tons was also 2, ttaclced. ehe was do.maged ~ but was successfully towed into port. None of these three merchant vessels were ar med. Apart from the damage caused to these three me rchant vessels, the two Admiralty trawlers FORT ROYAL and ROBERT BOVl:CN were sunk. The loss of these small auxiliary vessels has already been announced by the Admiralty. Agains+, these British losses must be set the f act that one Germe.n bomber was c rought down on British soil, while at least two others were seriously damaged, and it is unlikely that they succeeded in reaching home. The a ~tual r esults obtained by the German attacks are in strong contrast t o the German clo.im that six British merchant ships, or merchnnt ships in British convoy with o. tonnage of about 15,000 tons, were sunk by German f l y ing units on Pr i day. These clairas we re made by Deutschlandsender• at 8. 40 l ast night, and we re obviously compiled before the full :facts were l<:nown .

-----oOo----- 1 0/2/U,.o - No.15.

FR.ENGH OFFICIAL COMMUNIQUE (Evening)

A quiet day on the whole. Some shots were exchanged between the Casema tes on the ban.ks of the Rhine. 10/2/40 No. 16,

P R E S S N 0 T I C E

His Mo. j csty the King hns b een gr aciously p le8.sed to appoint Paymnster Capt o. in H. L. Barrow, Roya l Navy, t o be a Commander of the Orde r of the British Er11J.J ire in recognition of his long and distinguished services as Secreta ry to' of the Fleet Sir Roger Backhouse and Sir .

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~E IRALTYt YlliJ.lpHALL, S • W.