Page: 2
Nine British
THE CHINA MAIL, JANUARY 7, 1941.
Prisoners
Capture Their Captors
AMY JOHNSON FEARED KILLED
Amy Johnson,
the
famous British air-
woman who was the
first woman to com- plete a fight from London to Australia and back, is reported missing.
Was
Amy Johnson fiying as an Air Trans- port auxiliary pilot, which service she joined early in the
war.
Something happen- ed to her machine over the Thames Estu- ary and it dived into the sea. Reuter.
Later.
Amy Johnson, it is now revealed, baled out of her 'plane, but
on
R.A.F. speedboat failed to find her, al- though her flight au- thorisation
papers from the machine
discovered.
were
Reuter.
"FIRE DOWN BELLOT"
the
after
During a recent raid on docks at Le Havre bomb bomb was dropped on the various basis-the Maree, de la Citadelle, Bellot and de l'Hure.
Wreckage was hurled into the air and docks and quays were left ablaze. As one pilot afterwards remarked: "It was a case of Fire down Bellot'.
REMARKABLE INCIDENT OFF LIBYA COAST
(By Reuter's Special Correspondent With The British Navy Forces In The Mediterranean)
A BRITISH SERGEANT and eight men, captured on Christmas Day outside Bardia, turned the tables on their captors by batter ing them down in a hatch when the 100-ton Italian schooner in which they were being taken to Tobruk, was intercepted by an Aus- tralian destroyer. The men are now back in the desert.
It was in the middle of a dark and stormy night of December 29 that the Destroyer in- tercepted the schooner "Zingarella" as she tried to creep along the Lybian coast with 100 Italian soldiers and 15 naval ratings on board together with their much prized captives from a famous British regiment.
The Australian destroyer ᎳᎥᏓᎵ patrolling off the east when a small vessel was sighted about 2
This is how the schooner was assuming control from the unre- captured
sisting deck girds.
The sen was too rough for the destroyer
to go alongside or to lower a boat, so from a distance of 20 yards, the Captain shouted through a megaphone "Follow me" to which the British sergeant answered "I'll see to that, Sir."
4.11.
The destroyer cased towards her, firing one round across her bows, whereupon she hove to
The destroyer brought her searchlights into play from close range disclosing the Italians hop- ping about the deck, frantically waving shirts and caps and shout ing "pringioneri inglesi" (British prisoners).
In a signal to shore informing the authorities of the capture, the Captain said: "The army now have the situation well in hand with 100 Italians down below. I an making a good three knols but she is no ocean greyhound."
Roles Reversed
There was little need to Indi- cate there were British prison- ers aboard because at the sound of the destroyer's shot the Bd- tish sergeant and his eight com-
Thus, with the role of the panions, guessing help was at captors reversed the party ur- hand, dashed up the ladder rived at Sollum, the soldiers none from below deck and quickly the worse for their trip, except battened down 100 Itailans In for being very hungry they the hatch below.
had had only a small
Three Stripes
the
As both ships rolled in rough sea, the destroyer's captain said he caught glimpses of the up- turned face of Italians through the glits in the hatch. Then he saw the sergeant's three stripes clearly visible as he bounded to the deck
OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN IN THE WESTERN DESERT A well camouflaged heavy gun. (Copyright; Fox).
ITALY'S
HOLD ON
LIBYA SHAKEN TO FOUNDATIONS
(By Router's Military Correspondent)
ALTHOUGH THE FALL of Bardia, was fully expected, the magnitude of the victory in its rapidity, the number of prisoners cap- tured and the smallness of the casualties suf- fered, could hardly be foreseen.
Italy's hold on Libya is now shaken to its foundations and her hold on Abyssinia is pre- carious.
The very poor fighting qualities) resources, for the tribes have been piece of shown by the Italian Army em-cruelly treated by the Italians and brown bread and very little ma-phatically proves that the hearts drive from their homes. They will caroni with one pint of water daily of her soldiers are not in this war. rise and attack every unprotect- to be shared among them.
They said the Italians were apparently so pleased at captur ing them that no less than four generals came
to look at them before they were shipped off on their abortive trip to Tobruk. Reuter.
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41st
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So large a proportion have sur-ed home, rendered that it is impossible not to believe that this lack of spirit is not merely local. It must be widespread throughout the whole and aerodromes along the Libyan The position of all the ports army in Libya and perhaps is pre-coast are of such importance to valent throughout the whole Ita the British Navy and Air Force
that their capture should be the1 first objective, With these in british hands, the command' of the Mediterranean will be yet more firmly established and the free passage of supplies by sea from the East will be regained.
Van army.
Resistance Doubtful-
At the same time, Britain' will be installed in a position from which› fürther attacks on Italy could be · condelved and carried out
There is now nothing to pre- vent General Wavell from moving forward at once to Tobruk. Gen- eral Wavell' will meet with no re- sistance until he arrives at this port and it is doubtful whether Tobruk would offer any real re- sistance after what has happened to Bardia. In fact, it is becoming It would be a mistake to detach doubtful if the Italians in Libya troops from Libyn to attack Abys- are capable of offering any further sinia. That country can await its strong resistance and I should] fate, but it will not have to wait not be suprised to see Tobruk fall long for there is a storm gather- within a week.
Ing. Reuter.
Reports say that 500 German- 'planes and 10,000 German' soldiers are collected in 'South- ern Italian porta "In readiness to reinforce Libya.
It is too late and it can be re-
garded as a bluff,
WHY HE
JOINED
५
The 'planes on their Arrival This is how one German bomb; would find their aerodromes al dropped indiscriminately on Lon ready hammered and exposed to don, "affected the morale of the constant attack. If the Germans civilian population:" attempted to move ten thousand soldiers by sea their fate would be a watery grave,
A young man who described himself as "a bit of a pacifist”” went home from work one day to find that a "bomb had destroyed his home: His mother and his sis ter had been killed;
British Strategyť British strategy will probably Next day that young man was be directed now to driving thout a Royal Air Force" recruiting: Italians out of Libya altogether depot. He had only one request to before turning to any other ob¬| makė, that he should-be taken ject,
as rap air gunner." Besides having to oppose the He got his wish. Today he is British advance, General Gra at a training camp, and when he ziani will have to detlich anum is asked why he chose the job of ber of troops to protect Italianan air gunner, he speaks of his colonists sprema out? Ini detached; bombed home; and: bayas Tarnis along the northern costwant to get atter fhminowandus