1941-02-06 — Page 3

Turn Of Speed In Retreat

Beetling

For

Benghazi At Thirty Miles Per Day

NATIVE TROOPS CAPTURE ITALIAN POST

Strong native Afri can fighting patrols successfully attacked and captured Beles Gugani, a defended Italian post inside the Italian Somaliland border, according to last night's Nairobi communique.

The communique adds that pursuit of the enemy is being carried out. --Reuter.

Sabotage By The Czechs

(By Reuter's Special Correspondent with British Headquarters in the Middle East)

THE SPEED OF THE ITALIAN WITH- DRAWAL IN LIBYA, ERITREA AND ABYS- SINIA HAS SHOWN A MARKED INCREASE IN THE LAST 36 HOURS.

The retreat towards Benghazi is proceed- ing at the rate of 20 to 30 miles a day.

Concentrated bombing by the R.A.F. is causing heavy casualties.

With the temps are hundreds of Italian settlers who arrived in this region with their families only three years ago.

British troops, following close behind along two parallel roads running west from Cyrene Benghazi, are meeting with little opposition.

to

The country behind the British and Benghazi is completely lack- ing in fortified positions.

Next Objective

Barce, which is the eastern ter- minus of the Benghazi railway, is presumably the next British ob- jective.

Though Appollonia, near Cyrene, has not been mentioned in British communiques it can be assumed that it has been abandoned by the Halians.

A Rout!

In Eritrea the Italian withdraw- al towards the south-east from Barentu has degenerated into a

rout.

The fleeing Italians are aban- doning supplies of all sorts in their haste to reach the main Asmara-Addis Ababa road.

Large-scale sabotage of food supplies for Germany| has been reported to Ber-

In Abyssinia the British pur- lin by German agricul-suit of the Italian column retreat- tural agents in Prague, Lake Tana, is stated to be con- according to news reach-tinuing in spite of the enemy's de-

laying tactics.-Reuter. ing London yesterday.

ing towards Gondar, north of

1,500 More Prisoners in Eritrea

Meanwhile the

Italian forces retreating eastwards from Barentu and Blacundi are being heavily pressed, leaving all routes littered with gear, war material and vehicles.

Hundreds Of Prisoners

In addition to those already re- corded, many hundreds of prison- ers have been captured.

ad-

In Abyssinia the British vance eastwards on the Gondar road is also progressing, while in the southern area South African troops are consolidating enemy positions recently captured.

Brit.sh patrols in Italian Somu- land continue to be active in all sectors. One patrol on Tues- day attacked and captured an enemy post 45 miles inside the Italian frontier.—Reuter.

WIFE OF

OFFICER IN SLUM

The young wife of a junior Army officer was A message says that last year

compelled to move out of

• 250.000 pigs, calves and cattle

her home and go into the were secretly slaughtered and at least 300,000 tons

of meat pr-

slums with her baby and vented from reaching Germany.

SONERS, MOST Of THEM do charing, because she Thirteen thousand wagonloads WHITE, HITHERTO HAVE received such a small al- of grain were also

successfully BEEN TAKEN BY THE BRITISH hidden.

FORGES PURSUING THE ITA. LIANS RETREATING TOWARDS THE RED SEA ALONG ERI.

No food census or house in spections have been ordered as the Germans fear this would cause more supplies to be das. troyed in panic.

New punishments have been devised to prevent such sabotage, the least being a fine of 10,000 crowns with six months impri- sonment. Reuter.

LEAGUE DEPARTMENTS FUNCTIONING

FIFTEEN HUNDRED PRI.

lowance.

THE PREMIER INSPECTS THE COAST DEFENCES—Mr. Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister, accompanied by the First Sea Lord (Sir Dudley Pound) and General Brooke, made an inspection recently of the first line defences on the coast. Photo shows Mr. Churchill leading the way up the plank to in- spect some of the defences. (Copyright, Fox).

CAPT. ABEL BEST'S DEATH: CHINA SEA MEMORIES

CAPTAIN ABEL MARDLAN BEST, whose death at the age of 82 was announced yesterday, went to sea for over 60 years, half his service being off the China Coast.

Interviewed recently he described Chinese pir- ates and dope smugglers as "a picnic compared with the bulls and bears of Wall Street."

After retirement he speculated on the New York Stock Market and lost his life savings, but was not down-hearted and lived at the by wives of Royal Alfred Home for aged mer-

| THEA'S ONLY RAILWAY.

Her case is to be taken up by Mr. E. W. Salt M.P. for Yardley, Much material has been aban- Birmingham. doned by the enemy.

He is to ask the Minister for Force is carrying out the pursuit, hardships endured

The mechanised Sudan Defence War, whether he is aware of the which began with the capture of junior Army officers under thirty, chant seamen at Belvedere, Kent. Barentu last week-end.

who receive 21s. a week allowance Born in India he came to Eng- against 43s. allowance for hus-land at the age of two. Sent to bands over thirty.

Road Mined

In the Umm-Hagar area, near the Abyssinian frontier, large quantities of mechanised trans- port, some of which is in good condition, are falling into British hands.

Contact. is being maintained | with a patriot army in the Walkait region in north-west Abyssinia.

Stragglers Captured

The enemy have laid minefields along the 90-mile road lendir z to Gondar from the Sudan but Bri- THE WORK OF THE ECONO-tish mobile units continue to make MICS AND FINANCIAL SEC-Satisfactory progress.-Reuter. TIONS OF THE LEAGUE OF ... NATIONS, NOW IN THE UNIT- ED STATES, IS PROCEEDING THE SATISFACTORILY, AND

Urged on by British and Imperial INTERNATIONAL LABOUR OR-troops the Italians in Libya are GANISATION, TEMPORARILY increasing the speed of their DOMICILED IN CANADA, 18 withdrawal towards Benghazi, and CARRYING ON AS FAR A6 hitherto 400 stragglera have been FOSSIBLE ON NORMAL LINES. | captured.

sea in the tough old days of 1870 In a letter to Mr. Salt, the wife he spent 30 years in the Chinese wrote:--

Customs and skippered cargo- boats running from Swatow to

TAIKOKTSUI ROBBERY

Pleading guilty to steal-

“My husband joined up to do Singapore. Saigon and Bangkoking a jacket from a bam-

his bit for his country, but I Have had to suffer for it. I have already had to give up my home and get a job although I am in poor health and have a five- month-old baby.”

He retired at 73 and want to

England in 1932 "After finding boo-ware shop at Taikok- my share of dividends wouldn't

buy me a cup of tea dalty.”. tsui, Woo Loi, 23, was He had strong views on the in- bound over and ordered to

ternational situation. “If I had

my way I'd treat some of those be expelled by Mr. E

Mr. Salt told a reporter: "In continental fellers like we used to this case the husband is a smart treat Chinese dope smugglers- man for twenty-six. He had a hang tem," he said.-Reuter. good job is a Civil Servant and he and his wife lived: in a nice house In a residental part of Birming- ham.

HEROIN PILLS FOUND IN A BAID

Himsworth at Kowloon this morning.

Sergeant Cordan stated that on January 31 a report was made to the police that $2,200, jewellery valued at $6, and the jacket had "I know that his wife has been

[been stolen from the shop. fon compelled to move into the slums

Later the police recovered all' and do all kinds of work, includ- For possession of 38,000 heroin the property, except the jacket. ing charing, to keep herself and pills at No. 481, Shanghai Street, her baby. It is a disgrace that be- first floor, on January 28, Ip Shul, was arrested, a pawn ticket re- Two days later, when accused The Under-Secretary for For- This was revealed in yester, cause a woman marries an officer 46, and Tang Kwong, 26, were lating to the jacket, was found eign Affairs, Mr. R. A. Butler, told day's communiqua from Bel. under thirty she should receive committed for trial by Mr... E on him. He admitted he had the Commons at question time tish Headquarters in Cairo. only half the allowance.

| Himsworth at Kowloon this morn- stolen the jacket from the shop. Yesterday that it was the Bri- The communique. also an- "It is an

old-fashioned Army | ing.

The police, said the "Sergeant, ush Government's desire to make nounced that in Eritrea British order originally mode to dis- The pills were found by a party were unable to produce evidence the best practical use of "these operations about Keren are de- |courage young officers in the Armyot Revenue Officers during a lot the money and jewellery organisations-Reuter.

veloping successfully,

from marrying,"

raid on the premises;

against accused,