21 Dec 1940
Page 1
This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!
This newspaper page contains 23 articles. Subscribers can read the full text of each article.
Newspaper
Medicine Hat News
Location
Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada
Date
Dec 21, 1940
Page
1
British forces pound Bardia with bombers and artillery as warships seal the town. The general HQ communique reports 900 more prisoners captured and areas to the northwest and west cleared. Western desert units also take four guns in mop up.
Berlin reports a German foreign office spokesman says the United States reaction to the Cross shipping proposal will determine future relations. He notes Ronald Cross in London described sending enemy ships to the US and adding US ships to the British fleet as replenishment options. The spokesman calls the plan a provocation and says Britain is in a death struggle while Anglo American talks grow more tense.
Informed sources report Fernand Debrinon delivered a Vichy refusal to alter the cabinet or reinstate Laval. Gen. Nogues and Séergey Scapini arrived for talks with Philippe Petain as German-French relations remain unsettled and Laval’s fate looms amid possible cabinet moves.
London reports an air raid warning and says a bomb struck a London apartment house this afternoon. Two German planes were reported destroyed during the day. Casualties are noted in the alert and security ministries released the figures.
Royal Air Force bombers struck Berlin engine factory and Ruhr targets while RAF planes hit Italian Dodecanese islands Rhodes Stampalia and Scarpanto. Admiralty says fires started in three cities during Dec 17 raid. all British aircraft returned safely from all operations.
Albany reports Brig Gen Ames T Brown said US citizens in Canada who are 21 to 36 must register for the military draft immediately when returning home for Christmas. They must secure a permit from their local draft board to cross the border again, or be barred from reentry.
London reports Foreign Secretary Lord Halifax expected to become ambassador to the United States after Lord Lothian's death. The Times supports the choice noting his fitness for the post, while the Daily Mail says his name has been sent to President Roosevelt.
The piece notes a daring British naval raid into the Adriatic against Mussolini's forces, risking battleships to strike at Valona and support Albanian defenses. It argues the action widens demoralization in Italian and fascist ranks and signals British resolve as Germany and Britain edge toward decisive conflict.
Victoria dispatch reports Emily Bailey a native of England died here aged 100 after living in the city 26 years since emigrating from Portage La Prairie Man. She spent three years in a nursing home and leaves two daughters Mrs. S. H. Douglas Kindersley Sask and Mrs. H. E. Hansen Rolling Bay Wash.
British bombers operating from Greek soil struck oil tanks and railways at Brindisi across the Adriatic as the R A F backed the Greek offensive into Italian held Albania. Greek forces reportedly captured an Italian colonel and two battalions near Tepeleni amid fierce fighting.
Auxiliary postmen circulate in town assisting the Christmas rush with a benevolent advertisement in Woolworths. A cheerful scene includes coffee and apple pie for a bedtime snack for S.F.T.S. No 34 boys, who prefer tea marmalade and rye bread. Early workers would welcome skates of any size.
Berlin asked Washington to recall Cecil M. P. Cross and Leigh W. Hunt secretaries and Elizabeth H. Deegan an embassy employee for allegedly helping a British officer escape. Secretary Hull said the United States would comply and withdraw the three after a preliminary inquiry. no reason was disclosed yet.
German reconnaissance planes surveyed Liverpool after the heaviest raid of the war. Rescue workers combed through wreckage as fires raged, a large hotel and a famous church site sustained heavy damage, many civilians sought shelter, and fire crews faced casualties.
R. E. Bowles, lecturer at Manchester College of Technology, argues a bombproof shelter is impossible. He notes even the government's seven feet six inches of concrete would not withstand heavy bombs.
A light morning shower left a thin ice coating on streets sidewalks and roofs, making early walking treacherous until the sun melted it. No injuries were reported by noon. Southeastern Alberta sees springlike conditions with three days to Christmas, the 24 hour low at 30 and high at 46.5 degrees.
United States Secretary of the Navy Knox announced the award of contracts to private shipyards for mine layers tenders and other naval vessels costing 265 765 500 dollars. Additional contracts totaling 6 600 000 dollars were awarded to expand facilities at scattered shipyards receiving the orders.
President Roosevelt disclosed he is sending a second personal message to Marshal Petain via Admiral William D. Leahy the new US ambassador to France. The aim is to urge an independent Vichy policy toward the Axis and ensure frank American guidance reaches Petain.
Two bombs from an unidentified raider fell near Dublin injuring three and damaging several houses in Dun Laoghaire. Bombs also struck Monaghan as Dublin county hosts a mail packet station for Liverpool and Holyhead.
The British air force has conducted nearly 5,000 raids on Germany Italy and Axis-occupied territory over eight months with Berlin attacked last night as its 37th raid. About 4,000 raids targeted Germany and occupied areas and 1,000 targeted Italy.
Havana dispatch says 1,800 Cuban workers at the Guantanamo naval base returned to work Friday with no indication of a strike. Unconfirmed reports claimed a worker was beaten and cast overboard from a U S navy launch, an incident under American naval investigation.
A coroner's jury ruled the gunshot death of Private Geoffrey George Jeffery, 25, accidental. Jeffery, born in Port Coquitlam, B C, died from a lower left chest wound five days after injury received December 13. He leaves a widow in Eburne, British Columbia.
The British shipping minister said Britain would like to acquire 66 foreign ships tied up in United States ports as World War II at sea intensifies. SOS messages report attacks on the Carlton and Varangberg in the North Atlantic 450 miles off Ireland, with a submarine attack claimed against the Carlton. Norway reports seven ships controlled by Britain lost, and British forces press an Adriatic invasion amid overall war escalation.
From Hartmannsweilerkopf to the Mediterranean the week reports 1300 prisoners captured at Hartmannsweilerkopf and Cameroons taken by British forces. The Japanese steamer Yasuka Maru sinks in the Mediterranean as German trenches are regained and Lt Gen Sir William Robertson is named chief of the British Imperial Staff.
We want people to find what they are looking for at NewspaperArchive. We are confident that we have the newspapers that will increase the value of your family history or other historical research. With our 7-day free trial, you can view the documents you find for free.
People find the most success using advanced search. Try plugging in keywords, names, dates, and locations, and get matched with results from the entire collection of newspapers at NewspaperArchive!
You can also successfully find newspapers by these browse options. Explore our archives on your own!
Browse by location and discover newspapers from all across the world.
Browse by date and find publications for a specific day or era.
Browse old newspaper publications to find specific newspapers.