Royal Navy Highlights 1944 Wins and 1945 Pacific Push
The official year end review credits the Royal Navy with crippling German naval power, and outlines plans for two reinforced carrier fleets under Fraser and Powers to aid American forces against Japan. It notes low ship losses, U boat withdrawals, 400+ ships sunk by British submarines, channel victory, and 10.6 million Army personnel moved by sea with 2,978 deaths.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Royal Navy
Germany
Britain
Pacific
Indian Oceans
Japan
Bruce Fraser
East Indies
Arthur Powers
Indian Ocean
Singapore
Atlantic
North Atlantic
English Channel
Solar Stills Turn Sunlight Into Drinking Water At Sea
Allied know how uses a 30 inch envelope life raft device to convert sea water to drinkable water. An inflated tube holds two quarts of water while sunlight evaporates it, salt stays in a sponge, and fresh water condenses into a reservoir. This method makes sun a survival aid for downed airmen.
War Effects on Britain's Home Front Consumption
British civilians cut overall consumption by 21 percent and now use 54 percent of incomes for taxes and savings. Butter margarine and cheese drop 14 percent. fresh meat bacon and ham 24 percent. fruit and juice 51 percent. Clothing down 45 percent. boots and shoes down by a unspecified amount. furniture down 77 percent. Average train car carries nine passengers. One in three houses damaged. one in 30 destroyed or uninhabitable. Hosiery warmth unchanged by fiber type if knit and thickness equal.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Great Britain
London Zoo Nut and Banana Consumption Update
The London Zoo reports annual normal-time intake of 6 percent tons of nuts, 184000 bananas, and 19800 ergs. This figure reflects typical feeding totals for the year.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
London Zoo
Ancient Footprints At Royal Ontario Museum Exhibit
The ROM displays fossil footprints from two amphibian ancestors in a coal swamp near Parrsboro Nova Scotia dated 200 million years ago. Tracks show footprints preserved by ripple-marked sands as tides covered and re exposed the imprints for posterity.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Robinson Crusoe
Royal Ontario Museum
Parrsboro
Nova Scotia
Finland Signs Indemnity Pact With Russia for 300 Million
The Moscow radio reported that Finland agreed to pay Russia 300 million dollars in goods as war indemnity. Deliveries will occur over six years in installments of 50 million dollars. The agreement was signed in Helsinki on December 17.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Finland
Russia
Helsinki
Moscow Radio
Broadcas
Carbon Monoxide Hazards and Prevention for Drivers
Industrial Accident Prevention Associations urge motorists to improve garage ventilation and avoid running engines in closed spaces. Check carburetors and exhaust systems, ensure complete combustion, and inspect floors and mufflers. Teach drivers to seek fresh air at first illness signs and keep exhaust pipes clear of obstructions.
Canada pays life gratuity to Victoria Cross winner Smokey Smith
Ernest Smokey Smith of New Westminster BC becomes the first Canadian VC recipient to receive the 10 pound life gratuity from the Canadian government. He will get a $25 cheque on March 21 and September 30 each year for life. The pay rate uses a fixed $5 for the Victoria Cross gratuity, replacing previous British government payments.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Canada
Ernest ‘Smokey Smith
New Westminster
V.c.’S
Brig
James Melville
Canadian Pensions Commission
Smith
V.cc
V.C
British Columbia to Build Institute for the Blind in Vancouver
Capt M C Robinson national director for Western Canada of the CNIB announced an institute for the blind will be built in Vancouver at a cost of 100000 dollars. The project marks a major expansion of services for visually impaired residents in British Columbia.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
British Columbia
Vancouver
Capt. M.C. Robinson
Western Canada
Canadian National Institute For the Blind
Ancient symbols and slave trade in early Europe
An old symbol known as the cross served religious roles before Christianity. Indians viewed it as a mystic four point compass emblem. King Canute around 1017 banned English parents from selling their children to the Irish as slaves.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Canute
Rescue of Eight Britons by Canadian Frigate Swansea
The Canadian frigate Swansea under Cmdr A L Layard rescued eight British sailors trapped on a sinking Caisson from a pre built harbor jetty off the Normandy coast. Lt John T Band led a six man boat crew in a risky night operation as the whaler failed to reach the men, finally pulling them aboard after the ship edged in. The rescued include George Ardy London Ont John Berryman London Ont Stanley Millions South Porcupine Ont and Arthur Coveart London Ont.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Swansea
Normandy
Navy
A. L. Layard
John T. Band
Toronto
George Ardy
London
John Berryman
Stanley Millions
South Porcupine
Arthur Coveart
Wonder Drug Boosts Allied Survival in Abdominal Wounds
British doctors used penicillin to treat 2712 abdominal wound cases from D Day to Oct 31. Only 759 deaths yielded a 72 percent recovery rate, a record cited as unmatched. One vignette notes a soldier hit by two machine gun bullets at 100 yards recovered in six weeks without surgery.
Fifty Year Seal Learns Illegal Use by Billesden Council
After fifty years the Billesden district council in Leicestershire used a crown on its seal without special permission. The discovery reveals the long used emblem may be illegal under local protocol and calls for review of council insignia.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Billesden District
Leicestershire
England
Billesden
Canadian business grows in 1944 amid war output slow‑down
Dominion Bureau of Statistics notes national income rose 67 percent in 1944 as civilian demand expands while war production slips slightly. Retail and wholesale gains boost retail sales by 10 to 11 percent, department store values rise, and bank deposits reach a record high. Hog carcass gradings and cattle marketings also increase for the year.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Canada
Dominion Bureau of Statistics
Victory
Wealth Hidden in House Finds Thousands in Bonds and Cash
Police discovering elderly woman’s wealth during a visit to remove her to hospital found about $35,000 in bonds and cash. The home in Hamilton was cold and empty of food as trunks were forced open to reveal valuables in multiple rooms. The husband, unaware of his wife’s wealth, recalled she had inherited legacies long ago.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Hamilton
Joseph R. Croker
Gems of Thought Collage of Experience Quotes
A collage of aphorisms on learning from experience. Authors cited include Wieland James Beattie Coleridge Terence Longfellow and Mary Baker Eddy. The passage contrasts past lessons guiding future judgment with hope and renewed insight from age and trials.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
James Beattie
Hope
Mary Baker Eddy
V-2 Rocket Attacks Reported By Berlin Radio
Berlin radio says more than 1,000 V-2s have been launched against the Allies since the rocket campaign began. The broadcast claims Germany has produced a considerable quantity of the weapons in factories secure from enemy attack.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Berlin
Also Mentioned on This Page
Burma
Tenth Air Force
Eastern Air Command
China
Ness
Ernest Smith
Institute For the Blind
France
Wonder Drug
Florey and Fleming
R.C.A.F
R.C.A.P
W. R. Franks
O.B.E
Regina
Franks
R.C.A
Rockcliffe Air Station
Ottawa
J. A. Carr
Clinical Investigation Unit
Wieland
Coleridge
Terence
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