ITALIAN BASES BOMBED

Press, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23087, 1 August 1940, Page 7

ITALIAN BASES BOMBED

K.A.F. ATTACKS IN AFRICA (Received July 31. 11 p.m.) LONDON, July 31. In a raid on Massawa, Royal Air Force aeroplanes scored direct hits on the Italian headquarters and fuel depots. All the British aircraft returned safely. On Monday, the Royal Air Force bombed Assab and Macaca. One British machine was lost. British aircraft, reconnoitring In Libya spotted 11 Italian aeroplanes made useless by previous British raids. Italian bombers raided Aden. Four persons were killed and 15 injured, but tiie material damage was negligible. A communique issued in Cairo stales: “On all fronts there are no land operations to report. There has beep almost continuous rain in most areas on the Abyssinian frontier.” A Nairobi communique states: “Yesterday our ground forces made contact with strong enemy forces in the Moyale area and further reports are awaited.” It is learned in London that the British forces in North Africa have been, harassing Italian convoys bringing stores to Capuzzo. It is estimated that Italian losses of vehicles and personnel are five times those of the British. Further news Is available about the arrival of South African troops in East Africa. They are only the advance guard of a much bigger army. Every man is a volunteer who has offered to serve overseas. The Prime Minister (General Smuts) bade them farewell a fortnight ago. The men arrived at their destination by sea. PRECAUTIONS IN AIR RAIDS REMINDER TO BRITISH .PEOPLE LONDON. July 30. British people were reminded of the precautions they should take to reduce the effect of enemy air raids, in a broadcast by the Minister for Home Security (Sir John Anderson). So far, he said, the enemy’s air attacks had been comparatively light, but people must be prepared for heavier raids, and must see to it that they learned from recent experiences, The ordinary house, he said, gave a good deal of shelter against air raids, and those who did not have other' air raid shelters should strengthen a room for this purpose immediately. Steel shelters should have the proper amount of earth covering. People in houses should keep away from windows during raids. . , , . ~ It was important that people should be prepared for poison gas, and should practise wearing their masks l at least for 10 or 15 minutes each week, to become accustomed to them. Liquid gas might be sprayed from aeroplanes, and this was another reason for keeping under cover during raids. Fire was one of the greatest dangers, but to meet this the stirrup baud pump had been devised. With hardly any training, people had with these pumps and a few gallons of water stopped serious fires started by incendiary bombs. .... . i. In severe tnr raids, the noise would be found to be very exhausting, and people would be well advised to keep a tin containing wads of cotton wool Smeared with vaseline, A wad should be lightly Inserted in ea6h ear when the air raid started.

Slovakia. The Slovak President (Dr. Tiso) has appointed M. Tuka Foreign Minister, in ‘addition to the post of Prime Minister. Meantime the Minister for Economic Warfare (Dr.’ Hugh Dalton), in the House of Commons, announced that the. Government was sending a representative from the Ministry of Economic Warfare to Spain to confer with the authorities regarding the oil position. “The Government desires Spam to receive adequate supplies for her own consumption, but not for export, sain Dr. Dalton. “All shipments to Spain from the United Stales for the first halt of 1940 were substantially gt eater than the corresponding period of 1939. We have ho evidence of Spanish reexports of lubricating oil to Germany but the stocks in Spain appeared so high relative to the internal consumption that no navicerts for imports are bc ft : 'Sorted' (rom Vichy th ? t Br(tain fs detaining at Alexandria two French tankers, the Roxane (7813 tons) and the Melpomeme (7011 tons) on the ground that petrol is an essential war supply. FRENCH COLONIAL EMPIRE APPEAL BY GENERAL DE GAULLE LONDON, July 30. General de Gaulle, leader of free Frenchmen, broadcasting to the French colonial empire, appealed to all Frenchmen to continue the war alongside free Frenchmen and their ally. General de Gaulle said that the armistice terms accepted by the Vichy Government might have been justified if the terms were limited to a military convention and applied to the metropolitan area of France, The armistice could not be justified in relation to the French colonies, whiel* were still intact, but had been handed over to the enemy. Tlie Rome radio reports that the Pope has sent a message to high churchmen of France saying that the true greatness of a nation lies in its ability to recognise truth and apply tlie powers of wisdom in times of adversity, France was so vast that she would not await the conclusion of peace to resume her march on the path of honour and justice. LOSS OF EXPORT MARKETS EFFECT OF WAR ON TRADE BY BRITAIN (BRITISH OFFICIAL WIRELESS.) RUGBY, July 30. Replying in the House of Commons to a questioner who asked whether a statement could be made on the reduction of exports as a result of the loss of French and Italian markets, the President of the Board of Trade (Sir Andrew Duncan) said that coal was the largest item of export to France and Italy. Since the war began, the volume of British exports to France had increased and big changes in the make-up of Britain's trade had also taken place as a result of France's war needs* The exports were made more to assist Britain’s allies in the common struggle than for commercial purposes, and the loss of the French market could not be regarded therefore as comparable with the loss of a neutral market taking a similar amount of goods. , ~ A considerable proportion of the goods exported to France were of a kind of greater value to Britain’s war effort. Every effort was being made to find other markets- for goods which did not fall in this category.