TWENTY-SIX THOUSAND MEN

Evening Star, Issue 23451, 16 December 1939, Page 12

TWENTY-SIX THOUSAND MEN

AUSTRALIA'S CONTRIBUTION TO AIR SCHEME MAJORITY TO BE TRAINED IN COMMONWEALTH SYDNEY, December 15. (Received December 16, at 1.30 p.m.) Mr Menzios officially announced that Australia had underaken to provide 26,000 men—lo,4oo pilots and 15,600 observers, wireless operators, and gunners—as the initial contribution to the Empire air scheme. Most of the men will be trained in Australia. This adjustment of the original scheme under which most of the men were to have been trained in Canada, was made on representations by the Commonwealth Government, which emphasised the value that participation in the scheme would be to Australia’s security if the greater part of the training was completed within the Commonwealth. Mr Menzies revealed that Britain would make substantial contributions to Australia’s scheme in the finance of aircraft and instructors. The total cost of the scheme to Australia within the next three years was estimated to be not less than £50,000,000 Australian currency. MERCHANT SHIPPING DAMAGE TO SAN ALBERTO FIRE CAUSES SINKING OF STANWOOD . LONDON, December 15. The San Alberto, of 4,400 tons, was damaged by enemy action off the south-west coast of England. One man is missing. The Stanwood, of 4,000 tons, sank in Falmouth Harbour with the.loss of one life while attempts were being made to put out a fire in her cargo. SCUTTLED TO AVOID CAPTURE GERMAN MERCHANT SHIP (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, December 15. (Received December 16, at 11.30 a.m.) According to an agency report from Cape Town, the Hamburg steamer Adolf Leonardt (2,989 tons) was intercepted by a British warship, but was scuttled to avoid capture. The warship landed 40 members of the crew at Cape Town To-day.