World War II As It Happened
A MaritimeQuest Daily Event Special Presentation
Tuesday Sept. 3, 1940
Day 369

Sept. 3, 1940: Front page of the Nottingham Evening Post, Nottingham, England.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the report in column 4: "A Fatal Scratch"
(A local butcher scratched his finger while unloading meat. Six days later he collapsed and was taken to hospital, where he died nine days later from some kind of parasitical infection.)
Also note the signal flags at top right: "A Year OF War, And The Message Still Is:"
 
Also note the report in column 5: "Your Identity Card - Any Address Change Must Be Notified"


Sept. 3, 1940: Front page of The Daily Mail, Hull, England.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the report in column 3: "Britain Has Lost Fear Of The Bomber"
(From the comfort of New York City, where there were no German bombers in the sky trying to kill him, an unidentified writer pens this absurd claim. While the British people were, and always have been, very stout, to say they had no fear is overstating the fact. Of course, this was meant to build up confidence in the war effort, but I doubt that many people who read this believed a word of it.)
Also note the report in column 4: "Seavacuees' Parents Say Carry On"
(Parents of children who were on the Volendam when it was torpedoed are agreeing to allow their children to make another attempt to cross the Atlantic, despite the danger of U-boats.)


Sept. 3, 1940: Front page of the Derby Evening Telegraph, Derby, England.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


Sept. 3, 1940: Front page of the Press and Journal, Aberdeen, Scotland.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the report in columns 2-3: "Nazi Raiders Routed By London's Defences"
(In the report the Air Ministry says that 42 German aircraft had been shot down yesterday and that the R.A.F. lost 13 aircraft. Keeping the "Never Doubt" clause in mind; German losses on Sept. 2, 1940 were 24 lost in combat, 1 missing, 1 total loss and 10 lost in non-combat incidents. British losses were: 11 in combat and 3 total losses due to combat damage.)


Sept. 3, 1940: Front page of The Examiner, Launceston, Tasmania, Australia.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


Sept. 3, 1940: Front page of The Sydney Sun, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


Sept. 3, 1940: Front page of The Telegraph, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


Sept. 3, 1940: Front page of The Lethbridge Herald, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the report in columns 4-5: "Germans Try To Explain Away Torpedoing of Evacuee Ship In Contradictory Statement"
(This report lacks any credibility and is a study in bad journalism or just plain propaganda. None of the so-called "German officials" are named and of course all of them deny that Germany had anything to do with torpedoing the ship. One "official" said he "knew nothing about it" another said the whole thing was "fake" while a third unnamed "official" said "there probably never was any such ship or any such children. This is worse than the Athenia case." Maybe they knew it, maybe they did not, but Athenia had been sunk exactly 1 year ago.

To be fair, depending on who the "officials" were, they probably didn't have any knowledge of who torpedoed the ship. The submarine commander, Adalbert Schnee, did not report the incident until sometime on Sept. 3rd. I doubt that Schnee knew the ship was carrying children, there was no announcement painted on the side of the ship to that effect, and it was sailing in convoy therefore it was a legitimate target. This seems to be a piece designed to make the Germans look as bad as possible. Although why, with all the Germans were really doing, one would need to make something up is beyond me.)


Sept. 3, 1940: Front page of The Winnipeg Tribune, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


Sept. 3, 1940: Front page of Haarlem's Dagblad, Haarlem, Netherlands.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


Sept. 3, 1940: Front page of the Biddeford Daily Journal, Biddeford, Maine.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the report in columns 4-5: "Portland's Unluckiest Boy Killed By A Boston Train"
(The 16-year-old boy, Mark W. Murdock, received the title ""Unluckiest Boy" in 1937 when he cut himself with an axe, was hit by a car and hurt his leg while driving. Sadly, he and a friend, 14-year-old John Ryan, were killed crossing a train track near Boston's Faneuil station. Both boys were working as newsboys at the time.)


Sept. 3, 1940: Front page of The Evening Star, Washington, D.C.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


Sept. 3, 1940: Front page of The Evening Gazette, Xenia, Ohio.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the report in column 4: "Parents Identify Boy Train Victim"
(A second report on the same day about another boy killed by a train.)


Sept. 3, 1940: Front page of The Port Arthur News, Port Arthur, Texas.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


Sept. 3, 1940: Front page of The Lowell Sun, Lowell, Massachusetts.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the report in column 2: "Strange Story Of Child Rescued From Titanic"
(Due to the Alien Registration Act a woman discovered that the man she thought was her father, was not. Mrs. Laurence Kramer of Berkley, Michigan, believing that she was English, thought she had to register as an alien. After writing to her father, she found out that he was not her father. She also found out that her name was Lorraine Allison. Her father, H. J. Allison, of Pennsylvania, had placed her in the arms of a stranger, who was then placed into a lifeboat and later picked up by the Carpathia. She also says that the man she knew as her father (who she does not name) told her that she had a brother named Travers, and that he was also saved from the disaster.)
[More about Carpathia here.]



Sept. 3, 1940: Front page of the Butte Montana Standard, Butte, Montana.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the report in columns 4-5: "Goebbel's Threat That the Final Hour Is Near Proves Puzzling to Great Britain"
(More threats of invasion from the Propaganda Minister, and a reporter who at first seems to dismiss the threat as a game, but in the last sentence says that maybe it's true this time. This kind of confusion was exactly what Hitler wanted, he used this as a ruse to keep the British off balance for months.
 
Also note the report in column 5: "Germany Claims Occupied Poland For Rest Of Time"
(So said Hans Frank, the Nazi Governor-General of Poland. He was wrong, but not for lack of trying. He was tried at Nürnberg and hanged Oct. 16, 1946 for his crimes.)
Also note the report in column 1: "Mercury Passes 100-Degree Mark in Montana Area"


Sept. 3, 1940: Front page of The Bakersfield Californian, Bakersfield, California.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


Sept. 3, 1940: Front page of the Hamburger Neueste Zeitung, Altona, Hamburg, Germany.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
1. 500. Luftsieg deutschen Zerstörer-Geschwaders.
(500th Victory of Germany's destructive squadrons.)
2. Italienische Volltreffer auf Flugzeugträger, Schlachtschiff und Kreuzer.
Italians score direct hits on aircraft carrier, battleship and cruiser.)
3. 93 Feindliche Flugzeuge vernichtet.
(93 Enemy aircraft destroyed.)


Sept. 3, 1940: Front page of the Völkischer Beobachter, the official newspaper of the NSDAP.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
1. Der Führer zur Wiener Messe. Telegramm des Führers an Baldur von Schirach.
(The Führer to the Vienna Fair. Telegram to Baldur von Schirach.)
2. Zwei britische zerstörer versenkt.
(Two British destroyers sunk.)
3. Neue stolze Erfolge unserer U=Boot=Waffe. Sonntag und Montag 148 Flugzeuge vernichtet.
(Proud new successes for our U-boat arm. Sunday and Monday 148 aircraft destroyed.)
[The number of aircraft destroyed is not exactly correct. On Sunday and Monday the British Fighter Command lost 22 aircraft in combat, 5 others were total constructive losses.]


Sept. 3, 1940: Page 3 of the Völkischer Beobachter, the official newspaper of the NSDAP.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
1. Niemals vergessen - immer daran denken.
(Never forget - always remember.)
[A full page report on the 1 year anniversary of the Bromberg Bloody Sunday Massacre.]
[More about Bromberg Bloody Sunday here. Offsite link.]



   
Page published Sept. 3, 2021