All we know of Dick in December 1941 is that he visited the dentist in Bournemouth on Friday 19th. Perhaps he even spent Christmas at home with Chotie?
In Dorset the early radar mapping discoveries (called ‘Blind Navigation’) were encouraged to enable bombers to find targets in poor weather at night.
Dick’s future unit, the secret 1st Air Landing, became established in Shaw House, near Newbury in Berkshire,under the leadership of Major ‘Freddie’ Gough (later of Arnhem fame).
On 2nd December the new National Service Bill introduces compulsory war service for single women aged between 20 and 30.
Hitler’s armies were in striking distance of Moscow at the end of November but a surprise counter-attack by Soviet forces on 5th December halted their advance.
In Libya Operation Typhoon successfully led to the withdrawal of Rommel’s troops and the lifting if the siege of Tobruk.
In Norway Combined Operations’ newly formed commandos successfully destroyed 16,000 tons of German shipping in a raid.
However…..
On 8th December 1941 (7th December in Hawaiii) Japanese forces successfully sprung a surprise air attack on the American Fleet in Pearl Harbour, Hawaii and the USA and UK declared war on Japan. On 9th December China, already at war with Japan, declared war on Germany and Italy and two days later the USA was also at war with Germany and Italy.
World War 2 was now truly global.
Japan also attacked US bases in the Philippines, destroying half the US Far East Airforce, Guam (in the Mariana Islands) and Wake Island (between Hawaii and the Marianas). In China they moved into Shanghai.
Japanese forces landed in Malaya, launching air raids on Singapore, and sinking the great British battleship HMS Prince of Wales and the battle cruiser HMS Repulse, sent to defend the colony. Their troops landed in Borneo and Burma and on the British held Hong Kong Island. Hong Kong surrendered to the Japanese on 25th December, Christmas Day.
Churchill was, by then, in America, in urgent conference with the US President and essential ally Franklin D. Roosevelt, relieved that at last the USA was entering the war.
(From ‘The Second World War’ by Antony Beevor, published by Weidenfield and Nicolson 2012)
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