HOME T f j p r r>¦ ','ffw .iy * ' Coryton, Devon, from the Slate Quarry, YANKS CAN WED BY WASHINGTON, Mon.—M ar- riage by ismail okay with the US army arid the wife may collect tht* allowances of her soldier husband if the instate whieli the contract is made recognizes it as valid. This ruling, in the case of Josephine M. Serraino, Upper Darby, Pa., and Capt Joseprt Vaccaro Jr., Philadelphia, serving with the air corps overseas, was made by the comptroller general. The Pennsylvania couple on 3 Dec 1943, by means of a document mailed back and forth for signatures, expressed their desire “to enter into the bonds of matrimony and become man and wire.”’ The paper staled that, “Whsre- as. it is impossible for them at this time to procure a marriage license and be married by a civil or religious ceremony” they "do hereby mutually covenant, promise and agree that they are now and henceforth will be husband and wife.'1 Contract was Valid Asst Comptroller Gen Frank L. Yates, after citing many legal opinions on the subject, backdating to World War I. concluded in a recent letter to the War Department, that: “Accordingly, it will be considered that by their voluntary agreement. Josephine M. Serraine and Joseph Vaccaro Jr., entered into a valid marriage contract and are husband and wife. Hence,'* he added, “payment on the voucher, returned herewith, is authorized, if otherwise correct.’’ FLEET REPAIR SQUADS COMING LONDON. Mon.—‘Shipyard Coinandos ’.the men who service the Allied battle-fleets, are now preparing to move to the East to help close the net around Tokyo. Thousands of Britons have learnt to do this specialised, rush work since war began, and now they are the most highly skilled in the world in the work of getting warships back to sea in the quickest possible time after they have been damaged inaction. The Admiralty has drawn up a recruitment scheme for more of these men.—Globe. BANKNOTES MUST LAST LONGER I£>NDON. Mon—The Bank of England is trying to make a £1 note last a year. To save paper and printing it has been decided to lower the standard of cleanliness. Average life of a note before the war was 52 months now it is 9J. LADY MONTGOMERY TO RETIRE Lady Montgomery, General Montgomery's mother, who lives in County Donegal, is to retire from public life soon. She is 79. BACK AGAIN CHUNGKING, Mon.—A counter-attack has brought Chinese troops once more within sight of Hengyang. the town in Hunan Province that fell into Jap hands last Tuesday after being besieged lor about two months.—Reuter. I NightClub Soldiers :The Americans picked up •an odd batch of prisoners in j front of Tcssy-sur-Vire. An :intelligence officer, who •thought they did not look •much like soldiers, xsked: |“How long have you been :in the army?” 0 The spokesman answered. “Three weeks. Before that we were night-club entertainers in Berlin.” 3 BIG FIRES IN NEW YORK NEW YORK, M en—Three big lires have caused a . aousaUou m New York this week-end. On Friday the million-dollar Hoboken Pier was destroyed by fire. There was another big outbreak at the Coney Island amusement centre on Saturday. Yesterday flames swept the amusement park on the other side of the Hudson River.—Reuter. CITY CUTS A.R.P. DUTIES Leicester, first city in Britain to downscale Civil Defence duties for part-time personnel and fire-watchers, will introduce a S O percent cut. The new order affects between 6.000 and 7.000 men and women. Personnel will do half-duty. BOY ‘BOWMEN’ SHOT AT LORRIES Three boys, one aged 10 and the others 12. admitted at Farn- ham (Surrey) juvenile court having used home-made bows and arrows to shoot at Army lorries and a private car. The magistrates dismissed the summonses on payment of 4s. costs in each case. Det-inspector Springate said a soldier travelling on one of the lorries was struck in the eye by an arrow and as a result lost the sight of it. ‘THE BRITISH ARE SO SENSIBLE* NEW YORK. M on—The future of Hongkong will be settled in friendly discussions between Britain and China after the defeat of Japan. Dr H. H. Kung, Chinese Finance Minister, said yesterday. “The British are a sensible people" he said, “and if there are any differences they can be seltled amicably.’’ —Reuter. 70 WAITED 3 NIGHTS FOR loM BOAT Britain’s most patient queue are 60 or 70 people who waited at the dock gates at Fleetwood. Lancashire, for 72 hours to get on the Isle of boat.Man For three nights they outlai'd blankets, rugs, and newspapers on the pavement as makeshift beds. GERMAN TRANSPORTS SEEN OFF AALANDS STOCKHOLM. Mon—Several German troop transports have been sighted off Aaland Islands between Finland and Sweden, steaming south towards Germany, according to Swedish reports.— Reuter. Halifax o n Buzz -Bombs 700 HOOSES AN HOUR DAMAGED WASHINGTON. Mon.—L o r d Halifax, the British Ambassador, stated today on his return to Washington that anon average 700 houses an hour were being damaged by Flying bombs. Lord Halifax said that the bombs did not have the slightest effect on the people's determination to wage the war. He was questioned about the continuance of Lease-Lend to Britain after the end of the war. He said that he was not aware that any such request had been made by the British Government. Britain’ economics position after the war would inevitably be difficult, but her people were prepared to meet these difficulties by hard.working Britain was preparing for the greatest possible impact of the war on Japan.—Reuter. SHARED FOOD WITH ABSENTEE FOR A YEAR A mother told the Cardiff court that for more than two years she shared her rations with her daughter, an absentee from the WAAF from March, 1942, to June this year. The mother. Mary Rees, of Wordsworth-avenue. Cardiff, widow of a sea captain who was killed in the war. was bound over The daughter, it was stated, overstayed h»r leave and became alarmed at the consequences. IN FULL SWING ALGIERS, Mon.—United Nations radio said today that the Italian ports of Ancona. Civita. Vecchfa, San Stefano and Piom- bino are again working at pre-war capacity.* m 35 Good Girls I “Here we are, make your :choice.” chorused 35 pretty j Birmingham munition girls Ito 35 wounded soldiers :whom they invited ti»a• theatre and tea. •But the touffh British j soldiers, just back from ¦France, were shy. SO the •girls made them draw for j partners. The girls took the boys to tea at their factory. Then they went onto a theatre. “It cost each girl 12s 6d. to treat a wounded soldier,” said Mrs S.E. Simmonds, an aircraft assembler. “At the theatre, each girl gave her boy 20 cigarettes with 2s 6d tucked inside the packet. “We mean fo invite wounded boys out each week-end.” A wounded sergeant, thanking tlie girls, ended his toast with: “Their arms are our defence, our arms are their recompense.” WE’VE LOST, SAYS PAULUS LONDON, Mon—A message from Field-Marshal Friedrich Paulus. Commander of the German Sixth Army, who was crptured at Stalingrad, was broadcast over the Moscow radio to the German people today. It told them that the war is already lost for Germany, and she did not have enough reserves to change its course. Paulus in his message, directed also to (German prisoners-of- war. both officers and men, in the USSR, stated: “Before Stalingrad the Sixth Army, under my command, carrying out the orders of Adolf Hitler, fought to the limit of its endurance in the hope that it might thereby enable the Supreme Command to bring the war to a conclusion favourable to Germany.—Reuter GERMANS LOST 5 SHIPS IN A DAY LONDON, Mon.—British. Canadian and Dutch warships in three actions off the French Coast on Saturday sank five German vessels and damaged another without losses or casualties, it is officially stated today. Canadian destroyers sank three armed trawlers and a supply ship off Pointe de Penmarch and Fini- stere. Off le Havre motor torpedo boats intercepted a German auxiliary vessel, escorted by eight R- boats. The British ships pressed home the attack in the face of heavy fire. Later another force headed by the cruiser Diadem shelled a German merchant vessel in the Bay of Biscay. It was sunk by a torpedo from the Polish warship Piorun.—.Reuter. OFFICER DIES AFTER ROAD CRASH NEW DELHI, Mon— Lt W. D. Ashton of the Somerset Light Infantry, who was injured in a car accident last Monday, died in the British Military Hospital, Delhi Cantonment.—API. STILWELL TO SUPPLY FLIERS: YOU DID YOUR VITAL JOD WELL “Every member of the Allied forces infighting Burma appreciates the tremendous help you have given us over the months in keeping our units supplied with food, ammunition and other material so vitally needed.” General Joseph W. Stilwell recently told officers and men of several troop carrier squadrons of the 10th Air Force, Eastern Air Command. This is their Slogan Troop carrier planes have carried on in such severe monsoon weather that they have been tagged with the slogan “You fly when birds walk.’ “You may think because we have said nothing concerning your supply-dropping operations that we do not realize the fine and important job you have done in supplying the Allied forces in North Burma,” he said. “I have come here especially to tell you that a great deal of the credit for the success of the campaign belongs to the efforts of troop carriers. u Many days we would look overhead and see bad weather closing us off. Then we would say, ‘Well, they won’t be able to get in today:’ Just about that, time we'd hear the drone of your engines and there the supplies would be. “On numerous occasions we would be in a terrific scrap on the ground and then above our heads would be your planes dumping in the ammunition, paying no heed to the battle below, but doing your vital job. well.“and I want to say again how much we owe you flying men and how greatly we appreciate your tireless efforts."—API. HORSESHOE HOUSE FOR THE NATION Oakham Castle Rutland, founded 750 years ago and famed for its collection of horseshoes levied under ancient custom from every royal visitor and peer visiting the town, has been given to the County of Rutland by the owner, Capt Hanbury, Lord of the Manor of Oakham, AIR C-IN-C TOURS FRONT When he arrived in the forward areas for a recent visit—curtailed owing to bad weather—Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Peirsc. Allied Air C-in-C, SouthEast Asia, was provided with a guard of honour by the RAF Regiment. He was met by Air Marshal Sir John Baldwin. Air Commander, 3rd TAF, Air Vice- Marshal G.E. Gibbs, and CoL J. P. McConnell. USAAF. The Air C-in-C held staff conferences with General Slim and other officers of the 14th Army at HQ 3rd TAF. Later he toured squadrons operating from bases in East Bengal. To the acting C.O of a famous Spitfire squadron. F/Lt P.S. Hanan of Omahu. Thames NewLine. Zealand, he said. “Your boys are doing an excellent job of work. Keep it up.” Operating from the same airfield is an American B-25 (Mitchell) squadron. Major Shinners, of Mandan, North Dakota, its CO, gave details of the squadron’s recent activities at Myitkyina and Imphal. Congrats, for SEAC Fliers The Air Chief Marshal was interested in the work of the pilots and crews of Communications Squadron, which throughout the monsoon has flown SEAC to the RAF and the Army in the forward areas. Air Marshal Baldwin told him that only once had the squadron failed to bring the newspaper from Calcutta. "That’ s excellent.” said Sir Richard, and congre- tulated the CO., S/Ldr R. Whittington, on the efforts of the squadron. Meeting the squadron's aircrews he chatted with F, Sgt L. Bannerman, of Insein, Burma, F/Lt W. D. Webster, of Berry Hill Road, Giffnock. near Glasgow. Sgt R. Rogers, of Goldin g-road. Wisbech. Cam bridgeshire. and F/Lt C.L. Thomas, of Welwyn Garden City, Herts. Met U.S. Aircrews At another airfield where an American Bombardment Group of B-25*s has been operating in suppori ol General SUiweU’ s forces in North Burma. Sir Richard was met by Colonel Willcox. C.O. of the Bombardment Group, and Major Verl D. Luehring. CO of the “Twin Dragon” Lightning (P-38) squadron, which has the fine record of over li enemy aircraft destroyed everyday for five months inaction over Central Burma. Sir Richard talked to two leading pilots. 1st Lieut. Leo D. Smith, of Saginaw. Michigan, and 1st Lieut. John Reinhard,T. of Cumberland. Maryland, and two bombardier-navigators, 2nd Lieut. H. J. Taylor, of Steuben ville. Ohio, and 1st Lieut. Lewis B. Hoagland of Vallejo, California. Major Warren W. Sutton, of Gibsland. Louisiana, a pilot who flew with Wellington bombers from Malta, was also introduced to the AAC-in-C. The Air Chief Marshal also visited the HQ of the Strategic Air Force, where he was received by Air Commodore F.J.W. Mellersh, the Air Commander. FLIERS ATTACK TWO CONVOYS LONDON, Mon.—Beaufighters attacked a German convoy of about 13 ships off the Frisian Islands yesterday. Two merchant- ships and five escorting flak ships were left on fire. No aircraft is missing. A few hours earlier Wellingtons attacked another convoy of eight merchant ships off the Frisians. One ship received a direct hit and three others were straddled by bombs.—Reuter. BACK FROM MANNERHEIM STOCKHOLM. Mon—George Gripenberg, the Finnish Minister in Stockholm, after a two-day visit to Helsinki returned to the Swedish capital today. In Helsinki- Gripenberg had long talks with Field Marshal Mannerheim. the new Finnish President.—Reuter. SEAC is produced THE STATES- MANS head office. Ca'cutta. for the fighting n en in lorwird ines. THE STATESMAN provides facilities entirely fr>? oi charge as a generous war gift Thus SEAf sells at the low price of one anna. Polici:* find staffs of STATESMAN and SEAC are distinct neither accepts responsibility for the others contends. SEAC will pometim reproduces STATESMAN articles with acknowledgment Printed bv AMULLYA DHONE BOSE Published by FRANK OWEN Edited by IAN COSTER and LEN JACKSON.