NAVY & AIR FORCE
OPERATING AROUND SINGAPORE STATEMENT BY GENERAL PERCIVAL. CHINESE TROOPS WELCOMED. (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) SINGAPORE, February 7. “Just because you do not see many of our planes overhead and naval units operating it does not mean that the Air Force and Navy have abandoned Singapore,” said Lieut-General Percival, G.0.C., Malaya, in a statement today. “The Air Force has gone to places from which to bomb the Japanese bases .just as effectively, and the Navy is doing a lot of work round Singapore Island and the Malayan shores under difficult circumstances.” General Percival added that as many women as possible were being sent away so that there would be fewer to feed. Civilians were being removed from certain areas with the object of giving the troops freedom of action and to remove the possibility of “fifth column” activity in the forward areas. Some of the personnel, stores and equipment had been removed from the Singapore naval base and several airfields because they were unable to operate under direct shellfire. It is learned that many hundreds of newly-trained Chines troops who have taken up their position in the Singapore defences are under 12 leaders who were sent from Chungking as the keymen of the ever-growing force. The Chinese have received a warm welcome from the British and Australian troops. OCCUPIED BY ENEMY ISLAND IN JOHORE STRAITS. SINGAPORE CITY SHELLED FROM LONG RANGE. (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) LONDON, February 8. Today’s Singapore communiciue reports that Japanese patrols today landed on Palau Übin, the island at the eastern end of the Straits of Johore. It is five miles long and a mile wide. Enemy air and artillery activity yesterday was on a considerably increased scale, the communique said. This activity was chiefly directed against positions in the northern part of the island.
It was officially announced yesterday that a few enemy shells fell during the morning on the outskirts of the city of Singapore. Yesterday’s communique referred to “some shelling of
residential areas in Singapore.” The fire' is believed to be from medium artillery firing “blind” from a- distance of 12 miles. An observation balloon was seen high over southern Johore. The Tokio radio says ■ the British have poured oil on Singapore Strait with a view to raising a wall of fire if a landing by the Japanese it attempted.
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Wairarapa Times-Age, 9 February 1942, Page 3
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387NAVY & AIR FORCE Wairarapa Times-Age, 9 February 1942, Page 3
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