In East Anglia, as with the rest of the UK, the war effort had moved up a gear.  Americans were now a common sight in most towns and villages.  Brandon was no different.  American munition trucks would daily load there bombs from the railway and head to the Elveden bomb dump where they were dispersed throughout the region.  

Also British troops would be massing in rural towns in preparation for the invasion of Europe next year.  On the London Road was a tank depot and many tanks could be seen trundling down the High Street.  The bridge had to be reinforced to accommodate these 'heavies'.

With all the commotion and rumours about the impending Allied invasion of Europe people could be forgiven for relegating the war in the Far East to a lesser importance, after all it was further away and "out of sight is out of mind"...  and yet there were still Brandon men enduring 'life' at the hands of the Japanese prison guards.  Only now was news filtering into the town about who was a POW and who may be dead. Over a year had gone by since the fall of Singapore and wives and parents were still waiting for notification of their men's fate from the Japanese.

" Sir - Many Service men and women returning to the district on leave have complained that they are unable to get soap with their ration cards.  Shopkeepers say that they get their soap coupons separately – this is correct; but they do not get a coupon on leave, for panel 1 on the back of the card is the soap coupon.  A telephone call to the local Food Office confirmed this today."

- Leslie T. Mutum (Brandon serviceman)

Yanks in Brandon
Recollections from a Brandon resident:

"First of all they were over paid and over fed, and most of the women folk loved them but the men were not too impressed.  They could supply the women with silk stockings and they could also get parcels from the U.S.A with goods that were unavailable in U.K. 

The white yanks didn't mix with the black ones, which seemed strange to us as they were all in the same war.  A certain pub in town wo

uld sell whisky to them at inflated prices and then tell the locals that they didn't have any.  There was a shortage of booze and some nights the pubs wouldn't open, but, if you were a regular it was some times possible to get a pint via the back door. 

I must give them credit for one thing though.  They used to give the school kids a Christmas party at Elveden and amongst other things they would give ice cream and oranges, things we hadn't seen for ages."

Brandon Parish Council
Brandon Parish Council decided to erect concrete bollards in the Avenue to prevent motor traffic using the footpath.  The council also stated their concern at cyclists using the footpaths in Brandon.

At the Annual General Meeting of the Brandon Parish Council Mr. H. Lingwood was re-elected Chairman and the accounts showed a balance of £39 10s 3d in credit.

In June, the Council held a meeting at which Mr. B. Lingwood raised the question of a Town Hall.  He said the need was apparent before the war and now it was essential and a site should be reserved for after the war.  The Market Hill was the obvious choice for the Council and they voted unanimously for the proposal and formed a Committee to raise funds and enquire about a possible site.

The Council also wanted to enquire why signposts and direction boards could not be re-erected as they had in neighbouring areas.

In July, the Council viewed plans of the new bridge for the bottom of the High Street.  The Council expressed their pleasure at the 30-foot structure as it has still kept the character of the existing bridge.  There were to be a 6-foot wide path on both sides and recesses for viewing platforms, made of stone with flint sides.

The Council also made enquiries into the siting of the Town Hall and brought up the issue of a possible relocation of the Post Office to the Market Hill.  It was also highlighted by Mr. A. Towler that the town’s Ambulance was out of commission and the Chairman, Mr. F. Gentle, said he would look into it also highlighted it.

In December, Mr. Bernard Lingwood complained that he knew of no other place that had been so totally deprived of facilities for public gatherings as Brandon.  He claimed that the Armed Service personnel complained that they had to go out of town for dances, etc.  Even the Brandon Parish Council had to meet anywhere they could find.

Mr. T. Green complained about the new mail posting times. Stating that the older people remembered posting a letter up until 11pm during the First World War, but now the last post on a Saturday was 1.15pm.

The County Council had agreed to create new bye-laws preventing vehicles from using the Avenue, it was reported.

The Avenue Cinema
In January, Mr. Ben Culey, owner of The Avenue cinema, gave free entertainment to the school children of Brandon and Santon Downham, and also to the Barnardo children living at Wangford.  Mr. Culey also presented each child with a three-penny piece when they left the cinema.

Charity
The Red Cross reported that 860 men from Suffolk were being held in Prisoner Of War camps in Germany and Italy.

A dance organised by Mrs. R. Marsden in the Paget Hall raised £37 10s for the Prisoners Of War Fund.  A military band played on the night and Mrs. Moreton, Mr. Blakeny, Miss Allsop and her partner won a dancing competition.

The Mayor-led West Suffolk Fund for the Far East P.O.Ws stood at £17,029 9s 11d. mainly from events such as whist drives, dances, concerts, fetes and house to house collections.  Of this total Brandon raised £2 15s 10d.

W.I. donations in July amounted to  £10 given to the ‘Silver Thimble Fund’ for hospitals in Malta, £5 for the British Sailor’s Society and £5 for the R.A.F. Benevolent Fund.

Football
The Brandon ATC played against Northwold Home Guard in the final of the Mundford Charity Cup.  Brandon ATC won, after extra time, 3 – 0.  Brandon’s scorers were: Fox, Fuller and Waterman.

Bowls
Brandon Ouseside beat South-West Norfolk Police, 92 - 81, at Brandon.

3rd September
Friday 3rd September, the anniversary of the commencement of the war is celebrated by the 4th Annual National Day of Prayer and Dedication.

Pig sale
Well known butcher and breeder of pedigree Wessex Saddleback pigs, Mr F.W. Gentle, sold his champion Wessex sow, named 'Brandon Orient', for a 3-figure sum to Messrs. Lodge Bros of Salisbury.

Singapore

Brandon men in Singapore
           In March Mrs. E. Adams, of Thetford Road, was notified by the War Office that her husband Pte. K. L. Adams of the Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire Regiment is a P.O.W. in Malaya.

In April Mrs. L. Ashley, of The Rookery, Town Street, Brandon, was informed that her husband Sapper Douglas Ashley, Royal Engineers, was a prisoner of the Japanese in a camp in Thailand.  This was the first news of her husband for fourteen months.

In May Mrs. F. Branch, Thetford Road, Brandon, was informed that her husband, Sapper Albert (Bert) Branch, Royal Engineers, was a POW at Malaya Camp.  Mrs. Branch had another son and son-in-law who were also reported as missing, as well as two nephews.  Another of her sons is serving with H.M. Forces in India. Sapper Albert Branch

Private W.A. Coppin

Also in May, Mrs. W. Coppin, London Road, Brandon, was informed that her husband, Private W.A. Coppin of the Norfolk Regiment was a POW at Malai Camp.  He was previously reported as missing in Malaya. Mr. And Mrs. J. Carter were notified that their youngest son, Private Albert F. Carter, R.A.M.C. was a POW at Camp Thai. In June Mr. And Mrs. E. Malt, Bury Road, received official news that their son Lance Corporal Henry James Malt was a POW in the hands of the Japanese. Also, Mrs. Branch, of Thetford Road, received notification that her son-in-law, Sapper George Alfred Keys, Royal Engineers, was a POW at Malai Camp.  Sapper Keys had been reported missing in February 1942 and in April of the same year his wife died at the West Suffolk Hospital, leaving their 6-year-old son.

In July, Mrs. M.E. Branch, of Thetford Road, received a postcard from her husband, Sgt C. Branch, Royal Engineers, stating he was interned in Camp Taiwan, in Japanese hands.  This was Mrs. Branch’s first news since the fall of Singapore.

In July, Private S. Glaister, Cambridgeshire Regiment, son of Mr. A. Glaister, White Horse Street was reported as a POW in the hands of the Japanese.

In July, Lance Corporal Charles Ashley, husband of Mrs. C. W. Ashley, Laundry Cottages, Santon Downham was reported as a POW in the hands of the Japanese.

In July, Private H. Winter, Norfolk Regiment, of Town Street, was reported as being a prisoner of the Japanese.

Singapore statement
January - A statement from a War Office official, printed in a January edition of the Bury Free Press.

"It is understood that some 10,000 P.O.Ws are now interned in Japan, 5,000 in Korea and 5,000 in Formosa.  It is believed that about half of those P.O.Ws are American and the other half are United Kingdom, Canadian and Australian."

The Protecting Power has received permission to visit certain camps in this area, and also in Hong Kong and Shanghai but no reports of these visits have yet been received.  The International Red Cross Committee’s delegate in Tokio has visited three P.O.W. camps of which two are at Yokohama and one at Shishagana.  Conditions in these camps appear from his telegraphic reports to be comparatively satisfactory.  The standard of living to which our P.O.Ws have had to adapt themselves is that of the Japanese troops.  The food consists largely of rice, though some bread is issued and fair quantities of vegetables and fish.  The meat ration is extremely small.

          A number of prisoners are suffering from tropical diseases contracted in the area from which they have been moved.  The most serious are treated in Japanese military hospitals.  Other cases are tended by British doctors in camp infirmaries.  Medical treatment is handicapped by a lack of medicaments, which appears to be general throughout the Far East.  Considerable quantities of medicaments were, however, sent to the Far East by the Allied Red Cross Societies on the last diplomatic exchange, and some of these supplies have been distributed.

          P.O.Ws in Japan are employed in factories and in the docks of Japanese ports.  They work for eight hours a day."

Conflicting stories
Mrs. Blackhouse, the wife of Brigadier E.H.W. Blackhouse, P.O.W. in the Far East after his capture in Singapore, quoted some of the many letters received from P.O.Ws in the Far East.  In a speech to the patrons at the Odeon cinema in Bury St. Edmunds and in response to questions asked by families if their parcels were in fact reaching the men.

          “We have a Red Cross parcel every week, so the sun still shines.”
          “Believe me, the Red Cross parcels are life-savers.”

For more details click here to turn to this page.

Military Awards

A Distinguished Flying Cross medal was awarded to Acting Flt-Lt William Johnson, R.A.F.V.R. No.126 Squadron.  He was born in Brandon in 1919 and enlisted in 1939 although he lived in Northampton at the time of the war.  His medal was awarded for action in Malta and destroying at least five enemy planes.  He also “proved himself a fearless pilot, at all times displaying great gallantry, determination and skilful leadership.”

A Distinguished Service Medal was awarded to Wing Commander Richard Charles Marler Collard D.F.C. of No. 12 Squadron.  He had seen action over Germany in 1940, the Middle East, Greece and also took part in attacks on Albania and Italy, Iraq and Syria before returning to the UK.
On his last mission, while approaching the target, his left engine was hit by Anti Aircraft fire and put out of action.  Despite this he went on and dropped his bomb load over the target.  The official report stated:

Flying Officer, Jack Mills, London Road, was awarded the M.B.E. in June.

Cyclists fined

The blackout was taken very seriously in Brandon and as this list of offenders brought before the Brandon Police Court shows no-one was exempt.  All these named people were caught showing light from their bicycles at night in Brandon.

In a strange irony the following people, mainly Air Force servicemen from the Lakenheath airbase were fined for not having lights on their bicycles ...

On the same day the following were fined for not showing a red rear light and for showing too much front light!

Mildenhall Rural District Council

Petty Sessions

  It was a regular occurrence that a member of the public would be charged for displaying a light during the blackout, but a case was brought before Brandon’s Petty Sessions that was more disturbing than the usual breach of blackout regulations. 

  Mrs. Amy Clarke pleaded guilty to displaying a light during the blackout of 1^st February 1943.  She was at the cinema when Sgt Adams, of the Brandon police, fetched her and took her home where they found her children, aged 2½ and 6 years old alone in the house.  Mrs. C suggested that the elder child must have set alight to some paper in the grate of the fireplace, though she was sure there were no matches in the house.  In fact the 6 year old girl had woken and had wanted to look at her picture book, so she went downstairs and found a box in the vase on the mantelpiece.  This box contained two matches.  She tore some pages from her book and set alight to them in the grate.
  Mrs. Clarke was fined £1.  Possibly a more harsher punishment would have be enforced in more recent times.

  Also at the Petty Sessions alcohol licenses were under review.  Within Brandon there were: 10 Alehouses; 4 Beerhouses; 1 Grocers selling alcohol and 1 registered club.  This meant there was one license to every 220.2 residents of the Brandon.
  All alcohol houses were reported as being conducted in a satisfactory manner, with only one male being charged with drunkenness.

  Two parents were each fined £1 for irregular attendance of their children at Brandon Council Schools.

In March, Mr Robert Kimberley Linge (21), a tree feller, was charged with assaulting policeman J.A. Adams.  He was released on bail to appear at Brandon Police Court on April 5th.  Mr Linge would go on to be awarded the Military Medal for his bravery in Normandy in 1944.
For more details of Mr Linge click here.

On Friday 9th April, a £90 fine and £15 costs was placed upon local butcher, F.W. Gentle & Son Ltd, High Street, Brandon, by the Mildenhall Magistrates.  He was found guilty of making false records of meat supplied to the NAAFI.

At a juvenile court in Brandon two boys were charged with setting fire to a haystack belonging to General H.J.G. de Lotbiniere and causing damage estimated at £75.  One of the boys was ordered to be sent to an approved school and his father pay 5s a week towards his maintenance.

Before the Brandon Police Court, in September:
  A woman from London was summoned before the court for failing to produce and sign a statement regarding her nationality whilst she stayed at a Brandon hotel between July 10th and 11th.  
Doris Barrett, proprietress of the Ouse Hotel, told the court that the woman, Miss E, stayed for one night with a soldier but did not stay for the second night that she had already booked.  Mrs Barrett gave the bill to the soldier and asked Miss E to fill in a registration form and then went upstairs to make the beds.  When she came back down she found the soldier filling in the form.  She told the defendant that she had to did it for herself at which the defendant replied that she could not as she didn't have permission from the London Police to be there for the night.  
  The case was dismissed.

Also in September, was a rather sad case of an Elveden man charged with stealing:
  Mr Henry Hares, Welfare Officer, Elveden, was charged with the theft of War Dept. blankets valued at £3 2s 6d, between January 1st and July 6th.
  The Police at Bognor had tipped off local police and they had found blankets in the defendants home.  At the time the defendant told the police, "The blankets were issued to my wife by the evacuation authorities at Bognor."  The policeman, P.C. Osborne cautioned the defendant and asked him the real reason why they were there and the defendant admitted to taking the blankets.  He stated his reason was because his six children had only two blankets between them.
  The defendant addressed the court and said that his children were lying cold and he saw the blankets in a heap in a hut.  He pleaded guilty and stated he was sorry for the offence.
  Mr Hares was fined £5.

Brandon resident's death
We often think of wartime casualties being those serving in the frontline or civilians caught up in the war.  In this case a death occurred as a result of wartime conditions and not because of any enemy action.  With the blackout came many accidents.  This is the tale of a Brandon man who’s death was caused by the blackout. 

Mr. John Talbot, of Lode Street, was a member of the Railway Hotel darts team and visited the Brandon House with his team for a match.  When it was Mr. Talbot’s turn to play the other members of the team realised he was missing and they assumed he had gone home.  

Mr Talbot had left home after tea at 6pm and was expected home by his parents for about 10pm.  His father had gone to bed at about 9.45pm, while his mother had waited until 12.15am for him to return home.

The next morning Mr. Talbot’s hat and coat still remained in the room and after a search of the Hotel his body was discovered the following evening at the bottom of the cellar stairs.  It looked as though he had fallen down the stairs while mistaking the cellar door for the toilet door.  The passageway leading to the toilet, which was opposite the cellar, was in total darkness due to the blackout.

It was judged that Mr Talbot was not drunk, nor was foul play suspected.

First Aid quiz

A First Aid quiz was organised for the West Suffolk area.  Brandon’s team comprised: Mrs. Wentworth-Smith, Mr. R. Edwards, Mr. R. Austin and Mrs. M. E. Lingwood.  The contest lasted for 3 rounds and each player had to answer a technical question for each round and a maximum of 5 points could have been won for each answer.  The results were:

Allies visit Brandon wood mill
Representatives of the eleven Allied countries visited the Thetford Forest in May.  Sir Roy Robinson, Chairman of The Forestry Commission, led representatives from Belgium, China, Czechoslovakia, France, Greece, Holland, Poland, Russia, USA and Yugoslavia.  At Brandon the entourage watched the production of pit props for the coalfields in Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire.  They also watched the production of celotex and board mill materials.

“We still have tasks ahead of us,
we face these with confidence, for today,
we stand together, no longer alone,
but as resolute as in the darkest,
hour to do our duty, whatever comes.”
                                      HIS MAJESTY THE KING

Brandon Prisoners of War
Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Caban, of High Street, received a letter in February from their son, Flt-Sgt Edward Caban D.F.M. who is a P.O.W. in Germany.  He wrote:

In February Private Bernard Westlake was announced as being a POW of the Italians in North Africa.

Lt. Rought-Rought, Royal Norfolk Regiment, stated that he was very fit and helping in the gardens and organising sports at the German P.O.W. camp he was interned in.  He had also participated in a cricket ‘Test Match’, representing England against the Dominians with a tennis ball.  He had represented Norfolk County at cricket and in this match he scored 40 runs.

Killed In Action

Mr. And Mrs. Arbon, of Wangford, were notified that their youngest son, Private Charles Arbon, Buffs., was Killed In Action in North Africa.  He was involved in the evacuation at Dunkirk and before the war he had worked at Lord Iveagh’s Estate at Wangford.

Brandon Home Guard
2^nd Cambridgeshire and Suffolk Battalion Home Guard The Brandon and Mildenhall companies attended the Summer Camp at Balsham.

On the first evening, Saturday, they attended preliminary training, this included the handling of a Lewis Gun and demonstrations by the Chippenham squad.
The second day was a more strenuous day.  The men were given field firing exercises and for some it was the first time they had used live ammunition.  This was followed by a mock battle.

Air Raid Warning Sirens

Test the siren

 Council news
Mr. H. Lingwood raised the issue of cycling on footpaths, stating it was dangerous and that the Highways Committee had refused to allow the Brandon Parish Council to pass a byelaw banning it. 

The Council’s Clerk reported that arrangements had been made for Rear Admiral G.H. Knowles to present a plaque to Mildenhall in order to commemorate the adoption of H.M.S. Macbeth by the district.  Considerable discussion to place about whether there should be a public tea provided as it was a unique occasion.  This was opposed as it could mean criticism of the Council for wasting public money. 

Between January - July, £299 had been realised from salvage.

Book drives were organised in the MRDC area where local residents could donate books for charitable causes.  Here are the results from the 1943 book drive:

Police Station
 At the West Suffolk Standing Joint Committee, the Chief Constable, Captain H. R. King, described the Police Station in Brandon, saying it’s condition and lack of reasonable accommodation was of the worst in Suffolk.

  There was a converted cell, 10 foot by 6 foot, and it was the only room available for use as a charge room, office and assembly room for the special constables, though it was constantly occupied.  It was added that the sitting room at the station had to be used for clerical duties, answering the telephone and the Air Raid Warning duty which had to be manned 24 hours a day.

  The County Architect said it was possible to erect an office on part of the exercise yard.

Wings for Victory

In June Brandon attempted to raise £15,000 of savings to fund 2 Wellington bombers in it’s “Wings for victory” week.  A garden fete was held at Brandon Park and organised by Mr. Field and Mr. Goodwin.

Events included: A display by Mr. H. Wentworth-Smith’s team of dogs and a gymnastic display by Watt’s Naval Schoolboys.

A school sports day was held on the Coulson Meadows on the Saturday and prizes were presented on the Monday at the Council Schools.

Poster competition winners: Seniors 1^st Stanley Arnold; 2^nd Basil Waterman; 3^rd D. Palmer;

Juniors Eric Crutchlow; Bernard Adams; Shirley Claxton;

A Whist Drive was held in the school hall, hosted by Mr. B. Lingwood.  The winners were:  1^st Mr. & Mrs. E. Mayes; 2^nd Mr. B. Dyer & partner; 3^rd Mr. & Mrs. Sayer;

The target was £15,000 and the actual amount of savings invested was £24,673 9s 2d.  Including the outlying villages (Lakenheath £5,109, Elveden £2,282 and Santon Downham £706) in the Brandon Parish the total was £35,566 11s 8d.

Air Training Corps
The Brandon Flight of the Air Training Cadets held their fortnightly dances on every alternate Wednesday at the Paget Hall and a military band played music.

A dance in June raised £35 for the RAF Benevolent Fund.

In February the A.T.C. reported that they had made good progress and claimed to have had eleven members pass their proficiency Part 1.  Of these two had actually gone into the R.A.F.  The rest would sit their Part 1 later.

House sale
In February there was an auction held at the Ram Hotel for the sale of two cottages, 73 & 75 Thetford Road.
          Mr. R. Dixon bought them both for the sum of £365!

An auction was held in The Ram Hotel on Wednesday, 19^th May, 1943, for four houses.
          J.W. Norton bought 126 & 128 London Road for £440.
          Mr. F.W. Gentle bought 57 & 59 Thetford Road for £210.

Water rate
Incidentally, the water rate for Brandon in 1943 was set at 6d in the £.

WARSHIP WEEK VISIT
In 1942 Brandon was involved with the MRDC efforts to raise enough money to 'adopt' a ship.  The ship was HMS Macbeth, a minesweeper that had been converted from a trawler.
In June the MRDC Clerk reported at a Council meeting that arrangements had been made for the Rear admiral G.H. Knowles to present a plaque to Mildenhall to commemorate the adoption of H.M.S. Macbeth by the district.
Considerable discussions arose whether there should be a public tea arranged to mark this unique occasion.  However this was opposed as it could cause criticism of the Council for wasting public money.

1943 WORLD WAR EVENTS

January
3rd - German withdrawal begins from the Caucasus.
4th - Japanese begin evacuation from Guadalcanal.
8th - The German 6th Army refuses to surrender at Stalingrad.
14th - Casablanca Conference begins, Roosevelt demands unconditional surrender.
18th - The siege of Leningrad is lifted.  The first Tiger tanks are used in Tunisia.
22nd - Fighting in New Guinea ceases.
27th - First USAAF bombing raid on Germany.
28th - 8th Army captures Tripoli.
31st - General Paulus surrenders the German 6th Army at Stalingrad.

February
8th - Russian take Kursk.  8th Army enters Tunisia.
14th - Russians take Rostov.
16th - Russians take Kharkov.
28th - Norwegian Commandos destroy a 'heavy water' plant in Norway.

March
2nd - Germans begin withdrawal from Tunisia.
5th - First flight of the British Gloster Meteor jet.
5th-20th - Biggest Convoy battle of the war, 21 ships are lost (tonnage=140,800 tons) for the
                loss of just 1 U-Boat.
6th - Rommel leaves the Afrika Korps.
13th - The Chinese force the Imperial Japanese Army back over the River Yangtze.
15th - Germans retake Kharkov.

April
1st - The Allied plans for the invasion of Europe begin.
18th - Admiral Yamamoto is killed when his plane is shot down.
19th - Beginning of the Warsaw ghetto uprising.
21st - Captured US Airmen are beheaded by the Japanese.
28th - The battle of convoy ONS-5 becomes a turning point in the Battle of the Atlantic when 7
          U-Boats are sunk.

May
4th-12th - The last Allied offensive in North Africa.
12th - The Germans surrender in North Africa.
13th - Italian 1st Army surrenders.
16th-17th - The Dambuster Raids using the 'bouncing' bombs.
22nd - The Germans begin trials of their jet aircraft, the Me 262.  U-Boat operations in the North
          Atlantic suspended by Admiral Döenitz.

June
1st - US Navy begins submarine warfare against Japanese shipping.
2nd - Air battle over Kursk.
21st - US Forces land on New Georgia, Solomon Islands.

July
4th - German General Sikorski is killed in a plane crash.
9th - Allied troops are parachuted into Sicily at night.
12th - Largest tank battle in history commences at Kursk.
16th - Australians defeat the Japanese in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
19th - First Allied air raids on Rome.
22nd - Americans take Palermo.
24th - 'Window' metallic strips used by Allied bombers to confuse German radar. RAF raids begin on
          Hamburg, after over a week of bombing 70% of the city is destroyed.
25th - Mussolini resigns and is arrested.
26th - Martial law in Italy.
27th - 'Fire storms' in Hamburg.
28th - Roosevelt gives Italy surrender terms.

August
1st - Burma declares war on Great Britain and the USA.
2nd - Italians make moves for peace.
3rd - German U-Boats abandon their 'wolf-packs' and hunt independently. 
10th - Invasion of Sicily sees the first use of penicillin. 
10th-11th - Churchill in Quebec Conference.
12th-17th - German evacuation of Sicily begins.
14th - Rome declared an 'open' city.
17th - The first USAAF raid on Schweinfurt begins, 60 B-17s are lost.  Allies take Messina.
21st - The British obtain their first photos of the German V1 rocket.
23rd - Russians retake Kharkov.
25th - Mountbatten becomes Supreme Commander South East Asia.
26th - Russian offensive in Ukraine.

September
3rd - Armistice signed with Italy.
7th - Germans begin to evacuate Ukraine.
8th - Italians are disarmed in Yugoslavia by Partisans.  Italy's surrender is announced.
9th - Allies land at Salerno.  British paratroops land in Taranto.
10th - British take Taranto.  Rome is occupied by the Germans.
12th - Mussolini is rescued by the Germans.
13th Chiang Kai-shek becomes President of China.
18th - U-Boats resume their 'wolf-pack' hunting tactic.
23rd - Mussolini recreates a fascist Government.

October
1st - Fifth Army captures Naples.
4th - Corsica is liberated.
13th - Italy declares war on Germany.
14th - Americans suffer severe losses (60 B-17s) in their Second Schweinfurt raid and daylight bombing
          is suspended.
18th - Yugoslavia is occupied by the German 2nd Panzer Army.
20th - US Commission on War Crimes is set up.
25th - Burma-Siam 'Death' Railway is completed.

November
6th - Russians take Kiev.
15th - The Germans abandon the U-Boat attacks in the North Atlantic.
18th - Heaviest RAF raid of the war over Berlin.
22nd-26th - First Cairo Conference.
28th - Tehran Conference begins.

December
2nd - Hitler calls up his Hitler Youth.
4th-7th - Second Cairo Conference.
12th - Rommel is appointed as Commander-in-Chief of 'Fortress Europe'. Czech-Russian alliance signed.
15th - First trial of Nazi war criminals begins.
25th-26th - Royal Navy sink the Scharnhorst.
26th - Russians attack Kiev.