somaliland

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20.8.40 [George Orwell]

August 20, 2010 in Home Guard, News Chronicle, Political, War-time, air-raids, newspapers, somaliland, tin hats by orwelldiaries

The papers are putting as good a face as possible upon the withdrawal from Somaliland, which is nevertheless a serious defeat, the first loss of British territory for centuries. . . . It’s a pity that the papers (at any rate the News-Chronicle, the only one I have seen today) are so resolute in treating the news as good. This might have been made the start of another agitation which would have got some more of the duds out of the government.

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16.8.40 [George Orwell]

August 16, 2010 in Channel, Egypt, Marx, Political, Wallington, War-time, air battles, air raid, bombs, oats, rabbits, shelter, somaliland by orwelldiaries

Things are evidently going badly in Somaliland, which is the flanking operation in the attack on Egypt. Enormous air battles over the Channel, with, if the reports are anywhere near the truth, stupendous German losses. E.g. about 145 were reported shot down yesterday. . . . The people of Inner London could do with one real raid to teach them how to behave. At present everyone’s behaviour is foolish in the extreme, everything except transport being held up but no precautions taken. For the first 15 seconds there is great alarm, blowing of whistles and shouts to children to go indoors, then people begin to congregate on the streets and gaze expectantly at the sky. In the daytime people are apparently ashamed to go into the shelters till they hear the bombs.

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