Sources
Every dispatch is built from primary records. From Day 34 (4 October 1939) each one carries its sources, listed here by day once the dispatch has published.
Day 62Wednesday 1 November 1939
House meets to debate instructions for its Neutrality Bill conferees
Britain will ration bacon and butter from mid-December at the earliest
Churchill tells MPs two Deutschland-type warships are reported in the Atlantic
Britain has declared no blockade of Germany, Cross tells MPs
Finland complains that Molotov has created a new and difficult situation
Queen will broadcast to the women of the Empire on Armistice Day
British freighter Coulmore radios that she has sighted a submarine
City of Flint has taken a devious course through Norwegian waters
Roosevelt warns Americans against reselling scarce imports after a Soviet rubber bid
Britain has suspended its refugee re-emigration offer for the war
Wang Ching-wei has tentative Japanese approval for a new government, UP hears
Forty killed as a launch tows junks into a Hong Kong minefield
Finland's Cabinet has met through the night over Molotov's speech
Italy and Greece will sign a non-aggression pact shortly, London learns
Rome correspondent sees Italy's reshuffle as a drift from the Axis
Britain's 120,000 dock workers will get a shilling a day more
German army puts its Western Front losses at 196 dead
British fighters have downed a Dornier in their first fight over France
- Evening Post, 1 November 1939, 'Tackled Over France' (received 1 November, 2.45 p.m. NZ time = 02:45 GMT on 1 November)
- New Zealand Herald, 2 November 1939, 'Driven Off' (received 1 November, 5.35 p.m. NZ time = 05:35 GMT on 1 November)
- Evening Post, 1 November 1939, 'Marked Activity' (received 1 November, noon NZ time = 00:00 GMT on 1 November)
Berlin admits three U-boats overdue and rejects Allied claims of heavy losses
Six barristers have corroborated the White Paper on the Nazi camps
Molotov has asked for a Baltic-style pact with Finland
Australia will keep its air expeditionary force at home and build aero-engines
Congress ministries in Bombay and Bihar have resigned
House agrees to send the Neutrality Bill to conference with the Senate
Molotov calls Britain the aggressor and the war for Poland senseless
Day 61Tuesday 31 October 1939
Germany should open its camps to neutral inspection
- Evening Post, 31 October 1939, 'Alive or Dead' (received 31 October, 2 p.m. NZ time = 02:00 GMT on 31 October)
- New Zealand Herald, 1 November 1939, 'Reminiscent of Dark Ages' (received 31 October, 10.5 p.m. NZ time = 10:05 GMT on 31 October)
- Evening Post, 1 November 1939, 'Holland Shocked' (received 1 November, 9 a.m. NZ time = 21:00 GMT on 31 October)
Ettore Muti has replaced Starace as secretary of the Fascist Party
Washington asks Britain and Germany to protect the City of Flint's crew
Dutch newspapers have printed Britain's concentration camp White Paper in full
House of Representatives meets at noon to take up the Neutrality Bill
About 7,000 soldiers have been recommended for commissions since the war began
Coal rationing should save 7,000,000 tons a year, Lloyd tells MPs
Mussolini reshuffles his Cabinet and makes Graziani army chief of staff
British troops on the Western Front have their first air raid warning
Soviet radio makes its first attack on the Finnish Government
Supreme Soviet meets this afternoon to hear Molotov on Soviet policy
RAF photographs aerodromes in northern Germany, and one aircraft is missing
Empire air scheme could give Canada 5,000 aircraft, New York Times hears
City of Flint leaves Tromsø for a German port, possibly Hamburg
London claims its blockade has left Germany short of rubber and petrol
Justice Roberts upholds American sabotage claims over a German protest
Irish bishop calls the destruction of Poland a horrid crime
Engine driver will stand trial over the Bletchley black-out collision
Menzies expects the Second AIF to serve abroad
Britain puts its merchant shipping losses last week at 21,000 tons
RAF fighters have chased a German raider over a Berwickshire town
Latvia and Germany have agreed to send Latvia's Germans to the Reich
Lithuania raises its flag over Vilna castle before cheering crowds
House Rules Committee has overruled Hamilton Fish on the Neutrality Bill
Police misread a message and set off central London's air raid sirens
Britain assures Washington the Athenia carried neither guns nor bullion
U-boat sinks the British steamer Malabar in the Atlantic
Finnish delegation will take Finland's final answer to Moscow tonight
Britain has published consular accounts of brutality in German concentration camps
- Evening Post, 31 October 1939, 'Terrible Treatment' (received 31 October, noon NZ time = 00:00 GMT on 31 October)
- Evening Post, 31 October 1939, 'Alive or Dead' (received 31 October, 2 p.m. NZ time = 02:00 GMT on 31 October)
- Auckland Star, 31 October 1939, 'Wanton Damage in Cardinal's Palace' (received 31 October, 1 p.m. NZ time = 01:00 GMT on 31 October)
Congress Ministry of the United Provinces has resigned
Day 60Monday 30 October 1939
Latvia's bases show what a Soviet pact asks of a small neighbour
- Evening Post, 30 October 1939, 'Bases in Latvia' (received 30 October, 1 p.m. NZ time = 01:00 GMT on 30 October)
- New Zealand Herald, 31 October 1939, 'Russian Moves' (no receipt time printed; morning edition of 31 October NZ time, public by about 18:00 GMT on 30 October)
- New Zealand Herald, 31 October 1939, 'No Obstacle' (received 30 October, 11.50 p.m. NZ time = 11:50 GMT on 30 October)
Hamilton Fish demands the House be allowed to amend the Neutrality Bill
Russia is building a fortified naval base at Libau, Stockholm hears
Governor of Madras has accepted the Congress Ministry's resignation
House has adjourned in memory of Chester Bolton before taking up neutrality
Finland has settled its reply to the Soviet demands, London hears
- New Zealand Herald, 31 October 1939, 'No Obstacle' (received 30 October, 11.50 p.m. NZ time = 11:50 GMT on 30 October)
- Otago Daily Times, 31 October 1939, 'Soviet Demands' (no receipt time printed; BBC report from Daventry; morning edition of 31 October NZ time, public by about 18:00 GMT on 30 October)
- Evening Post, 30 October 1939, 'Finland's Reply' (no receipt time printed; afternoon edition of 30 October NZ time, public by about 05:00 GMT on 30 October)
French communiqué tells of small German attacks driven off overnight
Air raid warnings have sounded in London and four south-eastern towns
- New Zealand Herald, 31 October 1939, 'Alarms in English Towns' (received 30 October, 11.50 p.m. NZ time = 11:50 GMT on 30 October)
- Otago Daily Times, 31 October 1939, 'Late News' (no receipt time printed; BBC report from Daventry; morning edition of 31 October NZ time, public by about 18:00 GMT on 30 October)
Maharaja of Jaipur is hurt in a crash that killed his pilot
Administration leaders are confident the House will pass the Neutrality Bill
Washington officials are growing anxious about the City of Flint's American crew
Two ambulance trains from France have reached a station near London
Britain will let pure grain cargoes for Belgium through its contraband control
Thousands of volunteers are swelling South Africa's army, the Daily Telegraph hears
India says all troops it has sent overseas have arrived safely
Police are posted at a Staten Island pier after a mystery fire
Daladier has banned three Alsace-Lorraine autonomist parties
Germany is bringing in ration cards for clothing, a Copenhagen paper hears
Polish Government will move to Angers this week, the Times hears
Wounded German pilot asked a policeman to see to his gunners
Germany hopes the Supreme Soviet meeting will turn the war, Stockholm hears
Paris thinks Germany's army was unready for war, New York Times hears
Himmler has begun settling Baltic Germans on Polish land, the Times hears
India has banned gold imports and exports without a Reserve Bank licence
Anthony Muirhead MP, a former India minister, has been found dead
Moscow press accuses arms makers of plotting to drag America into war
Soviet troops have reached the Latvian frontier to take up bases
Prague message tells of casualties and hundreds of arrests in Czech clashes
Day 59Sunday 29 October 1939
Neutral countries should not treat the occupation of Bohemia as settled
Hundreds of Communists are arrested in Estonia, Helsinki hears
Tass says the City of Flint left Murmansk last night after repairs
Sunday Times hears Hitler may launch an offensive within a week
Danish court puts damage from British bombs on Esbjerg at £6,600
Churchill sends Australia a message that Britain is full of hope
France sends 10,000 older soldiers and fathers of large families home
New York Times says repeal will help democracies end the war swiftly
Britain is ready to resume the Tientsin talks with Japan, London says
Recruiting centres are besieged by volunteers as the Army reopens enlistment
Mackenzie King calls the war a crusade to save Christian civilisation
Mussolini tells Blackshirts the March on Rome brought Italy new glories
King Carol meets his envoys to discuss a neutral Balkan bloc
Slovakia's President Tiso names Vojtech Tuka to head a new Government
Polish legation rejects any plebiscite held under Soviet occupation
Soviet sappers are fortifying the new frontier with Germany in Poland
Britain says it has examined 65 Swedish ships, not detained 156
Germany warns neutrals that sailing in Allied ships risks attack
Paris radio says German raids and shelling are increasing along the front
German aircraft is forced down near Dalkeith in Scotland
- Wanganui Chronicle, 30 October 1939, 'Forced Down in Scotland' (received 29 October, 6.30 p.m. NZ time = 06:30 GMT on 29 October)
- Wanganui Chronicle, 30 October 1939, 'Over South Germany' (received 29 October, 6.30 p.m. NZ time = 06:30 GMT on 29 October)
- Otago Daily Times, 30 October 1939, 'Aircraft Battle' (received 29 October, 8 p.m. NZ time = 08:00 GMT on 29 October)
French warships and seaplanes sank a U-boat on Friday, Paris says
Germany admits three of its U-boats are overdue and presumed lost
Molotov will report to the Supreme Soviet on Tuesday, Rome radio says
Firedamp explosion at a Fife colliery has killed 35 miners
Berlin says the City of Flint is creeping through the North Sea
United States sends Moscow a formal protest over the City of Flint
Czechs clash with police in Prague while marking their Republic's anniversary
Day 58Saturday 28 October 1939
The world should not mistake the Lwów assembly's vote for consent
- Wanganui Chronicle, 30 October 1939, 'Senate Passes Neutrality Bill' (received 28 October, 7.30 p.m. NZ time = 07:30 GMT on 28 October)
- Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, 28 October 1939, 'Polish Ukraine Votes Itself Into Soviet' (received 28 October, 12.45 p.m. NZ time = 00:45 GMT on 28 October)
- Evening Post, 28 October 1939, 'Universal Morality' (received 28 October, 11 a.m. NZ time = 23:00 GMT on 27 October)
Congress may accept a minority share in India's central government, Delhi hears
Air raid warning sounds over the Firth of Forth in Scotland
Paris radio calls the Senate vote the second great Allied victory
Tanner says Soviet demands would need five-sixths of Finland's Parliament
Berlin says the Pope's call to revise unjust treaties fits Versailles
Lithuanian army formally enters the city of Vilna
Hitler gives the Knight's Cross to 14 officers for the Polish campaign
U-boat sinks the Ledbury as she rescues survivors, her captain says
French Cabinet gives Lebrun power to ratify the treaty with Turkey
Lord Gort takes a tour of a Highland regiment's front-line trenches
Australia's Sixth Division will go first if troops are sent abroad
Von Papen's return to Germany from Ankara is postponed indefinitely
Rumania takes Polish soldiers into internment after German and Soviet protests
Britain makes an agreement with Italy for a permanent trade commission
Spanish court gives General Miaja, Madrid's former defender, 15 years' exile
Gunman kills Liu Yishili, a Peiping supporter of Japan, at a hospital
Berlin says the City of Flint is heading for Hamburg
Lwów assembly votes to join Western Ukraine to Soviet Ukraine
Senate votes 63 to 30 to repeal the arms embargo
Vincent Crompton gets 20 years over IRA explosion in Liverpool
Two German pocket battleships are probably raiding, a British naval authority says
Peter Fraser arrives in London for Empire war talks
- Greymouth Evening Star, 28 October 1939, 'Empire Conference' (received 28 October, 10.45 a.m. NZ time = 22:45 GMT on 27 October; Wellington statement of 28 October in the evening edition, by about 04:00 GMT)
- Evening Post, 28 October 1939, 'Warmly Welcomed' (received 28 October, 1 p.m. NZ time = 01:00 GMT on 28 October)
Madras Congress Ministry resigns as Bombay Assembly rejects the Viceroy's statement
Pope Pius XII blames the world's evils on rejecting a universal morality
Day 57Friday 27 October 1939
Washington is right to demand the City of Flint back
- Evening Post, 27 October 1939, 'Release Demanded' (received 27 October, 11.10 a.m. NZ time = 23:10 GMT on 26 October)
- New Zealand Herald, 28 October 1939, 'Order to Sail' (received 27 October, 9.30 p.m. NZ time = 09:30 GMT on 27 October)
- New Zealand Herald, 28 October 1939, 'President's Outburst' (received 27 October, 8.35 p.m. NZ time = 08:35 GMT on 27 October)
Greenwood says British workers are determined to crush Hitlerism
Nomura warns Japan's trade treaty with America will probably lapse
Lithuanian troops begin occupying the Vilna district
Army opens its ranks to volunteers aged between 22 and 35
Rumania calls its envoys home from four Balkan capitals for talks
- New Zealand Herald, 28 October 1939, 'Turkish Pact' (received 27 October, 10.30 p.m. NZ time = 10:30 GMT on 27 October)
- Wanganui Chronicle, 28 October 1939, 'Rumanian Envoys to Confer' (received 27 October, 11.22 p.m. NZ time = 11:22 GMT on 27 October)
- Evening Post, 27 October 1939, 'Mines in Sebastopol Harbour' (received 27 October, 1 p.m. NZ time = 01:00 GMT on 27 October)
King Leopold calls neutrality a matter of life and death for Belgium
- New Zealand Herald, 28 October 1939, 'Belgian Hope' (received 27 October, 10.35 p.m. NZ time = 10:35 GMT on 27 October)
- Evening Post, 28 October 1939, 'Neutrality Vital' (received 28 October, 9 a.m. NZ time = 21:00 GMT on 27 October)
- Wanganui Chronicle, 28 October 1939, 'Large-Scale German Troop Movements' (received 27 October, 11.5 p.m. at the latest NZ time = 11:05 GMT on 27 October)
Paris paper says Germany is on the eve of a big offensive
- Wanganui Chronicle, 28 October 1939, 'Large-Scale German Troop Movements' (received 27 October, 11.5 p.m. at the latest, as the hour is blurred in print NZ time = 11:05 GMT on 27 October)
- New Zealand Herald, 28 October 1939, 'Big Movements' (received 27 October, 10.30 p.m. NZ time = 10:30 GMT on 27 October)
- Auckland Star, 27 October 1939, 'Suspended by Nazis' (received 27 October, 2 p.m. NZ time = 02:00 GMT on 27 October)
Moscow orders the City of Flint to leave Murmansk
French patrols have raided German lines through snow and heavy rain
Roosevelt calls talk of sending Americans to Europe a dishonest fake
City of Flint radio operator tells how Germans seized his ship
- New Zealand Herald, 28 October 1939, 'Capture of City of Flint' (received 27 October, 7.40 p.m. NZ time = 07:40 GMT on 27 October)
- Wanganui Chronicle, 28 October 1939, 'Capture by the Deutschland' (received 27 October, 9.35 p.m. NZ time = 09:35 GMT on 27 October)
- Otago Daily Times, 28 October 1939, 'The City of Flint' (received 27 October, 11 p.m. NZ time = 11:00 GMT on 27 October)
Italy sounds out Bulgaria on joining a Balkan bloc
Slovakia has elected its Prime Minister, Josef Tiso, as President
Germany asks neutrals to inspect the battleship Gneisenau
- Evening Post, 27 October 1939, 'Inspection Invited' (received 27 October, 10.15 a.m. NZ time = 22:15 GMT on 26 October)
- New Zealand Herald, 28 October 1939, 'The Gneisenau' (received 27 October, 5.5 p.m. NZ time = 05:05 GMT on 27 October)
- Evening Post, 27 October 1939, 'Held at Archangel' (received 27 October, 10.30 a.m. NZ time = 22:30 GMT on 26 October)
Senate rejects a ban on selling poison gas to countries at war
French court sentences Alsatian autonomist Karl Roos to death for spying
German U-boat found wrecked on the Goodwin Sands, the Admiralty announces
Madras Assembly condemns the Viceroy's declaration by 153 votes to 22
First New Zealand volunteers in England have mustered in a Surrey camp
Chungking denies offering Japan peace through the American Ambassador
London rejects the arguments of the Soviet Note on contraband
Tanner says Finland's talks with Moscow have made slight progress
Hull calls on Moscow to hand back the City of Flint
Day 56Thursday 26 October 1939
India cannot be asked to defend a freedom it is denied
Finnish delegates will not return to Moscow until the Government decides
- Otago Daily Times, 27 October 1939, 'Late News' (no receipt line; morning edition, public by about 18:00 GMT on 26 October)
- New Zealand Herald, 27 October 1939, 'Finnish Delegation' (received 27 October, 12.15 a.m. NZ time = 12:15 GMT on 26 October)
- House of Lords Debates, 26 October 1939, vol. 114, c1564 (Halifax from 4.45 p.m. BST; next printed time 5.9 p.m. BST = 16:09 GMT)
Viceroy will invite Indian leaders to talks without delay, Hoare tells MPs
Talks on British and French war material for Turkey are nearly complete
Halifax tells peers the Soviet frontier now runs near the Curzon line
Britain has lost five ships of 22,715 tons, Chamberlain tells MPs
Chamberlain tells MPs Germany alone is responsible for the war
Deutschland has sunk another Norwegian steamer, Oslo hears
French communiqué claims a German push in the Warndt Forest has failed
Soviet Union rejects Britain's contraband list in a Note to London
Isolationists in the Senate have given up hope of stopping repeal
Turkey has massed 300,000 troops near Kars, an Istanbul message claims
Chinese general attacks France for halting supplies through Indo-China
Germany names Seyss-Inquart as Frank's deputy in occupied Poland
Congress president orders party committees to avoid violence when ministers resign
French machine-gunners hit a German propaganda loud-speaker at the front
Yorkshire's 15-year-old bugler tells how he swam to a lifeboat
Moscow tells Washington the City of Flint's American crew are safe
Duplessis loses Quebec as the Liberals take 68 seats
- New Zealand Herald, 27 October 1939, 'Quebec's Vote' (received 26 October, 7 p.m. NZ time = 07:00 GMT on 26 October)
- Otago Daily Times, 27 October 1939, 'Liberal Victory' (received 26 October, 10 p.m. NZ time = 10:00 GMT on 26 October)
- Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, 27 October 1939, 'Quebec Government Suffers Sweeping Defeat'
US arms embargo cuts off helium for New Zealand hospitals
Air Ministry names a Wellington airman among the RAF's dead
German U-boat sinks British steamer Tafna and 31 men are saved
Germany tells Washington it is consulting Moscow over the City of Flint
Paris press calls Ribbentrop's speech a clumsy attempt to split the Allies
Goering's newspaper warns Germany will shower bombs on Britain
Day 55Wednesday 25 October 1939
Stonegate survivors blame the Deutschland for seizing the City of Flint
Assemblies elected in Soviet-occupied Poland will meet at Białystok and Lwów
Canada's new War Supply Board will take over defence buying
Finland expects its delegation to return to Moscow next week
Macmillan tells the Lords he has cut 67 officials from his ministry
Britain will ratify the Turkish treaty at once, Chamberlain tells MPs
Sirens will sound only when a district is likely to be attacked
Churchill tells MPs a Royal Oak statement may come next week
Butler refuses to seek publication of Britain's prewar talks with Moscow
Chamberlain calls German poison gas charge an impudent and transparent falsehood
Germany names Hans Frank Governor-General of occupied Poland
French court sentences a railwayman to death for passing secrets to Germany
Senate rejects Taft plan to keep American ships 300 miles from Europe
Italians see no hope of halting the war, New York Times finds
French raid near the Moselle takes prisoners and a new machine-gun
Guards are doubled on Queen Mary and Normandie after a sabotage report
Seven women and ten children are among the Yorkshire's missing
Japanese agency Domei accuses Moscow of sending arms into western China
Australian Army stops taking militia recruits ahead of compulsory training
Nizam of Hyderabad gives £100,000 to the Air Ministry
Britain holds 110 German sailors and airmen as prisoners of war
Polish gold arrives in Paris after a 6,200-mile journey
Greek steamer Konstantinos Hadjipateras is sunk in the North Sea
London denies Ribbentrop's charge that Britain forced the war
Roosevelt hopes to recover the seized freighter City of Flint
Washington is expected to demand that Moscow release the City of Flint
Ribbentrop tells a Danzig rally that Britain forced the war on Germany
Senate agrees to limit debate on the neutrality bill
Day 54Tuesday 24 October 1939
Paasikivi returns to Helsinki with new Soviet proposals
Survivors of two sunken British steamers are rescued by the Crown City
Burgin denies a contractor pushed up the price of Bofors gun mountings
Labour MPs are seeking to annul the civilian air-raid injuries scheme
German Admiralty denies knowing of the City of Flint seizure
Colville names Queensferry and Inverkeithing as evacuation sending areas
Commodity war-risk premiums reach £13.3 million, Stanley tells the Commons
Torrential rain is flooding trenches on the Western Front
Japan cuts the yen from sterling and links it to the dollar
Ribbentrop is expected to speak today after Hitler's conference ends
German agency names Stalin and Molotov as leaders of the Finnish talks
Quebec votes on Wednesday in an election fought over conscription
Times correspondent reports nine executions at Bromberg in one day
Turkish Foreign Minister tells his party about the Moscow talks
Swiss professor accuses Germany of misusing his poison gas diagnosis
Vatican accuses Germany of oppressing the Church in occupied Poland
Britain calls German claim of a second Scapa Flow sinking groundless
Japan names Kurusu to replace General Oshima as Ambassador in Berlin
Canada's check clears the Athenia of carrying guns or munitions
Senator Clark attacks Roosevelt for hearing a prayer for the King
Swedish steamer Albania sinks in the North Sea and two crew drown
Germany raises its levy on Jewish fortunes to 25 per cent
Berlin denies it will offer new peace proposals
Foreign Office calls reports of a £60 million Turkish loan unauthorised
Murmansk detains seized American freighter City of Flint, TASS announces
Finland's delegation arrives in Moscow and is met by junior Soviet officials
Sea Venture is sunk off Scotland and 14 Whitemantle crew are missing
London blames German mine explosions for reports of a Jutland sea battle
Day 53Monday 23 October 1939
Finland is right to send a united delegation to Moscow
Senate resumes neutrality debate as Tobey offers an amendment on false flags
Paris newspapers say Stalin has refused Hitler military aid
Menzies says compulsory training breaks no promise on overseas service
Germany asks Scandinavian shippers to send their ships through the Kiel Canal
Daily Mail says Britain and France will lend Turkey £60 million
Finland's delegation is due in Moscow today, with Tanner joining Paasikivi
Prisoners use smuggled gelignite to blow a hole in Mountjoy prison wall
U-boat commander lectured Vermont crew on a Franco-German alliance, report says
- New Zealand Herald, 24 October 1939, 'Sunken Ships' (received 23 October, 17:05 NZ time = 05:05 GMT on 23 October)
- Wanganui Chronicle, 24 October 1939, 'Harangued by U-Boat Commander' (received 23 October, 20:05 NZ time = 08:05 GMT on 23 October)
- Press (Christchurch), 24 October 1939, 'French Steamer Blown Up' (received 23 October, 22:30 NZ time = 10:30 GMT on 23 October)
Congress tells its ministers to resign over the Viceroy's statement
Polish Embassy in Paris denies Poland ever used or received poison gas
- Evening Post, 23 October 1939, 'A Polish Denial' (Daventry broadcast, London, Sunday night)
- Evening Post, 23 October 1939, 'Nazi Propaganda' (received 23 October, 13:45 NZ time = 01:45 GMT on 23 October)
- New Zealand Herald, 24 October 1939, 'Poison Gas' (received 23 October, 21:30 NZ time = 09:30 GMT on 23 October)
Polish envoys protest against Soviet plebiscites in occupied Poland
Goebbels repeats charge that Churchill sank the Athenia
Administration leaders say they will win the Senate neutrality vote by 25
Hull denies knowing of a plan for a German government in London
French line now lies almost entirely inside France, The Times says
Bodies of 50 Este 701 crew are found on a Danish reef
Japanese generals give Wang Ching-wei wide powers to seek peace, Shanghai reports
Paris radio says Papen has been ordered back to Turkey
U-boat commander made Sneaton crew cheer for a photograph, survivors say
German High Command reports only minor activity on the Western Front
Dutch paper says Hitler is putting war decisions to Nazi Party leaders
Danish farmers say they watched warships fire on a vessel off Jutland
Sweden's parliament votes £22.3 million in extra credits, mostly for defence
Air Ministry says British fighters shot down a German plane off Scotland
Day 52Sunday 22 October 1939
Merchant ships should sail in convoy while submarines hunt the Atlantic
- New Zealand Herald, 23 October 1939, 'Gun Duel' (received 22 October, 17:05 NZ time = 05:05 GMT)
- New Zealand Herald, 23 October 1939, 'New German Policy' (received 22 October, 17:05 NZ time = 05:05 GMT)
- Wanganui Chronicle, 23 October 1939, 'Strong German Pressure on Holland' (received 22 October, 19:35 and later NZ time = 07:35 and later GMT)
Gandhi says Britain's offer to India is too vague
Japan's Foreign Minister says no third power can change its new order
Senate's general debate on the neutrality bill has practically ended
Chile and Argentina will give warring nations' submarines 24 hours in port
Britain calls Germany's charge that it gave Poland poison gas a fabrication
Danish ships are accepting British convoy despite German warning, report says
Swedish steamer Gustaf Adolf is sunk in the North Sea, Stockholm reports
German communiqué says the French have left the Warndt Forest
Estonia is practically closed as Soviet troops reach their bases, Helsinki reports
Finland's envoy Paasikivi has left for Moscow with counter-proposals
Three Chinese killed in a gun battle on the Shanghai settlement border
American ship lands survivors of two torpedoed British ships at Bordeaux
First party of Germans evacuated from Latvia has arrived in Berlin
German patrol ship hits three mines off Denmark and only five survive
Poland's Foreign Minister says Poland does not recognise the Soviet plebiscite
Saracoğlu says Turkey's President and Prime Minister are about to visit Moscow
French communiqué says the night was quiet on the Western Front
Hitler has called all Nazi district leaders to Berlin, report says
Izvestia says the Turkish treaties do not damage Russia's interests
British, French and Turkish commanders have finished talks in Ankara, agency says
Hore-Belisha says Britain will not lay down arms without guarantees
Heronspool radio operator says a U-boat fought his ship for four hours
Air Ministry says three German aircraft were shot down over a convoy
Day 51Saturday 21 October 1939
Europe's neutral governments should answer Germany's convoy warning together
- Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, 21 October 1939, 'Germany to Treat Convoyed Neutrals as Enemy' (received 21 October, 12:45 NZ time = 00:45 GMT)
- Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, 21 October 1939, 'Germans Have Built Ten U-Boats Since War Began' (received 21 October, 13:45 NZ time = 01:45 GMT)
- Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, 21 October 1939, 'Ecuador Decrees 500-Mile Safety Zone' (received 21 October, 12:45 NZ time = 00:45 GMT)
- Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, 21 October 1939, 'Roosevelt Defines U.S. Territorial Waters' (received 21 October, 11:45 NZ time = 23:45 GMT 20 October)
Canada will build 100 prairie aerodromes to train Empire airmen, report says
Japan's War Minister urges the Cabinet to unite to settle China
Ecuador has decreed a 500-mile safety zone off its coast
Attlee and Greenwood say Labour is disappointed by the Government's India policy
War Office says it believes Germany intends to use poison gas
Politiken says Germany will create a Polish state on 1 November
Britain says German losses in Poland were heavier than Berlin admits
Danish newspapers say Hitler is planning a separate peace offer to France
Former Danish naval officer says Germany has built ten U-boats since September
Hull says Washington may protest to Britain over seized American mail
German aircraft tried to reconnoitre the Firth of Forth, Air Ministry says
300 Royal Oak survivors arrive in London wearing borrowed clothes
Germany asks Estonia to extend the repatriation of its Germans to March
Finland's envoy Paasikivi will go back to Moscow tonight, London report says
Egyptian newspapers say the Turkish treaty is the Allies' first real victory
German newspapers say Turkey must take the consequences of its treaty
Saracoğlu says Turkey's old friendship with Russia will survive the treaty
Senator Brown says Lindbergh did not speak for America
Germany will treat neutral ships in British convoys as enemy vessels
Roosevelt says the submarine ban's territorial-waters limit is flexible
Day 50Friday 20 October 1939
Nordic governments should state what help they will give Finland
Australia will bring back compulsory military training, Menzies says
Farmers will have until March to plough grassland for the £2 grant
Britain's Polish guarantee covered only German aggression, Butler says
Soviet officials decline to comment on the Turkish treaty, BUP reports
Italy welcomes Turkey's stand on the Straits and Romania, Rome report says
Reuter correspondent sees little troop movement behind British lines
Yugoslav newspapers welcome the Turkish treaty, Belgrade reports
Kingsley Wood visited France for talks with Gort, Air Ministry says
French communiqué says German infantry attacks were repulsed in heavy rain
German semi-official statement says Turkey has left strict neutrality
Le Temps says the Turkish treaty upsets German plans
Treaty protocol says Turkey cannot be made to fight the Soviet Union
Treaty text says Britain and France will aid Turkey if attacked
Nordic conference in Stockholm ends by reaffirming neutrality
Day 49Thursday 19 October 1939
Britain should back the Turkish treaty with real economic help
Chamberlain says Britain, France and Turkey have signed a long-term treaty
Board of Trade has received about 1,000 profiteering complaints, Stanley says
Commons rejects a plan to let voters force wartime local elections
Second evacuation of schoolchildren will finish within three weeks, Elliot says
Finland's President calls the Russian demands severe in a Stockholm broadcast
American ship is bringing 300 survivors of two British steamers to Bordeaux
Correction: the figure of 100,000 Germans in the Saar attack is not an official one
Moscow says a new trade agreement will treble Soviet trade with Latvia
U-boat commander says the northern lights lit up Scapa Flow
Mohawk's captain stayed on the bridge though mortally wounded, Daily Mail says
Eighteen Latin American governments are expected to copy the submarine ban
Roosevelt has barred submarines of countries at war from American ports
Daily Mail reports a sea and air battle off a Dutch island
South African women in Britain are planning voluntary war service
Pope tells Lithuania's Minister he wants a just and general peace
Soviet troops are entering Estonia in two columns, Helsinki reports
Finland's Foreign Minister sets out Russian demands at the Stockholm conference
Gandhi says Congress will not co-operate with Britain in the war
Hitler has decorated U-boat commander Prien for the attack on Royal Oak
Air Ministry says enemy aircraft were driven off twice near Scapa Flow
Admiralty says 810 officers and men were lost in Royal Oak
Day 48Wednesday 18 October 1939
Senate Democrats back letting American ships carry all but arms, Connally says
Britain and France should conclude their agreements with Turkey quickly
Labour says the Government is drifting in its economic war effort
Attlee asks for an early report on the Royal Oak sinking
Chamberlain says the British Expeditionary Force has taken over its French sector
Chamberlain says eight German aircraft were destroyed without a British loss
Butler says a report of Soviet gold sent to Germany has foundation
Butler says Soviet troops hold 8,000 square miles west of Curzon Line
Zetland says Britain stands by Dominion status as India's goal
Turkey breaks off its talks with Moscow, the Turkish Prime Minister says
Paris report claims 100,000 Germans attacked; Berlin says the French have left German soil
Diplomats in Berlin say the Stockholm conference may attempt mediation
Germany has seized three Finnish timber ships near the Aland Islands
Japanese officials say naval aircraft raided Chinese positions
Japanese Army says it would accept more US marines in Shanghai
Four IRA men are sentenced to 20 years for an explosives conspiracy
French communiqué says the German attack was halted at a prepared line
Dutch watchers say aircraft raided the German naval base at Emden
Henderson's final report says Hitler showed his true colours in Prague
Kalinin tells Roosevelt the Soviet talks with Finland respect its independence
Viceroy of India says Dominion status remains the goal for India
Day 47Tuesday 17 October 1939
Parliament must hold the Admiralty to its promise on Scapa Flow
Commons backs suspending local elections by 222 votes to none
Britain will keep its trade agreements with the three Baltic states
No limit on soldiers' letters home from France, Hore-Belisha says
Britain is to set up an agency for Polish refugees
Churchill estimates 13 German submarines sunk in the first six weeks
Royal Oak was sunk at anchor in Scapa Flow, Churchill tells Commons
Chamberlain gives the Commons the casualties from two German air raids
Boat train hits a goods train at Winwick Junction in Lancashire
Typhoon causes deaths and damage on Okinawa, Tokyo reports
German spokesman says Hitler plans no new peace move, Rome radio reports
Four Canadian Athenia passengers claim damages from Germany, Ottawa says
Bihar Assembly asks Britain to recognise India as an independent nation
Berlin says two British cruisers were hit in the Forth raid
Forth Bridge train went on during the raid, a passenger says
Danish ship lands 27 survivors of a sunk Greek steamer
Four German bombers brought down in the Forth raid, communiqué says
Berlin drops its claim that the battlecruiser Repulse was torpedoed
Polish minister in Kaunas protests over Vilna, the BBC reports
French communiqué says German troops attacked east of the Moselle
Day 46Monday 16 October 1939
German aircraft attack the Firth of Forth, Air Ministry says
Lithuanian troops are marching into Vilna, the BBC reports
Finnish delegation arrives back in Helsinki from Moscow to report to Cabinet
British troops hold several miles of front in France, The Times reports
Russians were aboard a bomber that raided Hankow, the Japanese say
British warships land 400 survivors of two sunk French ships
Rome radio says 70,000 Soviet troops will garrison the three Baltic states
Reports in Copenhagen say Moscow wants Finnish islands and a military pact
Abe says Japan may be unable to extend its American trade treaty
French communiqué reports little activity on the Western Front amid rain
Barkley expects Senate general debate on the neutrality bill to end Wednesday
War Office denies German radio charge that Britain supplied gas to Poland
British Official Wireless says 1,275 British ships have been convoyed safely
Finland denies reports abroad that it has reached an agreement with Moscow
Polish ambassador to Moscow arrives in Stockholm with his staff, AP reports
Australia's wool clip will earn about £54 million this season, committee says
Admiralty says the carrier Ark Royal has not been sunk or damaged
Crew and passengers of the sunk liner Lochavon land in England
First 300 Soviet troops land at Paldiski in Estonia, Tallinn reports
Further Admiralty list puts the number of Royal Oak survivors at 414
Day 45Sunday 15 October 1939
American liner has rescued the 36 crew of the British steamer Heronspool
American naval experts say Royal Oak loss could threaten the British blockade
Canadian ministers say Lindbergh's speech is a private citizen's view
German naval circles claim the battlecruiser Hood is badly damaged
Pittman says Lindbergh's speech encourages the ideas of totalitarian governments
Admiralty list names 463 survivors of the battleship Royal Oak
Day 44Saturday 14 October 1939
The battleship Royal Oak has been sunk, the Admiralty announces
Three German submarines were destroyed on Friday, the Admiralty says
King of Sweden calls Nordic heads of state to Stockholm
Lindbergh urges Americans to keep the arms embargo on offensive weapons
Day 43Friday 13 October 1939
Roosevelt keeps the text of his message to Kalinin private for now
Berlin denies its press chief asked Roosevelt to stop the war
- Foreign Relations of the United States, 1939, vol. I, US Charge in Germany to the Secretary of State, telegram 1710, Berlin, 13 October 1939 (text of the DNB communique)
- The Singapore Free Press, 14 October 1939, p. 1 (Reuters, 'Berlin Replies To Mr. Chamberlain')
- Lowell Thomas, NBC radio news script, 13 October 1939
Germany says Chamberlain has refused Hitler's offer of a final settlement
Roosevelt has sent Kalinin a message on Finland, State Department says
Day 42Thursday 12 October 1939
Stanhope has read the reply to Hitler in the Lords for Halifax
Labour and Liberal leaders have backed Chamberlain's answer to Hitler
Britain rejects Hitler's peace terms and demands acts, not words, Chamberlain says
Liner Iroquois reaches New York safely after German warning
Estonia and Moscow sign protocol on Soviet forces, Soviet press says
Paasikivi has arrived in Moscow, Soviet newspapers report
Lithuania gets Vilna back under a mutual assistance pact with Moscow
Day 41Wednesday 11 October 1939
Censorship moves out of the Ministry of Information, Hoare tells Commons
British Army in France is under French command, Hore-Belisha says
Britain has sent 158,000 troops to France, the War Secretary says
Senate rejects Tobey motion to split the neutrality bill, 65 to 26
Finland advises civilians to leave Helsinki and Viipuri areas, Associated Press says
Daladier says France will fight on until its security is guaranteed
Day 40Tuesday 10 October 1939
Coastal Command has escorted over 100 convoys, the Air Minister says
Chamberlain's statement on Hitler's proposals is moved to Thursday, Simon says
Britain and three Dominions will train airmen together, mainly in Canada
Paasikivi has left for Moscow, Helsinki newspapers report
- Foreign Relations of the United States, 1939, vol. I, doc. 1058: US Minister in Finland to the Secretary of State, Helsinki, 10 October 1939, 11 a.m., reporting the Helsinki press
- Washington Post, 10 October 1939 (Associated Press, Stockholm, 9 October), reprinted in Congressional Record, Senate, 10 October 1939, p. 225
German flying boat falls into the sea after RAF fight, ministry says
Sweden keeps 100,000 men in service, Associated Press reports from Stockholm
Day 39Monday 9 October 1939
Paasikivi will represent Finland in the Moscow talks, Associated Press reports
Ministry of Information says Germans advise on leaflets dropped over Germany
Izvestia says Hitler's peace proposals can be a basis for talks
Moscow will supply raw materials to Germany at once, Soviet press says
Evacuated children are returning to London, the Board of Education says
Chamberlain says Britain and France are in complete accord on war aims
Day 38Sunday 8 October 1939
Polish Foreign Minister says Jews will have equal treatment in the forces
Berlin is waiting for London and Paris to answer Hitler's peace offer
Chile is relaxing its 24-hour warship notice rule at Britain's request
Belgium has taken every precaution, Prime Minister Pierlot says
Finland will send a representative to Moscow, United Press reports
Day 37Saturday 7 October 1939
Navy spokesman suggests the steamship Iroquois is crossing the Atlantic safely
Mussolini is ready to help Hitler's peace effort, Italian sources say
German flying boats attack two British minesweepers, the Admiralty says
Finland says Moscow has invited a Finnish delegate for political talks
Roosevelt will not mediate unless Britain and France agree, Washington sources say
French general staff reports patrols active southwest of Saarbrücken
Senator Thomas defends lifting the arms embargo as Downey warns of inflation
Britain says most of its Expeditionary Force has reached France without loss
Britain calls Hitler's peace proposals vague and obscure but will study them
Day 36Friday 6 October 1939
French semi-official sources say Hitler's speech offers nothing new
London evening papers reject Hitler's offer as government reply waits
Last Polish force surrenders at Kock, German High Command says
Hitler tells the Reichstag the old Polish state will not return
Hitler proposes a European peace settlement and warns that refusal means war
- Roseburg News-Review, 6 October 1939, p. 1, Louis P. Lochner (AP, Berlin, 6 October)
- Capital Journal, Salem, Oregon, 6 October 1939, p. 13 (AP, Berlin)
- Wanganui Chronicle, 7 October 1939, cable received 01:25 NZ time (13:25 GMT, 6 October)
- Text of Chancellor Hitler's speech before the Reichstag, October 6, 1939 (Carnegie Endowment, International Conciliation No. 354)