Word: weller
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Dates: during 1940-1949
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...Enemy Is Disengaged. "More people," says George Weller, "died in Singapore's four heaviest raids than in two years of bombing of Malta." As the Japs pushed skillfully down Malaya, Singapore became a center of hopes, fears, rumor, and death from the air. The Prince...
Wales and the Repulse were at the bottom of the sea, and in Singapore's navy yard there was "a general atmosphere of a large studio rather confusedly at work upon B pictures." Official communiques were framed in guarded language ("Our troops success fully disengaged the enemy"). Though Weller believed that "plain speaking...
...siege of Singapore": " 'But surely you can't deny that we are besieged.' " 'Besieged, yes,' said the military censor, 'but I object to the noun "siege".' " Such bureaucracy was seriously harmful in the more vital areas of the war. But it is Weller's view that the picture of Singapore as a decadent, liquor-swilling, escapist community is totally false. Decisions came from London, and from Lon don, too, should have come the planes without which the Malayan forces were helpless. The decision to arm and train Malayan troops was made...
...planters, civil servants and clerks of Malaya formed a sort of Home Guard and went out into the jungle, where few escaped death or capture. They flew ancient pleasure and training planes against Japanese Zeros. The regular battalions of British, Indian, Gurkha and Australian troops fought with tragic bravery. Weller's account of these men in action is also a brilliant story of Japanese fighting methods...
...Malaya, Weller found equally omi nous differences. British mistrust of native qualities was paralleled by Malayan hatred for the 2,000,000 Chinese in their midst...