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Crete

the eyes of the world are on us

the eyes of the world are on us

The battle of Crete is being watched with the greatest possible interest by the outside world. Messages from Egypt yesterday indicated that the page 467 eyes of Great Britain, America and the whole Empire were fixed on our fighting. News of the invasion was flashed home to newspapers in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom at once.

There is every indication that the Germans will press home the attack today but with the situation as solidly in hand as it was last night we can feel confident of the result. We cannot give further detail for obvious security reasons. Conditions in Canea, Retimo and Heraklion are normal.

The blunt fact is that by our hard fighting yesterday we knocked their first plan askew. We can do the same again to their second and any other they like to produce.

………

Crete News will continue publishing throughout the Blitz as long as the printing press remains undamaged. We cannot guarantee as prompt delivery as in earlier times. We print no news from the outside world because all radios were being used yesterday for the battle. Besides for the present in the outside world, the Battle for Crete is the news.

This number got to the front line by liaison officers, and beyond the front line—Lieutenant Cox was to find copies later in the pockets of enemy prisoners. The next number was planned for Saturday, 24 May. This was the day the enemy aircraft set about the methodical obliteration of Canea. By three o'clock in the afternoon the town was in flames. The composing room, fortunately, had by now been shifted into a cave. But there were worries enough. In the later afternoon when Cox made his way there through blazing streets he found Georges in a state of great anxiety. The paper shed had been hit. A truck was needed to rescue the paper. This problem dealt with, Cox went to his compositors.

The cave was full of sheltering civilians. The bombs kept raining down. But the compositors, including the two Greek girls, went calmly on, although they were at the open end of the cave and in considerable danger. By five o'clock they had the paper set up and the tray containing the type was carried through the streets to the presses. Cox then went back to his duties at Creforce.

Not long afterwards he learnt that Creforce was to move that night to Suda Bay. He set off to find his editorial staff and warn them. There were fires everywhere flaming through the dark. The street in which the presses were was burning from end to end and he could not reach them. There was nothing for it but to turn back. Both men and paper seemed lost.

Half an hour later his men arrived at Creforce. With them were 600 copies of the fourth and final issue. After these had been printed off the building was well alight; and as they left a bomb secured a direct hit on one of the presses. These 600 copies—except for two which are the only copies known to have survived—had to be dumped in the withdrawal when the truck that carried them had to be destroyed.