This week saw one of the decisive battles of the war when a Japanese fleet was destroyed by American bombers at Midway in the Pacific during 4-6 June. The Japanese lost four aircraft carriers and with them their naval superiority. Meanwhile in the Western Desert Rommel’s Afrika Korps continued its assault on British positions at Gazala, south of Tobruk; a British counter-attack was defeated with the loss of many tanks. Also this week, Canterbury and Essen were bombed and the British coal industry was nationalised.
In Caithness the farmers were busy with planting. The John O’Groat Journal reported that on Stroma “all the crofters are busy meantime putting in the turnip crop. Corn and grass are looking well, except some of the lea crop which has been in grass for three years and has been affected with grub”.
The dreaded school dentist had now worked his way round to Killimster School near Wick. The Head Teacher wrote ominously in the school log book: “Monday was the June holiday and school was closed. On Wednesday the dentist paid a visit to do extractions. Since most of the pupils had to have teeth extracted we had a half day.”
The John O’Groat Journal reported a successful week of fund-raising for “Warship Week” across the county, with each community playing its part. The Pentland Hall at John O’Groats was used for a concert and dance with a difference: “An interesting exhibit on the platform was a fine model warship – “H.M.S. Canisbay – constructed by Mr Wm. Kennedy, Victoria Villa, which was greatly admired. Dr Gill, as “captain” of the ship, presided, and was supported by members of his “crew”, all in naval uniform.”
An aircraft from Skitten airfield [now disused] near Watten had accidentally dropped a torpedo near Keiss on 27 May (“This object is fitted with a magnetic pistol arrangement and there is every possibility of it exploding should anyone go near it with any metal substance”). On 1 June the authorities decided to deal with it: “The torpedo now lying about 1½ mile south of Keiss village will be exploded at 6 p.m. tonight. It will be necessary to warn the people in the neighbourhood to have their cattle outwith a radius of a mile from the torpedo when it explodes.”
Finally this week, the John O’Groat Journal printed the Government’s campaign to encourage people not waste bread, under the slogan “Bread into Battle”, pointing out that wasted bread accounted for the equivalent of a convoy’s worth of wheat per year. The message was driven home with a cartoon of an ostracised housewife: “We all liked Mrs Parker, in the City, until we heard she wasted crusts (a pity!)”.
