Now that German and Italian forces had overrun Yugoslavia and Greece, Allied troops withdrew to Crete and Egypt. The campaign had been a disaster for the Allies: most of the equipment and some 12,000 men had to be left behind. On 27 April German troops entered Athens, and Greece surrendered. Over in the Western Desert, Rommel’s forces crossed the border from Libya into Egypt and occupied the strategically important Halfaya Pass; apart from the garrison in Tobruk, the British had now been driven out of Libya completely.
Mines were a particular menace along the North Highland coast this week. At 17.35 on Monday a German mine was reported “drifting 100 yards from the Shore North of Skirza Head near Duncansby. This mine will probably come ashore near Skirza pier where there are two houses”. Fifteen minutes later the situation was updated: “this mine is now being washed ashore rapidly. Request that these houses should be evacuated as this mine is dangerous”. The last note reads, “The Police Wick have sent a Policeman to attend to the evacuation”.
The John O’Groat Journal reported a fatal accident with a mine at Brora, when Mr Frank Treen, the local coastguard, found an explosive container. “To prevent it falling into the hands of any inexperienced person, he conveyed it to his home and placed it in an outhouse. Later in the day a loud detonation was heard, and … it was found that the container had exploded, instantly killing Mr Treen who was in the outhouse at the time.”
Four Scandinavian refugees were landed at Scrabster Harbour on Sunday. “The men left Alesund, Norway, on 23rd instant, in a small motor boat which they had stolen. Neither of them knew anything about navigation or motor engines, except for one of their number, a schoolboy, who had very slight navigational knowledge.” The group had been picked up off Shetland the day before. Three of the men were just 19 years old, the other was 22.
Finally this week the John O’Groat Journal reported an unusual call-up for military service. “A Wick schoolboy has received through the post registration papers for military service. He is Jack Munro, the eleven year-old son of Mr and Mrs Alexander Munro, 4 Dempster Street, Wick. He is a pupil of Pulteneytown Academy, and feels he must finish his education before going into the Forces.”
