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Sunday 3rd September 1939.
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World War 2 Two II WW2 WWII
Sunday 3rd September 1939.
- Great Britain declared war on Germany as the deadline set to withdraw from Poland passed at 11 am. The anouncement that Britain was at war was made public in a radio broadcast at 11.15 am by the Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain. Britain immediately initiated a naval blockade on Germany. Across much of Britain the air raid sirens sounded for the first time, but it was a false alarm. The evacuation of children and yioung mothers from major British Cities, which had begun on the 1st of September was completed.
France also delared war at 17.00 hrs before their ultimatum expired, followed by India, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.
On the 1st of September 1939, German forces invaded Poland's western, southern and northern borders, defending the long borders, the Polish armies were soon forced to withdraw. As German armoured columns drove deep into Poland, the speed of the invasion gave it the name Blitzkrieg, or lightning war. By the 3rd of September, the Polish Lodz Army was in retreat after being beaten in the frontier battles with Army Group South. The German 10th Army under General Reichenau, crossed the Warta River in some areas while the 14th Army, commanded by General List, converged on Krakow. The city of Czestochowa falls to German forces. Some Polish units penetrate into East Prussia but their position becomes untenable as German forces cut them off to the south. The Polish air force was defeated by the Luftwaffe.
- The British passenger liner, SS Athenia, was torpedoed off the northwest coast of Ireland en route to Canada by U-30 having been mistakenly identified as an auxiliary cruiser. One hundred and twelve lives were lost. Britain believed that this is the start of unrestricted submarine warfare, although the German government was unaware of the action of the U-boat until later in the month.
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In Memory of those who died this Day
- Stewardess Hannah Baird Merchant Navy SS. Athenia
- C. O. Bowen Civilian SS. Athenia passenger
- Asst.Steward James Carlin Merchant Navy SS. Athenia
- Asst.Steward Ian Donnelly Merchant Navy SS. Athenia
- Asst.Steward John Donnelly Merchant Navy SS. Athenia
- Donkeyman James Elder Merchant Navy SS. Athenia
- Watchman Charles Fordyce Merchant Navy SS. Athenia Read their Story.
- Greaser Hugh Gallagher Merchant Navy SS. Athenia
- Stewardess Alison Harrower Merchant Navy SS. Athenia
- Asst.Steward John Hogg Merchant Navy SS. Athenia
- Margaret Hogg Civilian SS. Athenia passenger Read their Story.
- Stewardess Margaret Johnston Merchant Navy SS. Athenia
- Asst.Steward John Kent Merchant Navy SS. Athenia
- Stewardess Jessie Lawler Merchant Navy SS. Athenia
- Bellboy James Marshall Merchant Navy SS. Athenia
- Asst.Steward Michael J. McDermott Merchant Navy SS. Athenia
- Printer John McJarrow Merchant Navy SS. Athenia
- Steward John McKeowen Merchant Navy SS. Athenia
- Steward David Morrison Merchant Navy SS. Athenia
- Barber David Provan Merchant Navy SS. Athenia
- Asst.Steward Samuel Thomson Merchant Navy SS. Athenia
Watchman Charles Fordyce SS. Athenia (d.3rd Sep 1939)
Charles was 65 years old, he was serving aboard the Athenia when she was sunk. He was the husband of Mary Penelope Fordyce and is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial, in Trinity Square Garden, London.
Margaret Hogg passenger SS. Athenia (d.3rd Sep 1939)
Origionally from Edinburgh Scotland, Margaret Hogg, aged 52 was a passenger on the SS Athenia when she was sunk.
Kapitänleutnant Fritz-Julius Lemp Iron Cross 1st & 2nd Class, Knights Cross U-30 (d.9th May 1941)
Kptlt. Fritz-Julius Lemp instigated one of the most controversial incidents of the entire Battle of the Atlantic on the 3rd of September 1939. He was commander of U-30 when he spotted a large blacked-out ship zig-zagging at high speed. Lemp took an educated guess that it was an armed merchant cruiser, as passenger liners normally sailed in a straight line. He launched torpedoes sinking the ship. The vessel was in fact the passenger liner SS Athenia which had just set sail from Glasgow bound for Montreal.
Lemp became a U-Boat ace with U-30, sinking 17 ships and damaging another, he was the seventh U-boat commander to be awarded the Knights Cross on the 14th of August, 1940, he was 26 years old. His was the first U-boat to make use of the French bases in July 1940. He took command of U-110 in March 1941 and was killed in action on the second patrol on the 9th of May 1941 when the u-Boat was captured by HMS Bulldog and HMS Broadway.
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