The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1941-05-02
Lord Beauerbrook Virtual
Industrial Dictator After
Shakeup in British Cabinet
Churchill Merges
Shipping And
Transport
Prepares to- Meet
Debate on Greek
ReVerSes


Presumably acting 10 still crit
icism OF his war policies. Prime
Minister Winston Churchill shook
up his cabinet today in a move in
terpreted as making dynamic Lord
Beaverbrook virtual dictator of
Britain's industrial production.
The millionaire newspaper pub
Usher was named to the newly Gre
ated post Of minister of state and
Britons expected him to assume
control OF the production OF all
war materials. Political observers
said Beaverbrook' role would In
effect be that OF deputy prime min
lister
Churchill also merged the minis
tries of shipping and transport
and gave the new portfolio OF war
time communications 10 Frederick
Thomas Leathers-a virtual I'M
known.
JT.C. Moore-Brabazon. former
transport minister. was given Beav-
erbrook's old job OF minister OF
aircraft production. while Ronald
ii. Cross, former shipping minis
ter, was appointed high commits
sioner TO Australia.
The re-shuffling OF the cabinet
seemingly was intended to answer
criticism of delay in production OF
vitality needed war equipment and
lack OF coordination between land
and sea communications
1t came as Churchill prepared TO
face Parliament next week in de-
bate on the British reyerses in At
RIGA and Greece.
$4,000 Saved
Lieut.. Gen. Sir Thomas Blamey.
deputy commander in chief of the
Middle East, informed the Austral'
ian army minister today that with
drawal OF British imperial forces
had been completed with total OF
$4,000 men safely removed.
Earlier British reports had said
that 50 per cent--or $4,000 men
Of the British expeditionary force
had been saved.
German military circles, how.
I ever, contradicted these figures by
asserting that two thirds OF the
force-or 10000 men-could be
regarded as lost.
This estimate, the Germans said,
included both prisoners and cas-.
ualties They described the Brit.
ish withdrawal as a second Dun
kerque" and said the British lost
heavily in equipment as we'll as
manpower.
Land Troops
Larry Allen, Associated Press
correspondent, reported from Alex
andria. Egypt. that squadron OF
British cruisers and destroyers
had landed 5000 Australian troops
from Greece there after beating
off persistent Nszi dive-bombing
attacks.
Most OF the troops officially an.
nonnced to have been saved from
Greece we're carried by warships
m the last 10 days" be said.
Another Associated Press cor
respondent, Robert st. John, who
arrived in Cairo with a machine
gun bullet wound in his leg after
a 25 day flight from YugoslaYia by
way OF Greece, called the rescue
OF something under 10000 i'm
perial troops from Greece posi-.
bly, "one Of the greatest feats OF
the British navy"
The Navy also threw us weight
into The North African fight. the
British reported Axis forces we're
thrusting al the encircled Brit.
len garrison at Tobruk. but mil
itary circles in London expressed
confidence the garrison could hold
out until fresh forces could be
brought up for the battle against
the GermaD eastward push.
There was little activity IN the
western air war during the night.
The Germans dashed at Merseyside.
IN the Liverpool area. but the
British said II was light. brief
raid.