Sunday 3 November 1940

Greek soldier on an Italian L3/33 tankette during the Battle of Elaia.

Italian/Greek Campaign: In the Pindus Mountain sector, by far the most strategically significant prong of the Italian invasion, the Greeks counterattack on 3 November 1940. The Italian Julia Division is stretched out along a snowy valley, and the Greeks (The Pindus Detachment, supported by the 1st Infantry Division and attached units) swoop in behind and cut them off. There is a steady flow of Greek reinforcements. The Italians immediately request a relief attack from headquarters, which is unsuccessful. The local Greek civilians help the Greek troops to position their forces and block the attempted Italian relief by the Bari Division. The trapped Italians, cold, subjected to fire from the surrounding heights, and with no supplies, begin surrendering quickly. Many Italians in the division are killed. The Greeks begin recapturing the villages of Samarina and Vovousa, which is done methodically over the next couple of days.
This is part of a larger attack on the Elaia-Kalamas Front, where the Italian Ferrara Division is trying to piece a well-fortified Greek defensive line of Kalamas–Elaia–Grabala–Kleftis hill (north of Ioannina). The Italians try using light L3/35 tankettes and medium M13/40 tanks, but the ground is too muddy and hilly. They make no progress. Directly to the right, the Italians continue their attempt to cross the Kalamas River and make some progress.

The Italians bomb Salonika again.

The British, with the approval of the Greek government, begin landing troops in the Peloponnese (west of Athens). A British tanker docks at Piraeus, the port of Athens, permitting the transfer of RAF units to mainland Greece.

European Air Operations: The weather is poor, so the Luftwaffe bombers stay in their bases throughout the night. It is the first night with no bombing of London after 57 straight nights. The average attack during that time was 165 planes dropping 13,600 tons of high explosives and additional incendiary bombs. Many people are now basically living in the subway system and thus their routine alters little.

RAF Bomber Command attacks the dockyards at Kiel and oil installations/railway targets in Naples, Italy. The latter attacks are mounted from Malta.

The South African Air Force shoots down two Italian bombers over Kenya.

Wilfrid Rhodes Freeman, 1st Baronet, moves from RAF Research and Development to become Vice-Chief of the Air Staff. Lord Beaverbrook replaces him (with eventually poor results). Freeman is opposed to this staffing change, but it is the first of a series of related changes in the RAF high command. Freeman has been the research and development guy most responsible for the development of the Hawker Hurricane, Supermarine Spitfire, De Havilland Mosquito, Avro Lancaster, Handley-Page Halifax, and Hawker Tempest, as well as the P-51 Mustang Fighter. He is one of the most far-sighted and insightful men in the RAF. While it is an institutional decision, the decision to replace the Mustang's Allison V-1710 engines with the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine essentially flows from his desk. Freeman is one of those unsung heroes that set the stage for all the war heroes to take their bows, while nobody remembers his name.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Wilfrid Freeman.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-99 (Kptlt. Otto Kretschmer) is on its 6th patrol, operating out of Lorient, and is about 370 km west of Bloody Foreland, County Donegal, Ireland. Kretschmer, the top U-boat commander of the time (the best of them all, in fact) previously had been heavily involved in the Convoy SC 7 destruction in mid-October. He already has been to base and back to re-stock, not wasting any time. The pickings remain easy for such a talented commander on the poorly protected mid-Atlantic sections of the convoy system, and once again he takes full advantage. This is the "Happy Time" for U-boats in the North Atlantic.

U-99 torpedoes independent 5376-ton British banana boat Casanare around 21:40 (the British love their bananas, no joke). It is a rather ordinary attack, but it leads to something much greater. Independents (unescorted ships not in convoys) are easy prey for U-boats because the U-boats don't have to be worried about being spotted and attacked, so they can set up the target at their leisure. They also can serve another, larger purpose to a U-boat, which Kretschmer proceeds to demonstrate like a professor in the classroom.

The Casanare takes its time sinking, which provides nice bait for Kretschmer's real prey. If you put out some cheese, you never know how many mice may show up. Casanare manages to get a distress call out and waits for rescue. It is sinking slowly, completely defenseless and an obvious target, but Kretschmer bides his time. Armed Merchant Cruiser (AMC) HMS Laurentic (F 51) (Capt E.P. Vivian) picks up the distress message. The Laurentic is an 18,724 ton White Star ocean liner converted into an auxiliary cruiser, which involves some changes to the superstructure and addition of various weapons such as guns and depth charges. Conversion, however, does not make an AMC any more difficult to sink. Joining the Laurentic is 11,314 ton HMS Patroclus (Capt. G.C. Wynter), another AMC. The two AMCs arrive on the scene quickly, by 22:50.

Kretschmer and his crew enjoy some libations right around the time of this patrol in 1940.

Kretschmer waits patiently. As the two AMCs arrive in the darkness, he sits quietly until the Laurentic is within 1500 meters, with no idea that he is there, and then puts a torpedo into it. Patroclus, meanwhile, busies itself picking up survivors from the Casanare. The Laurentic takes its time sinking - liners now have watertight compartments much more effective than the Titanic's - so after thirty minutes Kretschmer pumps another torpedo into it. This has little effect, so Kretschmer puts the third torpedo into the Laurentic which goes into the same hole as the first torpedo. The Laurentic settles but remains afloat.

Kretschmer, meanwhile, brazenly is keeping his U-boat on the surface in the darkness. A lookout on the Laurentic spots it and the slowly sinking liner opens fire with its deck guns. Slinking away in the darkness, Kretschmer decides to pay the Patroclus a visit. Absorbed in picking up men from the water, this AMC's crew does not notice U-99 sneaking up on it either. Kretschmer maneuvers to within 300 meters and fires a torpedo into the Patroclus at 00:22 on the 4th, which again does not cause it to sink immediately. All three British surface ships are now dead in the water and helpless. Kretschmer now maneuvers around them, casually pumping another torpedo into the Patroclus at 00:44 and then another at 01:18. The gunners on the Patroclus spot U-99 and fire at it, but once again Kretschmer slinks away in the darkness. All three ships are sinking, but taking their sweet time about it.

Kretschmer once again bides his time. The AMCs get off distress messages of their own, which draws a Short Sunderland flying boat at 02:39 which overflies the scene and forces U-99 to submerge. The Casanare eventually sinks, but the two AMCs are more solidly built and remain afloat for the time being. However, they aren't going anywhere. At 03:30, Kretschmer resurfaces and surveys the scene. He waits, then at 04:35 he casually approaches to within 250 meters of the Laurentic and pumps another torpedo into it just to hurry it along. This torpedo does the trick, hitting the stern and setting off its depth charges. The Laurentic sinks quickly by the stern.

By this time, more Royal Navy units are approaching, as is daylight. Kretschmer pumps two more torpedoes into the Patroclus, the last at 05:25 which sinks the ship quickly. Royal Navy destroyers HMS Hesperus (H 57, Lt.Cdr. D.G.F.W. Macintyre) and HMS Beagle  (Lt. C.R.H. Wright) arrive on the scene. Hesperus forces Kretschmer to submerge while Beagle picks up survivors.

In total, there are:

• 54 survivors and 9 deaths on the Casanare;
• 368 survivors and 49 deaths on the Laurentic;
• 263 survivors and 56 deaths on the Patroclus.

Eventually, HMS Achates also appears on the scene to pick up survivors from the three sunken ships. The Achates joins the Hesperus and also drops depth charges. Kretschmer survives the depth charge attacks and then goes on his way. He still has some torpedoes left and knows the destroyers will soon be gone, with other ships using these same sea lanes. The Laurentic is the 10th largest ship sunk by the U-boat fleet during the entire war.

U-99, 1940.

Elsewhere, the day also is active at sea.

The Luftwaffe attacks Convoy WN 29 in the North Sea east of Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire. Heinkel He 115 seaplanes of KG 706 bomb and sink 3877-ton British freighter Kildale. There are 1-8 deaths as a result of the attack out of the 37-man crew (sources vary).

The same Luftwaffe attack that sank the Kildale also torpedoes and damages 5888-ton British refrigerated fruit carrier Eros in the same general location. The Eros previously had been torpedoed and damaged by U-48 on 7 June 1940, but put back into service. The Eros survives this attack as well, later repaired and returned to service. It is a lucky ship, perhaps because of the natural buoyancy of its construction.

A Luftwaffe Focke Wulf Fw 200 Condor also damaged 19,141-ton British freighter Windsor Castle near Scotland. It manages to return to the Clyde.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Sturgeon (Lt.Cdr. D. St Clair Ford) torpedoes and damage 1337 ton Danish freighter Sigrun in Oslofjord about 19 km southeast of Larvik, Norway.

Belgian 132-ton fishing trawler Van der Weyden hits a mine (apparently) and sinks off Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire. There is one survivor and eight deaths. The boat rests in shallow water.

British 394 ton freighter Cairngorm hits a mine and is damaged in the Bristol Channel.

Some sources say that British 1535 ton coaster Hilfern sinks today in the North Sea off Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire due to an explosion, probably a mine. Other sources say it occurred on 31 October, which is where we have it.

German freighter Helgoland, which has left Colombian waters in a risky bid to make it to France, passes St. Thomas of the US Virgin Islands. It so far has eluded the Neutrality Patrol vessels which have been alerted to its voyage.

Convoy FN 326 departs from Southend, Convoy FS 327 departs from Methil,

The Eros in the Clyde.

Battle of the Mediterranean: At Malta, two Wellington bombers setting out to raid Naples crash just after takeoff from Luqa and destroy some houses in the nearby village of Qomi. The bombers apparently were overloaded. Six civilians are killed. One of the airmen survives by hanging to the edge of a quarry right the houses. A rescue worker has to be lowered to tie a rope around him so that he can be hauled up. After the raid by the surviving bombers, Italian fighters chase the bombers all the way back to Malta and strafe military installations before heading back to Sicily.

German Military: General von Thoma, just back from an inspection tour of Libya, briefs Hitler on the state of Italian forces there. He reports that the Italians were hostile to him, are inadequate to their mission, and do not want German troops in North Africa. He also comments on the supply difficulties faced in North Africa. Hitler will use this information during a major OKW meeting scheduled for the 4th.

In Australia, the 2nd/23rd Infantry Battalion (Albury’s Own) is formed. It is formed from men of Albury and others in Victoria. After training, they will head to North Africa. Pictured is a color party marching at Albury Sportsground, November 3, 1940.

British Military: General Richard O'Connor becomes commander of the British Western Desert Force, which is opposing the Italian advance from Libya.

US Military: General George S. Patton, Jr. becomes acting commander of the 2nd US Armored Division.

Heavy cruiser USS Louisville departs Montevideo, Uruguay for Buenos Aires on its "Show the Flag" mission.

Rear Admiral John W. Greenslade concludes his talks with French Vice-Admiral Georges A.M.J. Robert. In exchange for Greenslade recommending a relaxation of sanctions on the Vichy territory, the French will permit daily patrol plane overflights.

Guam: A typhoon hits the Mariana Islands. The Congress, with some internal opposition, has spent millions of dollars upgrading US naval facilities there, and they are badly damaged. The US Navy Yard at Piti, the nearby Marine Barracks, and nearby farms and residences are all hit hard. A district patrol craft (YP-16 or YP-17) sinks dredge YM-13 (being used to enlarge the channel for naval use) is blown ashore, Greek freighter Axios is blown off her moorings and barely escapes being wrecked on the nearby reefs. Fortunately, the islanders themselves have been through this before and carry on, helping to repair as much damage as they can.


November 1940

November 1, 1940: Hitler Irate
November 2, 1940: U-31 Sunk - Again
November 3, 1940: Kretschmer's Master Class
November 4, 1940: Spain Absorbs Tangier
November 5, 1940: Jervis Bay Meets Admiral Scheer
November 6, 1940: San Demetrio Incident
November 7, 1940: Galloping Gertie
November 8, 1940: Italian Shakeup in Greece
November 9, 1940: Dutch Fascists March
November 10, 1940: Fala and Doc Strange
November 11, 1940: Taranto Raid
November 12, 1940: Molotov Takes Berlin
November 13, 1940: Molotov Foils Hitler
November 14, 1940: Moonlight Sonata
November 15, 1940: Warsaw Ghetto Sealed
November 16, 1940: France Keeps Battleships
November 17, 1940: Malta Hurricane Disaster
November 18, 1940: Hitler Berates Ciano
November 19, 1940: Birmingham Devastated
November 20, 1940: Hungary Joins Axis
November 21, 1940: Dies White Paper
November 22, 1940: Italians Take Korçë
November 23, 1940: U-Boat Bonanza!
November 24, 1940: Slovakia Joins In
November 25, 1940: Molotov's Demands
November 26, 1940: Bananas Be Gone
November 27, 1940: Cape Spartivento Battle
November 28, 1940: Wick Perishes
November 29, 1940: Trouble in Indochina
November 30, 1940: Lucy and Desi Marry

2020

Wednesday 30 October 1940

Bristol Beaufighter Mk. 1 R2065 from No. 219 Squadron. On 30 October 1940, it took off from Redhill Airfield for its nightly patrol but crashed while landing due to the poor weather's bad visibility. The crash killed P/O Kenneth Worsdell and gunner Sergeant Eric Gardiner. This flight was honored with a memorial at the airfield on the 75th anniversary of the crash.

Italian/Greek Campaign: The Greek forces on the coastal sector complete their retreat to the Kalpaki line on 30 October 1940. The Italian troops are still pursuing them and there is little combat there during the day aside from artillery and air bombardments. The Kalpaki line on the coast is extremely blessed with natural defensive features.

In the vital central sector in the Pindus Mountains, the Greek General Katsimitros determines to defend his line ahead of the critical road junction of Metsovo. He detaches some forces to cover his right flank at the Aoös River. The Italians struggle forward through the freshly fallen snow and icy rain and approach Konitsa as the Greek Pindos Detachment withdraws. During the day, the Greeks end their retreat and stabilize their line, with the 1st Infantry Division under Major-General Vasileios Vrachnos taking over local tactical control.

Turkey is proving decisive in the Greek Army's dispositions even though it technically is not involved in the war. Turkey threatens its neighbor to the north, Bulgaria, that it will join the Greek effort if the Bulgarians attack Greece, pursuant to the Balkan Pact of 1935. Knowing this, the Greeks are free to throw their entire army and any levees against the Italians on the Albanian front. This includes three divisions from the Bulgarian front and six reserve/cavalry divisions.

The Italians bomb Patras, the port of Athens, a handful of times.

The Soviet Union supports the Greeks and sends 134 fighter planes to their aid. The Greeks are particularly weak in modern aircraft, and the Soviet planes aren't much better, but the additional planes are very welcome.

The British land troops at Suda Bay on Crete.

As highlighted in this issue of the Yale News, Charles Lindbergh gives a speech at Yale on 30 October 1940 attacking US foreign policy. Yale is the birthplace of the "America First" antiwar movement.

Battle of Britain: The weather continues its wayward path in 1940, with low-hanging clouds and drizzle. Above the clouds, though, it is bright and sunny, so the Luftwaffe resumes its attacks. However, they are much reduced from the previous days when the Germans lost a number of planes.

Things start late after the usual early-morning reconnaissance flights. German fighters escort fighter-bombers (Jabos) and some Junkers Ju 88s across the Thames Estuary around noontime. This leads to massive dogfights, but the German bombers get through to East Anglia, where they are met by more fighters.

A second wave crosses the Channel at around 15:30. This one crosses over at Dover and then heads down to the London area. Southeast London is lightly hit, while another group of bombers hits Harwich. Fighter Command is on the ball and turns away a lot of the raiders. Losses are light and fairly even in both of these waves, and the damage caused is light as well.

After dark, the London area bears the brunt of the bombing. RAF Duxford, Feltwell and Debden are attacked, but the poor weather hampers accuracy. Feltwell is the hardest hit, with one plane badly damaged, but overall the targets get off lightly. The Luftwaffe continues its nightly mining operations, this time off Harwich and, as usual, in the Thames Estuary.

Losses for the day are about 8 for the Luftwaffe (one Heinkel He 111 bomber, the rest fighters) and a handful for the RAF. As usual, the Luftwaffe does better in relation to the RAF when it keeps operations light and fluid, as today, rather than overbearing and ponderous, as in recent days. The RAF loses four pilots killed.

Several bomb disposal men receive the George Cross: Robert Selby Armitage, Herbert John Leslie Barefoot, Wilson Hodgson Charlton, and William Horace Taylor. Not to take anything away from any of these gentlemen, but it is becoming clear that the best ways to earn the George Cross are to work in a bomb disposal unit or be a Home Guardsman who evacuates people from burning buildings (and more likely than not succumbs themselves). This is somewhat at odds with the original purpose of the award, which ostensibly was to reward civilian heroism. Basically, the George Cross is simply becoming another military award for non-combat situations. And, yes, all of these recipients undoubtedly deserved every bit of their medals, as bomb disposal work is a deadly serious business.

To give a flavor of the situation at the time, Pilot Officer A.E. Davies of RAF No. 222 Squadron is shot down and killed over Sussex around noontime. His Spitfire, though, is not too badly damaged - Davies must have crash-landed it before he succumbed to his injuries - and someone else soon gets his plane to fly. Nothing terribly wrong with that, but it shows that the RAF treasures every plane and must use even a dead man's plane in later operations. It is unclear how the next pilot of that plane would have felt about being assigned the "death ship," and pilots can be a superstitious lot.

Adolf Galland of JG 26 gains his 50th victory, at this time second in the world to the 56 of Werner Molders.

James Lacey gets a victory and damages another Bf 109.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command attacks Cherbourg during the day. After dark, it bombs several ports, including Emden, Flushing, and Antwerp. Coastal Command chips in with an attack on Ostend.

The Air Ministry authorizes area bombing, meaning unrestricted aerial warfare on civilian population centers. Heretofore, the attacks at least technically have targeted industrial or military installations. There is no question that this is amply justified by Luftwaffe attacks on British cities. However, this also undeniably represents yet another step lower into the savagery of unrestricted warfare. In practice, the bomber aim is so poor at this point that the bombers may as well have been engaging in area bombing all along, but now they can just target the centers of cities and not just airfields or power plants sited far from downtown.

Walt Disney receives the Progress Medal of the Society of Motion-Picture Engineers from E. Allan Williford at the 47th Annual banquet held at the Blossom Room of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. October 30, 1940.

Battle of the Atlantic: They say that bad things happen in threes. Well, today four different British ships run aground and are lost, an unusual coincidence - but in wartime, so many ships are buzzing around under peculiar circumstances that sometimes the unusual happens. There also are a number of collisions. Helping things along was a violent storm across the region.

The Kriegsmarine suffers a rare U-boat loss. U-32 (Oblt.z.S. Hans Jenisch) is on its ninth patrol and attacks 5372-ton freighter Balzac in the shipping lanes northwest of Ireland. The torpedo explodes prematurely, and the Balzac calls over some escorts from Convoy SC 8 dozens of kilometers away. The tables then are turned and the U-boat is attacked by destroyers HMS Harvester and Highlander. The depth charge attack forces the U-boat to surface, and the destroyers riddle it with gunfire. The U-boat is afloat long enough to enable the crew to escape and scuttle it. There are nine deaths, but 33 of the crew survive to become POWs - a relative rarity when U-boats are sunk in action. Jenisch - who has sunk 17 ships, including recently the 42k ton liner RMS Empress of Britain, for a total of 110,139 tons - survives and becomes an outspoken critic of the U-boat as an instrument of war. Goebbels' propaganda outlets, meanwhile, go on to announce his and U-32's glorious but completely fictional return to port.

Convoy SC 8 is nearing its destination in Great Britain when destroyer HMS Sturdy runs aground on the island of Tiree in the Inner Hebrides. The ship is lost and five crew perish when they try to swim ashore (it's always further than you think). They are buried at Soroby on the island.

A British freighter, the 5213-ton Simonburn, also runs aground at Rattray Head, Aberdeenshire and is lost. It appears everybody survived.

British 1381 ton coaster Alcora runs ashore and is wrecked near Rattray Head, Scotland. Rattray Head is a ship's graveyard, with numerous wrecks there that haven't even be identified.

French requisitioned gate vessel HMS Placidas Faroult runs ashore and is lost off Salcombe estuary, South Hams, Devon. The wreck has been only tentatively identified.

British 92-ton tug Seagem, a new ship built in 1939, goes missing and is presumed sunk around this date. There are no survivors to explain what happened, but a mine could have essentially blasted the tug apart. However, the weather might have been the cause, too.

A Focke Wulf Fw 200 Condor of the Luftwaffe (1,/KG 40) attacks Convoy SLS-51. It bombs and sinks 4202 ton Greek sugar freighter Victoria west of County Donegal, Ireland.

British 57-ton motor launch ML No. 109 (Lt A. Kirk RNR) hits a mine and sinks near the Chequer Shoal Buoy in the Humber. There are three deaths, including Captain Kirk.

Passenger liner Duke of York, later renamed HMS Duke of Wellington during the war apparently to avoid confusion with the battleship, collides with Icelandic (some sources say Irish) fishing trawler Bragi off Wyre Light, England. The 324-ton Bragi has no chance and sinks, apparently with no casualties.

Destroyer HMS Fearless collides with 1904-ton British freighter Lanark and is damaged in the bows.

Minesweeper HMS Leda collides with a freighter and is damaged lightly.

Convoy FN 323 departs from Southend, Convoy FS 323 departs from Methil, Convoy OG 45 departs from Gibraltar.

U-146 (Kapitänleutnant Eberhard Hoffmann) is commissioned.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Wing Commander J.R. O'Sullivan forms a fighter Squadron on Malta. It is to be based at Ta Qali, an airport that will be re-opened for the unit. Ta Qali is basically a junkyard now, used as a dumping ground for old vehicles such as buses and lorries. The airfield was left like this to obstruct an invasion attempt and will have to be cleared to become usable again.

Italian submarine Scire under command of Prince Borghese returns from its unsuccessful launch of manned torpedoes against the British fleet at Gibraltar.

Italian submarine Bragadino drops off mines near Navarino (Pylos), Greece.

Battle of the Pacific: Converted minelayer Passat continues laying mines in the Bass Strait, dropping 40 of them at the eastern entrance. The Pinguin also is laying mines off the coast of South Australia.

German Government: Adolf Hitler returns to Berlin in the evening. He orders General Ritter von Thoma, the head of a military mission to Rome/Libya, to report to him immediately on the status of the Italian position in North Africa. Based on this conversation, he cancels any plans to send Wehrmacht ground troops ("boots on the ground") to North Africa for the time being because:

• The Italians were adamantly opposed to a German presence there;
• Marshal Graziani had been all but rude to von Thoma;
• It would be difficult to supply troops across the Mediterranean.

Hitler, despite this decision, still looks upon the Italian effort in North Africa as being distinctly lacking. He continues plans to send Luftwaffe units to the Mediterranean and also ground troops - when the time comes.

Best's Apparel, Seattle, October 30, 1940. After shoe-store Nordstrom merged with Best's, it became Nordstrom-Best shoes and apparel.

French Homefront: Marshal Petain gives a radio speech. He says:

It is with honor and in order to maintain French unity, a unity which has lasted ten centuries, and in the framework of the constructive activity of the new European order that today I am embarking on the path of collaboration.

This is a famous speech - an infamous speech - that is long remembered in France. In fact, it is remembered quite well at Petain's post-war trial. It would have helped his case if he had said something in this speech about not declaring war on Great Britain as Hitler wished, but for the time being he is going along to get along.

China: In the continuing Battle of South Kwangsi, the Chinese 35 Army Group occupies Nanning from the retreating Japanese.

American Homefront: Cole Porter musical Panama Hattie opens on Broadway, starring Ethel Merman, Arthur Treacher and Betty Hutton. It becomes his longest-running hit to date, running for 501 performances. Oddly enough, it doesn't feature any classic Porter songs. This musical begins a string of Broadway hits for Porter which he personally thinks are mediocre, but the audiences of the time love - and which now are largely forgotten because he was right, they were mediocre.

President Roosevelt, campaigning for his third term in Boston, promises:

I have said this before, but I shall say it again and again and again: Your boys are not going to be sent into any foreign wars.

Future History: Charles Fox is born in New York City. He becomes a top - quite possibly the best - behind-the-scenes composer whose more recognized works include the theme music to ABC's Wide World of Sports ("Spanning the globe") and the original Monday Night Football, as well as his (and Norman Gimbel's) Grammy-winning song recorded separately by Roberta Flack and the Fugees, "Killing Me Softly With His Song." Fox also writes (with Gimbel) a trove of absolutely unforgettable television themes, including "Wonder Woman," "The Last American Hero," "Ready to Take a Chance Again" (for the movie "Foul Play"), "Happy Days," "Laverne and Shirley," "The Love Boat" - yes, he wrote the Love Boat theme with Paul Williams - and, well, too many more to list. Mr. Fox remains active and published his memoirs in 2010, "Killing Me Softly: My Life in Music." He is quite possibly the composer whose songs you know the best but whose name you have never heard. The man is a legend.

An ad in the 30 October 1940 Edmonton, Alberta paper.

October 1940
October 2, 1940: Hitler's Polish Plans
October 3, 1940: British Cabinet Shakeup
October 4, 1940: Brenner Pass Meeting
October 5, 1940: Mussolini Alters Strategy
October 6, 1940: Iron Guard Marches
October 7, 1940: McCollum Memo
October 8, 1940: Germans in Romania
October 9, 1940: John Lennon Arrives
October 10, 1940: Führer-Sofortprogramm
October 11, 1940: E-Boats Attack!
October 12, 1940: Sealion Cancelled
October 13, 1940: New World Order
October 14, 1940: Balham Tragedy
October 15, 1940: Mussolini Targets Greece
October 16, 1940: Japanese Seek Oil
October 17, 1940: RAF Shakeup
October 18, 1940: Convoy SC-7 Catastrophe
October 19, 1940: Convoy HX-79 Catastrophe
October 20, 1940: Convoy OB-229 Disaster
October 21, 1940: This Evil Man Hitler
October 22, 1940: Aktion Wagner-Burckel
October 23, 1940: Hitler at Hendaye
October 24, 1940: Hitler and Petain
October 25, 1940: Petain Woos Churchill
October 26, 1940: Empress of Britain Attack
October 27, 1940: Greece Rejects Italian Demands
October 28, 1940: Oxi Day
October 29, 1940: US Draft Begins
October 30, 1940: RAF Area Bombing Authorized
October 31, 1940: End of Battle of Britain

2020