4th Quarter
The Amsterdam Advocate, October 1st
The Admiralty has announced the keel laying of six gunboats, two heavy and four light, as well as two sloops. The Government made payment on the rights to construct MAS 1000 type craft to Italy.
The Batavia Bugle, October 10th
Governor-General A.C.D. de Graeff announced the expansion of the Sulawesi- Sangihe restrictions to encompass the entire Netherlands East Indies.
Reporters dispatched to Manado report passing a cordon of troops at Gorontalo, with a Naval gunboat enforcing port restrictions. In Manado proper, official services are overwhelmed by victims and the number of dead is rising. Government radio information broadcasts blanket the airwaves, posters explaining the quarantine are plastered about, most people stay indoors. Reporters have not been allow to Saiu, but a Doctor who claimed to have returned from there declared “it’s a ghost town, just dead”.
The Batavia Bugle, October 12th
Reports are that a case of El Derretir may have been found in Balikpapan. The port has been closed while health officials attempt to determine cause of death and the whereabouts of the victim in the past week. Oil tankers are expected to continue to enter and leave port under local crews, with oceanic crews being exchanged at sea and the Balikpapan crew returning to port.
The Amsterdam Advocate, October 15th
Prime Minister Eduwart Land announced today that all shipping from Asia would be subject to one week quarantine and medical inspections prior to being allowed in any Dutch port. This quarantine extends to any vessel which has stopped in an Asian port in the past two months. All passenger traffic except for necessary functions is to cease.
The Brussels Bugle, October 16th
Frabrique Nationale announced today that they had been awarded a contract by the Netherlands to produce 90,000 gas warfare kits per annum for five years.
The Amsterdam Advocate, October 18th
The Royal Dutch Lines has announced the new liner Nederlender , a 30 knot liner originally meant for the Dutch East Indies route, will be laid up and available for charter until such a time as the El Derretir threat has been resolved, or alternate routes are arranged. The Nederlender was nearly completed when taken over by Royal Dutch Lines, and now has nearly completed her shakedown cruise. The other four liners the Royal Dutch Lines operate have been concentrated on Atlantic routes after their refurbishment this summer.
The Hauge Herald, October 21st
The War Ministry , as a result of audits prior to the preliminary budget, has declared significant items to be “surplus” and available for sale. These include the 13.2mm ATRs, and 13mm HMGs which are being slowly phased out, several batteries of old pack howitzers and post war anti-aircraft guns, nearly 50,000 wooden pack frames, a half million rations dated 1918, and 200,000 chemical warfare masks and kits dated 1927. When questioned regarding the disposal of five year old kits while ordering new kits the War ministry spokesman said “Completely different, you see the Belgian order is to replace the M1919 kits, which is now more than ten years old. The new gear is only budgeted to replace old gear, it just wouldn’t do to replace new gear with new gear. However, we have in excess of 650,000 kits in inventory, in addition to the civil defense stocks, while the army requirement is only 450,000, as such 200,000 are surplus.”
When asked if it would make better sense to replace the 1919 gear with the 1927 gear, the spokesperson lapsed into gibberish, or started quoting procurement regulations, this reporter could not establish which.
The Batavia Bugle, October 24th
Despite the panic in Borneo, El Derretir does not appear to have been the cause of death in the cases in Balikpapan. Isolated panics such as this have become common in recent weeks, despite the Government information campaign. Reports from Sulawesi indicate that would-be refugees have been shot by panicky soldiers manning the quarantine line.
The Amsterdam stock market edged higher today, in part buoyed by the press release by Royal Dutch Shell that an agreement with King Saud to conduct oil exploration in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia along the shores of the Arabian Sea.
The Brussels Bugle, October 26th
The opposition party has commenced demanding an investigation into a large sale of stock by Finance Minister Leterme in the evening of 16 January. Minister Leterme’s uncle is a member of the board of the Grand Bank of Ghent. The revelation of this news sent the market plummeting yet further this morning.
The Amsterdam Advocate, October 28th
The scheduled Tri-Annual Exercises have been postponed until resolution of the El Derretir crisis.
The Amsterdam Advocate, November 12th
Trials having been satisfactory, four Gruno class gunboats commenced their shakedown cruises today.
The Amsterdam Advocate, November 22nd
The completion of the two DeGroot class Seaplane carriers is glad tidings. The DeGroots are expected to provide much greater flexibility in aerial reconnaissance. Four C.VIII-W squadrons have already been trained up, with one squadron to be embarked on each DeGroot and the remaining squadrons to provide training and replacement pilots.
The Amsterdam Advocate, November 25th
The Sultan of Yemen is said to be most pleased with the arms purchased from the Netherlands’ surplus stockpile. The arms included several hundred anti-tank rifles, machine guns, and reportedly some artillery. The Sultan is said to be particularly pleased with the long range capability of the 13.2mm ATR in rabbit hunting, though somewhat disappointed with the lack of a meal from the results.
The Brussels Bugle, December 1st
Calls by the opposition for the resignation of Finance Minister Leterme were met by the revelation that Opposition leader des Prés eliminated his stockholdings on 12-16th of January. This information was not publicly available previously due to a reporting irregularity.
Fabrique Nationale has announced an unspecified order from the government of Saudia Arabia. King Saud has been engaging in a spending spree, recently purchasing 500 anti-tank rifles, 500 heavy machine guns from the Netherlands surplus stocks.
The Batavia Bugle, December 11th
Just as the terrible El Derretir appears to be subsiding on Sulawesi, reports from Sorong indicate the disease has taken hold there. Martial law having been effective, if brutal, in Manado, the same has immediately been declared in Sorong. With the disease ravaging to the east, north and west, it seems remarkable that the Moluccas have no reported cases, but with so many small islands and such poor communication, this situation is not likely to last.
The Ghent Gazette, December 15th
A local opposition party boss was assaulted in a pub today. The patrons appear to have been drinking for several hours previously, their place of employment having shut down earlier in the week, and expressed their frustrations to the hapless politician.
The Brussels Bugle, December 16th
The Red Cross National Society of Belgium announced today that, as the recipient of two large anonymous donations, it has arranged to purchase the Netherlands’ surplus gas warfare equipment and charter the Nederlender to steam the equipment and a large contingent of volunteer medical doctors and nurses to India. Preliminary arrangements have been made, and the vessel is expected to depart in five days, the transit is expected to take 11 days at 24 knots, bringing the ship to India on January 1st of the New Year.
The Hauge Herald, December 23rd
The Queen’s Christmas Ball was a smashing success, despite the absence of Princess Julianna, who was attending King Albert’s Court.
WesWorld »
The SIM »
News and Stories »
Quoted
When asked if it would make better sense to replace the 1919 gear with the 1927 gear, the spokesperson lapsed into gibberish, or started quoting procurement regulations, this reporter could not establish which.
Tuesday, May 21st 2024, 1:33pm
Go to the top of the page
