3 9002 N 0 R T WEST AFRICA BR. S0MALI> fc— 10. SIERRA LEONE EAST, WEST AND CENTRAL AFRICA SEYCHELLES H fPEMBA ZANZIBAR PORTUGU E SE ASCENSION ST. HELENA ^ MAURITIUS SWAZILAND BASUTOLAND lPpr- **'77 ^ W, v 0#$ po, Colonial products make FRONT-LINE WEAPONS 7?»’ a IS Gr b + IJL. HERE are many ways of fighting a war and many parts that can be taken in the battle. A vast army, navy and air force would be useless without the men and women of the factories who turn out the guns and ships and ’planes. The factories in turn would be useless without the raw materials with which to make these armaments of war. The raw materials themselves would be wasted without the men and women to take them from the earth or grow them in the fields. So everyone . . . everywhere in the British Empire ... is an important cog in the wheel of war, and every colony makes invaluable contribution to victory through its raw materials. Some of the Colonies make this contri- bution just by increasing their local food production and cutting down their imported foodstuffs. This helps to save shipping space, needed so urgently to carry troops and munitions to the battle areas. This booklet will tell you the story of some of the Colonial raw materials which play such an important part in the Allied war factories.Tin from Nigeria FOR ENGINE BEARINGS High on the plateau of Bauchi, with the town of Jos as its headquarters, lies the tin-mining industry of Nigeria. In peace-time, tin was a domesticated metal, used for pots and pans, as well as for engine bearings. Now tin cooking utensils are almost un- obtainable. Engine bearings have first claim. Nigeria is also an important producer of cotton, hides and skins, timber, ground-nuts and palm kernels. After the tin is mined, it is used in the manu- facture of engine bearings. These are then assembled and the great work of making more and more railway engines to transport more and more goods to docks and ports goes on. Here is a large engine transporting naval guns from factory to ship. It is guns like these which protect the convoys and maintain the British Navy’s command over the seas and oceans.MAKES STEEL FOR GUNS The Gold Coast is the second largest British colony in West Africa, and although, as its name implies, there is extensive gold-mining, an equally important raw material in time of war—manganese—is pro- duced there. From manganese and other products comes steel, and steel is an essential in the production of guns. Another important product of the Gold Coast is industrial diamonds which are used in machine tools which cut steel. Manganese from the gold coast When the manganese has been made into steel, the steel in turn becomes guns. This scene at a great gun-making factory shows workers engaged in making the anti-aircraft guns which are so important in modern warfare. The guns go into action ! While this actual photo- graph was being taken at an anti-aircraft unit, it was confirmed that one German ’plane was shot down and another so badly damaged that it is unlikely that it returned to its base.Iron Ore from sierra leone MAKES STEEL FOR TANKS During recent years in Sierra Leone there has been a considerable development in the mining of iron ore from the great Marampa mines. The majority of this ore is exported, most of it finding its way into British factories where it makes steel for the tanks that will blast their way to victory. Tanks are not the only weapons of war requiring steel, how- ever, guns and army vehicles also take their fair share. Britain’s cruiser tanks weigh fifteen tons each and are turned out by the thousand at several factories. Without the essential iron ore, far fewer tanks could be pro- duced in British tank factories. Shipped from Britain to the Middle East, tanks played an im- portant part in the victories in Egypt and Libya.Copper from northern rhodesia FOR SHELLS AND CARTRIDGE CASES Northern Rhodesia is rich in mineral wealth, for apart from vanadium, zinc, cobalt and tin deposits, it stands a fine chance of becoming the largest copper producer in the world. The Roan Antelope, Nkana, and other copper mines in the northern part of the territory are assisting the war effort magnificently. Copper is essential for the production of shells and cartridge cases. The giant shells in the picture, waiting for dispatch to various theatres of war, could not have been made without copper. This remarkable photograph actually shows a shell in flight from a 12-inch howitzer gun in action “somewhere in England.” Look just above the cloud of smoke and you will see it quite clearly.Cotton from Uganda FOR SERVICE UNIFORMS The Protectorate of Uganda has a varied but tropical climate, ideal for the growing of cotton, and that is the chief crop of the area. Acres and acres of land are yearly planted with the cotton seedlings, and the harvest is important to the war effort. Cotton is used for making tropical uniforms for the British forces serving in hot climates ; it is also necessary for barrage balloons. Clothing factories are kept constantly busy cutting out and mak- ing uniforms for the forces abroad. Uni- forms for tropical wear are made from strong cotton ma- terial. Allied soldiers are fitted out with the correct type of uni- form for whichever part of the globe their duties take them to. In hot climates they wear cool khaki drill.Sisal from TANGANYIKA MAKES BINDER TWINE FOR REAPING MACHINES The soil of Tanganyika is very suitable for the growing of crops. Among the most important of these for the war effort is sisal, from which binder twine is made, used in reaping machines during Britain’s harvest. Immense quantities of this twine are required in Britain to-day to deal with the large harvests. A secondary use for sisal is the manu- facture of ropes and hawsers for the Navy. In the rope factories, sisal is graded and spun into binder twine, ropes and hawsers. 1942 saw a bumper harvest in Britain. Miles and miles of waving corn were harvested by land girlss farm workers and volunteer helpers, each sheaf of corn being firmly bound in place with binder twine.Cattle from kenya FOR TINNED FOOD In Kenya there are wonderful grazing lands and the climate is excellent for rearing cattle. Apart from feeding her own people, Kenya produces cattle to provide large quantities of tinned meat for the fighting forces in the Middle East. As well as food, cattle produce hides and skins which are essential for the manufacture of army boots, belts and other equipment, without which an army could not fight efficiently. In the great canning factories, thousands of tons of meat are tinned, hermetically sealed and thus kept fresh for an indefinite length of time. In desert warfare tinned food is essen- tial. Supplies of fresh food cannot always be brought up to the scene of battle, but tinned food is excel- lent and nourishing.Gold from bechu an aland MAKES HAIRSPRINGS FOR CHRONOMETERS IN SHIPS Bechuanaland is largely a pastoral country, its wealth lying chiefly in cattle, but gold is also mined there. Gold is of importance in warfare for making the hairsprings of delicate precision instruments which are vital to the Royal Navy. Without these chrono- meters naval warfare would sacrifice much in accuracy and calculations would be most difficult for the men who sail the Seven Seas. This skilled craftsman has spent more than forty years in the trade and assembles a chronometer entirely by himself from start to finish. It is delicate, intricate work, and every detail must be checked.Asbestos from SWAZILAND FOR FIREPROOF SUITS Swaziland is mainly agricultural, but it is also rich in mineral resources. Asbestos, so essential in a war where incendiary bombs and fire are used, is mined in this territory. There are excellent motor roads, and along these the asbestos is transported and then shipped to Britain’s factories. Asbestos is com- pletely fireproof, and a man clad in it can walk through the fiercest flames on rescue-work. Once in the factory the asbestos is trans- formed into fireproof suits for fire-fighting. Members of the National Fire Service need these suits in their great and im- portant job of fight- ing German fire- bombs. Hatchet raised to strike, and clad in an asbestos fireproof suit, a member of the Royal Air Force’s own fire - fighting squad attacks a blaz- ing aircraft, intent on rescuing important instruments.Wool from basutoland Clothing the enormous British Army has provided work for thousands of women. Shirts, battle- dresses and greatcoats are turned out daily by the factories. All are made from wool. FOR ARMY UNIFORMS The country of Basutoland is very fertile and produces good grain crops. It is also good grazing country. The Basuto pony is well known for its strength and endurance. Now the Basuto sheep is becoming widely known and recognized for the fine texture of its wool, needed for uniforms for the ever-increasing ranks of fighting men. British battle- dress is a comfortable fighting uniform, and requires wool for its manufacture. Troops going into action find that modern battledress is comfortable, warm and practical. The British soldier is sensibly and warmly clad.Potash from Palestine FOR EXPLOSIVES From the Dead Sea of historical Palestine are obtained potassium salts from which is extracted potash, used in the manufacture of high explosives. There are many flourishing industries in the Palestine of to-day, but none perhaps so important to the war effort as this production of potash. Its chief use is as a fertilizer for the land, but a secondary war use is in the making of bombs and shells. Here is a pictorial demonstration of the final stages of shell-making. The high explosive charge is placed inside the case and the fuse is screwed home. British bombs and shells get heavier as the months go by. Eight thousand pound bombs have already been dropped on Germany, and we look forward to even heavier bombs in the future. .Rubber from ceylon MAKES TYRES FOR ARMY VEHICLES Although Ceylon is always associated with tea, the cultivation of rubber is nearly as extensive and even more important. With the Axis in control of so many rubber plantations in the Far East, the in- creasing supply from Ceylon is vital. Rubber is used for army vehicles’ tyres and also for rubber dinghies, to save the lives of pilots who bale out of their aircraft over the sea. Enormous tyres such as these are required for army lorries, which often have to travel over rough land. Apart from taking an enormous strain, these giant tyres are bullet-proof. A typical convoy sets forth. These con- voys often stretch for miles when a Division is on the move in a battle area or on exercises in England.Petroleum Products from Trinidad FOR FUELLING SHIPS Trinidad has a famous natural pitch lake, as well as large oilfields, and is the greatest producer of mineral oil in the Colonial Empire at present. In these days of mechanized warfare and constant sea patrols, petroleum products are essential for fuelling ’planes, tanks, lorries and ships. A lack of petroleum in a war of machines could have a disastrous effect on the country who lacked it. A complicated series of gaunt, steel erec- tions mark an impor- tant oil-refining plant. The oil has to go through a process of refinement after it is extracted from the ground. Eventually it be- comes the petroleum and engine oil that fuel the great ships. Ships like this one, carrying 15-in. guns, need enormous quan- tities of oil to keep them in action.Bauxite from British guiana MAKES ALUMINIUM FOR AEROPLANES Aluminium is manufactured from a mineral called bauxite. British Guiana, known sometimes as the “Gateway to South America,” has rich mineral resources, and the mining of bauxite is a flourishing concern and of vital importance to the war factories. Aluminium is used to make fighters and bombers, which are being turned out of Britain’s factories in ever-increasing numbers. - Supplies of alu- minium are eagerly received by the big aircraft factories for making “ Spitfire ” fighter aircraft. These fighters continue to beat the German Air Force. Bombers, too, re- quire aluminium in their make-up. With- out this essential metal the Royal Air Force would not be able to make their fierce and continuous attacks on Germany.Sea Island Cotton from the WINDWARD ISLANDS (LEEWARD ISLANDS AND BARBADOS) FOR BARRAGE BALLOONS Wonderful rugged scenery and luxurious vegetation are typical features of the Windward and Leeward Islands and Barbados, and part of the luxurious vegetation is Sea Island Cotton. This cotton makes a beautiful material that has the texture of silk. Popular before the war for luxury shirts, it plays a great part in the defence of Britain to-day in making barrage balloons to protect cities from enemy dive-bombers. Many English girls have transferred from dress- making to balloon-making, and these monsters that fly above Britain’s cities to prevent enemy dive- bombing attacks are turned out by their thousands. Barrage balloons have accounted for many an enemy ’plane and are hated and feared by the Axis pilots who know that entanglement with their trailing wires means instant destruction.Mahogany from British Honduras FOR TRAINING ’PLANE PROPELLERS It is only fitting that the small colony of British Honduras, which had its origin in the seventeenth century settlement of bands of log-cutters, should now be providing fine mahogany to build propellers for aircraft. Those original log-cutters little knew how helpful their work would be to the war effort of the Allied Nations. Most training aircraft are fitted with mahogany propellers. The majority of the mahogany goes to Britain’s great ally, the United States of America, to make propellers for train- ing ’planes. In these training ’planes, future pilots learn to fly. The growing air strength of the United Nations demands more and more trained pilots.ThIS booklet has been designed to show just one of the important contributions that the Colonies are making to the war effort. The vital importance of raw materials in time of warfare cannot be too highly stressed. No modern battle can be fought without guns and tanks, aircraft and ships. These arma- ments of war cannot be manufactured without the essential raw materials described in these pages.. It follows, therefore, that no country lacking in raw materials can hope to win a war of any length and that no country lacking those materials can hope for air, sea or land superiority. Germany is beginning to learn the truth of this statement. The Colonies have stood by Britain in her darkest hour. They have given her the riches of their soil. Every acre of sisal, every plantation of cotton, every mine of ore, are as much an armament of war as a bomb- ing ’plane. The Colonies, realizing this, have done everything in their power to increase the yield of their lands. And now, in the great victories won by the forces in the Middle East, in the rout of Rommel’s famous Afrika Korps, and the complete disintegra- tion of the Italian Army, the Colonies have their reward. Together we are advancing towards victory. Thanks to the raw materials sent to the factories of Britain, an ever- increasing number of bombs are being dropped on ‘enemy territory, an ever-increasing number of ships are leaving the shipyards for the seas. Without the resources of the Col- onies, placed by them so willingly at Britain’s disposal, these things could never have been. No thanks can be too great for this sustained contribution towards VICTORY.