One Tube shelter even has its own newspaper, 'The Swiss Cottager'. Some have regular concerts and many hold card parties. There have been reports of plagues of lice and mosquitoes, but no epidemics. The number of people sheltering in Tube stations has fallen from a peak of 177,000 to 96,000.

CIGS to Wavell:

"Please tell me urgently when you hope to capture Benghazi. Information will be kept strictly secret but is required in connection with assistance it may be necessary to give to Turkey."

The SS TEWKESBURY, a coaler with a capacity of 7,500 tons, arrives back in South Shields, County Durham after a voyage to the River Plate. The crew includes Captain Theo Pryse, Chief Officer: David Howlett, Second Officer: Peter de Neumann, Third Officer: J. Jeffrey, Chief Engineer:
Joseph Love, Second Engineer: Gerard Turner, Bos’n: Jose Ramirez. Amongst the officers only Turner was new to the ship, and he had previously been studying for his Chief Engineer’s Certificate. Having loaded the coal TEWKESBURY made her way to Methil to join the next convoy (EN79)around the north coast of Scotland. (Bernard de Neumann) (see 26 February 1941 for more)

Minesweeper HMS Ilfracombe launched.

ASW trawler HMS Polka launched.

GERMANY: U-152 commissioned.

FINLAND: 

The Fenno-Soviet negotiations on the fate of Petsamo (Petchenga) nickel mines begin at Moscow.

Finland received the Petsamo area in the Treaty of Tartto (Dorpat) in 1920 from the Soviet Russia, thus gaining an outlet to Arctic Sea. In the next year rich nickel deposits were found there, and ultimately the rights to mine the nickel ore were leased to an Anglo-Canadian consortium. The mine started to operate in late 1930s, and it proved to be one of the richest sources of nickel in Europe.

In the Winter War the Soviets captured the Petsamo area, but for one reason or another Stalin decided to give it back to Finland after the war in March 1940. The reason for that is not known, but possibly Stalin's foreknowledge of German plans to invade Norway played part. During the so-called interim peace between the Winter and Continuation wars (March 1940 to June 1941), Petsamo was of utmost importance to Finland as the only relatively safe outlet to the rest of the world. But the Soviets still greatly desired to have the nickel.

In January 1941 was experienced what the Finns called the Nickel Crisis. The Soviets began to demand a share of the nickel mined in Petsamo, using very threatening expressions. For a time it seemed the Soviets were going to use the Petsamo nickel as a pretext to invade Finland yet again. Negotiations were started, but soon Germans began advising Finns to stay firm. Finally a compromise was reached: over British and Canadian objections it was decided that the Germans and Soviets could share the output of the mine.

GREECE: Athens: General Joannis Metaxas, the Premier of Greece and hero of his country's resistance to the Italian aggressors, has died at the age of 70. A soldier who was exiled for being too pro-German in the Great War, he was a fervent royalist and nationalist. He was the "father" of the modern Greek army. As chief of staff on three occasions, he reorganised the army, built a northern defensive line, and established a military academy.

Above all he imbued the Greeks with his own fighting spirit, and when he contemptuously rejected Mussolini's ultimatum the country united behind him. His monument will be Greece's string of victories over the Italians.

LIBYA: The Australian 2/11th Battalion enters Derna and finds that the Italians had evacuated the town. 

ITALIAN SOMALILAND: British forces cross the border from Kenya into Italian Somaliland. General Sir Alan Cunningham, Commander in Chief East Africa Command, is in command and his forces are 11th and 12th East African Divisions and 1st South African Division. The main attack will not begin until 10 February. 

AUSTRALIA: Minesweeper HMAS Wollongong laid down.

FRENCH INDOCHINA: Japanese brokered armistice talks begin between the French and Thais. (Michael Alexander)
 

CHINA: Nationalist soldiers and Kuomintang guerrillas recover Zhenyang from the Japanese.

SINGAPORE: On his way to Britain, the Australian Prime Minister, Robert Menzies, is appalled at the neglect of the island's defences, which he considers an easy target for Japan.

U.S.A.: Washington: Secret U.S.-British-Canadian staff conversations begin in Washington to determine joint strategy in case of U.S. involvement in the war; the talks will continue until 27 March. They produce conclusions code named ABC1 which state that Allied policy in the event of war with Germany and Japan should be to put the defeat of Germany first. The talks mark an important stage in the development of cooperation between the US and Britain. As well as their important decisions they accustom the staffs to working with each other. 
One decision was that US and Allied representatives would meet in Singapore on April 21, 1941, to discuss development of common defence policies and procedures. (Marc Small)

Destroyer USS Bailey laid down.

Submarine USS Marlin launched.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: