- 16/3/40. No.7. THE STATE ft THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. LORD DE LA WARR AT NORWICH. Speaking to-day (Saturday) at the Norfolk National Union of Teachers Luncheon at Norwich, Lord De La Warr President of the Board of Education, said that:­ A good deal has been said and written about public schools and that the Board of Education should lately, suggestions made both help some of them out of their difficulties and assert control over them in the public interests. If these schools feel that they could increase their contribution to the educational riches of this country that is ? a matter which I think they know the Board would be prepared to discuss with them. But I would like to assert here and now that the idea of buying the right to control them is one that is very repugnant to all English people. To begin with the word "control" connected with things educational has an ugly sound. The State helps the Universities and they give some service in return, but there has never been any question of controlling the Universities. If, therefore, there is any future discussion on the position of the public general schools in relation to the national problem of education, I hope that they will feel that as well as theirs will be on the basis of mutual our approach contribution and not of control. For myself I confess to an mind on the whole open subject. It needs far more consideration than it has yet received, but I cannot help feeling that the day is perhaps coming when the public schools may feel that they would like to share with other classes the tremendous benefits that they have to bestow. BOARD OF EDUCATION. Evening No. 9. NOT TO BE PUBLISHED BEFORE THE EVENING NEWSPAPERS OF WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20TH, 1940. AIR MINISTRY WEEKLY MEWS LETTER (Evening Papers) Note: The information contained in this News Letter may be used by the Press without acknowledgement. If it is desired to refer to the Air Ministry as the source of the information, the expression u The Air Ministry Announces:-" is NOT to be used. C ONTENTS. ENEMY INVITATION TO LAND. LIVING HISTORY FOR THE R.A.F. BOMBER SQUADRON’S "ALL BLACK" PILOTS. WHY AIRMEN PUT ON WEIGHT. W.A.A.F. COOKS WANTED. WATCH-DOGS OP THE R.A.F. SEALS OF ALL SORTS. THEY’RE TELLING US! V.C’s OF THE AIR. DOWN TO EARTH. KEEPING THE PARTIES GOING. Press and Publicity Branch, Air Ministry, King Charles Street, Whitehall, S.W.l. 20th March, 1940. 2 ENEMY INVITATION TO LAND, How a Royal Air Force reconnaissance aircraft flying at night over Germany was courteously invited to land on an enemy aerodrome is revealed in a story from the A.A.S.F. in France. Over North West Germany, pilot and observer, eagerly watching for points of interest in the dark landscape below, spotted an aerodrome. It was evident that enemy aircraft were engaged in some night flying operation, for landing and obstruction lights were showing. As the R.A.F. pilot was passing directly over the aerodrome at no very great height, he was surprised and not a little amused to receive a flashlamp signal indicating that all was set for him to make a landing. "I almost decided to go down and take an early break­fast," said the pilot in recounting his experience. LIVING HISTORY FOR THE R.A.F. In the new French villages that have been rebuilt on old battlefields, our airmen are learning their history from people who lived it. Almost invariably there are aged folk, still going strong, who have tales to tell of the Franco-Prussian War as well as the war of 1914-18. There is one old woman, aged 96, who is a great friend of the R.A.F. The men give her a cheery salute andahelping hand as she goes firmly about her daily work in her little house and plot of land. In return, she tells them stories of 1870-71, 1914-18. With unconcealed pride she says "For the Franco-Prussian War I was already a bride. Here I was married, and here 1 have lived They have moved my village sometimes, but me they do not move. And nothing will move me this time”. Near by is an Algerian ex-soldier, who now lives in the strong-post he once defended. It has been his home since the last war ended. He knows every corner of all the battlefields /round 3 round about, and can fill in the details of the struggles of that time. Since then he has made his living by collecting copper and other metals from the shell-holes. Luxuries come from the money he earns by selling the rarer souvenirs that he finds. He appears to be making a fair living, for he looks well and happy. Strangest of all, however, is the story of an old man who lives not far from one of the canals. He works on the land, cultivating beet. He looks like a typical French peasant, with his weatherworn face and black beret. He speaks like one too, unless he becomes slightly annoyed. Then his mother tongue is revealed. It is Cockney English. The other day he was leading his horse with a load of best when his cart fouled the motor car of some young R.A.F. officers. He said a few English words that led to some laughter and good-natured chaff. The old man proudly related the history of his battles. He had been wounded four times. "When I came out of hospital," he said, "the war was over. I came here, and have stayed." His son, ho added, was in the R.A.F. BOMBER SQUADRON'S "ALL BLACK” PILOTS. The R.A.F. New Zealand Squadron of Bomber Command recently carried out its first operational flight, sweep over a the North Sea in search of enemy ships. This Squadron had its beginning in June of last year. Certain personnel came to England to fly Wellington aircraft back to Hew Zealand, and other New Zealanders serving in the R.A.F. Were released from their units so that they could join their Zealand fellow-countrymen. The first flight of aircraft to New was to have been made in October, and others were to have followed at intervals of three months, six aircraft on each trip. War intervened, and both aircraft and personnel remained in England, and were placed at the disposal of Bomber Command. Other New Zealanders have since joined. Every pilot in the squadron is a New Zealander. Many of the wireless /operators 4 operators and about a quarter of the maintenance staff also come from New Zealand. Flying crews were made up with men who are not New Zealanders, so that the work of the pilots should not be held up. The Squadron's Commanding Officer, who holds the rank of Wing Commander, was in the Royal Naval Air Service in the last war. His home is in South Canterbury, N.Z. He has under him what he describes, with that diffident enthusiasm that seems characteristic of the R.A.F., as ”a very good crowd”. of the One captains of aircraft has over 2,000 flying hours to his credit, and another about 1,500 hours. Four others are near the thousand mark. WHY AIRMEN PUT ON WEIGHT. Breakfast: Sausages and onion gravy. Dinner: Brown beef stew, curry, potatoes, mixed vegetables. Tea: Jellied veal and sauce. Supper: Beans on fried bread. Add to this typical menu the tea, bread and butter or margarine and marmalade which are always on the table, and it is easy to see why the R.A.F. is putting on weight, as its medical officers have discovered. Good cooking, and variety in the bill of fare both help. The overhaul of flying boats is a hungry job on a winter's day. At the end of the morning's work, the cookhouse is the most popular place in camp. The mess clerk and the sergeant, with his team of W.A.A.F. and male cooks, have been working there all the morning. The W.A.A.F. had to accustom themselves to a Brobdingnagian kitchen when, they first came into the cookhouse. The stewpans there would make a housewife gasp. The oven would take six domestic ones. A baby could be bathed in one of the pans the W.A.A.F. use for making custard. /The 5 The W.A.A.F. settled down very quickly and they soon abandoned cookery book technique. With several hundred men to feed, there is no time to weigh out quantities "a la Beeton.” Beef the bought by carcase, is the mainstay of the cookhouse. But there is nothing monotonous about it. Mince, s meat pies, grilled steak, stewed or braised steak, rissoles and cottage pie are some of the forms beef takes on the scrubbed tables of the dining hall. The W.A.A.F. share the day's bill of fare with the men, have their cooks but they own in their own quarters. They occasionally make a cake for themselves. They have learned the Yorkshire habit of drinking tea from a pint mug? and they declare now that this is, after all, the best way to take tea. They have no use for tablecloths, but prefer the simplicity of wooden tables which are scrubbed twice a day. Most of the "customers" have put on weight. Not many - people for instance, would complain of this another day's bill of fare: Breakfast: Bacon and Kidney. Dinner: Soup, roast beef, potatoes, cabbage, Fruit salad and custard. Tea: Kippers. Supper: Cottage pie. W.A.A.F. COOKS WANTED. The importance of the work of the W.A.A.F. cooks cannot be too much emphasised. There are already a great many of them, cook but more are wanted, for the W.A.A.F. hopes eventually to for the whole of the Royal Air Force. Women with experience of cooking are, of course, in Special demand. But even those with only limited experience need not be afraid to apply, because the training quickly turns them into experts. The training is interesting, scientifically organised and highly varied as any W.A.A.F. cook will say, /Moreover 6 Moreover they are cooks and cooks only; no washing up, no heavy lifting or anything like that. All the pots and pans are specially designed too, which makes the work easier. The hours are not long, for a shift system operates. WATCH-DOGS OF THE R.A.F. The soldier who moves you on if you linger near an aerodrome figures in none of the stories of thrilling air achievements. Yet he is an essential cog in our national defence machine, for he guards the aircraft, the munition dumps, the control rooms and all the other vital parts of the Air Force. He is the watch-dog of the R.A.F. With fixed bayonet, he patrols his beat by day and night two hours on and four off for 24 hours. Then 24 hours - for rest and light duties. Most of these guards are old soldiers belonging to National Defence Companies. The snow was still hard on the ground when a Small party made a three-and-a-half mile night inspection of the Army-guard ht a Coastal Command aerodrome in the far North. The - orderly officer led the way. and his corporal a soldier-turned—­ - gamekeeper-turned-soldier brought up the rear. Guard No. 1 challenged them as they crossed the aerodrome fence. "Orderly officer" replied the leader. "Advance, orderly officer and be recognised” said the sentry. The orderly officer went forward. Not until he had been duly "recognised" were the others allowed to approach. The sentry, a veteran of the last war, was wearing a Balaclava helmet, and his "battle bowler" on top of that. "A cold night", remarked the officer. "Aye" replied the sentry with a broad accent, "but I keep fine and warm moving around, Sir". /The 7 The little party tramped on over the frozen fields towards a spinney. A large red flag, idle in the still night, drooped from a pole. "Bomb dump”, observed the orderly officer laconically. Suddenly the moon glinted on a steel bayonet. Another sentry loomed up. ”Halt!" He challenged. Again the orderly officer went forward while the others waited for the "Advance remainder”. - So the inspection went from point to point until the whole circumference of the aerodrome had been toured. It was ringed round by men who know the feel of a rifle. They would not hesitate to Shoot at suspects who try to evade a challenge. SEALS OF ALL SORTS. Thousands and to of registered packets envelopes have be sealed every week before they are sent by post between various R.A.F. units, and ingenious ideas are used in a kind of competition to provide the most original seal. Coins of all denominations, from 3d.-pieces to half- crowns, head the list, and currency from the more remote parts of the Empire, such as Indian pice and Chinese cash from Hong Kong, occasionally provide an exotic touch. The registry at Reserve Command Headquarters has made an interesting collection of these different seals. One has been worn while appropriately named "Wings by F/Lt. Icarus", another, resembling a bat in shape, has been christened "Die Fledermaus". In thin collection great seals of State lie side by Side with imprints made in wax by such objects as the end of a round ruler, signet rings, washers, cap badges, buttons, cuff links, filing cabinet labels, beer-bottle stoppers, and even the shield from an old private safe. /THEY'RE... 8 THEY’RE TELLING US. A new Hymn of Hate against Britain forms the battle song of a German bomber squadron which has been responsible for a number of recent attacks on British shipping. Popularly known in Germany as "The Lion Squadron", this unithas adopted a crouching lion as its emblem. The following is a free translation of the battle song:­ Aircraft out, chocks away, Let the engines thunder: We fly nor'west for England's coasts, To rend its guard asunder. Blood-red bombers of the Lion, skies Roaring up the of morning,With holy wrath we fly inspired,­England you have had your warning! False Britannia, listen well, Hear us chant: " Vae Victis"; In your blood we soon shall write it - "Vestigium Leonis". Seek your cover, hide in terror, Hear our bombs come screaming down, See your ships destroyed and scattered, Mark the track the Lion has flown. Who Counts the cost if some shall fall, And Death becomes their fame? Let metal tear our hearts to shreds, Our spirits still declaim: Aircraft out, chocks away, Lot the engines thunder, We fly nor'west for England ' s coasts. To tear its guards asunder. V.C's OF THE AIR. 6 -Rear Admiral R.B. Davies. Rear Admiral Richard Bell Davies was serving in the Royal Naval Air Service when he won the Victoria Cross by “a feat of airmanship that can seldom have been equalled for skill and gallantry". In November, 1915, he was a Squadron Commander stationed in the Dardanelles. He and another officer, Flight Sub- Lieutenant Gilbert Formby Smylie, made an air attack on Ferrijik Junction. Smylie's machine was shot down by heavy anti-aircraft fire. The pilot planed down to a very low altitude over the /objective 9 objective and simultaneously released all his bombs except one which remained jammed in the bomb rack. Smylie continued his descent to force-land in a marsh. He scrambled from the machine, noticed the one bomb still unexploded in the rack, and set fire to his aircraft, knowing that the bomb would explode and completely destroy it. Meanwhile Davies prepared to make a landing to save Smylie, in spite of the near approach of a party of the enemy. Smylie feared that Davies would land too near the burning aircraft and be destroyed by the exploding bomb. So, while Davies was still circling to land, Smylie succeeded in exploding the bomb with revolver fire. Davies coolly landed his aircraft at a safe distance from the blazing wreck, snatched Smylie from under the noses of the enemy patrol and returned to his base. By this heroic action he added the V.C. to the D.S.O. he had earned earlier in the war. Smylie received the Distinguished Service Cross. Davies was promoted to Wing Commander, and in 1919 was awarded the Air Force Cross. is a Rear Admiral Today Richard Bell Davies commanding Naval Air Stations. DOWN TO EARTH. Quito a number of aircraftmen with the Advanced Air Striking Force in France are doing a bit of "digging for victory”. They are making their own allotments in the villages where they are billeted, and are already hopefully anticipating an excellent harvest of vegetables. Radishes and lettuces seem to be the favourite sowings. KEEPING THE PARTIES GOING. "Cast no clout!" may be the seasonable but for more than five thousand industrious people the slogan is still "Cast on! cast on!". The R.A.F. have had good reason during /this - 16/3/40 No.1. WAR GIVES ULSTER FOXES A CHANCE. Foxes in Northern Ireland may gain a new lease of life from the war. Economy has made the Government cancel its awards at the end of this month for Reynard’s destruction and County Agricultural Committees have been told that if payments for a brush are to continue they should be made a on the County rates. charge Foxes are plentiful in the mountainous districts of Ulster and experienced Scottish trappers have from time to time been employed to thin their numbers. The farmers have also done last six months hundreds of foxes have been killed. their bit and during the EMPIRE AFFAIRS. 10 this harsh winter to feel gratitude to the 1,700 work parties (each of more than a dozen knitters) who have supplied the much needed woollen comforts. But their task is not finished now that spring is here. Without casting a slur on the British summer it must he repeated that gloves, socks and scarves are still needed. Parties of knitters arc urged not to disband, but to "keep going" so that next Autumn the supply will be adequate. - No. 16/3/40 9. ADMIRALTY OFFICIAL COMMUNIQUE The Secretary of the Admiralty regrets to announce that H.M. sank Trawler PERIDOT, Skipper W.H. Burgess, R.N.R., on the 15th March a result of as striking an enemy mine. There were no casualties. 16/3/40 -No 10 B.E.F. LEAVE The War Office states that the reports that Special Easter Leave to Paris is being given to members of the B.E.F. are untrue. No leave other than the normal six-monthly leave is being given. WAR OFFICE S.W.1. - AIR MINISTRY BULLETIN. 16/3/40 No.ll. BRITISH BOMBERS OVER POLAND. The Air Ministry announces: During the past twenty-four hours air reconnaissance activities have included an extensive night flight over Polish territory by aircraft of Bomber Command and an engagement between an aircraft of Coastal Command and an enemy bomber. During a running fight in which the enemy was repeatedly attacked, damage was seen to be inflicted. The enemy aircraft finally escaped in the clouds.. 16/3/40 -No l2 PRESS NOTICE Captain C.B.Ballard R.N.(Retired) has been awarded a Naval Pension of £lOO a year in the vacancy created by the death of Rear Admiral C.A.W.Hamilton (Rtd. ) the on 21st January, 1940. ADMIRALTY, S.W.1. - 16/3/40 No. 13. PRESS NOTICE Engineer Rear Admiral H.S. Rashbrooke, C.B.E., (Retired) has been awarded a Greenwich Hospital Pension of £lOO a year in the vacancy caused by the death of Engineer Rear Admiral J.R.J. Pedrick (Retired) on the 9th February, 1940. Engineer Rear admiral W. Whittingham, C.B. (Retired) has been awarded Greenwich Hospital Pension of a a year in the vacancy caused by the above award. ADMIRALTY, S.W.1. - 16/3/40 No. 14. MINIS TRY OF FOOD ANNOUNCEMENT RATIONING. PORK SUPPLIES available and may be purchased on the surrender of the necessary coupon or coupons. Consumers are reminded that they arc not required to register with a pork butcher in order to purchase from him. Those who have lodged pages of coupons with their general butcher may recover them if they wish to purchase pork from a pork butcher. Ample supplies of pork are - MINISTRY OF FOOD ANNOUNCEMENT. 16/3/40 No. 13. MOHS HOME-GROWN WHEAT FOR PEELING LIVESTOCK. A larger proportion of home-grown wheat is to be made available for feeding to livestock by an Order made by the of Pood of the General Licence Minister amending the provisions issued under the Home-Grown Wheat dated 13th January, 1940, (Control) Order, 1939. The effect of the new Order is to permit every approved buyer to sell or use during a calendar month for purposes other seed not more than one-half of the quantity than flour milling or wheat from remaining from his total purchases of millable from such registered growers during that month after deducting total purchases the amount of any millable wheat bought by him during that month for use as seed. The new Order also permits a flour miller to use during a calendar month, not more than one-third of for any purpose, his total purchases of miliable wheat during that month from other approved buyers. The provisions of the General Licence allowing an approved buyer who is not also a flour miller to use all millable wheat bought by him from another for any purpose approved remain in force. The purpose of the Order is to improve the local distribution of wheat for animal and poultry feeding, by increasing to the extent indicated in the Order the quantity of home-grown available locally for this purpose. wheat - 16/3/40 No.16. REGISTRATION OF THE 27'S An Official Denial to probable date of the registration of men who reached the age of 27 in 1939, and the probable contents of a new Royal Proclamation under the Armed Forces Act, are pure invention for which there is no foundation whatever. No reliance should be placed on statements implying that even tentative decisions on these matters have been made. Offical announcements are regularly made as soon as decisions are reached,, Reports published today purporting give the MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND NATIONAL SERVICE - 16/3/40 No 17 FRENCH OFFICIAL COMMUNIQUE (EVENING) Paris, March 16. 1 940 The following communique was issued this evening by the French G.H.Q. Activity of both artilleries in the region of the Saar. Our outposts repelled enemy patrols west Some of the Vosges. firing along the Rhine. - l6/3/40 No. 2. RELEASED FOR PUBLICATION AFTER 9.35. p.m. ON SATURDAY. MARCH 16, 1940. AS THIS SCRIPT IS BEING ISSUED IN ADVANCE OF THE BROADCAST, IT WILL BE NECESSARY TO CHECK IT AGAINST THE ACTUAL BROADCAST AT 9.20. THIS (SATURDAY) EVENING, MARCH 16, 1940. THE WAR TODAY. BROADCAST BY SIR ARCHIBALD SINCLAIR. (The Right Hon. Sir Archibald Sinclair, C.M.G., broadcasts on "The War Today” at 9.20. this (Saturday) evening in the Home Service programme. This talk is part of the series entitled "From the Front Bench”. The text of Sir Archibald Sinclair’s talk is attached). The last time was the I spoke to you day war was declared. We were steeling ourselves you and I for the impact of war. We thought that it might at any moment burst right into our homes spreading death and destruction on a vast scale. We expected great battles on land. We were prepared to receive without dismay the news of striking successes in the None won earlier stages of. the war by our better prepared enemy. of this has happened. We seem to have passed from a warlike peace to a peaceful war. But we must still be prepared for it to happen at any moment and our resolve is still unshaken and will firm. our True it is that at sea the struggle has been fierce. Hundreds of peaceful fishermen, lightship keepers and travellers have lost their lives through the brutal and lawless methods of the Nazis, and even neutral shipping has had to pay nearly as heavy a toll as our own to the Nazi pirates. But the bravery and skill of our sailors and airmen are our sure defence and the sea has become a very unhealthy place for the Nazi submarines and aircraft which infest it like vermin. To those sailors and airmen has fallen the lion’s share not only of glory and of sacrifice but also of toil, strain and rigour in storm and blizzard - - ice and fog and we think of them gratefully and proudly tonight with their comrades of the fishing fleets and the Merchant Navy. Yes, this very night they are out there, keeping the seas, bringing us food and the means of victory and clamping down upon Nazi Germany the stifling pressure of blockade. Their achievements have cost us many precious lives at sea and in the air. There are many homes in Britain which, even in these quiet six months, have felt the impact and the grief of war. But the Nazi Government, and some at any rate of their docile German dupes, now know that our sailors and airmen have asserted their mastery of the sea and. of the air above it, that the gibes of the dictators at so-called degenerate democracy that the fibre are vain, of this free people is sound, and that we are determined to see this business through to the end. /But - 16/3/40. No. 18. PRESS NOTICE AWARDS FOR NAVAL INFORMATION It has been decided to institute a system of monetary awards to non-service personnel for information concerning enemy naval activities. Details of the maximum awards which it is intended to make, and the nature of the information for which they will be given, are as follows:­ (i) For accurate information furnished by non-service personnel, afloat or ashore, and rendered at the when the earliest possible opportunity, information leads directly to the capture or destruction of an enemy war vessel, a reward not exceeding £l,OOO, the amount to he assessed by the Admiralty according to the value of the information and the nature and size of the vessel concerned. (ii) For accurate and valuable information furnished by non- service personnel, afloat or ashore, and rendered at the earliest possible opportunity, of the movements and activities of enemy war vessels including those engaged in minelaying, a reward not exceeding £5O, the amount of the reward to be assessed by the of the Admiralty according to the value information. (iii) For accurate information of the position of enemy floating or moored mines, including the dropping of parachute mines by aircraft, a reward not exceeding £5 the person or first forwarding the to vessel information, the amount awarded to he assessed by the Admiralty according to circumstances. (iv) For the first report of a mine washed ashore and recovered* a reward of £l, which may he increased (to cover the case of a magnetic or other specially interesting mine) to £5 at the discretion of the Admiralty. (v) For recovery of floats, mine sinkers, mine fragments, or other objects enemy origin, if of patterns not of yet known, or if examination yields new knowledge, a reward of up to £5 at the discretion of the Admiralty. 2. It is contemplated that the maximum award for information leading to the capture or destruction of an enemy war vessel would be made only in very exceptional circumstances. 3. Claims for awards under headings (i), (ii), (iii) and (v) should in all cases he forwarded to the Admiralty for decision as to the amount, if any, to be granted. The Admiralty will also decide how any award made to a merchant ship should he divided between the Master and members of the crew. In forwarding claims received, Naval Authorities should furnish all available information of the circumstances and make any recommendations they consider suitable. 4. Claims under headings (iii) and (iv) should be settled locally, unless it is considered that the amount paid should exceed £l, when proposals should be submitted for approval. Awards made j locally are to be reported to the Admiralty. King’s Regulations and Admiralty Instructions, Article 907, paragraph 1 is to be regarded as in abeyance. 5. The awards authorised by this order are not payable to service personnel, which is intended to include mobilised personnel of the Navy, Army and Air Force, full-time members of the Observer Corps and the Coastguard, and other members of civil services 2 whose normal duties can be held to include the reporting of enemy activities. Rewards will however generally be paid to F.124 personnel of the R.N., personnel of chartered (non-commissioned) ships, and to other persons who, though occupying public posts, have no official duty to report enemy activities. In case of doubt, the circumstances should be reported. 6. Posters advertising the scheme of awards will shortly be printed and will, it is intended, be exhibited at suitable places in coastal towns cat home, including Naval Headquarters, Customs Houses, Mercantile Marine Offices and Coastguard Stations. Copies will be supplied to Naval Authorities at home without demand, and arrangements will for be made by the Admiralty with the Departments concerned exhibition of the posters at non-naval buildings. Naval Authorities abroad requiring copies should apply to the Admiralty (Military Branch). 7. All payments made under this Order are chargeable to Vote 11, Subhead K. ADMIRALTY 15th March, 1940. AIR MINISTRY BULLETIN 16/3/40 -No. 19. R. A. F. OVER HELIGOLAND BIGHT. The Air Ministry announces: Aircraft of the Bomber Command of the Royal Air Force carried out reconnaissances of the Heligoland Bight this morning. Opposition experienced from enemy fighters was and A.A. ground defences but our aircraft completed their tasks and returned safely. 16.3.40 No 20 OFFICIAL ADMIRALTY COMMUNIQUE The Secretary of the Admiralty regrets to announce that H.M. Trawler "MAIDA" Skipper R.N. Utting R.N.R has been sunk , by an enemy mine today Saturday. The Commanding Officer and five ratings are missing and are feared to have been lost. Next of kin have been informed. 2 But don’t let us deceive ourselves. We have got a long way to before we get there a very rough and painful way too. We go ­ - must be prepared for great sacrifices not only the heroic ones of - life and treasure on the large scale but also in our ordinary daily routine. In addition to doing what our freely-elected Parliament has laid down for us to do, like military service or paying our taxes, we ought to ask ourselves what more we can do to for the comfort of our war. provide fighting men and to win the Liberals at any rate will not need me to convince them of the importance of not relying on the Government to do everything, but of personal free and voluntary service. initiative and of One thing we can and must do is to deny ourselves all sorts of things which we are accustomed to think of as necessary. If we were all to try and live as well and comfortably as we can after paying our taxes, we should be ensuring defeat and stabbing in the back those who are fighting for us, The first call upon everything that is imported into this country and on the available shipping space must be given to our munition factories and to our export trade for - - exports are munitions at one remove they pay for the raw materials required to manufacture them, and also for such munitions and equipment as we can abroad more quickly than we could make them here. So if you and I economise, if we are content to go short ourselves and lend what we save to the Government, we shall not only be contributing towards victory, but we shall be shortening the war and so saving life. - I knew what it was in the last war and I am sure many of my listeners tonight knew it too to sit in a trench being shelled - and to watch men being killed and wounded while our guns remained silent because they hadn’t enough shells to shoot back with. I hope that won't happen this time. But the more guns, the more shells, the more aeroplanes and tanks we have, and the better our men are the fewer will be our casualties and the shorter will be the armed, war. If, therefore, you are cutting down your expenditure on your­self and buying National Savings Certificates or otherwise lending your money to the Government, you are arming our men and shielding them from death and wounds. - For make no mistake about it behind this deceptive appearance of quietness lies the reality of a gigantic conflict. It is idle to say why not make peace now before great battles and bloodshed begin? The answer is quite simple. The Nasi Government rests on and respects nothing but force. In Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland blood is still being shed by the Nazi Government. Universities are being closed, men and women are being tortured in concentration camps. Families are being rooted out of their homes and driven through Europe like cattle, because Austrains, Czechs, Poles and Jews have no power of resistance. It is because France and Britain can and will resist that the German army which marched so triumphantly through Poland pauses respectfully at the Maginot Line and at the frontiers of Holland and Belgium. Warsaw was bombed because the Poles couldn’t retaliate. London is so far spared because we could retaliate. Our Navy is too strong for the Germans, so they rarely attach it but attack instead our merchant ships. /When 3 When we put our merchant ships in convoy under the protection of fishermen our fighting ships, they attack neutral shipping, or or light-ships. Law, humanitarian service, peaceful intentions, treaties and non-aggression pacts are no protection against the ferocious barbarity of the Nazis, The only protection is force greater than theirs; and it is because we hate it and want to return - to the standards of civilisation of truth, justice, reason and - and lives without this threat of force good faith live peaceful for ever hanging over our heads and the heads of our children, that we must finish the job now and break the Nazi tyranny. We have all been deeply moved by the glorious defence of In the Finland against the brutal aggression of Soviet Russia. that the Russian Army had been fighting to liberate the Finnish people and ignored the existence of the ridiculous Communist whom he had hitherto peace negotiations Mr. Stalin dropped the pretence group described as the legitimate government of Finland, but he increased his imperialistic demands, Germany backed his demands with threats of joining in the invasion of Finland if they were rejected. The Swedish and Norwegian Governments declined to allow us to go to the help of the brave Finnish Army and people. So Finland has had to accept terms which leave her in a position of weakness not unlike t that of the Czechs after Munich. It will be the duty of Parliament next week to consider how far, if at all, our own Government should be blamed for giving Finland too little help and for giving it too late. However that may be, it is clear from the pronouncements of the Finnish leaders themselves of the that the main responsibility for the tragic issue war rests the Governments of Sweden who bowed upon and Norway, before the threats of German force and were intimidated by the German terror in Poland. The acquiescenceof Sweden and Norway in the fate of Finland is weakness. a triumph of evil force over moral to As Liberals have consistently argued, the only way preserve freedom and the rule of law in the world, is for those nations who believe in these to to things stand together in their defence, fight and to fight hard. Rectitude is not enough when armies are marching. Nor can wars be won by sitting down passively and waiting for the enemy to blunder or starve. Every course of action is to involves risks all of which must be open objection and shrewdly weighed. Inaction spells inevitable defeat. Democratic Govern­ments must initiative and a firm show courage, energy, hardness, will to win. The other friend of mine of day a passed a little procession two or three men carrying sandwich boards showing the device "Peace - with Justice now”. I can understand, although I disagree with the Pacifist that war is so bad in itself that it is better to case, submit to Nazi rule and the extinction of freedom in Europe. At any rate, it is possible for an honest man to believe in peace at any price. On the other hand, ’Peace with Justice Now’ is a downright dishonest slogan because nobody can honestly believe that Herr Hitler is interested in Justice. Mr. Chamberlain acted on the principle of "Peace with Justice Now” at Munich Liberals differed from him at - the time about the justice of that settlement, because while we agreed that big nations like Germany were entitled to justice, we thought small nations like Czechoslovakia were entitled to it too. about the There can, however, be no dispute result, which proved than that Herr Hitler will keep an agreement not one day longer it suits him. He cares/ 4 He cares only for the domination of Europe by force; he teaches German children to sing "Today Germany is ours; tomorrow the whole world,” and if we were now to sue for peace he would and he is dispense to Prance Britain the same justice as giving to Czechs and Poles. If a man with Hitler’s record has any interest in justice, it can only be to escape it. Liberals realise that Hitlerism is the gravest challenge ever known to their way of life, to their ideals of peace, liberty and social justice. Hitler and Stalin have made their - another not the make the Covenant bargain with one kind of bargain we tried to with Soviet Russia on the basis of of the League of Nationa; but a bargain at the expense of small nations. Tyrants can easily understand one another, but a Liberal Society is the denial of their vicious and barbarous system. After our experience at the end of the last war we shall none of us lightly indulge the idle fancy that victory alone will guarantee peace and prosperity. This much however is clear. Defeat would mean our ruin and the loss of our freedom. Victory - the ravages of war. opportunity to Break down those harriers to commerce impoverished the nations Before the war, opportunity will give us opportunity opportunity to heal scars and which to create a new world order on the Basis of justice and freedom, and opportunity to establish lasting peace, that prize which only constructive statesmanship can Victory alone can give us win. these opportunities and that victory the British people are unitedly resolved to obtain. BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION. - 16/3/40 No.3. FRENCH OFFICIAL COMMUNIQUE (Morning). Paris, Saturday, March 16. issued this The following official communique was morning from French headquarters:­ NOTHING TO REPORT. - 16/3/40 No.4. AWARDS FOR NAVAL INFORMATION. It has been decided to institute a system of monetary awards to non-service personnel for information concerning enemy naval activities. Details follow of the maximum awards: (a) For accurate information furnished by non-service personnel, afloat or ashore, when the information leads directly to the or destruction of an capture enemy war vessel, a reward not exceeding £l,OOO, the amount to he assessed by the Admiralty according to the value of the information and the nature and size of the vessel concerned. (b) For accurate and valuable information furnished by non-service personnel, afloat or ashore, of the movements and activities of enemy war vessels including those engaged in minelaying, a reward not exceeding £5O, the amount of the reward to be assessed by the Admiralty according to the value of the information. (c) For accurate information of the position of enemy floating or moored mines, including the dropping of parachute mines by aircraft, a exceeding reward not £5 to the person or vessel first forwarding the information, the amount awarded to be assessed by the Admiralty according to circumstances. (d) For the first report of a mine washed ashore and recovered, a reward of £l, which may be increased (to cover the case of a magnetic or other specially interesting mine) to £5 at the discretion of the Admiralty. of (e) For recovery floats, mine sinkers, mine fragments, or other objects of enemy origin, if of patterns not yet known, or if examination yields new knowledge, a reward of up to £5 at the discretion of the Admiralty. Awards are not payable to service but will be personnel, paid to F. 124 personnel of the R.N. , personnel of chartered (non-commissioned) ships, and to other persons who, though occupying public posts, have no official duty to report enemy activities. Posters advertising the scheme of awards will he on exhibition shortly. ADMIRALTY. S.W.1 16th March,l940. - 16/3/40 No.5. PRESS NOTICE. has Fleet Surgeon J.H.Acheson, M.B. ,R.N., (Retd.) been awarded Greenwich Hospital Pension of £5O a a year in the vacancy caused by the death of D eputy Inspector General H.S.R.Sparrow, (Retd.) on the 7th January, 1940. ADMIRALTY, S.W.1. 16th March, 1940. 16/3/40 NO: 6. - WELLES' MR. SUMMER VISIT. The following telegrams have been exchanged:­ The Right Honourable Neville Chamberlain. Please accept the assurances of my very sincere gratitude for the privilege I was of talking with you afforded in London and other members of the Government. I shall always remember the kindness shown me and I send you the expression of my highest regard. Sumner Welles. The Right Honourable the Viscount Halifax, I beg Your Excellency to convey to Their Majesties my deep appreciation of their gracious reception of me in London. May I also express to Your Excellency my particular gratitude for all of the innumerable courtesies shown to me by His Majesty’s Government and for the opportunity which I was afforded and which was peculiarly helpful of conferring with the Prime Minister and math the other members of the Government. Please accept the assurances of my highest consideration and of my warm personal regard. Sumner Welles Mr. Sumner Welles, c/o United States Embassy, Rome. I very much appreciate the terms of your kind telegram. It was a great satisfaction to my colleagues in the Government and myself to have the opportunity afforded to us of conver­sations with you. It has also been a particular pleasure to me to make your personal acquaintance. I trust that I may be able some day to renew it in happier conditions. Neville Chamberlain Mr. Sumner Welles. I much am touched by your kind telegram and I shall have pleasure in immediately conveying your message to Their Majes­ties. The Prime Minister and I would like to assure you on "behalf of His Majesty’s Government that we for our part have deeply appreciated the privilege of your visit and I need hardly tell you how glad I have been personally to have had the opportunity of making your acquaintance or how warmly I reciprocate your good wishes. Halifax. FOREIGN OFFICE NEWS DEPT., March 16, 1 940.