Triumph and Tragedy (The Second World War) (140 page)

(e) This directive does not mean that where no
equipment is available for a specific purpose the new
equipment to be manufactured should not be of good
quality. Nor is this directive intended to debar the
manufacture of limited quantities of equipment of
improved type, even where some stocks of older and
serviceable types are available. But this should be
confined to items of special importance.

III. The Ministerial Committee on Man-power are
invited to re-examine the man-power position in the
light of this directive, consulting the Chiefs of Staff and
the Joint War Production Staff as necessary.

MARCH

Prime Minister to Minister of

2 Mar. 45

War Transport and Chiefs of

Staff

Now that the Yalta Conference is over we must
decide at once how to meet the large British shipping
deficit that emerged.

The import programme must not be reduced.

Various economies may be possible in other fields, but
it seems that the main cut will have to fall on military
shipments to the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean.

The Services have demanded 122 sailings a month to
these theatres over the next four months. I am thinking
in terms of a ceiling of eighty sailings a month.

Pray let me know urgently what easement this would
provide to our general shipping position, and what
effect it would have on our military plans.

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Prime Minister to Foreign

5 Mar. 45

Secretary

I have every intention of working to the utmost for a
Poland free to manage its own affairs and to which
Polish soldiers in our service will be glad to return. If
this fails we must provide for the Poles in arms inside
the British Empire, which can easily accommodate such
brave and serviceable men. In the first instance no
doubt they would be employed upon garrisoning
Germany, with proportionate relief of our military burden.

2. However, there may always be a certain number
of individual Poles who will not wish to go back to
Poland because of their inveterate hostility to Russia.

For these, who will not be many if we are successful,
the alternative of British citizenship must be open, even
if they are unreasonable in their views about the kind of
life open to them in Poland.

Prime Minister to Chancellor

5 Mar. 45

of the Exchequer and Sir

Edward Bridges

I am notifying the three Service Ministers concerned
that I wish the matter [of the British Bombing Research
Mission] to be dealt with in the first instance between
them and the Treasury, and that it is only after it has
been thoroughly examined by the Treasury, as such a
proposal would be in peace-time, and we have the
Treasury safeguards against this expenditure fully
operative, that it should be brought before the Cabinet.

In particular, the exact cost of this grandiose proposal
would be ascertained, as well as the injury to other
aspects of our desired revival of civil life.

Prime Minister to Minister of

6 Mar. 45

Aircraft Production

At the beginning of the war the buildings of Malvern
School were requisitioned by the Admiralty, and were, I
understand, subsequently taken over by the Ministry of
Aircraft Production for research purposes. The Malvern
boys found refuge at Harrow, whose numbers had
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been depleted owing to the raids on London; but the
prospective entrants to Harrow have now greatly
increased, and while Malvern remains at Harrow it is
impossible to find accommodation for them. The
Governors of both schools are very anxious that the
existing arrangements should be terminated, and I
should be glad if you would let me know whether there
is any possibility of your Ministry being able to dispense
with the buildings at Malvern, in order that the school
may now return there.

Prime Minister to General

7 Mar. 45

Ismay, for C.O.S. Committee

I thought the Polish divisions in Italy had been
equipped with British equipment. Is there no more of
this available? It would at any rate be desirable to begin
the equipment of these two extra Polish units, and for
this purpose we should not hesitate to draw upon
reserves.

2. In regard to the exact scale of equipment, a
considerable tolerance should be allowed. No rigid rule
should apply to formations which will be useful and
necessary as the war draws to a close but which may
not have to sustain its brunt. The use of these Polish
units in occupying Germany will take the strain off our
man-power, which will be of great importance to us in
the period immediately following the collapse of
Germany. For this purpose they would not require the
equipment, transport, etc., which has been deemed
necessary to full combat readiness.

Prime Minister to Minister of

9 Mar. 45

Food and Minister of War

Transport

The attached proposals for increased production of
pigs and eggs were made to me by the Minister of
Agriculture. Certainly they seem to offer great
advantages, and should not be impracticable in view of
the fact that wheat is more plentiful than almost any
other food commodity.

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Kindly let me have your joint views about this.

Prime Minister to Chancellor

9 Mar. 45

of the Exchequer

The following points have occurred to me, on which I
should like to hear from you.

The first is about children’s allowances. Surely these
sums should be free from income tax, and should be
considered the property of the children? Would not this
save a great many complications? How much would it
cost?

2. I see today in the Times that the Bill empowers
the Ministers to reduce or withhold allowances payable
to the families of Service men and women. Considering
that the object in view is to encourage the birth and
extra nourishment of children, I cannot see why this
additional benefit should be denied to those classes; in
fact, I should think that the prejudice which such a
decision would cause would greatly detract from the
popularity of the measure, for which, nevertheless, an
immense annual sum is to be paid….

Prime Minister to Foreign

9 Mar. 45

Secretary

There is no question of the new Greek Army and
Navy being paid on the British Middle East rates. Their
remuneration must be proportionate to the conditions in
the Greek State.

2. I am anxious however lest the Navy, which has
done so well, and the small military forces, who are to
be the key men of the new Greek Army, should be
suddenly confronted with such a violent pay cut. Would
it not be possible to give them six months’ notice that
they will revert to Greek rates? It would be a great pity
to upset them at the moment, especially when we are
so anxious to get our troops away. I do not suppose the
amount at stake is very large. Could we not pay the
difference between our rates and the Greek rates to
these men for the next six months? How much would
this cost?

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Prime Minister to Minister

10 Mar. 45

of Labour

Thank you for your minute [about labour controls
and persons released from the armed forces]. I confess
I was not aware that the universal, overriding power of
direction was to be applied after the defeat of Germany.

Would you, for instance, in theory be entitled to take an
author, a playwright, or an artist from his studies,
although these yielded no immediate practical results,
and direct him down a coal-pit, the said person having
previously been released under Class A from the
Army? Would you be entitled to take a man of the
above class who is looking after his own farm, although
not the actual farmer, and send him into a steel works?

Are you entitled to take an officer or a soldier who has
had four years’ fighting service overseas, and says he
wants a year of rest and leisure and is making no claim
upon the State for maintenance, and put him in a stone
quarry?

2. It seems to me that these dire and overwhelming
powers can only be asserted by the State in times of
mortal peril. I always understood from you in our very
brief talks about these matters that the Class A men
and those released in their proper turn from the Army
would be free to seek what work they chose, but that
those who were released as a privilege before their turn
on account of being key men would of course be
subject to direction into particular industries.

3. You speak of “an essential job of the highest
urgency.” What kind of job have you in mind? It is
impossible to compel a person to discharge extremely
high-grade functions. You cannot compel a man, for
instance, to be a scientist. You can however compel
him to sweep out the laboratory. But surely the latter is
not “an essential job of the highest urgency for which it
is impossible to find a suitable candidate.” Clearly you
cannot compel a doctor to doctor if he does not wish to
do so. Do you then claim the power to order him to
grow mangelwurzels? Will you not allow a gipsy to go
back to his caravan after serving his time? May not an
ex-soldier with decorations for gallantry become a
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bookmaker if he chooses? Are you prepared to take a
man who is fully employed at some special work of his
own and transfer him to a basic industry against his
will? If not, what classes of occupation do you regard
as reserved for this purpose? What happens to the
Bevin Boys after the German war is over? Are they to
be compelled to go down the pits when some of them
would like to go to the universities or go and fight
against Japan?

4. It would be easy to multiply the instances where
the claim would be to direct persons who have paid
their full debt to war-time compulsion against their will
into high-class functions. To direct them into ordinary
manual labour may only be to displace those who have
need of the job. According to my principles, only mortal
peril can justify these extreme invasions of individual
liberty.

5. I do not myself consider that the power of
universal direction can be maintained over all the men
and women in the country for very long after the
German war is at an end. I was not aware that the
Cabinet had lent itself to such far-reaching decisions of
principle. So much is going on, and I have much to do,
but I certainly claim to have the matter discussed or
reviewed.

6. I may say that the above is all based upon
principle and theory. I am sure that in practice while
Minister of Labour you would never allow any of these
hard cases to arise. Nevertheless a Briton is supposed
to be a free man except in times of national emergency.

Prime Minister to Minister

10 Mar. 45

of Production

Thank you for your minute of February 19 about
penicillin. I am glad that we are at last producing really
substantial quantities here. I am disturbed however to
hear that the quality of penicillin produced in this
country is said to be inferior to that from the United
States. If so, I trust that this will soon be remedied. We
must not sacrifice quality for quantity.

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No doubt you will let me have a further report when
supplies become clearly surplus to Service needs,
outlining proposals for increased distribution to the
civilian population.