273 274

Telephone No.:

Central 7234-5.

Telegrams :

MINIFORM, BIRMINGHAM.

[PA.]

MINISTRY OF INFORMATION

(MIDLAND REGION)

LOMBARD HOUSE,

GREAT CHARLES STREET,

BIRMINGHAM, 3.

[H.P.106/17.]

16th November 1945

Dear Briggs,

By a fortunate coincidence (and not perhaps entirely a coincidence), I complete my review of the work of the region on the day on which I hear of my transfer.

Your original circular 5625 of 20th June appears to ask for a history, but, with respect, I feel that since you have at Headquarters a complete file of progress reports for every region, it would be foolish for me here to compile anything in the nature of a quantitative record of the work that has been done.

What I have done, therefore, in response to your circular, is a fairly comprehensive critical review of the regional work, department by department, referring to individual exploits only in so far as they may be necessary for illustration of the points I have tried to make.

In the course of this work, which took a great deal of time, I found it quite impossible to dispense with the sub-stratum on scaffolding, of theory, By dint of assiduous summarisation, however, I have reduced this theoretical basis to a preamble which fills no more than the first five pages.

Pages 6 to 25 constitute the regional review proper.

Pages 26, 27 and 28 contain the postlude which attempts to take up the main argument of the preamble in the light of the main body of the work.

I hope you find this paper as interesting in the reading as I found it in the writing, and although I shall be in another field, I shall be only too glad to have your reactions.

Yours sincerely,

[Russell Ferguson]

Russell Ferguson

Regional Information Officer

D.B. Briggs, Esq.,

Home Division,

M.O.I.

Russell Square,

London W.C.1.

JRBF/CIP