168 170

cs
Planning Committee.
Note of action taken or in hand.
June 14 - 26.

Reassurance

1. The Minister's letter has been issued to 55,000 people;

2. A poster design bearing a photograph of battleships with the slogan “Mightier Yet”, followed by concrete details of the strength of the Navy, has been chosen to succeed the “Go to It” posters. of 13,500 copies has been set in hand;

3. A campaign to remind the people of the resources of the Empire is being planned, involving a proposed expenditure of £50,000 in two months.

4. Pamphlets are in hand on the following subjects:-

The Difficulties of Invasion

The work of the R.A.F. in Germany

“Where Napoleon failed”.

All possible steps will be taken to publicise these themes through the Press and Cinema at the same time as the pamphlets are issued.

5. A special number of ‘Illustrated’ devoted to Britain's naval power and achievements will appear the week after next.

6. Various steps are in hand to urge on the War Office the importance of providing plenty of bands and marching Troops.

7. B.B.C. programmes have included a talk on General Ironside entitled “A Man of Resource”,

A postscript to the 9 o'clock news by Mr. Nicolson “Starvation in Europe”,

A short personal talk on the strength of the Navy in “In Town To-night”,

A feature “Go to it” on aircraft production, emphasising confidence in victory and the theme “our will against theirs”,

The weekly war commentary on Thursday - this week by Mr. Herbert Morrison on “Confidence in Victory: Dominion and American help”

A Feature in today's programme “The strength of the German Army”.

Exhortation and Instructions .

£17,600 was spent last week on newspaper advertisements bearing the last sentence of the Prime Minister's speech on June 18th. On the third day on which space for these advertisements had been reserved, it was felt that a change was necessary, and a general statement of our resources was 169 substituted.

2. 50,000 posters are being printed with the slogan

“Careless talk costs lives

If you must talk, talk victory”

Will Fyffe is using this slogan on the B.B.C.

3. A special number of ‘Picture Post’, designed to remind the public of what Britain means to them, will appear the week after next.

4. The B.B.C. has included frequent simple and direct programmes of English, Scottish, Welsh, Irish and Gaelic music, songs, fiddling and piping. The same theme has been treated more elaborately in a programme “The Land We Defend” consisting of spoken narrative, folk song and poetry.

5. The Newsreel companies have been asked to include suitable sections about the countryside with appropriate music or poetry.

6. 450,000 posters bearing the Union Jack at the top have been printed and are held in readiness in case it is desired to give rapid display to a particular slogan or set of instructions.

Warning .

1. Pamphlets are being prepared on

“Fifth Column Tricks”

“A German Peace”.

It is intended to take all possible steps to publicise these themes in the Press and Cinema when the pamphlets are released.

2. A small committee including outside experts has been appointed to advise on the best ways in which the fatal consequences of a German victory can best be brought home to individual sections of the population.

3, . Air Vice-Marshal Joubert gave a B.B.C. talk on bombing attacks, General Elies a talk enlarging on the ‘If the Invader Comes’ leaflet and Edward Ward a despatch from France on the dangers of panic evacuation.

4. Other B.B.C. programmes have included a “This was Denmark” (with the lesson that everything is lost under Nazi rule) and “The Lead Soldiers of Gutenberg “(a programme on the invention of printing, emphasising that there is now no freedom for the written word in Germany), and a talk by Miss Ellen Wilkinson “The Position of Women under Nazi Rule” (July 1st). The programme to-day “Once a Week” will be devoted to the two themes that we can win and that no peace with the Germans is possible.

5. 500,000 anti-gossips posters of a new type are being printed.

6. A scheme for a renewed anti-gossip campaign is in hand, to be conducted largely by Press Advertising. One of the leading features of this campaign will be the need to withhold news about air-raids from the enemy.

7. The B.B.C. broadcast a play ‘Information to the Enemy’ on the dangers of gossip.

Things to do .

1. Sir William Crawford is preparing suggestions for a Press Advertising campaign (to use the space offered by the Brewers Society) to suggest to the public things that they can do. This will concentrate on matters which do not require the cooperation of other government Departments.

2. Dame Rachel Crowdy, on the instigation of the Committee, is taking steps to ensure that adequate arrangements are made by the Y.M.C.A. and other bodies to provide canteens throughout the country for members of all defence bodies. When this machinery is organised, the Ministry will publicise the staffing of these canteens as a way of serving the national cause.

3. The B.B.C. transmitted a programme from an A.R.P. Instruction Centre for housewives in Chelsea.

4. The Committee has arranged to see to-day Sir William Beveridge, who has been asked by the Minister of Labour to make an enquiry into the economical use of men-power, and who will shortly be broadcasting.

Channels .

1. Arrangements have been made with Mr. Lints Smith which will help the Committee to transmit its ideas to and see them realised in the Press.

2. Sir Kenneth Clark has arranged to see a few prominent entertainers.

3. The B.B.C. have instituted a new feature on Sundays “Everyman and the War” which will be a symposium into which a number of general directives can be introduced.

4. A national scheme for propaganda by window display, with a weekly change, directed by the Ministry and executed by retailers has been arranged.