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REPORT OF PLANNING COMMITTEE ON A HOME MORALE
CAMPAIGN

The conclusions of the Planning Committee may be considered under three heads:-

I. What to say.

II. To whom it should be said.

III. How to say it.

I. What to say .

(a) The chief weakness of home morale is a feeling that although we may manage to hold out for a time, we cannot hope to win.

Our chief aim must, therefore, be to give people a reasonable assurance of ultimate victory. The line should be: a German invasion is doomed to failure. Even if the Germans succeed in landing a small force on our shores it will be annihilated by the largest army we have ever had in this island. Meanwhile, our supplies are piling up. The resources of the Dominions and America are limitless. In a few months the increase in our arms and air-force will be so great that we shall be able to hit the Germans back with a force which they, with their diminishing resources, will not be able to withstand. We should continue to stress the part of the Dominions in sending us men and supplies. In this connexion we can point out the effects of economic warfare on Germany and her conquered neighbours, although from the point of morale this is less encouraging than more spectacular forms of attack.

(b) The first aim cannot be dissociated from a second: to maintain confidence in the authority and efficiency of the Government. This can only be done if the Government will recognise that the people wish to be given orders. Exhortations are useless without commands; commands are useless without organisation. The Planning Committee has asked representatives of the relevant Government Departments how the public desire for service and sacrifice can be made use of; but it seems that little can be done without agreement between the Ministers responsible for the War Office, Home Security, Labour and Supply. We understand that compulsory measures are being adopted for the collection of salvage; and that Home Security would consider favourably a scheme for compulsory training in A.R.P., and we strongly urge that similar measures of compulsion be taken for training defence, helping agriculture, promoting physical fitness, etc.

(c) Complementary to (a) is the feeling, not widely expressed but of considerable importance, that a negotiated peace with Germany would be preferable to a prolongation of the war. This is held by the bottom 10% (‘We'll be no worse off under Hitler; it’s the bosses he's after’), but this section can probably not be affected by propaganda. It is also latent in a large section of the middle class (‘Let's make peace and get done with it’). We must, therefore, show that until we have conquered Germany any truce would be equivalent to surrender. We must continually remind people that Hitler's method is to lull them with promises of relative security and then to destroy them when they are weakened; and we must keep before their minds the examples of Czechoslovakia and Poland to show the meaning of surrender to Germany, conditional or unconditional.

(d) This negative horror at the idea of German rule must be supplemented by pride in our own country. Patriotic appeals have lost some of their force; but even so, the simpler forms of patriotism have not been used enough in this war. Too much stress has been laid on 178 - 2 -abstractions like Liberty and Democracy, not enough on things that people can see and hear - flags, brass bands, marching soldiers; the countryside, the home and garden. We should not feel ashamed of our pride in our families, homes, towns or counties, which we are now called on to defend.

(e) This simple emotion should be accompanied by anger and indignation that the Germans should threaten all that we value. Anger at the inherent insanity, destructiveness and brutal aggressiveness of the Germans can be developed in the manner shown in the recent memorandum.

II. To Whom it should be said .

Those main themes can be brought home more effectively if they are addressed specifically to different sections of the public. The following sections overlap and are not exhaustive, but indicate different methods of approach.

Leaders of Opinion . A list is being drawn up with the help of the Regional Division. They will receive the weekly directive letter from the Minister, which is already going to clergy, members of the R.I.O. committees, and secretaries of Voluntary Societies.

Women . The large numbers of women already absorbed in national service are probably strong points of morale, but unoccupied women are notoriously weak ones. With the help of Dame Rachel Crowdy we are arranging for additional broadcasts at convenient hours, giving instruction and encouragement to the housewife. We are collecting and publicising instances where women in a locality have formed unofficial groups for public service.

Trade Unionists can be appealed to on the points set out in

I (c), as their hard-won liberties would be immediately abolished under German rule.

Clergy . These are already being approached with great tact and thoroughness by the Religions Division.

Other sections of the community can be used as means through which appeals can reach a number of classes, e.g. doctors, dentists, accountants, Bank managers, brewers (public houses), insurance agents, etc.

III. How to say it .

(a) The Daily Press . The most important but also the most intractable means. We hope it will be possible to give the press the points made in Section I, and even to suggest subjects for feature articles similar to those outlined in the Anger Memorandum, pp. 14, 15. Actually the Press has contained a great number of articles on the subjects we recommend (e.g. failure of Napoleonic invasion in Evening Standard , 19.6.40). But unfortunately these are often offset by articles from precisely the wrong point of view (e.g. recent leading articles in the Daily Mail ), or by an alarmist presentation of the news (e.g. air raids). No directive, however full, can prevent this; and we appreciate that the Press would resent any attempt to ‘edit their papers for them’. But we have asked Home Intelligence to select and arrange in categories some of the worst examples, and we suggest that these might give the basis for a weekly talk to editors pointing out that such material cannot be in the national interests.

(b) The Illustrated Press . We are working in close co-operation with Picture Post , Weekly Illustrated , The Illustrated London News , etc. It is clearly better to use the expert staff and enormous circulation of Picture Post rather than attempt to publish pictorial booklets of our own. We have been consulted on all recent issues of Picture Post , and are contributing paper and expenses towards an augmented number of both Picture Post and Weekly Illustrated to illustrate the point made in I (d). The Illustrated London News has throughout shown a great sense of responsibility and can be counted on to publish any photographs we think of value to home morale .

(c) Broadcasting . Almost all talks on home propaganda subjects are arranged or actually prepared in co-operation with the Planning Committee. When these talks are given on behalf of other Government Departments (e.g. Home Security) the Committee tries to bring them in line with the general Home Morale campaign.

Broadcasting is an essential means of achieving the second [illegible] mentioned above, to maintain confidence in the authority of the government. In all times of crisis people must feel that their leaders are willing to inform and direct them by this great new democratic medium. The planning Committee are glad to feel that this point of view is understood by our present leaders.

We believe that the B.B.C. might be urged to give rather more time to our recommendation I (d). Performances of English music, readings of English poetry and stories of heroic achievements already occupy a considerable part of the programme, but might be increased without fear of tub-thumping or complacency.

We continue to hear complaints that the announcers’ voices are too refined and unemphatic, and we would urge once more that speakers and, if possible announcers, with some traces of vernacular should be used. Mr. Priestley's success as a broadcaster is partly, (Mr. Healy's entirely), due to his accent.

(d) Films . A new 3 reel film Behind the Guns showing our increasing production effort is being trade shown, next Tuesday. The Films Division has arranged that one short film a week on a subject of national importance shall be made by a leading director and unit. Each film takes a week to make and will be shown in every programme. This is a most vivid and effective way of bringing home all the points in Section I. Mr. Priestley has prepared a scenario and commentary for a film to be called Backs to the Wall . This is being made by the G.P.O. unit and will be ready in about a week. The Director of the Home Publicity Division is giving guidance to the News Reel Companies twice a week.

(e) Posters . The effect of the ordinary poster is too long- delayed to make it a valuable means of propaganda in the present crisis. Background posters are obviously out of the question. We recommend, however, that the poster be used in the manner of a proclamation, and we are having printed a large number of poster sheets, bearing the Union Jack, with space for letterpress left blank, so that these can be overprinted with any urgent message to the nation and put up very rapidly. We have authorised a new series of anti-gossip posters on realistic lines as a contrast to the earlier comic series.

(f) Press Advertising. has the great value that a message can he got to the public rapidly and repeated for several days. The Planning Committee authorised the purchase of space for press advertising in all newspapers on the days following the Prime Minister's speech in the House of Commons last Tuesday, and used this space to print his peroration. We foresee that this [illegible] will have to be employed again, and are 180 - 4 -therefore glad to report that the Brewers’ Society have placed at our disposal their entire press advertising space from now to November, representing an expenditure of about £30,000. By giving publicity to this generous act we hope to induce other big purchasers of advertising space to do the same.

(g) Leaflets, Booklets, etc . A number of those in preparation will be found referred to on pp. 23, 24 of the Anger memorandum. Others dealing with the points made in Section I are in preparation. We strongly recommend that as far as possible general leaflets should be avoided, as they are harder to distribute and less effective, and the leaflets in preparation are addressed to special classes of the public e.g. the general leaflet on Section I (c) ‘What a negotiated peace with Germany would mean’, is being re-written in the form of What it would mean to the professional classes, what it would mean to Trades Unions, etc.

(h) Window Displays . The Society of Retail Traders have arranged that a very large number of stores will give up one of their windows to a propaganda display, to be changed every fortnight. We select the theme and slogan and supply them with photographic enlargements and a general suggestion of treatment. They do the rest. As the majority of people who look into shop windows are women, we are using this as a special means of appeal to them.