SECRET
POLICY COMMITTEE
30th July, 1940

Present:

D.G.

D.S.

P.S.

Sir Maurice Peterson

Sir Kenneth Clark

Mr. Macadam

Mr. Kirkpatrick

Mr. Wellington

P.P.S.

Mr. Gates

Mr. Wiltshire (Secretary)

Mr. Ryan

1. PROPOSAL BY POLES TO PUBLISH BLUE BOOK ABOUT GESTAPO ACTIVITIES IN POLAND .

Mr. Kirkpatrick reported that the Polish Government in England had made this request. They would like us to pay the expenses and provide the paper. If such a document were published there would be requests for translations in other languages, which would be met locally. The Committee agreed in principle to support the proposal.

2. ADVICE TO PARENTS ABOUT EVACUATION

Sir Kenneth Clark considered that Mr. Malcolm Macdonald's broadcast had done much to make further action unnecessary. There had been a suggestion made that parents should be able to make enquiries from some local officials, perhaps the Ministry of Health, when there was any doubt that areas to which their children had been evacuated had been bombed. The Director General thought that this would throw a great burden on the Ministry of Health, and the Deputy Secretary considered that the important thing was to see that arrangements were perfected for the notification of casualties and to get people to understand this fact. It was suggested that the liaison officer between the R.A.D. and other Government Departments should make investigations.

3. CHARLES GARDINER'S BROADCAST

Mr. Ryan, referring to Charles Gardiner's broadcast of the action over the Straits of Dover, said that, a 315 very large number of people, as tested by the Listeners Research, approved of it. It was his first attempt at a running commentary and was amateurish and could be improved. But on the whole the B.B.C. thought that the experiment was well justified; and they would be ready to continue this kind of feature, subject to very careful scrutiny. The Director General thought it important for America, and the evidence indicated that it was well received there. It was noted that two American broadcasting representatives were going to Dover this weekend with a recording van.

CORRECTION TO MINUTES OF 29th JULY

Item 2 (2) For “regular” read “irregular”.