397

SECRET
MINISTRY OF INFORMATION
Weekly report by Home Intelligence - No. 58
Copy No. 188

12th November, 1941 .

In reading this report, it is important to bear in mind that it is not meant to be a record of facts , except in so far as public opinion is itself a fact. It is a statement and reflection of the public's views and feelings about the war in general. Therefore, in matters on which public opinion is ill-informed, prejudiced or inconsistent, the report does not imply any endorsement of the views which are expressed in it.

It may be convenient to remind all recipients of this report that it is a confidential document, and therefore should not be disclosed to anyone else except by special authority of the Director of the Home Division of the Ministry of Information.

398 399 2 400 3 402 5 403 6 404 7 408 11

SECRET
MINISTRY OF INFORMATION
HOME INTELLIGENCE WEEKLY REPORT NO. 58

12th NOVEMBER, 1941

(Covering the period from 3rd November to 10th November, 1941)

Note:- The figures in brackets refer to sources of information, a list of which is given at the end of this report.

(No reactions have yet been received to the Prime Minister's speech on Monday, November 10th, nor to the latest reports of Axis shipping losses in the Mediterranean.)

I GENERAL COMMENTS .

1. General state of confidence and reaction to news .

There appears to be no marked change in the general level of confidence this week. Anxiety about the Russian situation seems to have lessened slightly, but still appears very grave; although M. Stalin's speech was considered heartening in its emphasis on Russia's resources, and on her determination to fight on at all costs. “The intensity of the Nazi attacks, and the indifference which the Germans show to heavy losses, have convinced thoughtful people that at the moment Hitler's chief concern is to cripple Russia's industrial power, and incidentally to stop our supply routes to her.” Such people, therefore, are said “to be little cheered by the fact that the Leningrad front seems to have developed into a stalemate, or by the continued defence of Moscow.” On the other hand, “less thoughtful people, despite all warnings, set great store by weather conditions in Russia, and still expect winter to do much for our Ally.”

A better understanding of the shipping and equipment problems, which must at present hamper us in any invasion of the Continent, has gradually diminished the outcry for an offensive in the West, though “this has been somewhat revived by M. Stalin's reference to the need for a second front.” Ten R.I.Os mention this point as leading to more discussion than any other part of his speech. Even among those sections of the community who accept the present position as inevitable, there seems to be “a strong feeling of angry frustration at the spectator's part we are at present playing in the war.” Only a small minority appear to think M. Stalin's remarks indicate “that we have something up our sleeve” for the immediate future.

This feeling of angry frustration appears to be widespread, and is thought to be partly responsible for an increase in apathy and wilful indifference to the war which is reported from several Regions, (mainly from those with large rural areas, where the war has brought comparatively little change to the people's lives). An excerpt from Postal Censorship is typical of this attitude: “We went to a lecture by a Canadian officer - so depressing. He said the people here were too lethargic and complacent and that there will be no British Empire if a bigger effort isn't made. Did you ever hear such nonsense?”

Among working-class people “comment continues to be heard that in production of arms we are not doing as much as we could or should,” and “a strong under-current of impatience at the apparent ineffectiveness of our support for Russia” is finding expression in “a growing demand for the elimination of dead wood from the Government.” The volume of criticism of those around the Prime Minister, though not of the Prime Minister himself, has noticeably increased of late. Lord Halifax remains “the most unpopular Minister, figuring in report after report of those who are said to be gravely distrusted. “In spite of the country's great loyalty to the Prime Minister - an important factor in checking openly hostile criticism of his team” - Colonel Moore-Brabazon, Captain Margesson and Sir Kingsley Wood are constantly mentioned as names which inspire foreboding in the public mind.

(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 21 Inverness, Special P.C's[Text Missing]

2. Japan and U.S.A.

Although interest is still focused mainly on Russia, the growing tension in the East has to some extent diverted attention from the European situation. This distraction appears to have had a slightly cheering effect, for whereas the Russian news, especially from the Crimea, is regarded as “depressing”, there is a fairly general belief that “America will look after Japan”, and that the most important result of any hostile move by her would be to bring the U.S. into the war. Even those who hold that America's leading role should remain that of an arsenal are reported as saying she “will never be all out in her production drive [Text Missing]until she has declared war.” In this connection it is reported that President Roosevelt's recent speech to the International Labour representatives gave great satisfaction in some quarters, but in others it has been found that “the public awaits each pronouncement with a slight raising of hopes, and every speech is found on examination to contain little that is concrete. It is thought unwise to have many such speeches, as they give rise to too much cynicism”. There has been considerable disappointment that the sinking of the “Reuben James” has not led to more drastic developments, though “the virtual repeal of the Neutrality Act” is now regarded as a foregone conclusion.

(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11)

3. R.A.F. Activities

“The heavy losses of bombers over Germany and fighters over France has shocked the public, and the explanation of exceptional weather conditions is considered not to apply to the fighter losses”. There is a revival of speculation as to whether the results of fighter sweeps justify the risks involved.

After the repeated demands of “Attack Italy”, a few weeks ago, there is now considerable satisfaction that Naples and other Italian ports are “feeling the weight of our bomb-loads”. No news of a raid is so popular, however, as that of an attack on Germany, and one bomb on Berlin is thought to be worth many elsewhere.

(1, 3, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12)

4. Broadcasting

“Realism in dealing with news of German terrorism in enemy-occupied countries appears to have a generally stimulating effect.” All comments so far received on the broadcast of a German doctor on November 4th have been highly favourable.

The Overseas News Service continues to be praised, usually at the expenses of the Home Service. It seems, however, that those who listen to the former are a very small though vocal minority, numbering about 6%, whereas 68% of the public listen to some Home News during the day; of the 6%, almost all listen also to at least one of the Home News Bulletins during the day.

Listening on Winter evenings

Last winter an extensive enquiry was made by B.B.C. Listener Research in order to determine the comparative standing of different evenings in the week from the point of view of listening. A random sample of some 14,000 listeners formed the basis of the enquiry. In respect of each evening of the week 2,000 listeners were asked whether they “usually listened to the wireless” and, if not, whether they were “usually at home but not listening”, or “usually out”.

The following table shows the answers in respect of the sample as a whole:

Conclusions to be drawn from this enquiry are that:-

(2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 12, 24)

5. Propaganda

Suggestions have been made that films should be more widely used for propaganda purposes. The news reels, it is thought, would be welcomed as a medium for Government propaganda. “A considerable body of the public still regards Russian propaganda as a model which this country should follow more closely”.

(2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11)

6. Invasion Prospects

It is widely reported that “the opening to visitors of coastal areas has confirmed the opinion of those who have never believed in the probability of invasion;” the whole subject is now said to be “a dead topic”. There has, however, been some criticism of the lifting of the ban, not as it affects invasion, but as being “inconsistent with the Minister of Transport's recent statement on the need to curtail winter rail travel - another example of Government indecision”.

(6, 7, 13)

7. India

During September the B.B.C. Listener Research made an investigation among 443 of its Correspondents into the question of public opinion on India. Broadly speaking, the two most obvious facts which emerge from this enquiry are:

The attitude shown in more than half the replies was: “I suppose I ought to be interested in India, but it's all so complicated”. Correspondents frequently emphasised “the enormous public ignorance of Indian affairs”. On the other hand, there appeared to be a widespread sense of political obligation, and a feeling that the public, having at least a theoretical responsibility for the destiny of India, should not lack the essential basis of political decision, namely, adequate information on the subject.

In so far as the public attitude towards our record in India can be summarised from the results of this enquiry, it would seem that a small minority is “unfeignedly proud” of it, a smaller minority “heartily ashamed” of it, and the greater proportion of the public is somewhere in between these two extremes, feeling that there is much in our record to be proud of and also much to cause shame.

None the less, the majority of Correspondents report that people think that the Indian question can safely be left to be settled by the Government, though a substantial and vocal minority think that this is by no means enough and that the Government's actions in this matter should be carefully watched.

The same attitude is reflected in the question of Indian self-government. More than half the correspondents hold that we intend to give India self-government as soon as she is ready for it, but a minority believes the Government will withhold it as long as possible. Between these two extremes two lines of thought are apparent:-

There was, however, a very sharp division of opinion where Indian self-government was considered in connection with the war effort. A majority of working-class opinion holds that further measures of Indian self-government would increase the war effort, whereas middle-class opinion is more cautious and favours a postponement of further measures until after the war. Opinion was less sharply divided on the question of whether our policy in India was not inconsistent with our avowed war aims, the majority of correspondents implying that there was no such inconsistency. But a minority, larger among working-class than middle-class people, felt that some inconsistency did, in fact, exist.

(24)

8. Rumours

Various rumours are current about preparations by us for a major offensive, usually in North Africa or the Middle East.

There are also reports of “Intermittent night attacks on enemy soil by our Commandos”. A party of British soldiers is said to have surrounded the Casino at Ostend and brought back twelve German officers as prisoners.

The R.A.F. are said to consider the Flying Fortress obsolete - “Wellingtons had to be sent over to do the job the Fortresses failed to do”. From West Wales comes the story that a plane which escorted a ship (which was attacked by an enemy plane) from a West Coast port was an obsolete type: “a biplane was seen returning”.

It is rumoured that “out of forty bombers that left this country for Malta by way of Gibraltar, only five got through”.

A rumour said to be having an adverse effect on recruiting for the A.T.S. has it that “there is a camp in the South where unmarried A.T.S. girls are sent to have babies. It is reported that the camp holds 2,000, and is known as the ‘hatching huts’”.

Movements towards a negotiated peace are rumoured and, in a South Western area, some approval is reported.

Rumours concerning the home front are:

That income tax may be higher; also that the promised increase in the sugar ration is to be cancelled and the extra supplies diverted to Russia. (“Warm approval” is expressed of this idea; “the Russians need it more than us”.

(1, 3, 4, 7, 8)

II SPECIAL COMMENTS

9. Industry

There are still many reports of doubt and disquiet about the “intensity and direction of the industrial war effort”. The Soviets' 100% effort and “U.S.A.'s organisational drive” are contrasted favourably with the position in this country. There is reported to be a rapidly growing demand for firmer direction of manpower and industry, and for “outright conscription and compulsion on a scale not usually associated with democratic procedure”.

The feeling that the managements are to blame is persistent and widespread; criticism of them is more marked than ever. The managements, however, “complain that there is insufficient co-operation between the various Government Departments, so that, although they are told they must keep their men occupied, they cannot do so for lack of material”. Shortage of material, resulting in enforced idleness, is the cause of the greatest number of complaints. “According to one of the most comprehensive Postal Censorship reports: ‘Give us the work and we'll do it,’ is the burden of a rapidly increasing number of letters” - an observation confirmed by many R.I.Os. “The everyday talk in the factories is all of slackness”, according to another report. A typical Postal Censorship quotation is, “I am still at Ferranti's, and I am making engine-speed instruments for Spitfires and Hurricanes. That's what I'm supposed to be doing, while really I'm sitting for hours doing nothing..... It's enough to drive me mad”. Another writer says: “50% of the men here could be dispensed with, without affecting output”. It is remarked that “all reports of speed-up in production are treated with cynicism and doubt by the workers, as their own knowledge of the war effort contradicts these reports”.

Strikes . Reports of industrial disputes and strikes are said to be causing widespread dissatisfaction, especially among those with sons in the Services. It is bitterly pointed out that a soldier with meagre pay must obey orders, but that, merely because a trainee fitter is made a charge-hand, 2,500 employees in a West of Scotland factory go out on strike. “Why don't they invoke the Military Service Act and put all fit men between 19 and 45 in uniform, with small pay and allowances and military discipline”?

Cost Plus 10% . This is still believed to be the cause of deliberate abuses by certain managements. Ministerial assurances that this form of contract is rarely used do not seem to have reached the public as a whole. One report mentions a firm engaged on Government contracts whose wage sheets are said to include twenty-five nonexistent employees.

Excess Profits Tax . There is a tendency to disbelieve that the Excess Profits Tax succeeds in preventing this kind of abuse. It is felt that, rather than pay the tax, the employer will distribute bonuses to his employees, engage unnecessary staff, or carry out needless improvements to his property. There is also a belief that when the level is reached at which the Excess Profits Tax operates, managements have no inducement to make a continuous effort, as “from then on they would be working just for fun”.

Appeals and propaganda . Managers and men alike are said to emphasise that appeals to the workers for greater production frequently lose point because of what is termed “all round mismanagement”. It is suggested that a more positive kind of propaganda might counter stories of muddle and inefficiency. “Where a factory or department accomplishes a particularly commendable piece of work, give it wide publicity, mentioning names of some of the workers, the management and even the factory, if safety precautions allow”.

Civil Service . There are more complaints of the retention of younger men in the Civil Service on jobs that women could do. It is pointed out that “if women can man the A.A. guns, and works the barrage balloons, and do dozens of other essentially male jobs, they are capable of doing civilian jobs”.

(1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 21, Special, Manchester, Bristol, Carlisle, Inverness P.Cs.)

10. Registration of women

The demand for compulsion steadily grows. It is pointed out that “women would so much rather have a clear cut policy than all this shilly-shallying”. The present system offers an understandable, if misguided, argument to those who feel they must justify their inactivity. A remark quoted as typical is: “I would go at once if I knew that everybody had to go, but I'm not going if that Mrs...... is to go on having a good time”.

Confusion and Uncertainty . Confusion continues to be reported among women and their employers “as to their mutual obligations and as to what the regulations really are”.

It is urged that women should be told yet more details of the various kinds of work and training to be done, as they are said to be deterred from volunteering by a fear that the work would be too difficult. Fuller information is also wanted as to the nature of the particular vacancies; and it is repeated that interviewers do not always make the position clear enough. Recently there was a demand for “core makers”; further enquiries showed that the demand was for “core makers for tank parts”, a description which still “meant nothing to most women”.

Class feeling . There is still some evidence of “class feeling”, an attitude summed up in the phrase; “We don't mind going so long as the rich have to go too”. A. T. S. and war work recruiting appeals are said to be very adversely affected by the sight of well-dressed young women lounging about with apparently nothing to do except shop and go to the cinema. “Officers' wives, without household responsibilities”, who follow their husbands about the country, are particularly resented. The recent publicity given to the retirement, from the A.T.S. and other uniformed services, of a number of titled women, some “on the grounds of health”, is said to have had a discouraging effect on the recruiting. It is said “They only joined for show”.

Part-time work . Reports continue to be received of demands for part-time work in factories. Cases are mentioned where this has already been tried with success, and firms who previously refused to consider part-time workers have now agreed to accept them, provided they are recruited in pairs. Women with home responsibilities ask for the fullest information of available opportunities for part-time work.

Obstacles to the recruitment of women . The following two factors continue to be widely reported as deterrents to would-be women workers:-

(2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 21, Special, Cambridge P.Cs. 32)

11. Wages

There has been a considerable amount of comment this week on the disparities in the rates of pay for various branches of the war effort. There is growing concern about “divorcement of skill and responsibility from a wage basis”. The following examples of inequalities are quoted:-

The high wages paid to juveniles continue to cause unfavourable comment.

(4, 6, 7, 21)

12. Income Tax

Reports continue to be received of workers who (a) give up their jobs, (b) refuse to work overtime, (c) stay away from work, because “so much of their earnings is taken in income tax”.

It is suggested that one of the difficulties in the recruitment of women is still “lack of knowledge as to the incidence of Income Tax”; and that explanation is needed on this point as well as publicity to bring home to the workers the reasons why income tax is necessary.

(4, 5, 9)

13. Food

The present food situation continues to give general satisfaction. One Postal Censorship report, for example, shows thirty-nine favourable references, to one adverse comment. The announcement that tinned foods are to be rationed has been unreservedly acclaimed, and the spontaneous comment is that “Lord Woolton has done a real good job as Food Minister”.

Milk Considerable apprehension and uncertainty are reported about the additional cut in milk supplies. It is objected that the cut will “fall hardest on those who have taken moderate amounts of milk in the past, and least on those who have been extravagant”. Some districts are said to have been cut down by as much as 50%, and there are instances of people getting only half-a-pint every three days: in view of the wireless announcement that there was only to be a 5% cut, there is some bewilderment and disappointment.

The public are very anxious to know something about the plans for dried and tinned milk.

(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 21 Manchester, Bristol P.C.s)

14. Transport and Petrol

From several Regions come complaints of inadequate transport, and there are said to be cases in which “transport muddle is affecting munitions output”. There are widespread demands for more and later bus services and for war workers priority tickets in public vehicles. It is suggested that a campaign is again needed to induce motorists with vacant seats to give lifts to the public. It is pointed out that anyone not in uniform now has little chance of securing a lift, and that it is time that something should be done to induce a sense of shame in motorists who drive past crowded bus halts in the country without offering lifts.

In country districts petrol restrictions are said to be making it impossible for milkmen to complete their rounds, and great difficulties are said to be experienced by farmers in getting enough petrol for their tractors, etc.

(2, 5, 7, 8, 10, 52)

15. Service Dependants' Allowances

Dissatisfaction on this subject, which is very great and continually growing, falls under two heads:

(2, 5, 6, 32)

16. Clothes Rationing

Colliery surface workers are asking for extra clothing coupons to bring themselves into line with the underground men.

There are complaints of black markets in shoes and silk or satin goods, open to “people with money”.

Form G.C.2 seems to bewilder many people, “by the confusion of dates on the front and back of the form”, and there is a demand for simplification.

The difficulty of getting a list of addresses of J.P.s, and the inaccessibility of J.P.s generally, is causing complaints from people who want to make a declaration about lost ration books. It is feared by those who have lost them that they may not be able to get the issue of coupons for growing children by the closing dates.

(2, 5, 12)

17. Constant Topics and Complaints

The Ministry of Mines' handbill urging householders to economise in fuel, has given rise to widespread criticism about waste of paper. There are also more complaints of paper wasted by Government departments, and of the issue of Christmas cards.

Owners of requisitioned iron railings are said to be “incensed” that they have no right of appeal against the decisions of local authorities. Grumbles about non-collection of salvage and scrap metal continue.

The shortage of paraffin in rural areas is becoming a serious grievance, and has given rise to the question: “Why should townspeople get any paraffin?” There is still much criticism of the reduced coal output of the Warwickshire mines.

There are “particularly strong protests” against the early closing of shops, and it is pointed out that “the only shopping time for war workers is in the early evening on their way home”. Servicemen also say that they can only shop in the evening.

Several R.I.Os mention the “exorbitant prices” charged for children's footwear and gloves, a shortage of children's Wellingtons, and the poor quality of children's shoes.

Countrymen continue to be annoyed by the collection of all their eggs, “and the return of none”.

The allegation is still heard that “large houses find excuses for not taking in evacuees”.

There are reports of the “fatigue of compulsory fire-watching after a full day's work”.

Complaint about the shortage of torch batteries, “particularly No. 8”, is coupled with the comment that “when you do get a battery it doesn't last a week, even with care”. It has been suggested that “this may be the Government's way of making money through the tax on batteries, but it seems wasteful that so much material should be used in making a battery which will be thrown away after so little use”.

The shortage of wireless batteries continues, and the match shortage is now reported as “the most persistent cause of complaint”.

Other shortages are of: Cigarette lighters and flints, tobacco and cigarettes, sweets, marmalade, fish, offal, fire-lighters and kindling wood, tin kettles, sacks for storing potatoes, deodorants, sanitary towels, and typewriters.

There are demands for more British Restaurants.

(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 16)

409

REFERENCES