A History of the Ministry of Information, 1939-46

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SECRET
MINISTRY OF INFORMATION
Weekly Report by Home Intelligence - No. 24
Copy No. 100

(From Wednesday, 12th March, to Wednesday, 19th March, 1941).

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

I. GENERAL COMMENTS

1. General state of confidence and reaction to news .

This week the main factor affecting public confidence has been the renewed heavy raids on provincial cities. They are, however, localised in their effects. Each presents special aspects and there are described under “Air Raids” later in this report. Of the public morale during and after these raids, it can be said that it followed familiar lines. Those who saw both Clydeside's blitz and the first blitz in the East End noted a striking similarity, with Glasgow coming out, if anything, slightly better. There was no panic, and private and public evacuation went forward in an orderly manner. The inevitable delays in official assistance were accepted cheerfully and patiently, and there was remarkably little grumbling. The extreme cold was much remarked on in the shelters. The engineering apprentices, who were on strike, offered their services in any post-raid work.

The almost continuous raiding of Portsmouth and Southampton during the past fortnight have proved a severe strain. A special note from the R.I.O. points out that if this bombardment continues, the maintenance of civilian morale will depend very largely on the material care of the citizens by the authorities. In these towns, the young and vigorous troops are on the whole better cared for than the civilians of all ages - yet both are in the front line. The nightly trek from Portsmouth has reached considerable dimensions. Battleships in the harbour are said by some people to be attracting the heavy raids. The casualty figures for Merseyside and Clydeside came as an unpleasant surprise to the public.

Following the unpleasant surprise of the high shipping losses, the reaction to the news has been more cheerful. Our success against the night bombers, the passage of the “Lease and Lend” bill, and Mr. Roosevelt's speech have combined to make more intelligent people think that an important corner has been turned. The night-fighter successes have produced a new attitude to the barrage; a fierce barrage is no longer greeted with universal satisfaction, as some now think it a sign that night-fighters are not up. Interest in the Balkans has declined a little; such interest as exists follows the lines indicated in the last two weeks' reports. It is, however, widely rumoured that we now have military forces in Greece.

Few reports on public reaction to the press details of the invasion pamphlet have as yet been received. It is, however, stated that it has aroused the flagging interest. The fact that the Government feel such a pamphlet necessary at the moment has once more brought the possibility of invasion home to people. The precise instructions are “cordially welcomed”. In many areas, doubts about the reality of the invasion danger are, however, still reported.

A few special grumbles worth noting are as follows:-

1. Certain groups among the working classes are upset at having to pay income tax for the first time. Reports suggest that education and explanation about this alleged “exploitation” is required.

2. The Channel Island Refugees complain of official indifference on the part of the Home Office, and are blaming it, rather than the Germans, for the lack of news from the islands.

(1, 2, 4, 5, 5x, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 21 Portsmouth T.C. 23, 34).

2. R.A.F. Bombing

A special report on public reaction to R.A.F. bombing of Germany from the R.I.O. Southern Region makes the following points (largely confirmed by reports from other sources):-

1. It is generally appreciated that it is harder for us to bomb Germany than for the Germans to bomb us; and that we have fewer bombers than they have.

2. Many, however, -particularly inhabitants of the blitzed cities - doubt whether our bombing is as effective as it might be.

3. Personal experience of severe blitzes makes people feel that, instead of sporadic raids over a wide area, the soundest line is concentrated attack on a single town, night after night, until its inhabitants are demoralised and the towns' civic buildings, shops, houses and industries are destroyed. Are we, it is suggested, still too strict in our definition of military objectives? If our civil population are front-line workers, so too are the Germans. Many Southampton people who suffered two nights of blitz feel that had the process gone on for another three or four nights, the whole town would have had to have been evacuated. This is what they think should happen to the German towns. It is suggested that the knowledge that the Germans were getting a taste of their own medicine would be a great stimulus to the morale of the blitzed cities.

4. The fact that we are not now mentioning the bombing of Hamm and other railway centres leads to suggestions that we have found this type of attack valueless; many have now seen with their own eyes the speed with which railway communications can be restored.

5. It is further suggested that, by now, the quays of the invasion ports should be little better then rubble. Why, it is asked, do we continue to attack them, and why do we not allow invasion forces to accumulate and then wipe them out of existence.?

(14 Southern, 8, 34).

3. Rumours .

A fairly widespread rumour that the Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret Rose have been evacuated to America in the battleship King George V apparently originated in enemy broadcast material. Apart from this, there is little new to record. Exaggerated stories of damage on Merseyside and Clydeside followed the usual lines; in addition, in one recent blitz it is said that a German plane wrote the figure 10 in the sky, indicating the time of the next night's raid. The enemy are accused of dropping metal darts. It is also said that we are to give the United States battleships in exchange for numbers of escort vessels, that there is still a secret U-boat base on the West coast of Ireland, and that the Government expects the war to be over this year. In support of this view, recent optimistic hints by our politicians are quoted. The official references to “other devices” used in bringing down night bombers have lead to rumours of spools of wire shot into the air.

There are still complaints of careless talk by munition workers, particularly in public conveyances. At Shoeburyness, a secret television apparatus is openly discussed by the population.

(2, 5, 5x, 8, 10, 11, 20 Manchester P.C. 34).

II. SPECIAL COMMENTS

4. Air Raids .

The Leeds raid on March 14th - 15th was the most intense the City has yet been through, though compared with earlier blitzes on other towns, it was not so severe. Morale is said to have been “excellent”, and the emergency arrangements worked well. The only publicity given out by the local authorities (through the Secretary of the Local Information Committee) was a warning about the penalties for looting.

In the Clydeside raid on March 13th very extensive damage was done. A great deal of this was caused by fire, particularly in the Parkhall Housing Estate. It is reported that here the shortage, and in some cases the “gross neglect” of fire-watchers was an extremely serious matter; as a result, very few of the houses are in a habitable state. Though there seems, on the whole, to have been very little panic during the raid, there was a considerable amount of both organised and private evacuation afterwards. Dislocation of transport made this a slow process, though otherwise it was carried out efficiently. Emergency services and food supplies were also affected severely, though only temporarily by the dislocation of traffic, and some of the Rest Centres were unusable because of time bombs. In these and other matters the Ministry's loudspeaker vans were reported to be particularly helpful.

(14 Leeds, Edinburgh, 16, 23).

5. Fire-Watching .

There are still reports of a shortage of watchers. In some cases, however, employers are apparently dismissing their paid watchers and are asking their own workers to take on the job of watching. Cases have also been reported of employers “bringing pressure to bear on their work people to leave civil defence duties and take up fire-watching”. The relative importance of one's home and one's employer's property is still much disputed. “There is a great need” says one report, “for the Government to give a strong lead in this matter”.

(4, 5x, 9, 18 Eastern, Midland).

6. Food .

Though food is still a major problem in most homes, housewives are coping with it more philosophically. They are prepared to put up with their difficulties, provided there is equality of sacrifices; at present many of them are still not satisfied that equality has been achieved.

The rationing of preserves has been welcomed as an indication that the authorities aim at equality in distribution, but the small quantity to be received caused surprise and concern. Complaints have, however, been made that people who could afford to do so were able to buy up all available stocks in the day allowed them between the announcement and the introduction of rationing.

The main food difficulties reported this week are:-

1. Replacing emergency stocks after consumption following an air raid, or when normal supplies have been held up by transport difficulties.

2. Shortages of food for heavy workers, especially of cheese.

3. The high price of fish, as a substitute for meat. (It is alleged that some fishermen are limiting their efforts, because of high prices).

4. Shopping difficulties of women war workers, whose problems are increasing as shortages become more acute.

5. The provision of something sweet for children, now that preserves are rationed.

Potato bars have been much discussed, and hopeful traders are considering their prospects.

(1, 2, 4, 5x, 9, 11, 14, 15, 18 North Midland, 20 Bristol P.C., 34).

7. Labour .

The Glasgow Dockers, whose suspicions of the guaranteed week have previously been rather vague, have now voiced more concrete reasons for their distrust of the scheme:-

1. As they will not be guaranteed a working, week at the docks , the assumption is that they will be forced, when work is slow at the boats, to do railway unloading etc., to which they are not accustomed. In stressing the importance of being allowed to follow their own class of work, they instance occasions when men, unused to a certain job, have taken many times as long to do that job. As they work at piece-rates, this has naturally proved an uneconomic proposition for them.

2. The new scheme will limit their freedom. Under the old scheme, if they worked on Sundays (for which they were paid double time) they felt entitled to take Monday off.

3. The new scheme will prevent dockers working and collecting Unemployment Insurance money at the same time. Further, their wages will now be able to be checked for income tax purposes.

Local press articles appear to have confused the dockers, and the minimum wage (£4.2.6.) is mistaken by the men for a total possible wage.

A “Snappers Union” has been formed, and it is expected to grow rapidly. (A Snapper is a man outside the Dockers' Union who is only employed after the regular Badge men have all been engaged.) The new union has said it is prepared to accept the Government scheme.

Apprentices' Strikes . It has proved difficult to find the real leaders of the apprentices' strikes in Scotland; their precise reasons for striking are also obscure. Out of the vagueness and confusion, however, the fact that Government trainees receive higher rates of wages emerges as the primary cause. The apprentices say that, in many cases, the trainees are so unskilful that they have to depend on the apprentices to do their work for them. Also it is thought that the trainees are dodging military service.

Incitement to strike is coming from an unofficial body, the Apprentices Committee, which is a Communist “shadow” organisation. This Committee is outside Trade Union control, and the majority of apprentices are not in any union. These facts make Trade Union and Ministry of Labour co-operation particularly difficult, and machinery for dealing with unofficial strikes by negotiation must inevitably be hard to set up and operate.

Two strikes are reported from the Belfast shipyard of Messrs. Harland and Wolffe; one of these is also an apprentices' strike and the same grievances occur as in Scotland.

(11, 13, 14, 23)

Women in Industry . Mr. Bevin's broadcast and press publicity made a considerable impression and a special report from a group of factories shows that the subject is a major topic of conversation among women employees.

There is much speculation about the conditions under which compulsion will be applied. The main objection so far reported is that women may be expected to work and live away from home. There are inquiries about the care of husbands and children in such circumstances, but it is hoped that married women will be given special consideration.

Social workers foresee certain difficulties about the feeding of babies, and point out that ante-natal and post-natal clinics urge mothers to breast-feed their babies, while at the same time young mothers on war work are informed that they can leave their babies at nursery centres from the age of four weeks. It is suggested that some guidance on this question may soon become necessary.

(5x, 8, 11, 13, 14, 20 Irish P.C. 23).

8. Trade .

Shortages . Noticeable shortages of cigarettes and tobacco are reported and people are suggesting that retailers are holding stocks in expectation of a tax increase.

Shortages of cigarettes and tobacco after heavy raids is said to have a depressing effect on morale.

(1, 14, 34).

9. Evacuation

There has been some further evacuation of children from London areas since recent raids, but the trickle of returning evacuees continues. Financial difficulties and billeting problems are blamed and in some places billeting officers are said not to be trying to smooth out difficulties but are telling evacuees that if they are not pleased, they had better go back to London. A new complaint from country hostesses is that parents, eager to visit their children, descend on their guardians at the weekends and do not bring rations, thus adding considerably to existing food difficulties. Parents are also accused of sending money to evacuees for sweets and cinemas, but not for clothes.

From a total of 8,708 children evacuated from Belfast, 4952 have returned home.

(5x, 13).

HOME INTELLIGENCE

221

REFERENCES

1. Northern Region (Newcastle) Weekly reports from R.I.Os.
2. North-Eastern Region (Leeds)
3. North-Midland Region(Nottingham)
4. Eastern Region (Cambridge)
5. London Region (London)
5x Special London reports.
6. Southern Region (Reading)
7. South Western Region (Bristol)
8. Wales (Cardiff)
9. Midland Region (Birmingham)
10. North-Western Region (Manchester)
11. Scotland (Edinburgh)
12. South-Eastern Region (Tunbridge Wells)
13. Northern Ireland (Belfast)
14. Special reports from R.I.Os.
15. M.O.I. speakers' reports
16. Local Information Committees' reports
17. Home Press Summaries M.O.I.
18. Regional Press Summaries
19. Hansard
20. Postal Censorship
21. Telephone Censorship
22. Police duty-room reports
23. Mass Observation
24. War-time Social Survey
25. B.B.C. listener research papers
26. B.B.C. special papers
27. Citizens' Advice Bureaux
28. W.V.S.
29. Scottish Unionist Whip's reports
30. Liberal Party reports
31. Economic League's reports
32. W.H. Smith's questionaires
33. War Office Postbag summaries
34. Primary sources

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