169 170 1 171 2 174 5

SECRET
MINISTRY OF INFORMATION .
Weekly Report by Home Intelligence - No. 30.
Copy No. 31

(From Wednesday, April 23rd to Wednesday, April, 30th, 1941)

In reading this report, it is important to bear in mind that it does not set out to record facts , except in so far as public opinion is itself a fact. It is a record and reflection of the public's views and feelings about the war in general. Therefore on 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.

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 .

Perhaps the best indices of long-term change in the public's attitude to the war at the present time are results recently obtained by the British Institute of Public Opinion. These surveys were done by Gallup methods on samples of 2,250 people. On 9th November 1940, and again on 7th March 1941, the public was asked: “What do you think is the most important war problem the British Government must solve this Spring?” The results were as follows:-

The remaining 30% on each occasion was composed of multiple unclassifiable suggestions.

The latest of these surveys was made before the recent heavy raids started, and before the Near Eastern situation appeared to deteriorate. In spite of this, it shows a widespread public realisation that the Battle of the Atlantic and the problem of food supplies are of outstanding importance. This is confirmed by the results of two further questions asked on 7th March this year:-

1. “Do you think Germany could win the war by defeating Great Britain in the Mediterranean and the Near East?

2. “From what you have experienced or read about, or heard during the past few weeks, do you think it is possible or impossible for Germany to win the war by air attack alone on this country?”

This result shows little change, when compared with the results of the same question on 12th November last year, (6% yes; 80% no; 14% don't know). A regional “breakdown” of the latest survey gave the following result:-

It will be seen that the highest level of doubt is in London, and the lowest in the bombed provincial areas. It is possible that, following the recent heavy raids, the provincial figure would now be nearest the London figure.

On the attitude of the public to America and Japan, the following results are of interest:-

1. Question: “How do you feel towards the United States?” (March 7th, 1941)

Result:-

2. Question: “If the Japanese attempt to seize either our colonies or any of the colonies of our Allies, in the Far East, should we go to war with them?”

Result:-

The important figures here are the 12% of “Nos” and the 24% of “Don't knows”. The commonest reasons given for holding these views were:-

It is usual to find that, the further away the events, the less acute is the public feeling about them; these results bear out this generalisation.

We come now to public reactions in the course of the past week. There is rather less tension, but still much anxiety about the course of the war. The evacuation of Greece has caused sorrow rather than surprise. There is much sympathy for the Greeks, and considerable concern about our apparent inferiority in the air and in armoured fighting vehicles. Speculation about where the Germans will strike next, follows press comment closely. There is no longer much faith in Turkey's ability to stand up to Germany, and it is suggested that she may either surrender (or actually join the Axis) or be by-passed, so that the Germans will reach Iraq and Iran via the Ukraine. Attacks on Spain and Egypt are also expected, and the fate of the French fleet is once more discussed. The slowing down of the German advance in Libya has given rise to hopes, mixed with fear, that these hopes may be false.

In general, the Prime Minister's speech is described as having had a “sobering and stimulating” effect. It has increased the realisation of the importance of the Battle of the Atlantic, but has added to the thirst for details of the progress of this battle. In particular, there are fears that the monthly figures for shipping losses may turn out to be very large indeed; and people are asking why we cannot be told how many U-boats have so far been sunk. The Prime Minister's speech has not received, it would appear, as much approval as usual, and this is a new feature. On the one hand, it is said that “he told us nothing new”. On the other, it is thought that he minimised the public anxiety in the blitzed towns, and it is suggested that “his presence was enough to make people hide their anxiety - but it's there all the same”. In all parts, too, there is anxiety on the major issue of how, even assuming we do win the battle of the Atlantic, we are going to win the final battle with a Germany occupying almost the whole of Europe. People, from their own experience, do not believe that bombing is a decisive weapon, - and they hope that their own experience will show the same for blockade. So far, our activities on land do not make them over-optimistic in that direction. While there is, characteristically, little tendency to press for a logical solution to this apparent impasse, there is a growing belief that such an impasse does exist.

The criticism of official news presentation, which we reported last week, has increased, and its tone is unchanged. It appears that the familiar process of pushing the blame for military disappointments on to the news services is once more taking place. There are requests for more interpretation of the news. The Director-General's broadcast aroused only a limited amount of spontaneous comment; such comment was almost entirely favourable, but “many intelligent people are still asking what exactly the Ministry of Information is aiming at in its home front propaganda?.”

(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5x, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 23).

2. The recent raids .

The outstanding feature of the recent heavy provincial raids has been the nightly exodus from the bombed towns. From Portsmouth and Southampton, the trek still goes on, and transport facilities are seriously congested. From Plymouth, there is an estimate that 7-8,000 people trek out at night to sleep in Halls and other buildings at Plympton, St. Mary Rural and Ivybridge. These trekkers cause a double problem. First, accommodation has to be found for them. Secondly, they leave their homes without any form of fire-protection. The nightly trek has been a regular feature of provincial blitzes, but if raids do not recur, the number of trekkers rapidly declines.

It is known that there is a section of the population, estimated at a maximum of 1/10, who are of weaker constitutional mental make-up than the rest. These people react to difficult situations in two ways - either by a cowardly retreat, or by a neurotic mental breakdown. Among the fighting Services there is no possibility of the former escape, and the amount of neurotic breakdown has been correspondingly large. Among civilians, on the other hand, there has been almost no neurotic breakdown. Such a breakdown involves admission to hospital, and the widespread publicity given to the bombing of hospitals has apparently convinced the public that the neurotic escape to hospital is the surest way of becoming a military target. So instead, the potentially neurotic section of the population take to the roads each evening and seeks safety in dispersal. In London, however, they have what they believe to be an equally safe escape in the tube stations. So the problem of the nightly trek is in London only the problem of the trek to the tubes.

Turning now to the individual cities, in Plymouth an outstanding feature of the people was their physical fatigue. As at Coventry, loud-speaker announcements seem to have made little impression, and the deputy R.I.O. organised a team of women social workers to visit the public in their homes, to give individual help and encouragement. After the third night of raiding, there was much feeling against the official communiqué describing the raid, which was thought to be “callous”. It is difficult to see how this can be overcome as a short objective description must inevitably seem to minimise the situation when heard by those who are worn out by three nights of heavy and concentrated raids. Similar complaints (that the town's sufferings were being minimised) come from Portsmouth. Around Belfast, the problems of unorganised evacuation (exactly parallel to those which followed the first heavy raids on London) are having to be dealt with. In London, the main post-raid problems are rent difficulties over damaged premises, and the evacuation of the “under fives”. For domestic or financial reasons the mothers of these children cannot take them to the country, and there are many requests for residential country day-nurseries.

(5x, 6, 7, 14 S. Western).

3. Rumour .

There has been a slight increase in the amount of rumour circulating this week. Haw Haw rumours are once more reported, and a new variation on an old theme is that we are refraining from bombing the Rumanian oil wells because of the large amount of British capital which is said to be locked up there.

(14 North Western, 23, 34).

II SPECIAL COMMENTS

4. Labour

Among labour problems which come to light this week that of immigrant labour is a serious one. A special report from Birmingham states that men and women sent to work and live away from their homes have often proved “unemployable” for various and obvious reasons. Employers find it difficult to control bad time-keeping and bad work, especially as threats of dismissal no longer carry any weight. There are also more complaints this week of absenteeism, which is again attributed to attempts to avoid having to pay income tax by earning higher wages. From industrial areas there are reports of a severe shortage of welfare officers and social workers.

Registration of women : Women who have registered, and who are doubtful about the national importance of their present jobs, are anxious that their positions should be made clear as soon as possible. Cases have been reported of women leaving their jobs without waiting for official guidance, and taking up other work which they believe to be more essential. Some industrial welfare officers are anxious because their staffs have already been depleted by this process.

Women who will not have to register for some time appear to be dismayed because girls who are now about to be conscripted will get “the pick of the jobs”. It is also pointed out that by the time older women are called up, those who were conscripted earlier will have had considerable experience, and therefore stand better chances of promotion. There is some anxiety in case the younger women should be sent to work in vulnerable areas.

Complaints have also been made in country districts that middle and upper class women are using “moral suasion” to induce their servants not to undertake war work.

(1, 2, 3, 5x, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 14 Scotland, 18 North Midland, 24, 34).

5. Food

In areas where food supplies have been interrupted by raids, the demand for communal feeding has increased. It seems, however, that men are more conservative than women in their feeding habits; many men still prefer to take packed mid-day meals with them to work rather than eat in their works canteen or at feeding centres. Those who expect a hot meal in the evening add greatly to the shopping and catering problems of their wives, particularly where wives are also going out to work. Suggestions are, therefore, being made that special communal feeding propaganda should be directed to the men.

The jam-making scheme still displeases both the housewife and the small fruit grower. Some of the growers are threatening to let their fruit rot unless they receive what they consider to be adequate prices for it.

There are more reports of people waiting in queues without knowing what is to be had at the other end of them.

Criticism of the milk rationing scheme continues. In spite of the Ministry of Food's disapproval of “the one day cut”, it is said that milkmen are still doing this in certain districts.

There is a fairly wide belief that horse-flesh is being incorporated in “chicken-and-ham” rolls, and it is stated that this fact is mentioned on the invoices sent from the wholesalers to the retailers. One report suggests that if horse-flesh is, in fact, being used, it would be best for the authorities “to make a clean breast of it, and publicise Lord Woolton eating it at a public luncheon”.

(2, 3, 4, 5x, 10, 12, 18 North Western, 23, 34)

6. Trade

The cigarette shortage is still causing serious dissatisfaction. In certain areas it is said to have “an adverse affect on workers”; some people consider it a greater hardship than any other shortage.

(1, 2, 8, 9, 24, 34).

7. Nurseries and child minders .

Though there is much opinion in favour of day nurseries, it is thought that these are only a partial solution of a widespread and complicated problem. One of the main objections to them is the difficulty of bringing children to and from them, when the nursery, the home, and the mother's work are a long way apart. This difficulty is much increased when the mother has also to do her own shopping, cooking and household duties. Transport delays, and the blackout, particularly in winter, also make things harder for her. There is a suggestion that residential nurseries would be an alternative scheme.

The idea of a child minder still seems to be that she is a kind of Dickensian crone. Even if they were subject to some form of official supervision, it seems likely that child minders would still be distrusted.

(5x, 24, 34).

8. Funerals for Raid Victims .

The question of the cost of funerals for raid victims is again being raised. From one London district, it is reported that whole families have been wiped out and insurance policies lost, with the result that relatives are running into debt “to bury them properly”. Suggestions are made “something in the nature of a simple military funeral, at the public expense” should be made a routine for raid victims, so as to cut down the lavish expenditure which the poor feel is their duty towards the dead.

Home Intelligence .