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SECRET
MINISTRY OF INFORMATION
Weekly Report by Home Intelligence - No. 43
Copy No. 32

(From Wednesday, 23rd July, to Wednesday, 30th July, 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.

4 6 3 7 4

HOME INTELLIGENCE WEEKLY REPORT
No. 45 - July 23rd to July 30th, 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

Public confidence, having risen for the past four weeks, now seems to be running level. The length and ferocity of Russian resistance is still the strongest factor in keeping public spirits at their present pitch; fear of Japan as an unknown quantity is a somewhat sobering influence. Other reasons for satisfaction are the same as those reported last week - virtual freedom from raids on this country, the increasing weight of the R.A.F.'s assault on Germany and the occupied countries, and a growing belief in the efficacy of American aid.

In spite of prominence given to Japan's activities by the Press, the public as a whole does not appear to be more than mildly interested in the possibilities of the situation. In some quarters there is a tendency to believe that “the U.S. will deal with any danger from that side”, and that, therefore, the chief effect of Japan's actions will be to bring America into the war very shortly. Those who consider the situation more critically are “disturbed lest Japanese activities should mean the loss of New Zealand, and constitute a definite threat to Australia”. Others accept “Japanese moves in Indo-China as an indication that in the race of initiative we have been beaten at the post”.

On the whole, however, optimism throughout the country is still high - “too high” according to some reports, while in others a dangerous degree of complacency is alleged. Expectancy of “Russia being overwhelmed, and of Britain being invaded in September is passing with each day's evidence that it is the German High Command which is in trouble”.

Despite the prevailing spirit of hopefulness, there is an undertone of anxiety lest we should lose the opportunity to help Russia on land as well as by air. It is unanimously regretted that we have “so far restricted our aid to bombing”, and it is felt that “even tip-and-run raids on the Continent might lessen the pressure on the Soviet Forces”. There is, in fact, a widespread belief that such raids have been taking place, and that the public should be allowed to hear of them, since “the enemy cannot be unaware of what is happening”. News of a landing in considerable force is eagerly awaited, and there is said to be “great disappointment” at our apparent inability to strike at the present time. (Apropos of this, it is noticeable that the Army apparently continuous to fall in public esteem; the R.A.F. is popular and is considered to have new ideas; while the Navy remains traditionally popular).

Possibly as a symptom of the new hope given by the Russian resistance, “discussions about peace-aims and post-war reconstruction are again reported”. There are also more signs of expectation that the war may be over before the winter. Further reports have come in of black-out curtains being taken down, and of the return of evacuated children to big towns. (In an [Text Missing] this report further information is given in this subject.) Mr. Churchill's warning of the days ahead 5 and Mr. Alexander's forecast of worse to come, do not appear to have got home. The public finds such confident utterances as Mr. Eden's message to the Belgian people more in accordance with its mood”. Last Sunday's raid on London seems, if anything, to have confirmed the belief among wishful-thinkers that the worst of the bombing is over. The sentiment of such reports as have yet come in may be summed up by the suggestion that: “If this is all the Nazis can do in reprisals for Berlin, their Air Force must be even more tied up than we thought on the Eastern Front”.

Fears that we are not using our industrial resources to the best advantage continue to be expressed in many reports. (It is, as yet, too early to record the impressions made by the Prime Minister's speech in the House of Commons last Tuesday.) These fears are often coupled with a desire that workers who are stood off, or kept idle for lack of material, should have the position fully explained to them by the managements, so that unfounded suspicions of slackness or incompetence in administration should not arise. Reports from various sources indicate that more information about Government policy would be welcomed in all departments of the war effort.

(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 20 Manchester, Inverness, Leeds P.C.s, 23, 34).

2. Presentation of news

Although the Russian communiques are believed rather than the German, there are still “lingering doubts” of their accuracy. People are “tired of seeing both Russian and German claims, which bear no relation to one another, on the same page of a newspaper”, and it is suggested that our Military Mission in Russia might issue “some kind of bulletin in which people in this country could believe”.

Russian propaganda, however, is considered to be far ahead of our own; comment is still heard on the effectiveness of the broadcast addressed by name to the wife of a dead German soldier, and it is hoped that in this field of warfare “we shall be able to learn something from them”.

It would be appreciated if more photographs were to be published of the damage inflicted by the R.A.F. on Germany. It is believed that such pictures would help to check a tendency to discount our own air communiques, as some people do on the grounds that “had we really done all we have claimed, such places as Bremen and Wilhelmshaven would be nothing but smoking ruins”, and would not require such frequent visits.

It is regretted in several quarters that “the Battle of the Atlantic must be fought in silence”, and the decision not to publish shipping losses is deplored.

Considerable interest is still shown in Mr. Quentin Reynolds' broadcast on June 29th. A brief report on this has been made by Listener Research; an analysis of comment received from 163 people showed:-

This postscript outclassed all others for which comparative figures are available. Among the reasons given for its popularity were its pugnacity and plain speaking, and the fact that it stressed our growing assumption of the offensive. It was said also that “here is a man who knows the mentality of our enemies, and by his very deliberation, added a cutting edge to the threat of doom he was transmitting”.

(1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 13)

3. “V” Campaign .

It is evident from almost all reports that this idea has met with considerable though somewhat ill-defined “success” in this country. It is said to have “caught the imagination of the public”, and to have caused widespread enthusiasm”. On the other hand, criticism suggests that “its manifestation reveals a marked absence of considered thought”, and it is regretted “that the campaign should not have been reserved for the occupied countries, where it appears to have considerable point”. There was some disappointment that in spite of the cabalistic emphasis laid on July 20th, the opening date of the campaign, there was no sensational activity on our part, such as an invasion of the Continent, which many people seem to have expected.

(1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 13, 23)

4. Communist Activity

Several reports have indicated that since the outbreak of Russo-German hostilities, the Communist Party in Britain have “begun to pull their weight on our side”. One of its official leaflets, dated July 4th, says: “We must strain every nerve and muscle to develop the very maximum in our own production and man power. The Communist Party will support and press forward every measure of the Government designed to promote effective co-operation with the Soviet Union, and secure victory in the common cause for the complete destruction of Hitlerism”.

(5, 34)

5. Sabotage

Some concern is felt, notably in South Wales, over reported acts of sabotage. One ship that had been de-gaussing at Cardiff was said to have been forced back to port because an oil-pipe joint had not been welded. In another ship two new dynamos are stated to have been ruined by the introduction of emery dust.

(8)

6. Rumour

The crop is plentiful this week. The rumour that certain coastal towns are to be evacuated has appeared again in the South Eastern Region; a variation from Colchester suggests that evacuation there is related to a British invasion of the Continent. Dates for invasion (usually of Holland) are often given “in confidence”.

There is also a persistent rumour in Belfast that the Germans have planned to invade Eire on August 4th. The fact that private citizens are anxiously asking Government officials whether there is any truth in this, indicates that the rumour is being taken seriously in many quarters.

Raid rumours include:-

(1) The b[Text Missing]ing of the Prime Minister in the streets of Hull, during a visit after the raid of July 16th.

(2) Defective German bombs dropped in the Cambridge area, some of which contained no fuses.

(3) Reprisals on Manchester whenever Cologne or Mannheim have been described in press or radio as “the Manchester of Germany”.

(4) The finding of a wireless transmitting act, dropped by parachute, four miles from Newbury.

Liverpool is said to be full of cotton now, whereas for many months past no cotton has been landed: this is held to prove that our convoys are crossing the Atlantic in safety. Another convoy - the first for many weeks - is reported to have come up the Thames, and to be unscathed.

It is said that the Bomber Command are to start using a 4,000 lb bomb, and that aircraft are having their bomb-racks converted accordingly.

(2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 23)

II SPECIAL COMMENTS

7. Wages

There are said to be “indications that the control of wages is soon likely to become an issue of moment”. Quotations have frequently been made in Home Intelligence Weekly Reports of comments on the difference between Service and civilian rates of pay; and now there is also a good deal of comment about the high wages paid to unskilled labour, and particularly to demolition workers and juveniles.

In Sheffield, lads of 16-17 are reported to be getting 50/- a week; and youths of 17-18 as much as £5, as lorry drivers; this is contrasted unfavourably with the pay of a civil defence worker who is also compelled to remain in his job. Many skilled men in the building trade, who volunteered for military or civil defence service when war broke out, now see their jobs taken by inexperienced youths at a higher wage than they themselves would get in peace time, and far higher than their pay in the Services or as civil defence workers.

The “serious rise in the number of juvenile offenders coming before the courts; since war began”, is partly accounted for, according to probation officers, by the high wages paid to young boys engaged on work of national importance. Young people learning useful trades which would have resulted in regular employment in the future, are said to have been attracted to less skilled work by the high rates of pay offered. Social workers deplore the effects that these high wages are having on inexperienced youths “who are earning as much, if not more than their fathers”, and who have, in consequence, an exaggerated sense of their own importance, and consider themselves already men. There is a feeling that it should, at least, be possible “to insist on contract conditions for juveniles, at any rate up to the age of 16, with a stipulated maximum, varying with the area”, to prevent the constant drifting from one job to another in the search for yet higher wages. It is pointed out that in many cases the fathers of these youths are absent on active service, and 8 that they are impatient of parental control; in many cases they contribute less than half their earnings to the home and are left with anything up to £2 a week to spend and with nothing to spend it on except drink, tobacco, betting and cinemas. There is said to be a high increase in juvenile drinking in pubs, and it is suggested that the beer and cigarette shortages are aggravated by the greater spending powers of many youths and girls.

(1, 5, 7, 27, 34)

8. Registration of women

There is said to be “widespread confusion about the compulsory powers exercised by the Ministry of Labour”; an article in the “News-Chronicle” on July 23rd, describing the “moral pressure” that may be brought to bear on the “minority type which does not ‘play cricket’”, has aroused some interest. There is some dismay among employers, “who in many cases have replaced men with girls, and who now feel that their efforts have been in vain”. This is particularly the case with hotel proprietors, who fear the effects that shortage of domestic workers will have on their trade.

Cases are reported of mothers preventing their daughters from going into munition factories on the grounds that immorality goes on there.

(1, 3, 5, 7, 24)

9. Coal

“Dissatisfaction and disquiet” about the coal situation are reported in some places to be as marked as ever. It is not thought that many ex-miners will return to the pits, nor that if they were to do so, they would be able to affect this winter's supplies. It is pointed out that a return to the pits from industry would in most cases involve big financial sacrifices on the part of the men, and that employers are not bound to take the men back even if they do volunteer. It is still not understood why 50,000 young miners cannot be brought back to the pits from the Army, now that “it has been established beyond all doubt, by the Norwegian, French, Greek and Cretan campaigns, that machines are more important than men, and that coal is essential for the production of machines”.

There has been some criticism of the rationing system which is said to be “too vague”, and not to make due allowance for storage space, size of house, etc. This is particularly felt in the case of flats, or houses which have only small storage room. There is some apprehension that the monthly ton may not always be available, as it is not guaranteed.

(1, 3, 6, 18)

10. Home Guard

The Home Guard now appears to stand fairly high in public esteem, particularly since training and equipment have been improved. (The issue of epaulettes and divisional insignia has given great satisfaction to the men themselves, and has “strengthened their sense of being an integral part of the Army”) But there are indications 9 that they are not too well thought of in some country districts, where the feeling is often expressed that the officers, though “good fellows”, are unsuitable, either from age or inexperience, and that they owe their position only to local influence. There is also some uneasiness on the question of administration, and its effects on keenness; the feeling still persists that greater reliance could be placed on the Home Guard “if it were subject to Army discipline with regard to terms of service, and obligation to attend parades and exercises”. The need for exercises is stressed, if only to dispel boredom.

(1, 2, 6, 7, 8)

11. Food

Except in the matter of queues and eggs, “there has apparently been rather less grumbling about food this week”. There is now said to be “little complaint about the rationing system”, and the general food situation is thought to have been eased by the quantity of home grown produce now coming on to the market. In a recent Postal Censorship report, out of 93 writers referring to food, 45 show satisfaction with the supply. Certain aspects of the food situation, however, continue to cause serious dissatisfaction.

Queues : There is some indication that queues are increasing. Strong complaints continue to come in about them, and in some parts of the country the police have been dispersing them. Though this action has been welcomed in most cases, there is one report of angry housewives resenting the disturbance of their queueing. Some people are said to “find queueing a sociable way of spending the morning.” Objections appear to come mostly “from factory workers who are unable to obtain unrationed goods, because of the hours they are employed”. It is reputed that often they cannot get to work in the mornings because of buses being already filled with shoppers hastening to take their places in the early queues. This is particularly mentioned in the case of Guildford, where the queues start at 7.30 a.m. It is pointed out that the workers' shopping problems will be considerably aggravated in the winter when the shops shut early on account of the blackout.

It has been suggested that, as the queue is now an established practice, pregnant women might be given medical certificates to absolve them from the necessity of having to stand, since cases are reported of their having fainted in queues.

Many proposals are made as to the best way of getting rid of queues. Some say that the only solution is to extend rationing to all controlled commodities. The most successful idea yet reported appears to have been a notice in a shop window that the first six people in any queue would not be served. In Blackpool the experiment of opening shops at 11 a.m. is said to be having a good effect. In Huddersfield it has been decided that, in cases where tradesmen can be shown to be encouraging them, the Ministry of Food will be asked to withdraw their licences and close down their businesses.

Eggs : Except for a solitary report in its favour the egg rationing scheme “still provokes adverse criticism. Many feel it is a complete failure, and that re-organisation should begin immediately”. It is the quality rather than the quantity of the eggs that now causes dissatisfaction; the most general complaint is that “producers who would normally distribute within three days of laying, now get their eggs back after many weeks, and consequently a large proportion are rotten”. The allowance given to shopkeepers to cover bad eggs is said to be inadequate, and the replacements given for them are often bad too. There is a demand that, where possible, eggs should be marked with 10 the place of origin.

Though the price of gooseberries is controlled, a fruit indistinguishable from a gooseberry, called a “leveller”, is sold at 2/6 - 3/6 a lb. It is thought the price of all fruit ought to be controlled, and that grapes at 15/- a lb, and cherries at 5/- should be prohibited. Lord Woolton has been taken to task for stating that those who buy raspberries at 7/- a lb. are “foolish”. “It is the duty of the Ministry”, says one report, “to see that goods in short supply are available at a reasonable price”. (Incidentally, the belief still persists that Lord Woolton is benevolently inclined to the large, as opposed to the small, trader.)

There are many complaints about the shortage of tomatoes, sweets and oatmeal. There is reported to be difficulty in getting the national wheat meal loaf in some places as, apparently, all bakers do not make it.

People with allotments, who grow all their own vegetables, are penalised by greengrocers, who reserve fruit, when it is in short supply, for customers who place vegetable orders.

(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 20 Leeds, Bristol, Manchester, 23).

12. Constant Complaints .

The beer shortage : “Several reports suggest that continued shortage of beer will seriously affect morale”.

Tobacco and cigarette shortage : There is a demand that some figures on this question should be published, “to remove the impression that there is racketeering and muddle”.

Salvage : “It is suggested that the salvage campaign would be more effective if it could be explained why, in blitzed towns like Southampton and Portsmouth, girders and beams have to be allowed to lie month after month in wrecked buildings”.

Clothes rationing : Two objections persist, after most others have died down: (1) Growing children need more coupons, (2) Poor people should also have more coupons, as cheap clothes wear out more quickly and have to be replaced sooner.

(5, 6, 8, 9, 20 Special P.C., 22)