(c) crown copyright
Catalogue Reference:CAB/65/1/49
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:
CONCLUSIONS
of a Meeting of the War Cabinet held,at 1% Downing Street,
S.W. t, on Monday, October M I W ^ a t ll-^A-M^-
TheyRight Hon. N E V I L L E CHAMBERLAIN, M.P., Prime Minister (in the Chair).
The Right Hon. Sir J O H N S I M O N , K . C . , The Right Hon. VISCOUNT H A L I F A X ,
Secretary of State for Foreign
M.P., Chancellor of the Exchequer.
' Affairs.
- -* .
The
Right
Hon. W I N S T O N
S.
Admiral of the Fleet the Right Hon.,
CHURCHILL,
M.P.,
First
Lord
of
the
LpRp CHATFIELD, Minister for Co­
Admiralty.
ordination of Defence.
The Right Hon. It. H O B E - B E L I S H A ^ The Right Hon. Sir K I N G S L E Y W O O D ,
M.P., Secretary Of State for A i r .
M.P., Secretary o f State for W a r .
Hon. L O R D
HANKEY,
The *R%ht Hon. S i r S A M U E L HOARE, The R i g h t
Ministerwithout Portfolio.
': Bt,,,M.P., Lord Privy Seal.
-:
The following were also present :'
The 'R!ght Hon. V I S C O U N T CALDECOTEJ The: Bight Hon. Sir.,JOHN? A N D E R S O N ,
,M,P,.i - Secretary - of i State.. f o r the
Lord;:ChJpeel^
0vM 'V.Home Department and: Minister o f
-: :Hdme Security.;:
h z h
The Bight Hon. AHTHOMY EBOTJ M.P., :Tl^h''y;l$ig^
Secretary of State for Dominion
;.At^lhisy­
v
-hA^feply;,..
X^ZZX-X ii:C]bheS
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Bi*tf^b$$^^X0i­: ^^^Wi
PerMsmemt
T h e ^ S l g l t :Hon^
fcS$i$^^
^.
; M;SlLord9
Admiral of the. Fleet Sir DUDE^BY
P O U N D , First Sea Lord and Chief o f
A i r Chief I f e f e l Sir Cram L. H .
5
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oi. the Imperial Gemsrul SOii"
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CONTENTS.
Minute
No. 1
The A i r Situation
Subject.
... . ...
. . . . . .
Page
...401
...
Dropping-of leaflets containing the j 3 * l ^ i g s ^ 4 Q $ I J O T ' $ I K l M ' *
- Speech."'
2
French Aircraft Production ...
. . . . . .
3
The: Naval Situation...
. . . . . . . . . . . .
401
...
...
..,401
Number of Submarines sunk.
4
Purchase of Chilean Destroyers
...
...
...
...
402
5
Thei Military Situation
...
...
...
...
402
6
The Naval, Military and A i r Situation
...
...
...
402
7
8
Propaganda regarding the number of British troops in
France
...
...
...
...
...
. . . . . .
German report of British supply of gas to Poland ...
...
402
403
9
Turkey....."
403
......
A
. . . . . .
...
.. . . . . . . . . .
:
The Turco-Soviet Conversations and the Aaglo-Pranco Tusbish
treaty.
...
vAA^AAA­
10 '
Policy of the Soviet Government
...
11
Germany
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
...
. . . . . . .-;
A.
s
...
404
...
' 404
State of public opinion.
12
Germany
1
13
405
Possible development of German policy.
- Germany
.. -'' . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . .
...405
^'APublication of. t w o ' W h i t e Papers.
14
15
IS
-Bt^^tbe^ar-' Propag^^Vi.'^^^ ;"''A^.'-A
;
. Change pf. meeting, place -of - Parlianteflt
PeqAsifcioAng'of hotels and school, premis
r."
AJA-
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Beferei. jst
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cm
j i ' J mi
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,
\ad
($IpiuJ t a t -i- u V
i-. b ^ t o\ j j . --£a , s/& ketu
...
sly.
. ' Ther& ^
Mi^k that the
flfew.
t
t
CbncluaibiiB, .Minute 1.)
.
lift
1
HI i
llflf i ji
pi flStl ^ bW it i H i b-iaSsp,..
and he therefore proposed to publish the fact that the raid had
containing the
British reply to
Herr Hitler'0
' Speech.
1
The War Cabinet took note of the above statement.
Reference:
W . M . (39) 46th
Com^usMnS,--.-
Minutes' 3.)':.:
3 me Prime Minister asked whether there was any confirmation of -the statement pnt^out by thefrench
'that*ench-aircraft .omtpni was.now,nvetames,what it.
(Previous
- A ^ u s t ; ' and that the British and,French output t o g e t h e r ^ three,
y:-:''':':z.^P\'^^/A^]y':
bbb-%;b
:w.&;;(8S); &ab timesithat bf^C^many/:
.EMP^13
;
;
Conclusions,;
M i n u t e : & ) ': '" . .
The -Secretary., of. State-/-far. Air. said that
H e was,
A i r Minister in the near future, when he would no doubt obtain tne
latest figures.
consMeraW^yei^^tea the position.
:
the W a r Cabinet took note of the above statement­
3, The First Lord of the Admiralty gave certain further
particulars as to the:sinking.of the Royal Oak:.'-.These afe^retprded.!
in the Secretary's Standard File of W a r Cabinet Conclusions.
The-attack by: a German - submarine on-the: fast unescorted:
me3tlae-jb:ha.(i--­
resulted in the loss of one French ship in addition to the one
reported at the previous meeting, i.e., one British and two French
ships in all. There were now only two more unescorted groups of
: sfi]ps^)fcbebiM;$bb:; bbb bbVbb' --': -b^b- Kb 'btb'-b bbbb^b-bb:':-'b v., b-M,-w^ ' A
Ho further attacks hsid bsen made oa Brits ch ships in the
previous twehty-foui nours, but one French sMy had hey" grade.
:
(Previous
Reference­
^l^i^
iusions
:C.omcIusK)ns;
Minute !.)
7
;
i::
:
::;
,;
;
the rubbii was
he y. I t WOT Id be $ great help i f xie GCAWI
obtain ibhe uss of X&L^
£wen. '
\li:^Q^ &pjpl^re)3 ;-^it' we had sunk four submarines on the
*l$1*h'-.e^wu^-j Lua ao£ b -u3, c i iu e t- i :C f b,
nv CuLei' tc
in'4
iLu-JJa. L i u J obbi2 ISbfli Ii:b f i l l s two i l l f b piobrMc
1
u
Siihinnrmea
subk.
(Provioun
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r T h e v War: Cabu^t
- bb
bibb
- B
2
lliiiliM
SI
4S2
to Boiling £ W L ' B
" i ] j ' u jry/icir
"
\a
toa
:
of State for Fo^^;A^j$^eS^^t^^T
t h e / $ ^ i r a l t y -fcaft*jn)i$Br
ahj^fu^
,
b
''
destroyers.
V ;
t
sT'
e s.)
-I, drnto4lfcy
said that, in tba
view,'
favour, this might prove to be a,most undesirable precedent, as it
might resul
submarines from Skassia.'
suit i n GoHnaanv
Ckamasy^s obtaining,
obtaii
J
'
vfiif&wi^Sii&jf
(CMc/
w
1
5
The. "vvW. -Cabinet -took note of this -statement.
5. The. Secretary. of State for War informed the W a r Cabinet
that the steamer Marwdrri
containing anti-aircraft guns - ana-,
equipment, which had been damaged by a mine, hac' ,nbvr' been­
(Previous
docked and the equipment was being taken off.
Beferenee:
; Bfe; gayeparticulars-of additional troops which'had crossed to
W.M. (39) 39th
France
the previous day.
Conclusions,
0 n the Western Front 4. more German Divisions had been
Minute 2.)
identified on the frontier between, Holland and Saarbrucken, the
(Previous
-total number now-- being estimated at- between- 62, and 87; . The
Beference:
W.M. (39) 48th French had issued a warning on Sunday that they expected a
German attack on Monday, but this attack had not taken place yet.
Conclusions,
The W a r Cabinet was informed that at the present time there
Minute 4.)
were probably very few French troops in the advanced positions in
front of the Maginot Line. I t was General Gamelin - s intention to
fight on the Maginot Line itself.
The Military
Situation.
:
The W a r Cabinet took note of the above statement.
The Mara! MM6. The W a r Cabinet took note of the Weekly Resume (No. 6)
taw and Ate
by the Chiefs of Staff (Paper W . P . (39) 88).
Situation.
(Previous
Beference:,,;,:,:,;,
W.M. (39) 40th
.v
,
: ,,Z,
r
. "
Conclusions,
. . . . \ -
Minute 5.)
ato;
:
Bfcpaiania
7. I n the course of the discussion on Minute 5 the Secretary
regarding the
of State for War referred to telegram No.
(Saving) ;of the;
nmmlteof
- . 13th ,October - from our Ambassador in Paris,,,in which-it w a s
British -teoops reported that unfavourable comparisons were being made in France
.M Ramos. '.- 'lbetween-the size o f our Expeditionary Jorce. (f6g$Q(0f men) and the
total-of the French Army (3^ million m^n) I n the-broadcast which­
(previous
^ ja^nded to make, on. the 21st. October,he proposed to point out
WvTm) Bio'- * * * * ^ Bjitish Expeditionary Force was'at present an advance
:
( V
r
wiii-Ma iav
--In--the. course or tlae discussion which ioliiowea w was suggespo-;,
*
" -that i t Would, be desirableto"tasn^bmimto'i^^feg^1 ^ 1 ^ ^ * ^ * * ' - - , -"fcEao­
- 'to. - -a.",fcrc3 we-had-already despatched
ore
tola
bac stoisli;/
- a , to j - S 7 " b b
'* to:'.
j "i "
a : to/a *
a.
ptototoaa on which our
a- a^ u ad,;'3if
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to" L
tolch
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/ THE
,J
tt
S o
i
,
.
r
-
I f
- ­
J was
1
tesome act of bestiality on the part of the enemy. W e should call
WORTE'-whiL CX/iar to" get o nsmSrc' s&eafrvar to
is to
aeou-^/yofl^. since BACH investigation, ,TBOOGB A might fee. :II the
-fasfc^taat^easmaiaesvbabt lap-neaped BY gas, ooalei nofc-gsove wao..ted
- - s a i l e d oyadasiaistsrbd the-gas'.- I t ^ a a - ^ ^ t e - p o s ^ b l e - ^fyws
' G a ^ a a s bad fcadftodd' artificial - gas . casualties' lor their own
-purposes,.'... - - ...
- :-'.'".:'.'.
:"-:\
;
" The1 W a r Cabinet a g r e e d -
,-,l[
:
"
gaMojas- and the
:,Angl6-]?r^co--'''
Turkish treaty.;
(Previous'
. 1 3 1 . (89) 4861
GosiielBsloESpv:;;,.
Minute 7.)
' ( i ) to invite the Foreign Secretary, as a matter of urgency, to
make enquiries regarding ... the , Professor Staehelm
referred to in the German broadcasts;
- ( i i ) to invite the W a r Office,-, in-consultation with the Ministry
of Information, to arrange - for the Issue of,, statements
stating in unmistakable language the deduction.to be
drawn from the persistent false German reports of the
use of gas by the Allies, uamely,; that they intended to
use this weapon themselves.
9. The
of State for Foreign
to the; follbwini telegrams relating to f conversations i n
between'M.
" tglu, the Turkish M:
for Foreign
and M,'Molbtpv
the subject of
sed Turco^Sovlet
. ;Telegram Ho, W7, dated:the M A .
im% from.His
Majesty's. Ambassador,. Ankara, - reporting ,
it hac
. - agreed to accept the modification of Article
Turkish Treaty desired'-by M . Stalin, and that the proposal,
regarding ,the ^Protocol by RUSSIA h a d been"' ijibmitted' by
M. Molbtby'to,"M7Stalin.for approval. T w o additional"points
had been raised by M. Molotov, but on these M . SarafbAtai had
been adamant; '
"
:
' -; A;;;;-Mp$ji^^
had been' pieoeed by M. Molotov to, sgneo thst Turkey ctould
declare neutrality vis-a-vis Bulgaria, a course which Would
anv-olve, She caiAellatAn of tix, - l A A A w ubl^vfefond A the
A
- j p) st if, -733 uot fchci^ht U a Aif pji 1 ? AraAA ho
- n -urn w*, sod IL Scu-H^Jm j v j i : ^ . ; ^ n x t Ae^
a
c - A i w c.f A e Con . ,,r
of u A U J l f V A to A
fri^hdly^ .frbm which he deduceitJ that in present circumstances
' '\' i, o . . A . . , u
, A . L 1' 1 ^
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,yi an eciieupoioKWjQ^ & ' J^j. ,
KIT appeared' hi out h-h, ,
1^ ^
FEIYNI
\&L;:
"Government o f ' t i e TET.S18.1 J[y'jJiot e ^ l i d i in oM:
circumstances t i e possibility ' ' o i - -tfw fes&w-edn tie­
'" ';"
'llr'p)ajapapisf;Bii:' : S g l p f t ^ ^
- - v; ::inted
Turkish Foreign'"Office that one of the conditions on
whi
re iad agreed to the modifications to the AngloTurkish Treaty desired by M . Stalin was that we should
see the- Tnico-Soviet Pact before i t was signed.
His (the Secretary of State's) recollection was that
we had not done' .mofey than makeitleT?^^lij^M'^^^we:i
should see the text of the Turco-Soviet Pact and
associated documents before we actually signed';, the
Anglo-TurkishTreaty. ' '
:
:
H e (the Secretary of State) was taking steps to clear up both
the foregoing points.
The W a r Cabinet took note of the above statement.
TPELITAY of
Soviet
the
(Previous
Reference:.-..:
W . M . (39) 80th
Conclusions,
Minute 6.)
State of public
opinion.
(Previous
Reference:
W . M . (39) 47th
Conclusions;
Minute 9.)
10. The Secretary of State for Foreign. A fairs informed the
W a r Cabinet that he had arranged - t6.,sea-.M -l&d8%,- \^..-.iSQf^^
Ambassador, that afternoon. I t was possible that at;this-meeiiiig
he might - obtain some further indicatloh- of t i e ' general- altitude' bf
the Government of the U S S R .
v
;
The W a r Cabinet took note of the: above statement.. ­
11. The Secretary of StmliG
for Fmmgn^Jfffl^sJre^/SSttemj^pii-,
to telegram,Mo.-(SB^Baving, dated file ... ;h October, 19S9, from H i s
MajestyVMlhister, Bucharest, reporting a short conversation which
he had l a d with M . Crutescu, the Roumanian Minister in Berlin,
who:had 'be^:lm
; laid, very, .niHejr
.b0el' prasl?^^
J B was stopped in order to allow an official anno
madetoyloud &&&kse aLiba" m^mVaia " 'cMo&\ rv^T;.
-had
been astonished loS to he able to deleft r,ho sli ^
cry
enthusiasm and adde.d that the company :had. a
doyna at thelu N
^hj^^;;/!
z " : -^
, '
ih&t
the Polkl,vioto-ie3 l y d ! ' * y ,
S
i
-ive
sen^e of relievanr; IFEIIIH
'
X
'
-jfisa
of optimism whatever. Sir Reginald Hoare added' that,'
-M. -CrutesG^^^
.
XiM^^S^i,
had h ' h^y h / r ,
.
:
not a good word to say for the- .
:
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ic- : su^^^l
bbsfibbisi^
tilllftlltlS^
Sf; , . - '
tiff
J o J
b
- b
J J
,
^
1 1
2
linesmanoi
- -
-" '
-
, ' ,
:
. -
a^ ^
an
. in
this infoim tioiQ wao obocmo. B fflightlmply thot
Government stall thoi^ht' t h a i there was a possibility
oic an early peace, hut this message mi-hit on the other hand nave
iaesm cent merely to reassure the Portuguese, since i n other markets
also toe Germans were at present finding it dimwit to give deliver
signMace
possible'. b
development of
German policy.
(Previous
Beference:
W . M . (80) 4.mk
Conclusioaii; f
Minute 0.)
s
aaohtMaai /inforAatiiab regarding, the possible'.--development %f
**8£MM
at,the Meeting,
or- the: W a r Gafoweb;notea in. the. Margin: -Details of'.: this - m i b m i i
tion are recorded;, in the Secretary s Standard- File of War cabinet'
;tbhclnsidhs.' '."'..' '-b''"-''" 'b b'^V
0
?
:
:
!
:
:
8
:
;V
The War Cabinet..took note of the foregoing statements bv
the- Secretary of-State for Foreign biSairs.
'
; 13. . T f e "S^^^df-S^e-fh'-^^.
Affairs s a i * that he
proposed: to present -to Eariiament" two White'Papers -The first
t ^ i i m i b m m
of--the information, in the possession 'of H i s
Publicatioia of
- two White
Papers.
i^o^-u^^iiecvejuis in
^
^
aserim during
the fortnight before the outbreak of war. The document relating
to the ihternhient camps constituted the most damning indictment
of German methods, while Sir Nevile Hendersonbs despatch: was
-also o f considerable value as "showing, the development of-:, the
situation immediately before the-outbreak of war.
; T h e War Cabinet- b, ,
: 'b; Approved the presentation to Parliament..of the two, Wh^teb
Papers referred "to by the-Secretary o f State for Foreign
bbftairsb ' b'b'-'-'.-''--'-'--':."" ' "
:
:v
14.
The WarCabinet had before them a Memorandum b v the
- Home Secretary Paper W . P . (G.) (39) S i ) dealing wSh various
^ n t ^ m a n i f e s t e t a s ; of " S t o p t h e War '? prfpa^andl and
Smmm^:-4m0W
.mm
Defence of
War,-"
iJbib?bbi3fc
Jbstfg
v
^wPt^b,
^ '?;^ "
u
*b'b
(r
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L
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Wer
^ r r ' ^ x s p t w"th tb3\concent" £ the
1
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.ne;3cbsiry
^b(^t?Hbhoa.tftm^ ^ieh.^ttempted fo;make
w
;
ifliiliiiiiiif
liiliiiSilll
Silbll-liflEll
biSblSKSSfl
TsS^^JM^f.-. ..
£"bs:i',-:5i
:
was
b.
i;MtoV'to
feaz-toa ato-asaa-.- ,
:
5.. g
.s.
rotted Safes p a a a ,
theie was o to a t o to
W&3T elioaS,,
Vjo
,
madsu Etogp
to"
to
by Esgplcto^a/itoi
,
1
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il
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', i Q- to £ j
e ' aa
a
;
,toItot"^'to
,t'o
aia.w ertoaslvo
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,
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,-
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,
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rsa
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Tlie gafc al via a of the Catena was as M t w J o '
'
-'-Uganda had so f a r faato ou a c: ' )aitor cto :
"
"
Ppfollo
harmless: character and had made no "headway.
opinion' in the country was practically unanimous in
support of the Government's war policy. In these
cifeumstanees, prosecution of the PaoMst elements in the
7
- ' :toa0^^
( , On the other hand, measures would have to be taken if the
.to'to:$fefftsto
,. :.ft;llfe$a(ling ,a d^eaiisf ^spirit. .
^^t^M^lW^Mi
( i i i ) ; i i l l l ^ l l p l t o be-. .nndesirable'. to'. - prosedufd." 1 w e t o ; l ^ ^ ^ p ) l l
""loeetable:Peace Pledge Union andniot the'Gosisttdnisito
Party. U p to the present,. however, the Goinlhohis£'
Party, which had just executed a ^ d d e n ^ t ^ ^ i ^ ^ ^ ^ l ^
not issued any " Stop the W a r " leaflets. This was a
'" further argument -in favour" of not instituting prdsecu-r'
tions for the time being,
(iy) Attention was drawn to the danger of Russian-subsidissd
Communist publications, which in the long run might
exercise an influence on the British Labour movement..
The Home Secretary said that his Department had
. this aspect of the matter under constant review, bat it
was extremely difiioult to be sure, of the channels'
through which Bussian money reached, this country.
:
:
The W a r Cabinet agreedrThat, for the reasons indicated above, it would not be
desirable to institute prosecutions in respect of the " S t o p
the W a r " propaganda leaflets already issued, but that the
position should continue to be closely watched.
15. The W a r Cabinet had before them the Conclusions of a
Change 0,
Conference
presided over b y t h e Lord; Chapoellor, and attended by­
Ww^mi Warn;,
Mr.
Speaker,
the Attorney-General, the Parliamentary Secretary:to
of Parilsmeafc.
the. Treasury, and the Earl of -Lucan, on the question-of the change­
of the- -meeting place of Parliament,'.at'.a.. time when'..the Houses,
stand; adjourned, i f it should become inp aato ^, c to^ c ' "to/
action;, for .the"Houses to continue to sit to to toatoa
W . P . (G-.).(38)-:SS);
"to
' ''' a^*The War Cabinet were infoiaasd J I toe Cton c: IcS b d*
1
cssded on the assumptions that in. vjacld ito snap
to­
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Defence Segulat^on or Resolutions of the Houses; ­
Be. iMpraeticAiie
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for the Houses to meet at Westminster in order
to adjourn themselves to some other;,place "could:
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attention of the W a r Cabinet was drawn to the
of *
action of A c Office
ment trarooses.'. I t was' suggested that it; might be d ^ r a o i e to
consider whether some of "the school premises: msght not be released
' from requisition a i d handed back for. educational use.
... .
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on the other hand, ^hat the position TO
. not nearly a^badAs had been represented, that there w ^ ^ s i d e r - ;
ablA exaegeratioh i n certain of the complaints, and that the;
Government case for requisitioning; premises; of thekind i n o ^ s t i o n
caHeAfor more publiciiy:in the^ress; A t the outbreak of war the
.SHI
of the f i r s t A ^ m n i s s i ^
- -' one, tothat he had had .to make- preparations. on .& very extensive,
scale for providing-alternative ohlee accommodation.for the
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difficulty in regard, to'hotels
*** * mgiinlv a ouestibn of to amount of compensation to be paid.
The prescribed basis of compensation did mzh i f f e into account
goodwill
The case for school premises was quite different,
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Summary of Conclusions mf a Conference- held in the Speakers moravy, mmm
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;. ( a ) - A p a r t i r o n the.aio^^E^Btsspecified in^(^aMd-;(^bek^
fof. effecting they removal of. Parliament from Westminster should \z
. laid-down m -advance; either by Act of - Parliament or by-Defence
Regulations or by Besolutions of the Houses.
(6) The consent both of the Crown and of the Houses is necessary before the
Houses can constitutionally adjourn to a place other than
Westminster.'
(c) The contingency that it might be impossible or impracticable for the
Houses to meet at Westminster m
other place could be disfegd,rded.
(d) The expression " a t Westminster" means the present Parliament
building and its precincts.
(e) The arrangements should accordingly be based on the assumption that
the ^Houses (being adjourned) will meet once again in the Palace of
Westminster or its precincts for the purpose of adjourning themselves
to H.K.
(/) The actual procedure should be on the following lines:—
(i) In pursuance presumably of a decision of the W a r Cabinet a
submission would be made to His Majesty by the Prime
Minister that Messages under the Royal Sign Manual should
be sent to both Houses; the operative part of each Message
being to the effect that His Majesty, considering that in present
circumstances the House may not be able safely and con­
veniently to continue to meet at Westminster, is graciously
pleased to declare His Consent to the House meeting at
*
in the event of any adjournment of the
House during the present Session of Parliament.
(ii) The Message would be announced in the House of Lords by the
Lord Chancellor, and in the House of Commons would be
delivered at the Bar of the House by the Prime Minister and
read to the House by the Speaker or the Deputy Speaker.
(iii) Each House would then send an Address thanking His Majesty
for His Gracious Message.
(iv) Each House would then adopt a Resolution adjourning itself
to H.K. to meet there at an hour and on a date named in the
. Resolution.
(v) Finally, in order to give notice to the public of the changed
meeting place of Parliament and to place the whole matter on
a formal basis, a Royal Proclamation - [should be-issued as- ^ o n
as it would be convenient for His Majesty in Council to approve
the Proclamation.
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