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LOOK , A i B S S I .
^raaste& t h a t f ^ e s f e i care may be' taken to
. sasFssy of this document.
:
CONCLUSIONS
of a Meeting of the/WarCabinet held at WD owning Street,
S.W.1, on Saturday, October 28,
at 11*30 A . M .
Present:
The Right Hon. N E V I L L E C H A M B E R L A I N , 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. V I S C O U N T H A L I F A X ,
Secretary of State for Foreign
M.P., Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Affairs.
Right
Hon. W I N S T O N
S.
Admiral of the Fleet the Right Hon. The
L O R D C H A T F I E L D , Minister for CoC H U R C H I L L , M.P., First Lord of the
ordination of Defence.
Admiralty.
The Right Hon. L . H O R E - B E L I S H A , The Right Hon. Sir K J N G S L E Y W O O D ,
M.P., Secretary of State for W a r .
M.P., Secretary of State for A i r .
The Right Hon. Sir S A M T J E L H O A R E , The Right Hon. L O R D
HANKEY,
B t . , M P . , Lord Privy Seal.
Minister without fPortfolio.
The following were also present:
The Right Hon. Sir JOHN ANDERSONS The Right Hon. A N T H O N Y E D E N , M.P.,
Secretary of State for Dominion
M.P., Secretary of State for the
Aftairs (Itents 1-12).
Home Department and Minister of
Home Security.
The Right Hon. W . S . : M O R R X S O N , K.G., The Right Hon. O L I V E R S T A N L E Y , M.P.,
President of the Board of Trade
M.P., Chancellor of the Duchy of
(Items 10 and 11).
Lancaster and Minister of Food
(Items 10 and 11).
The Right Hon. E R N E S T B R O W N , M.P., The Right Hon. Sir J O H N G I L M O U R ,
Bt., M.P., Minister of Shipping
Minister of Labour and National
y (Items' W.and'lt). : ''
Service (Items 1 0 and 11).
Sir H O R A C E J . W i m o N ,
Permanent A i r Chief Marshal - Sir CYKIL'\LV. M..
NEWAnn, Chief of £he Air" Stan
Secretoryto:the. Treasury..'. :'.
..
:
Elear-Admiral T. S.
Be-on ty
Ohio! of
-SILW!?S
May^-Gene^i
H.
E.
S.
ifa^at
^ r .
-jeruty
0 h : 3 - cc
,ns
General LvrJ [ J l c z z c 1-C).
MASCY,
InziZoZioi
CONTENTS.
No.
1
Air Operations...
Subject.
...
. . . . . .
...
. . . . . .
2
Naval Operations
...
3
Security of Fleet Bases
Page.
529
...
...
...
...
...
529
...
...
...
...
...
529
...
...
...
...
Scapa Flow.
4
The Military Situation
...
530
5
Possibility of Sea-borne and Air-borne Land Attack on
Great Britain
...
...
...
...
...
...
Size of the British Expeditionary Force ...
...
...
530
530
6
Correspondence with General Gamelin on t h e programme for its
expansion.
7
The Balkans
531
Italy and the plan for the formation of a neutral Balkan bloc.
8
Turkey
...
...
531
...
531
...
...
531
...
...
534
...
...
...
534
...
. . . . . .
Russia and the Anglo-Turkish Treaty.
9
The Far Eastern Situation
The Tientsin Question.
10
Food Rationing
...
11
Chartering of Neutral Shipping
12
Football Pools
13
Imposition of Curfew...
...
...
...
. . . . . .
...
534
1. The Secretary of $atefprAirs^ti^
J^Pl^f^Wf.
a. TMd"IM^-rtn­
;
, ( j y ^ \ ifnilohj b Ain/A', u , .
i!'m,,
,ijA
W . M . (89) 62nd
A h enemy reconnaissance aircraft had appeared off Grimsby
OoaclinDicao,
she clay fee&ffe. I t had I& zzn engaged %* a Sgbder, Ibui had m^AA
jBnnfoa i.)
ifc escape. Gae of our O\TO r e ^ a i i K i k r,anca aircraft, ho"v?evA?s had
iio^i^f,e;
1
y
been shot dowa at the mtmSsk of "the- Member, lift was' fAUffighfc & A
at mufflst have been aristaken f o r the eneaay raider, which way baing
;d.dd'.'d' d d :.''./;pJlfli^^
ydddAdAAd
' ',, ''
A ' ' -'' :; / A A J f ^ b r A ^
penetrated over the Clyde during the morning. One, and probably
the other, had been shot down, though confirmation had not yet been
. received. A
d " A/,A.
A-.
A The War -Cabinet took^hote o f A ^
:
:
:
:
:
2. The First Lord of the Admiralty said that it had now been
confirmed that .XJ-14 and TJ-16 had both been destroyed in the
neighbourhood of the Straits of Dover.
(Previous
The French had captured a German ship of 4,000 tons off the
Reference:
West coast of Africa, and had brought her into Dakar. On the
W . M . (39) 62nd
other hand, a British ship of 5,000 tons had been torpedoed West
Conclusions,
of Land's End. She had not sunk, and it was hoped to get her in.
Minute 2.)
The W a r Cabinet took note of the above statement.
3. The First Lord of the Admiralty informed the W a r
Cabinet that he had now received the report of Admiral Drax on
the circumstances of the sinking of H.M.S. Royal Oak and of the
Scapa M o w .
condition of the defences of Scapa Flow. I t appeared that certain
(Previous
representations had been made by the local naval authorities in the
Reference:
W . M . .(39) 52nd early part of the year as to the Scapa defences, but it had not
been considered necessary to take steps to improve them. Some of
Conclusions,
the drifters which had been picketing the entrances to the Flow
Minute 5.)
had been withdrawn for use at other anchorages which had been
taken into use in view of the threat of air attack. There could be
no doubt that the U-boat in question had passed through one of
these unguarded entrances. I t was obvious that the possibility
of submarine attack had never entered into the minds of those
on boardthe Royal Oak. The lesson was clear that we could not
take anything for granted, but must be continually on the watch
and guarding against every conceivable contingency in our defences.
Security of
Fleet Bases.
The wish was expressed that a copy of the report might be
made available for perusal by members of the W a r Cabinet.
Some discussion took place as to the statement Which would
have to be made by the First Lord of the Admiralty to* the Souse
of Commons on-the matter in the ensuing week. I t would have
to be admitted that the anchorage at Scapa had been unsafe against
submarine;-attack, but.it.should be made clear that the necessary
defences were being prqyic M , Such a statement would not be
helpful.in, any,way to theehemy.. The-First Lord s statement Might
also'include a reviexv of gains and losses at'sea during the first two
jnohths btviyar ;. A- he vie. / ZJJZJB generally, e^Ode^sed Anat- any - yjiessii&re
for a long and detailed enquiry into the apportionment of blame
c - Id be resisted, oAce dds v o t l d
for any cd sfsnces r% B e
involve ,a great divei&ton of edort in the d A m d A i A frosa-other
-- ' - - 'd XXz X' '"sXX)''-.'- S X.
--more.-importaht \'wbrk;d;:'- ddy.
s
e
:
1
;
" "'The
:
:
Wddf C a b i n e t ­
(1) Took node lbat A s FdcA L o i d of the is Amalty woAd a - de
av ' :A
. s ; - . i - -,
- , 3 : A . z -z LteXlzi Cabinet
- - ..-7 .
l o A ; a" f.(
d; j j zzz.
l
1
I II
r
.i
V
a
' a
,
,
\ (pdevjouto Reference:
W . M . (39)
Conclusions^
Minute 3.)
The W a r Cabinet took note of the above statement.
- &
.$ffi*Ufar.-fa Co-ordinatim cf Be feme informed the
W a r Cabinet that he had convened "a meeting, the evening -before^of.
the,,Ministerial'Committee which''had ^recently.,considered WsMmi
strategical matters, i n order to donna an opinidAon "ilAi^am^oi^ui
from. Belgrade, and' advise as to the-measnres which' shodld':be;'takeh';d
:
:
Britain.
(Previous
Beference:
W . M . (39) 55th
Conclusions,
Minute 2;)
- ^ The War:-Cabinet -were given "a full explanation of "the view
which-the Committee-had formed, and of ' the action which they
recommended should be taken. A full;-account of- the 'discussion us
recorded in the Secretary's * Standard' -File - of W a r ' Cabinet
Conclusions.
:
1:
The W a r C a b i n e t ­
(a) Approved the action which had been, or:was- about to be,
. set on foot in accordance with the recommendations
made by the Committee.
(&) Took note that the Minister of ;Home Security would confer
with the ConmMd^-MtChiet,: -Wxm forces, with "a
view to preparing - the police--"to meet- certain­
'
contii^ehcieS." add'' .'
(c) Invited the Secretary- of - State: -for - A i r ^ f u r n i s h - the- W a r
Cabinet each'morning'with tleVwedther';forecast"for' the
ensuing-24 hours. -'
'
1
1
:
:
;
;
-
GJJEQ Oi? 6110
Correspondence
with General
Gamelin on the
programme lor
(Previous'
-Beferenee: r
PW^d^8?^'58th
ttonehwicois;
Minute .4.)
;
: --'-"-'-: '.':;-'':'- '.;.".-;- ,;­
:
L
,:
:
6 The W a r Cabinet had under consideration a Memorandum
bv the Secretary of State for W a r covering $Jotter from General ,
Gamelin to the Chief of the Imperial Gc ^ral^tf-tV and a draft .
reply by the Chief of j&e Imp^pal; General; Staff (Paper
w . p . (3D) i w ) .
*
''
; ./ :
t
The Se&retosy of S*o** fa? Wm^
from the CMed J tba iawo fcfl C i d d !
repiv E e oeeade 1
AS. ; - - - ' '
hacifcen a^eed t h a t v ^ s ^
:i&nded unitto; ...
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1
The Secretary of State fwWeign
Affairs d w 4 t e a t o " .
to. telemi-No.-:-im, d a t e d v t f e , ^ October, imjvon
His
plan for the:
Maiestybs Ambassador ^Rome, setting out^n detail ^ r e a s o n s i why;
formation of a
he would prefer postponing an; a p p r o ^ A o Count Ciano m^the
neutral Balkan question of the formation of a neutral Balkan bloc untaLafter he
bloc.
nad had an opportunity of discussing the issues with him (the
(Previous
Secretary of State) in London. There was great force ^in .the
;
Beference:
forward by Sir Percy Loraine, and he (the
^y.M. (39) 02nd S e S a r y of ^State) proposed accordingly to defer consideration of
Conclusions,
this question.
Italy.1 and the ..
SunSs1rou.ght
Minute 11.)
The W a r Cabinet took note of the above statement.
Tushey.
Russia and the
Anglo-Turkish
Treaty.
(Previous
Beference:
W . M ; (39) 52nd
Conclusions,
Minute 8.)
Tf&m&ftBgSfm
fSm&an,
The Tientsin
question.
(Previous
-References:-;..
W . M : (39) 82nd
Conclusions,
Minute. 5, and VtbM: -(39) 57th
Conclusions,
Mmiife 9.)
A'.,
. ;
8. The Secretary of"State for Foreign Affairs drew attention
to telegram No. 671, dated the 26th October, 1939, from His
Majesty's Ambassador, Ankara, reporting having been informed
that morning by M. Sarajogmy the Turkish-Minister for Foreign
Affairs, that the Soviet Ambassador had called the previous day and
asked a number of questions, regarding the Anglo-Turkish Treaty.
The replies given by M; Sarajoglu were, from our point of view,
very satisfactory.
The W a r Cabinet took note of the above statement.
g).Secretary of State for Foreign A fairsdrew attention
to..telegram; No. ,1421, dated. the - 25th October, 1989, from His
Majestybs Ambassador, Tokyo, reporting ,a conversation which he
had had with Mr. Kato that day with regard to the Tientsin
situation.
In this conversation Mr. Kato had put forward
suggestions for. the settlement' of "the Tientsin question which
consisted of a compromise of the kind which we had had in mind.
Mr. 'Kato had agreed to discuss the: matter as soon-as possible with
the Japanese Minister, for -Foreign Affairs with- a view to arranging,
if possible, for a proposal on the-iineshe-had suggested being made
by' thev Japanese Government.'- The prospects'of reachiag a/settle-'
ment in; regard - to this "matter- with "the--Japanese Government
abp^ared,---therefore-;-;mbrAhb^e'fMvb'V--. \
bbA
4
The AAa Cablnefritoofe aoie of the above statement.
1 :3 /lie
Papes W . P . ('Gr h ) "
( i ) that the g
y
c
,
,
;
--^
;
7; m, A
z zz / ­
be
:(ii) that the public piefsia&d. some imcbnveyic 1% (provided' It
.ticm of ffipp,ble supplies) t o ^ ^ ^ S ^ ^ S ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ R e ,
queues, 4 c .
In bis opinion the home front would be strengthened by the
Institution of rationing forthwith.
.T/k? Minister of Labov,f thought that the views contained in
his Memorandum could be expressed in a sentence, namely, £hat if
there was any risk of a shortage in, any of the. named commodities,
that commodity should be rationed forthwith.
The Prime Minister thought that: the position was clearly
. expressed i n the. remarks attributed to Mr. Mallon on page 5 of
the Memorandum:—
- M r . ^ M o 2 ^ X ^ ' ^ ^ ' - ^ ^ ^ - ^ i ^ ^ l ^ t ^ ^ a ) imposition of
rationing was generally expected, and (b) that i t would be
accepted with no demur i f it were made clear that it was
necessary..'
Speaking particularly of the East End, he said that in the
last war there were two main causes of grievance before the
introduction of rationing. The first was the hardship imposed
by waiting in queues, and the second, which was .eyengreater,
was the knowledge or the belief in the working classes that
people who had sufficient money could obtain adequate suppiieS
without having to wait in queues, I n his opinion this state of
affairs was, from the point o f view o f the Home Front, the
danger point of the last war. I n his view, if the working
classes were persuaded that everybody was equally restricted
and that wealth could not obtain concessions, and that supplies
could be obtained in ah orderly manner without incbnvenlehce,
rationing would be easily accepted."
H i s provisional conclusion was that the Ration Bopks should be
issued forthwith, that we - should-: ration., at, once those''commodlties'
(bacon and butter) in regard to which there
shortage at. the
0
f c
,:
present time, but that it would be questionable.to ration meat' and
sugar at present.
. - The First Lord of the Admiralty was. not satisfied-thatit was
necessary -to -ration the four, commodities.'in pluestioh. ,.,.!There. were
signs, i n the Press,of all,political, shades that,.-public opinion'was\
becoming increasingly critical of governmental control and ipfcer­
ference with the liberty of the individual..
was-oraen toldojro­
whether -the -governmental machine..could .'operate:, £lie." r a t l c r i t g
. Iarr?
cser
. - u r / pi&xw
i u o U i^ i ^ l ic y % :^ h V,'
n I ncyenaeyisy^ithoi^
v e ^ n t , theae was
noI'"ineexo.i£y
even tnan it there were no " "
l
" z z J"
z ,
I n any event, £here vao no 'zzz fcfitylat y. -i.
p
-tfchft necessity arose, it should be
,
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foodjstufis £
The Prime M/Pmisisv *i
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, t that much won . - .,
j c , ilia. A t i . j ; : - ^
-
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pr^­
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nMoi r o d
: - :
S : j g turoe vac, Iboeoo to sAAce
i-s:
A e oate T h e
ij
- A, 2
-^ . . . ^ : ^ Ahich
the xjrtloring ol paiAct A r s e a . i u i ies began.
I t could "lbs'
. espial ned ^hat the Government did not propose to ration-except
in cases where there was & real scarcity and where rationing was,
therefore, necessary in order to secure f a i r and equitable distribution
.-" " /d
A.-.-.V.
;Awbhg;. the^publie/ ":
TMe -Minister, of Mood, urged, reconsideration.of the position
in.:regard to -.sugar. -It vrais clear that:,hoarding.^ras taking place.
.-TAere was-also the-price factor. -If we -had to.-buy foreign sugar,
w s h o n l d A a v e - t o pay 7s. (JkAa cwt. more than the price'we had paid
for',Empire"sttgar.' -This would mean an increase',of itd. a pound in
-the'retail pAce. : Would, the Chancellor, of the Exchequer then be
-able to maintain his increased sugar.tax ?d. There would also be
exchange,, difficulties,.andperhaps, most serious o f all, an increase
in t^e.:(xist'Of''living^ngure.-:'.'
Prime Minister read to the W a r Cabinet a letter from
:
;
1
;
:
:
recent increased,consumption o f sugar, wasprbbably mainlAdue to"
hoarding.. Hoarding- arose from fear of rationing a n d i f it was
anpmced,.^^^
rationed, the hoarding'(which
was not,, long-term hoarding) might, be/expected to o-easefand the
- h ^ a t P d e r s m a g h t use -up their stocks.' W e h a A g o m e Stor 10 months'
,fUpgly,ot sugar m ,our, ownership; at. home And abroad, and i n all
tne circumstances, it seemed justifiable to take the risk o^ not
^zX^ - ^
; rationing; it.;/'
.
f^siet
of Fa&d Mt bound to warn,the W a r Cabinet of
3
- Jp
otner/important c o n s i d e r a t i o n s at stake; i f regard
X? ; ' ? ^ X
to
uh3 generous ration proposed'
3
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:
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arguments.were
\mi na z o
to ration sugr: A d A diVi.
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bs o m d r n t 3 wi
wise
*Mra
I n A.Adeir d i e o . : ; . it A c r o o elfer that the W w C ^ t t o t
/ofWc
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11,. ,;iffl.eomecfcioD-wlfeabae discussion,recorded am feo,prsss(Qi5ipg..
Minute (Minute 1*0)) the Minister of Shipping said that "as was.
circulating to Ike W a r -Cabinet. a..MeworandEaa. pa m p w g ^ s s m ,
fcbe-SHpptng negotiations (Paper W . F . . ( G . ) (S9) P ) .
aa ^
Some - progress had-been made in the - discussions, w i t h t b e ,
Swedes, who-had now returned'to Sweden,-and wonM-not be back ;
again for about a week. The Norwegian Delegation- had arriveo:.
in England and. discussions- with them.had taken place, bout- the
Delegation had no power to make a settlement, even-if their: demands ­
were met in full. The Delegation was returning to Norway and i t
might be another week before the discussions could be resumed. The
Norwegian demands were fairly high.
Some comi
unimportant bargains had been made with individual G i - p a a
owners, but, in general, Greek shipping was tending to go East on trade of its own. On the whole, the Shipping negotiations
with neutral countries had not made the rapid progress that he had
hoped, and while a settlement would no doubt ultimately be reached,
some time would elapse. H i s principal anxieties related to the
position at the moment and in the immediate future.
(Previous
Reference:
W . M . (39)
Conclusions,
Minute 11.)
The W a r Cabinet took note of this statement.
XnthM PMte.
. 12. T h e : W a r C a b i n e t h a d b e f o r e t h e m a R e p o r t b y t h e H o m e
PolicyCo^ittee'(Paper
W,P.;^
. i n r e g a r d to ;the: r e s u m p t i o n o f F o o t b a l l ' - F o o l s a s set out- i n a
Memorandum b y t h e P o s t m a s t e r - G e n e r a l ( P a p e r I P C
SlV
;
TJie r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s
loilows *.-— '
aba.
v. bbb-,
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to
o f the H o m e P o l i c y C b m m i t t e s
were a s
(i) that, i n the circumstances e x p l a i n e d i n P a p e r H P C
m)M,
t h e o n l y w a y i n w n i c h f o o t b a l l B c A s eaabd b e
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J e g a i y £ o i o i a a e a aonicl oe b y t h e c a a t t o a ^ a. a b fov
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% ^ a o n a n d that I n t h e v i e w o f toe O e a a w b a s l f c
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v/oa a ias a a v a c e to a t t e a a t o t a l o a ^ o " w
tha-II t h e og w b o : , - b s ^ a - CLK 7 o a o ^ 7 ' '
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the F o o t b a l l Pool i
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