SOME GENERAL ASPECTS OF REGIONAL ACTIVITIES

-oOo-

LOCAL INFORMATION COMMITTESS

Local Information Committees were set up in the principal towns in the Eastern Region; their activities were in general on a smaller scale than those of other regions. This was largely due to the particular travelling difficulties in the Defence Area and because the bulk of the population was in the outlying London area where the dislocation of life made it very difficult to arrange regular meetings conveniently. Some Committees met as seldom as quarterly, whereas the Cambridge Committee for some time met at fortnightly intervals. The Regional Office found it advisable to allow each Committee wide discretion as to how often it should meet, and only to call meetings when some really important matter was up for discussion or action. They were extremely useful as a medium for the distribution of booklets, posters and other material containing wartime information and as a sounding-board of local opinion on the course and conduct of the war, and in the organisation of Exhibitions. Individual members of Committees were also helpful in the role of an Advisory Panel, to be consulted as occasion arose.

REGIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Some of the foregoing considerations also apply to the Regional Advisory committee. This met quarterly. Owing to a need for small membership reconciled to a need for wide impartial representation, it was never a lively combination and the chief merit in the Regional Advisory Committee system appeared to be that reports on office activities could be placed before it periodically so that no one could say that the M.O.I. was operating independently of public cognizance.

INTELLIGENCE REPORTS

The introduction of ad hoc reports on trends of morale, and the general public reaction to war-time legislation and events and outstanding shortages, took place in 1940 and for a time it was customary to compile surveys each day and telephone them to Intelligence Division by 1 p.m. Public opinion was apt to react very rapidly to broadcast or newspaper announcements and to rumours, and it was apparently possible for Intelligence Division to convey the gist of Provincial opinion to the B.B.C. and to other agencies, so that the evening bulletins could deal with each new situation. This seemed to be of clearly recognisable value although it meant that hurriedly compiled surveys must of necessity be superficial in their character and based upon an arbitrary choice of ‘contacts’. Ultimately the Intelligence Service was placed upon a more scientific footing and the building up of carefully balanced contacts provided a weekly review of opinion which reached a much higher degree of accuracy, although offset by the possibility of being too late for effective counteraction to be taken. Copies were also supplied to the Regional Commissioner and the Army Commander, who sometimes asked our aid on special problems.

Naturally the popular Press frequently attacked the system and for a time the name ‘Cooper's Snoopers’ made the work of survey extremely difficult. It can, however, be said that, thanks to a system of personal visits to contacts and occasional informal conferences at which the system was frankly explained, the path was gradually smoothed and many of our contacts offered their services to the Ministry in other capacities, e.g., as Films or Meetings secretaries, as Emergency Officers, etc. A noteworthy activity of the Intelligence section dealt with the checking up of rumours, and especially those arising out of evening broadcasts. We were inundated with requests for the confirmation of broadcasts concerning prisoners in enemy hands. Another important side was the study of Government advertising and the public 218 - 20 -reaction to it - and to films.

DISTINGUISHED VISITORS.

Throughout the war years a steady stream of visitors from overseas - Allied and Neutral (including even potential enemies), found their way to the Eastern Region. On one occasion a party of Japanese journalists visited an R.A.F. Station where the Commanding Officer, faced with a limited number of aircraft, used his squadron four times over in a fly-past, so giving the impression that the base was a good deal stronger than it was.

His Majesty, the King, accompanied by the Queen, frequently visited the industrial and military centres of the region, and Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, in a comprehensive tour, showed keen interest in the varied work of the Women's Voluntary Organisations. Other visitors included the Supreme Commander, General Eisenhower, and Field Marshal Montgomery, who together, just before ‘D’ Day, held secret conferences in Cambridge and inspected models of the special invasion equipment which had been placed for their study in the rooms of the Union Society. We also had the privilege of arranging tours for the Regent of Iraq, the Emir Feisal and the Emir Khalid of Saudi Arabia, the Duke of Malpella (the Portuguese Ambassador), Senor Bianchi (the Brazilian Ambassador), Ludmilla Pavlichenko (the Russian woman sniper), members of the Turkish Production Mission and many others.

FILMS AND MEETINGS

In the early days of the mobile film service, we relied upon ad hoc applications from the voluntary organisations, societies, factories, and military units.

For some time it was as much as we could do to meet demands of this kind. Finally, mainly because of the difficulty of travelling and communications generally, a system of District Secretaries was set up and each District Secretary on receiving a bloc of vacant dates from the Regional Office, arranged for the units to be introduced to the various organisations in his or her district. As the scheme developed, a standardised regular series of return visits to selected villages was organised, the remaining mobile unit strength being devoted to serving factories and miscellaneous organisations which applied for specialised programmes. A noteworthy feature were the Scheme ‘A’ shows, held in the commercial cinemas on Sundays.

A somewhat similar arrangement was made for the provision of lecturers who addressed not only private organisations, but also public meetings convened in cinemas, town halls and other buildings. Amongst many well known speakers were the present Prime Minister (Mr Atlee), Mr Amery, Sir John Anderson, M. Denis Saurat, Mr Harold Nicolson, Prof. John Hilton, Mr Bernard Newman, Lord Reith, Mr Bevin, Earl Russell, Mr Ernest Brown, Sir John Pratt, Prof. Sir Ernest Barker, Dr. David Thomson, Sir Bernard Pares, Sir Archibald Sinclair, Sir Charles Petrie, Miss Margaret Bondfield, Prof. Admiral Sir Herbert Richmond, Prof. Ian Hannah, Sir Ronald Storr, etc. Mobile vans with public address equipment were effectively used for open- air meetings in the coastal districts and evacuation areas where it was necessary to explain the Government's policy on evacuation and anti-invasion measures.

[[illegible] C. K. Schwebe]

[11/XI/46]