A History of the Ministry of Information, 1939-46
HISTORY OF THE MINISTRY OF INFORMATION
SOUTH-WEST REGION, NO.7
1939/1946.
MINISTRY OF INFORMATION
SOUTH-WEST REGION NO.7 1939-1946.
INTRODUCTION
In preparing the history of the South-West Regional Office of the Ministry of Information, the chief object has been to present a true and more or less factual account of the progress made and the work accomplished by the Office without obscuring the main picture by a mass of data. Neither does the history claim to include any events except those directly involving the Ministry's work or policy.
In 1939 the Ministry of Information sprang into being almost overnight. Its work was a new departure for the Civil Service: it is to their lasting credit that they recruited the Ministry's staff not in the main from Civil Servants but from specialist men and women already experienced in the type of work they would be called upon to perform and, in the case of Regions, fully familiar with the area in which they were to operate. The value of this was best illustrated in this Region with the appointment of the first Press Officer. He was a local journalist fully experienced in his profession. To a free press a Government Information Service must necessarily savour somewhat of control and be at first met with suspicion. The Regional Editors soon began to realise that, instead of a Civil Servant with no knowledge of the needs and intricacies of newspaper work handing out Government-prepared news sheets, they were being offered by a Press man on efficient service without which many of them could probably not have managed during the difficult war years with staff cuts and restrictions. It was also an important fact that the first Regional Information Officer was a local Editor of wide repute both within and without the newspaper world.
To many readers it will be surprising that the extent of the work accomplished is hardly comparable to the fairly small staff of the Office, and here it should be mentioned that voluntary work played a very large part in all the Ministry's activities. This has been emphasised more than once in the history and it should be borne in mind that the recruitment of these volunteers was no easy task, particularly during a period when every man, woman and child not actually in the Fighting Services or Civil Defence was making an all-out home front contribution to the war effort. It says much for the personality of the Regional staff that they could in the first place persuade volunteers to undertake certain tasks, and in the second keep them working smoothly and efficiently 73 II.for, in many instances, the whole of the war period and after. It is in this connection that special reference should be made to the work of the Regional Information Officer and his deputy. No particular departmental work was allotted to them, but in the field of personal contact their work was outstanding and within the Office was an example to every departmental officer. No task was too big for them and no problem too complicated. It is invidious to refer to personalities but, treating the qualities of leadership quite impersonally, a tribute must be paid to the two Regional Information Officers - Mr. J.L. Palmer who held the post from 1939 to 1941, and Mr. G.C.N. Mackarness who came in 1942 and still remains in charge. It was to their easy control of staff, their skill in interpreting Headquarters policy plans and adapting them where necessary to Regional needs that produced a happy atmosphere in an office which so often overworked, might well have deteriorated as the result of frayed tempers.
1939/1940
GENERAL .
In 1939, prior to the outbreak of war, a conference was held at the Home Office, presided over by the then Home Secretary, Sir Samuel Hoard. Among others at this conference was Mr. James L. Palmer, Editor of the “WESTERN MORNING NEWS” of Plymouth. He was appointed first Regional Information Officer for the South-West Regional Office of the Ministry of Information, and returned from London to set up an office in Bristol. Temporary headquarters were found and two typists engaged. Two senior Civil Servants, Mr. J.H. Bean, H.M. Tax Inspector, Bristol, and Mr. Draper, H.M.I. of the Board of Education from Somerset joined Mr. Palmer to act as Advisers in placing the Office on a Civil Service basis, and to instruct the new staff in Civil Service procedure. Throughout the years of war the Office was to grow to such proportions as were never dreamed of, but the success of its work can ultimately be traced back to those firm foundations laid in 1939 by the original staff.
GEOGRAPHICAL.
The South-West Region consisted at that time of the five Counties of Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Somersetshire, parts of Dorset, Devon and Cornwall, plus the Channel Islands and the Isles of Scilly. The area is mainly agricultural, but contained such war centres as Avonmouth and Bristol Docks, the Naval ports of Weymouth, Plymouth, Devonport and Falmouth, together with smaller ports which eventually became centres for D-Day. In 1940 the area of Dorset was taken in by the Southern Region, leaving five counties to the South-West. With that alteration in the boundaries the Channel Islands also came outside our scope. The Region is long and narrow, and railway communication is not easy - it takes over a day to travel from North to South. Isolated villages and communities are many, and the stretching of Government Information Services to these outlying areas was no easy task.
STAFF.
The original staff of three, plus two Advisers, was soon augmented by taking in recruits from London and the provinces, but in 1940 public feeling against the Ministry was so strong that by Parliamentary decision this staff was almost completely dispersed, leaving only the Regional Information Officer, Press Officer and two typists.
From this time onwards the staff was again gradually built up, and new Officers appointed to deal with the many and varied tasks which the growth of War Information Services produced.
PRESS .
From the very beginning Press liaison work assumed great importance and one of the first duties of the Regional organisation was to introduce the Regional Commissioner to the Editors and staffs of the eighty-four Newspapers in the Region. In the Council House, Bristol, was held one of the first Regional Conferences between the Regional Commissioner and the Editors and their principal assistants of the Daily and Weekly Newspapers of the Bristol and Bath areas. The cordial cooperation and goodwill of the Press thus established lasted throughout the war, the Government Information Service supplying national and localised news for the Press which, at first looked upon with distrust, soon came to be valued as a reliable source of information because it was realised that trained newspaper men were handling the work.
1940.
It soon became apparent that perhaps the very essence of the Ministry's work was to bring together and co-ordinate, in so far as mutual information can be called co-ordination, the various official and semi-official organisations which sprang up at the outbreak of war. A typical example of this is the W.V.3. which, in the words of its organiser, was ‘‘put on the regional map” by the Ministry of Information.
FILMS .
And now other branches of work began at the Regional Office. Firstly, the distribution of Government films: a Films Officer was appointed and five mobile film units were supplied for the Region, but their arrival synchronised with the commencement of heavy air raids, and two of these outfits were destroyed by fire. One of the units was actually being used to give a film show when a shower of incendiaries fell upon the hall and set the whole place ablaze so quickly that the operator had only just time to evacuate his audience into shelters. By the time he had accomplished this the projector was in ruins. But more and more units were obtained, and the number of film shows steadily increased. At first it was not easy to persuade village audiences - many of whom had never seen a moving picture before - that this was not just another form of propaganda, but as the quality of shows improved and the range of topics grew wider, village communities soon began to request shows instead of having to be asked to provide an audience. At the end of the year an Assistant Officer was appointed to the Deportment.
Another form of publicity was the arrangement of public meetings addressed by speakers chosen for their full and intimate knowledge of their subjects. Simply because of the staff limitations this branch of the Ministry was not at first very highly developed. By many people meetings were dismissed as “Pep talks”, but gradually the scope of topics grew just as the range of film subjects grew, and an Officer was appointed to deal with this side of the Ministry's work.
MEETINGS .
During the summer months, organised tours for speakers with loudspeaker vans along the coastal resorts of Somerset, Devon, Cornwall and Dorset were arranged by the Office. These were the first meetings of their kind in England, and the example was soon followed by other Regions. At this time speakers giving war commentaries met with great success, and when Mr. Bernard Newman made his first visit to Weston-Super-Mare , so many gathered to hear him that three successive meetings had to be held before the people could be dispersed. The co-operation of all three Political Parties smoothed out much of the difficulties encountered in arranging meetings, and when one or two meetings of Cabinet Ministers had been held a vital change of attitude on the part of the public was apparent. From this time onwards Meetings work continued to grow, and organisations soon found that they could depend upon the Ministry to supply them with good speakers on interesting topics. The fact that no charge was made for this service brought well-known speakers within the reach of even small organisations which hitherto had been unable to meet the costs involved in engaging such well-known personalities. Even at this early stage of the war the shortage of halls proved a very serious difficulty to the organisation of public meetings, and it was this shortage which produced the idea of holding public meetings in cathedrals. The first of such meetings was in Exeter, and was the first of its kind to take place in the Cathedral since the Reformation.
MEETINGS .
The increase in the demand for meetings was fast becoming hard to be met by Headquarters speakers, and early in 1940 the Ministry was fortunate in obtaining the assistance of Professor C.M. McInnes of Bristol University, who set up and worked from his office what was known os the ‘‘Voluntary Speakers Panel”. A large number of persons living in the Region were recruited to give talks for the Ministry at a nominal fee sufficient to cover their expenses. For the most part these persons were experienced public speakers, and in every instance they had first-hand knowledge of their subjects. Much of the work of providing speakers for meetings of the smaller organisations was carried out through Professor Mclnnes’ office, and he continued to perform this very valuable service for the Ministry until the end of the war.
EXHIBITIONS .
A certain amount was done in the distribution of photographic material, Exhibitions and Display Sets, and this work was carried out by the Meetings Officer.
COMMITTEES .
Plans were now made for the formation throughout the Region of Local Information Committees composed of representatives of the political parties, the churches, local authorities and such bodies and organisations as the W.V.S., British Legion, Women's Institutes, etc. These Committees, designed to form a cross-section of public opinion, were set up in order that a direct link might be forged between the Government and the people. Information as to various points of legislation and, where necessary, background information, was passed to the public by means of the many contacts which the members of such Committees had; and passing up the line of communication came the reactions of the public to the various restrictions which from time to time become necessary. However, the Committees were not merely telephone wires. It was possible in many instances to report particular grievances and anomalies either to Regional Officers of other Government Departments concerned, or to Headquarters, and in many cases it was possible for remedial action to be taken. The first Information Committee was set up at Bath at the beginning of 1940, followed shortly by another at Exeter. However, it became necessary to hold up this work pending the coming into operation of the Political Party Truce. Once this had come into effect the work went on apace, and in May of that year was called together the nucleus of what was to be known as the Regional Advisory Committee. This was a replica on a regional basis of the Local Information Committees. As the name implies, the Committee acted purely in an advisory capacity and had no executive powers, but obviously the recommendations of such a body based upon the extremely intimate local knowledge of its members were very valuable to the Regional Information Officer, not only in the formation of policy for L.I.C.'s, but for all other branches of the work of the Regional Office. The first meeting held on the 30th May, took place in the Council House, Bristol, at the invitation of the Lord Mayor. It was decided that the Committee should meet fortnightly at the county towns of each County in the Region, under the chairmanship of the Mayor of each town. This arrangement continued until the end of the year, when it was decided that it would be easier if meetings were held in one particular town. The Taunton Corporation had offered the use of the city's Council Chamber for meetings, and from that time onwards the Committee met at Taunton about once a month.
GENERAL .
In the early part of the year much of the work performed was done ‘in the dark’, for there was little to tell the staff what specific demands were to be made upon their services during the coming years. For instance, the fall of France brought new work to the Regional Office. Into the South-West ports flooded troops and refugees, many of whom had heard no news for more than a fortnight.
PLYMOUTH SUB-OFFICE .
To meet this strain on the Information Services an Office was opened in Plymouth. Loudspeaker vans were obtained and a large body of voluntary workers recruited. Local printers produced information leaflets for distribution, and translations were made of official notifications and Statesmen's pronouncements. With a generous spirit of co-operation the newspapers placed a certain amount of space per day at the disposal of the Ministry for information in French. During these days the work of the Plymouth Office was found to be so essential that it was decided to retain it as a Sub-Office to act as a focal point for the work of the Ministry in Devon and Cornwall, and this Office remained in being until the end of the war. Its personnel was at first composed of an Officer in charge, and a clerical assistant.
EMERGENCY WORK .
After the fall of France a new danger in the form of enemy air attack on this country materialised. In the South-West Region two towns were targets for heavy blitzing - Bristol and Plymouth. The destruction of public offices, utility services, and the breakdown in newspaper distribution due to blocked roads and damaged transport created gigantic problems, to which answers could only be found by the elementary system of “trial and error”. It became apparent that the first essential was an Information Service for the people as soon as possible after the raid had stopped. Night after night of alerts and often heavy raiding, culminating in the destruction of homes and casualties in families, rendered the sufferers so dazed that even printed notices guiding them to Rest Centres could not be assimilated. In addition to co-ordinating the facts and information supplied by the various Government Departments as to alternative public offices which had been destroyed, etc., the Ministry organised Information Parties to tour blitzed areas, answering questions and guiding the homeless to shelter by word of mouth. The problems caused by a blitz were not limited to the area of attack. News of the raid spread for and wide very quickly, and the wildest rumours and conjectures were made as to the casualties suffered. Anxiety was rife among those with families or friends in the blitzed area, and it was obvious that the general News Service must be kept going at all cost. A Press Routing Scheme was worked out by the Regional Press Officer whereby vital news and information could be telephoned to papers at strategic points, and passed on by them to other editors in their area in the event of road blockages.
EVACUATION & L.I.C's .
Arising out of the air raids on important centres came evacuation of children with mothers and unaccompanied children. The South-West afforded many reception areas but the hospitality so cheerfully given created many problems. L.I.Cs helped considerably in this connection, firstly by persuading reluctant hosts to take evacuees and then by helping with the difficulties which so often arose.
GENERAL .
At the end of 1940 we find the Regional Office firmly established with a Press Officer and two Assistants, a Meetings Officer, a Films Officer and one Assistant, an Executive Officer and a Committee Officer, all with clerical assistants working under the Regional Information Officer and his Deputy.
1941.
INTELLIGENCE .
In the early part of 1941, an additional department was set up, called “Intelligence”. An Officer was appointed whose task it was to compile a weekly up-to-date report of public feeling, reactions, morale, rumours, etc. A number of reliable contacts throughout the Region were obtained - nearly all newspapers co-operated, and the report was composed from letters received throughout the week, and brought up-to-date on Fridays by numerous telephone calls. This Officer worked closely with the Committee Officer, and obtained many contacts amongst Committee members.
In the first months of the year while the long hours of blackout continued, nightly raids either in this Region or in other parts of England led to increased work in the Office. Even if the raids were not in our area rumours and speculations as to the fantastic casualty figures and damage caused needed careful checking, and wherever possible, complete refutation. Official casualty figures were given to newspapers every morning, although in many instances it was not possible for them to be published. Committee members and other contacts rang up this Office for the figures which could be passed by word of mouth and in round numbers if it was felt that the rumours were seriously affecting morale.
EVACUATION OF REGIONAL OFFICE .
PLYMOUTH RAIDS .
A heavy raid took place in Bristol one Sunday evening at the beginning of March. It was hardly rated as a “blitz”, but a certain amount of damage was done, casualties were caused, and a very large bomb fell in a garden at the rear of the Regional Office and failed to explode. During the Monday morning following, six offices at the front of the house were the only ones which could be used owing to the risk of the bomb exploding. By the end of the day it was decided that this danger was so imminent that the Office must be evacuated, and consequently, for the remainder of the week until the bomb was disposed of, the staff worked in emergency premises owned by the Bristol University. It was necessary, however, for a skeleton staff to remain at the Office to man the switchboard, as owing to the chaotic state of communications it was not possible for the G.P.O. to transfer calls. The Night Duty Officers also maintained vigil in the War Room. The Information Services under the Voluntary Emergency Information Officer come into operation and dovetailed into the arrangements made by the City Authorities. Towards the end of the week a raid on Plymouth caused further complications, and several members of the staff travelled to that city, taking the big loudspeaker van fitted up with emergency typewriter, duplicator, paper, etc., and helped with Information Services there. In the middle of April Plymouth went through what must have been one of the worst ordeals suffered by any provincial town in England - heavy enemy air attacks on five nights out of nine. The Plymouth Office, supplemented by staff from Bristol, worked almost continuously on what seemed at first to be a hopeless task. The disentangling of threads throughout the day seemed only to be rendered void by each night's attack, but they persisted in their efforts, and at the end of the dreadful period the people of Plymouth showed a morale which was perhaps even higher than before the raids. The enemy had succeeded in destroying their homes, but had failed utterly to wound their spirit. But for many nights after this experience thousands of families left the city, and many of them slept in the open on the surrounding moorland.
MEETINGS .
The Meetings Department was gradually expanding its scope of activity, and during the year an interesting experiment was started. This took the form of talks in prisons, and the Regional Information Officer himself went to several penal establishments giving War Commentaries. There was a division of opinion as to the usefulness of these talks, both within and without the Ministry, but in the end the day was won and they continued to be given until the closing of the M.O.I. An Assistant Officer was appointed to help the Senior Officer, and a Staff Speaker who could be briefed to talk on any particular point, e.g. a specialised campaign subject, or a Commentary, etc. was taken on to the staff.
During this year too speakers were sent to factories and gave their talks in the canteen at lunchtime or, in some cases, during the halfway break in the night shift. However, this work did not begin to take a really prominent part in the Meetings programme until later, when factories were enlarged and more and more dispersal units from other factories were set up in the Region.
COMMITTEES .
Local Information Committees increased to twenty-nine and, as permission was obtained to set up additional Committees, so existing areas, and new ones which had never been covered, were reallocated. The counties of Devon and Wiltshire , each of which had hitherto been covered by one County Committee and one or two others operating in the larger towns, were eventually covered by seven Committees in Devon and five in Wiltshire. In the former county the County Committee remained in being, but four District Committees were set up to work under its aegis. Divisions were also made in Somerset and six Committees were set up in place of four. There was still much to be desired in the division of Devon and Cornwall, but as there was a limit to the number of Committees which we could have in the Region this matter had to rest.
PLYMOUTH LIBRARY APPEAL .
During the Plymouth blitz the local Library was completely destroyed and Information Committees successfully launched an appeal for books to replace the stocks which had been lost. A prominent author and L.I.C. member, Mr. St. John Ervine, sent a letter to the “TIMES”, and with this send-off the appeal was highly successful, several hundreds of volumes being obtained.
L.I.C.'s & M.O.I. CAMPAIGN.
It was at this stage in the war that the necessity for mobilising every available source of labour became vital, and the Ministry of Labour sought the help of Information Committees with campaigns to be run in various areas where labour was most badly needed, to induce women to go into industry either on a part-time or full-time basis. Several successful campaigns were run and many recruits enrolled.
EMERGENCY INFORMATION OFFICERS.
In the autumn of the year the Regional Commissioner, General Sir Hugh Elles, set up “Invasion Committees”, later to be known as “Defence Committees”, throughout the Region. The necessity for a representative concerned with Information Services to serve on these Committees brought about the setting up of the Emergency Information Scheme. Volunteer Emergency Information Officers were eventually appointed in the twenty-eight “target towns” in the Region, their appointment being made by the M.O.I. with the approval of the Local Authority and the Ministry of Health. Their counterparts, known as Information Officers, served urban areas and Information Representatives acted for the rural districts. By the end of the year twenty-two Emergency Information Officers had been appointed, but there were 80 VIII.still many I.Os and I.Rs to be found. Each E.I.O. was given the benefit of the experience which the Office had already gained in dealing with after-blitz conditions which, in many instances, bore considerable resemblance to what was envisaged would be invasion conditions. Many E.I.Os also attended a three-day course at an Invasion School set up by the Regional Commissioner in Torquay. Armed with this information they prepared schemes for dealing with Information Services in an emergency, recruiting a number of voluntary helpers to assist them if and when the time came. By this time the Ministry had secured the use of loudspeaker vans throughout the area, the owners agreeing to hold them at our disposal and ready for use at a moment's notice for a small weekly charge. These vans, supplemented by any Film vans which might be in the vicinity, were always available for the use of towns which had suffered blitzing.
FILMS .
The Films Department continued to grow throughout the year, and its staff was increased by an Assistant Officer and further clerical help. Early in the year the lack of adequate accommodation made it necessary for the Department to move to another house, that occupied by Censorship Department, a few yards away from the main Office and here they remained permanently. In addition to private shows for organisations, special shows were given. These took the form of assistance in war weapons Campaigns, shows in Welfare Centres, and previews given to Government Departments or other official bodies of films connected with their particular work. These included shows to farmers on agricultural subjects, and to M.F.S. personnel who were shown films to assist them in their training. A new scheme was started in the shape of the hiring of public cinemas on Sundays for giving both this type of specialised show and open shows to the public. As the Meetings Department broke new ground in taking speakers to factories, so the Films Department also began to give shows to the workers in the meal-time breaks. In November a national record was set up when 5,500 workers from the Bristol Aeroplane Company and their families saw a selection of new Russian documentary films. It is believed that this is probably the largest audience to see a film projected on 16 m.m. equipment.
CENTRAL FILM LIBRARY .
A Regional Film Library was set up at Dartington Hall in April, working in close co-operation with the Regional Films Department.
During the summer months a film unit was taken over to the Scilly Isles, and successful shows stimulating a great deal of interest were given on the main islands.
DISTRICT FILM ORGANISERS .
As in the case of other Departments, the Films Officer had sought the aid of voluntary workers and had obtained the services of many voluntary District Film Organisers. These organisers, who were either L.I.C. members or had been found by L.I.Cs, were allocated certain periods during the year for which they found film engagements. In most cases they attended to all details of the obtaining of halls, gathering of audiences, poster publicity, etc., and thus a good deal of routine work in this direction was taken off the staff of the Department.
By the autumn the Department had concluded its first twelve months’ season and had given over two thousand Mobile Unit Shows.
EXHIBITIONS
An Exhibition entitled, “BOOKS AND FREEDOM” was shown in many of the larger centres of the Region in the spring and summer months. This Exhibition, which was based on the Nazi's public destruction by fire of famous books which were contrary to their “NAZI KULTUR”, caused much public interest and was attended by very large numbers of people. An Exhibition on “THE R.A.F.” was also staged in Exeter, Plymouth, Gloucester and Swindon in November and December, and again the attendances were high. The “POISON GAS” Exhibition shown in Bristol from December 12th to January 10th was visited by over 10,000 people. In addition several small portable exhibitions were displayed, chiefly by the arrangement of L.I.Cs. These included. “‘WOMEN AT WAR” , “HOW TO FIGHT THE FIRE BOMB” , “NEW LIFE TO THE LAND”, “FREE EUROPE'S FORGES”, etc.
CAMPAIGNS.
Much practical help was given to the Service Departments in connection with an “A.T.S.RECRUITING CAMPAIGN” and “THE ARMY BLOOD TRANSFUSION SERVICE”. In all these activities the Press Department figured prominently and hundreds of column inches of free publicity were obtained.
PRESS.
Following on the above the Press Department continued to give as much publicity as possible to the more or less continuous campaign to obtain billets for War Workers and evacuees, and much assistance was given to editors who were anxious to co-operate but were handicapped by lack of reporters to cover local news items. By this time the call-up of men for the Armed Forces was beginning to be very seriously felt in the newspaper world, and in several instances the Press Department was able to obtain the deferment of key men whose departure might have meant the closing of smaller newspaper offices.
Handouts of national news, observer stories of war incidents, etc. were prepared and distributed everyday to the eighty-odd newspapers in the Region, in addition to the special write-ups in connection with the exhibitions and campaigns mentioned above
PRESS ARRANGEMENTS FOR PROMINENT VISITORS .
Another feature of the Department's work was dealing with newspaper publicity for prominent visitors to the Region. It must be borne in mind that at that time security considerations made it extremely difficult to prepare advance publicity of these visits. They included a visit of Their Majesties the King and Queen to Plymouth after the successive blitzing of that city and a visit of the Prime Minister, Mr. Winston Churchill, the Australian Prime Minister, Mr. Menzies and the American Ambassador, Mr. J.G. Winant to Bristol on Easter Saturday. In spite of security difficulties and the short notice given, these visits all went off without a hitch. All Press arrangements were co-ordinated by this Office for the visit to Plymouth in May of Mr. Quentin Reynolds, the famous American commentator.
The year 1941was in many ways a memorable one for the Office The Regional Information Officer, Mr. J.L. Palmer, was awarded the O.B.E. in the Birthday Honours List. As might have been expected from his generous nature Mr .Palmer insisted that the honour was an official recognition of the work of the whole Office, but to those who knew his work it was apparent that his outstanding leadership had made possible any success which the Office enjoyed. It was with a sense of great sadness that we received the news that he was leaving the Ministry and returning to his newspaper work at the end of the year. He continued to act as Honorary Region's Adviser for a considerable period after leaving the staff, and remained a member of the Regional Advisory Committee until it was dissolved in 1945.
1942.
R.I.O.
With the departure of Mr. J.L. Palmer at the end of the previous year the Office was without a Regional Information Officer for the first period of 1942, and it was not until the end of February that year that Mr. G.C.N. Mackarness was appointed. The lack of a Regional Information Officer was an inauspicious start to a year which, however, later proved to be one of steady progress and expansion in all departments.
It was Mr. Mackarness who inspired the first steps in a project which was soon to prove so successful and far-reaching that a separate department under an officer with the status of Deputy R.I.O. was finally set up to cope with it.
ANGLO-AMERICAN RELATIONS
In spring came news of the arrival of U.S. troops in this country. Much work was done in smoothing out difficulties inevitably consequent upon the meeting of two peoples who basically knew little of each other although holding many false ideas about each other's way of life. The most obvious task was the stimulation of local authorities and voluntary organisations to arrange entertainment and facilities for the troops, and the setting up of machinery for the organisation of private hospitality in homes. The initial bringing together having been accomplished, the points of difference became more clearly reflected. One of the main sources of complaint was the high pay of the U.S. soldier compared with that of the British Tommy. The abundance of cash enabled the American soldier to entertain his English lady friend on a lavish scale, and to order high-priced drinks in the local pub. Quiet but intensive word of mouth campaigns were necessary to combat all these points of difference which were magnified out of all proportion by the ill-disposed.
At first the work of hospitality was allotted to British Army Welfare Officers, but it was soon seen that the already existing Regional machinery of the M.O.I. was particularly adaptable to the task, and working in close co-operation with Army Welfare a great deal of work was accomplished. Large concentrations of troops were encamped and billeted, in this Region, and to meet their needs Overseas Hospitality Committees were set up in many of the larger towns. These Committees arranged entertainment and welfare facilities not only for American troops but for any other Allied troops in their area, and wherever possible local civilians were brought in so that friendships were formed and private hospitality followed as a natural outcome. The task of fostering understanding was not helped by the fact that the “orientation” classes given to the troops prior to their arrival rather tended to overemphasise the austerity prevalent in British homes. This made the men diffident about accepting hospitality for fear they should eat their hosts’ already meagre rations, and although this feeling was soon overcome American troops continued to bring with them such small offerings of luxuries as their “P.X.” could provide whenever they were invited out.
As more and more troops arrived throughout the year the volume of work increased, and in the autumn a special department, known as “Anglo-American Relations”, came into being and, as mentioned above, was in the charge of a D.R.I.O.-U.S.
WELCOME SHEETS .
With the co-operation of the Press Department a special “WELCOME” news sheet was handed to all parties of U.S. troops disembarking in this country. We were able to arrange for these sheets to be printed often at only a few hours’ notice at the local newspaper offices. With the Christmas holiday came many parties arranged by U.S. troops for British children either in 83 XI.their camps or in village halls and school rooms. The D.R.I.O.-U.S. did a great deal of work in helping with the arrangements for these parties which did much to endear the U.S. troops to the British people.
APPOINTMENT OF CAMPAIGNS OFFICER.
Another new appointment was that of a Campaigns Officer to deal with the increasing number of campaigns originated by other Government Departments, including Salvage, Fuel, Women in Industry, etc. This Officer also dealt with exhibitions, of which half-a-dozen of the smaller type which had begun circulating in the previous year was still being displayed. In addition to this work a good deal of publicity material in the way of posters, leaflets, etc. was coming into the Office, and a mailing list composed of 750 addressees distributing 3,400 copies of this type of material was built up.
A rather specialised branch of this work was the distribution of Picture Sets which were sent out on circuit. In this Region seven circuits each containing seven sites were running, together with four additional circuits devoted entirely to Industrial display, i.e. factories, docks, etc. New Picture Sets were produced at the rate of approximately one per month. A good deal of work was involved in keeping all these Sets on the move.
PRESS .
The appointment of a Campaigns Officer somewhat relieved the steadily growing burden on the Press Department although they still dealt with the final placing of advertisements and distribution of new stories in connection with campaigns. The average number of advertisements relating to all M.O.I. activities in the Region placed by the Department during the last few months of the year was thirty per week as compared with an average of six per week at the beginning of the year. Free editorial space given to campaigns stories which they distributed amounted to 4,000 column inches in the whole of the Regional Press. Growing appreciation of the value of the Press Department's work was shown by the increasing calls upon their services made by other Governments and the Services; W.A.A.F., W.R.E.N .S., A.T.S., Land Army, W.V.S. and Youth organisations all asked for help in the dissemination of information of interest to the public. Particularly successful was the publicity in connection with Fire Guard and Civil Defence training schemes.
FILMS .
This demand from other Government Departments was also felt by the Films Department. Training Films for all branches of the Civil Defence Services and the N.F.S. were shown in ever increasing numbers, and in addition to the normal village shows programmes were given in factory and war-worker hostels. For the Ministry of Agriculture the “DIG FOR VICTORY” film was given specialised showing, and a film entitled “DEFEAT DIPHTHERIA” was shown to mothers in clinics. In April, 1942 the Film Unit made a return visit to the Scilly Isles, where it had an even more enthusiastic reception than was given to the first visit. The system of voluntary District Film Organisers was worked up to a considerable pitch, and it was during this year that the Department first felt that demand was beginning to outpace supply - not in the number and type of films available, but in the physical limitations of the number of units at the disposal of the Regional Office.
Training films were becoming still more and more in demand and one of the moot outstanding was “WARTIME SHIPMENT OF PACKED PETROLEUM”. Heavy shipping losses by fire due to bad packing were being experienced, and this film showing the correct and practically danger proof way of packing was shown to dockers. 84 XII.It was soon found that releasing the men at times when the film could be seen in public cinemas caused much loss of time, so a 16 mm. copy was produced and shown by the mobile film units in Dock Canteens. To round off the year the Films Department gave a general interest programme to prisoners at Dartmoor on Christmas Day-
MEETINGS .
In the Meetings Department great progress was made, and throughout the year 2,042 meetings were arranged as compared with 767 the previous year. This increase was more or less equally apportioned between all types of meetings, with the exception of factory meetings. Here in what is essentially a non-industrial area, 245 talks were given in Works in 1942 as the result of concentrated efforts to extend that field of activity. Several meetings for Cabinet Ministers were arranged, and one of the most noteworthy was that for the Rt.Hon. Ernest Brown, Minister of Health, held in Salisbury Cathedral during the early part of the year. Another noteworthy speaker was Mr. Denis Freeman, the title of whose talk was “I SAW FRANCE INVADED”. Mr. Freeman pressed home the “stay put” policy in the event of invasion, a danger which throughout the whole of that year was a very imminent one.
Following close behind the ever changing panorama of war came modifications and changes in the Meetings programme. The public talks of the early days had already given place to more specialised topics, and now the Department made its contribution to the general plan of promoting understanding of and between the Allies, most notable being Anglo-Russian and Anglo-American feeling.
INTELLIGENCE .
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS .
The value of Intelligence work was being rated higher and higher, and it was now decided that organised and crosschecked reporting was vitally necessary. To this end the Intelligence Officer worked with the Committee Officer in setting up Intelligence Sub-Committees of Local Information Committees. In many instances there was at first some opposition to this work from those asked to form themselves into such sub-committees. People still remembered the old nickname, ‘‘Cooper's Snoopers”, but when Intelligence work had been explained to them in a rational and logical way they soon became not only reconciled but eager to embark on their work. Owing to travel difficulties it was not possible to set up sub-committees holding regular and frequent meetings, except in one or two instances. But working on a rota system the Intelligence Sub-Committee soon got under way. Intelligence work was not only confined to the reporting of reactions and grievances, but in many instances it was possible for the Intelligence Officer to obtain information on a problem which she found from her reports was troubling a good percentage of the public throughout the Region, and from this information she was able to compile a fortnightly publication entitled, “ QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS”, which was sent out to her contacts both without and within the circle of Information Committees.
INFORMATION COMMITTEES .
Information Committees went through a difficult period during 1942. They had lost the first incentive which the close proximity of danger had first provided, and they feared that the setting up of Invasion Committees had rather usurped their functions. A reviving process was necessary, and part of this was the regular attendance at Committee meetings of representatives from the Regional Office. This naturally brought 85 XIII.additional work to the Committee Officer and accordingly establishment for an Assistant Officer in this Department was granted. A visit from the newly appointed Regional Information Officer greatly assisted the process of stimulation and continued calls for help in the finding of District Film Organisers for the arrangement of film shows, assistance with putting on public meetings and general help with the Ministry's activities soon brought about a livening of interest. The institution of visits from a representative of other Government Departments to Committee meetings also provided a source of discussion and resulted in the receiving of much useful information as to the work of these departments by the Committee members, and the passing back by them to those representatives reports of local problems affecting the Department.
EMERGENCY WORK .
The Committee Officer found that the volume of emergency work was also growing. A number of combined Military and Civil exercises were held throughout the Region and his attendance at these was necessary in order to supervise the part played by Emergency Information Services.
BATH & EXETER RAIDS .
Also in May there ware severe raids on Bath and Exeter, when the Emergency Information Services were called into play. In Bath the situation was so bad that assistance was sought from the neighbouring E.I.O. in Bristol, who readily co-operated with teams of voluntary helpers. In June terror raids on Weston took place, and again Emergency Information services came into play.
In the latter months of the year a second Assistant Officer was appointed to deal with Emergency matters, and with his arrival began a large-scale programme of visiting existing E.I.Os and I.Os to advise them on the preparation of their emergency plans, and generally to make sure that they were conversant with all their duties. This Officer also found several more Information Officers to fill the gaps which still existed in the Emergency system.
PLYMOUTH OFFICE .
The work of the Plymouth District Office continued as a counterpart of the office at Bristol, acting as an outpost for the Westerly counties of Devon and Cornwall in all the Ministry's activities. One of the outstanding events of the year in that area was the Cornish Breton Demonstration held in Plymouth in September, with which event the Officer in charge gave a great deal of assistance.
PROMINENT VISITORS .
Throughout the year there were many important visitors to the Region, including King Haakon of Norway, his Prime Minister and members of his Cabinet who come to Bristol on April 7th; Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, who visited the city on June 18th; the Duke of Kent in July, and Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt in November. For each of these visits the Press Department made all the Press arrangements.
Their Majesties the King and Queen also toured in Bath, Exeter, Devon and Cornwall and the Regional Press Officer travelled with the party to assist the local press and arrange photographic facilities.
UNITED NATIONS DAY.
Sunday, June 14th was celebrated throughout the country as UNITED NATIONS DAY, and over eighty separate functions were held in this Region. Information about the United Nations and advice as to the way in which functions should be arranged was given by this Office to all local authorities and other bodies arranging celebrations. We also circulated to them copies of the Official Message which was read. Press coverage was arranged for all the larger functions, and the Regional Information Officer attended three of those held in Devon and Somerset.
1943.
GENERAL .
The next year was in many ways one of reorganisation. It had long been realised that the work of the Office could be extended almost indefinitely were it not for staff limitations. As increases in this direction were impossible it became necessary to survey the position and, having a deadline on expansion, to reduce all but the essentials. By this time most of the staff had been working for some two or three years at top pitch with no margin for illness and, in many cases, only short leave. To staff the Office each night and over weekends it was necessary for officer and typist to do approximately one night duty in eight, and two week-ends out of five. The extent of the Region made travelling a lengthy process, often entailing standing in corridors for the better part of the journey. Where train services were entirely inadequate car transport was used, but so scarce was petrol that the most stringent control was practised. The institution early in the year of the Volunteer Car Pool organised by the W.V.S. afforded us great assistance, and was used by nearly all departments primarily for their voluntary workers who were without cars, and sometimes by Regional Officers themselves.
INTELLIGENCE .
The Intelligence Department continued to do good work although the system of L.I.C. Intelligence Sub-Committees rather broke down for lack of adequate travel facilities which made it difficult for members to get together frequently. The Intelligence Officer began to rely more and more upon individual Committee members reporting on a weekly rota system.. Rumours of all kinds were rife, and the sorting and sifting to source of these was a great part of the Department's work. Wherever possible a refutation of rumours was circulated, but in many instances so important were security considerations that this could not be done.
FILMS .
In the Films Department it became necessary to allocate two units for the whole-time showing of Civil Defence Training films and an additional unit for campaign work was also used. In the spring of the year new fields were opened up with the display of Medical films to specialised audiences of doctors and nurses. These shows were generally given in public cinemas on Sundays, and audiences specially invited in conjunction with the local Medical Officer of Health. One of the most important of these was a film on the treatment of scabies. It had been found that treatment of this disease varied throughout the country, and in order to make it unified the film was given wide showing. Soon other films in this sphere were coming along for distribution, including films on Surgery, Anaesthesia, etc.
EXHIBITIONS
Some of the more important exhibitions shown throughout the year were the Army Exhibition in Gloucester and Bristol, the “Utility Furniture” Exhibition in Bristol, and “R.A.F. on the Target” in Weston, Bristol and Yeovil. The lack of large halls was a very serious problem in staging these big exhibitions, but local authorities proved very co-operative in placing museums and libraries at our disposal.
CAMPAIGNS.
Campaigns followed thick and fast on each other's heels, and often two or three came together - War workers, Billeting, Fuel Saving, Salvage, Paper Drives, to quote only a few. for many of these campaigns arrangements were made for the use of the loudspeaker vans which were held at the disposal of the Ministry, and the Press Department continued to obtain a great deal of newspaper space in publicising them.
PRESS.
REVIVAL OF PRESS SUMMARY.
In spite of the many calls upon its services, the Press Department found time to revive the weekly Regional Press Summary which had been started during 1942, but which had quickly died owing to pressure of work. Its layout was now entirely remodelled and put together in such a way as to make it easy reading. It soon became a “best seller” with the Regional Offices of Government Departments, who could trace in it any local press reference to their Department's work, and if necessary, obtain the relevant copy from the Cuttings Department.
This year also saw the beginning of the Officer Observer “LOCAL BOY MAKES GOOD” stories. These had an immediate appeal, and were voted by editors as the “most successful service” the M.O.I. had given.
In the latter months of 1943 the Department was kept busily occupied with handling the Press angle of the evacuation of Slapton Sends in South Devon for use by the United States Army as an Assault Training Ground. This evacuation had been preceded by a smaller one in Wiltshire with which the Office had only been slightly Involved.
Liaison between the Regional Commissioner and local and national Press, Newsreel Cameramen and so on, and a strict watch on the security aspect of all newspaper reports was a full-time job for some weeks. Adequate notice was of course given to all the occupants of the seven small villages concerned and the majority were able to find their own alternative accommodation. The W.V.S. did valiant work in assisting with all the problems attendant upon such a mass removal and several information centres were set up in the villages.
In July, 1944, the ground was given back by the U.S. authorities, the necessary repair work completed, and the villagers moved back to their homes. Again the work of Press liaison was undertaken by the Regional Press Officer.
One of the most noteworthy events of the year was the RED ARMY DAY PARADE and MASS MEETING held at the Colston Hall, Bristol, on February 20th, arranged, by the Regional Meetings Officer. It was one of the most ambitious functions ever held in Bristol, or in fact, the whole Region.
RED ARMY DAY.
The parade consisted of 4,000 marchers representing the Services, Civil Defence, Fire Guards, Land Army, Factory Workers, etc. &c., who marched to the accompaniment of eight bands. The meeting at the Colston Hall was addressed by the Rt.Hon. A.V. Alexander, who substituted for Viscount Cranborne. 2,500 people were present, and an overflow audience of 3,000 listened to the speech over the loudspeaker system.
MEETINGS.
During this year escaped nationals of enemy-occupied countries became available to address meetings, and their stories of the results of enemy occupation were received with absorbed interest by packed audiences. Other subjects for the meetings were, “THE EMPIRE”; “THE FAR EAST”; “RUSSIA”, and “AMERICA”.
Another innovation was stories told by serving men, one of the most outstanding being a sixteen-year-old Merchant Navy boy named Victor Haggith, who addressed several meetings in the Region.
Factory meetings continued to increase, and by the end of the year the total of 514 more than doubled the figure for 1942.
The general staff cut in the autumn of 1943 resulted in the withdrawing of an Assistant Officer from this Department, leaving only the Senior Officer to carry on, and in November the services of the Staff Speaker were dispensed with.
Information Committees.
SPEAKERS AT COMMITTEE MEETINGS.
In the Committee Department the number of L.I.C.s had by the middle of the year reached their peak total of thirty-two, which remained unchanged until the end of the war. The visits of other Government Officers to Committee meetings were continued, and still proved a source of interest; the R.I.O. and other M.O.I. Officers also visited Committees, e.g. , Meetings Officer, Films Officer and Anglo-American Affairs Officer. They told Committee members of the work of their own particular department of the Ministry and, where necessary, sought their local help and advice. In Anglo-American Affairs particularly Committee members were a source of much voluntary manpower.
They continued to report shortages of all kinds, - food, clothing and utility articles, and more and more restiveness about the opening of a Second Front. In many cases we were able to relieve shortages thus reported, and where this was impossible we could - and did - supply a good reason for the breakdown.
COMMITTEE BULLETIN.
In August the Regional Information Officer inaugurated a Monthly Committee bulletin which gave a resume of the work of the M.O.I .Regional Departments, and news of L.I.C. activities. It also contained either a special message from the R.I.O. or a note on some particular point on which Committees were asked to concentrate. From the very first the bulletin was a success, and it continued until L.I.Cs were dissolved.
TRANSFER OF EMERGENCY WORK TO CAMPAIGNS OFFICER.
For the first part of the year the Committee Officer was away from the Office on sick leave, and for this reason it was impossible to cover the combined exercises which still continued to be held throughout the Region. In June, 1943, the Committee Officer resigned and the Department's Assistant Officer was promoted to take his place, but there was no establishment for a replacement assistant. The second Assistant Officer who had been engaged primarily on emergency work had also left at the beginning of the year, but the air raid activity in the Region was decreasing and, the appointment of Emergency Information Officers being now complete, the responsibility of keeping the system in working order was at this stage handed over to the Campaigns Officer.
VOLUNTARY WORKERS .
In May, 1943 the Regional Information Officer gratefully accepted the voluntary services of a local W.V.S. member, Mrs. Uwins , who undertook a great variety of work both in the office and outside, including car driving for us when occasion demanded. Another very welcome volunteer was the wife of the Campaigns Officer, who very capably ran the Press Cutting Department, a most important feature of the Press Department's work.
ANGLO-AMERICAN AFFAIRS.
One of the main difficulties experienced by the Anglo-American Affairs Department at the beginning of the year was the lack of understanding on the part of the American Special Service officers as to the function of the M.O.I. in relation to themselves. This, coupled with the still apparent friction between U.S. troops and British people made it seem impossible that perfect accord could be reached . Later, however, an American Army Headquarters was set up in Bristol, and when close co-operation had been established, not only regionally, but at headquarters level, the position quickly improved.
The provision of M.O.I. speakers and film shows for U.S. units met reciprocation in the form of visits by U.S. information officers to Information Committees.
In addition to the hospitality Committees, numbers of which were still growing, British “WELCOME” clubs were set up. W.V.S were in the main responsible for the establishment of these Clubs, and the Ministry was empowered to make a grant of £30 per club in order to give the venture a good send-off. So popular did they prove that in the course of a few months between fifty and sixty such clubs were operating in the Region.
The ministry were also able to the help in obtaining the co-operation of the Ministry of Works to secure larger premises for the establishment of American Red Cross Clubs, and when the clubs had been adequately housed further assistance was given in recruiting voluntary dance hostesses and canteen workers.
BILLETING OF U.S.TROOPS.
Throughout the year the intake of troops increased, and it finally became clear that it would be necessary to billet them on private householders. this step was viewed with a great deal of misgiving by the Authorities and once again the Department undertook the preparation of the ground. All the main Questions raised by householders were answered by informative talks covering the various towns in which billeting was to take place. The scheme was duly put into force and surprisingly achieved great success, playing no small part in cementing even more firmly Anglo-American relations.
PLYMOUTH OFFICE.
Increasing activities in Devon and Cornwall and additional responsibilities devolving on Plymouth Office brought about the raising of its status to District Office, and on the 1st February, 1943, Mr.Welters, the D.R.I.O. at Bristol was appointed district Officer and Mr. Jones who had been in charge there for the past year, came to the Regional Office as D.R.I.O. At the same time, an Assistant Officer was appointed, bringing the District staff total to one officer, one assistant officer, one clerk and one typist. Through-out the year they continued as a Westerly outpost for the Ministry's work and kept close liaison with Bristol by fortnightly visits to the Regional Office by the D.I.O. or his assistant. In November a regional staff cut necessitated a reallocation of personnel, and the Assistant Meetings officer from Bristol went to Plymouth to take the Assistant Officer's post there which became vacant on the resignation of its former holder.
1944.
GENERAL .
The year 1944 brought the long awaited invasion of the continent by Allied troops, and consequently many new angles to the work of the Regional Office. Pilotless planes and, later, rocket bombs brought a now evacuation scheme, and this in its turn created new problems. However, morale continued on the upgrade, which started with the news of D-Day and was helped on by the brilliant periods of summer weather which were enjoyed that year. Relaxation of Home Guard, Civil Defence and Fire Guard duties brought much relief, and about September speculation was rife as to the war being over by Christmas, but the last days of the year saw the break-through by the German General Runstedt of Allied lines in Europe, and there was a consequent decline in optimism - the expected date of the end of the war was quickly revised and went as far ahead as 1946.
CAMPAIGNS.
The large number of campaigns throughout the year brought a great deal of work to the Press Department. In the case of the Bristol Blood Transfusion drive in February a new story was prepared in this Office and used by Bristol newspapers every day for three weeks. Similar work was done for the drives which followed in Swindon and Weston, and the Army Blood Transfusion Service continued to use our Press Office for publicity even when intensive drives were not in progress.
PRESS .
The D-Day landings naturally resulted, in a rather hectic period for the Department. Everybody demanded news, news and more news. At first it was thought that the closure of many coastal areas in this Region immediately before D-Day might have a serious effect on newspaper distribution, but the Press Officer managed to arrive at satisfactory agreements with the Chief Constables concerned which partially overcame this difficulty.
Facilities for Press visitors from many countries were arranged during this period.
An immediate outcome of the Invasion as affecting the Meetings Department was the arrangement of meetings addressed by serving men who had actually taken part in the initial landings or had gone over very shortly after. The first of these talks started on D-Day plus Six, and as might be expected they were enormously popular. Obviously a very limited number of such Speakers could be available at that time, but at the end of the summer more and more serving men were released from the fighting front to come back and give eyewitness stories of fighting conditions.
MEETINGS .
So great was the interest created in the European theatre that in the autumn it became necessary to take active steps to revive interest in the Far Eastern Front which had suffered a serious eclipse due to the spectacular events in Europe. To this end serving officers from Burma were added to the list of speakers. Meetings of all types were arranged for these speakers, but the culminating effort was a “SALUTE TO THE FORGOTTEN ARMY”, attended by nearly 3,000 Bristolians who had relatives serving in the East. A Bristol mother spoke from the platform by radio to her son in Burma. Special photographs were also sent for use by the Forces newspapers in that zone.
INFORMATION COMMITTEES.
In the Committee Department there were few, if any, major developments. L.I.C.s continued to hold regular monthly meetings and make their reports. In the first few months of the year their special co-operation was enlisted to publicise the new “PAY AS YOU EARN” system of Income Tax, and Inland Revenue Officers from all the Region addressed meetings of Information Committees at which were fully explained the details of the new system and the way in which it would work.
Another piece of work in which the Committees actively assisted was the showing of the film “CHILDREN OF THE CITY”. This film was shown to nearly every L.I.C., who also gathered together selected audiences of those people connected with the treatment of juvenile delinquency in their area.
EXHIBITIONS
Three very large exhibitions each covering approximately 5,000 square feet were staged in the Region throughout the year.”THE EVIL WE FIGHT” exhibition was shown in Bristol, Truro, Cheltenham and Bath between January and March. 1944. A little later “AMERICA MARCHES” and “THE COLONIES“exhibitions were shown in Bristol. All these exhibitions attracted large audiences, and much admiration as to their layout and composition was expressed.
CAMPAIGNS .
Besides making all the local arrangements for these exhibitions the Campaigns Officer was kept very busy with the many campaigns which ran throughout the year. One of the most important of these was “BLOOD TRANSFUSION”, a drive to obtain additional blood donors, which was held in Bristol in February and later in Swindon and Weston. in all three instances the target figure was exceeded - in the case of Bristol 14,000 donors over and above the 60,000 aimed at were obtained. Working in close co-operation with the Army Blood Transfusion Service the Campaigns Officer employed many kinds of publicity material, including posters, banners, loudspeaker vans, public meetings and, above all, constant Press publicity.
In the spring a campaign was started to recruit domestic workers for hospitals in Gloucester, Bristol and Bath. It is interesting to note that these two campaigns which, on looking back, can now be seen to have been an important prelude to the Invasion, were not generally recognised as omens at the time. Although many people did speculate on the chances of a Second Front being opened in that year, their speculations were for the most part based on very different grounds.
Two more campaigns in the latter half of the year were, “LEND A HAND ON THE LAND” and “PREVENTION OF ROAD ACCIDENTS”. To neither of these campaigns were peak periods allotted, but they were instead carried out on long-term policies tying up with national publicity.
FILMS.
Apart from the Training shows which the Films Department continued to give regularly, one of the most important films of this year was, “WORLD OF PLENTY”. A special preview of this film was arranged at the Odeon Theatre, Bristol, and was followed by other shows throughout the Region. Later the film was included in the general programme for the Mobile Units.
By this time arrangements had been completed for the showing of Agricultural Training films in every one of the five counties in the Region, and these continued under the aegis of the County War Agricultural Executive Committees.
FILMS .
General film shows were given to patients and staff in British and American Hospitals, and early in the year a special film on the rehabilitation of the wounded and maimed was distributed for the Ministry of Labour.
Another film worthy of special mention was “CHILDREN OF THE CITY”, describing the Scottish method of treatment of child delinquents. It has already been described how Local Information Committees obtained specialised showing of this film throughout the Region.
ANGLO-AMERICAN AFFAIRS.
Anglo-American Relations work was assuming very large proportions, and at the end of January a Senior Assistant Officer, Brigadier Ford, was appointed to assist the D.R.I.O.-U.S. Two months later a second Senior Assistant Officer, Capt. Smith, was appointed, and Brigadier Ford then became attached to the Plymouth District Office - although actually working from his home in Torquay - so that he could be in direct contact with the large concentrations of troops in Devon and Cornwall.
British “WELCOME” Clubs increased quickly during the early part of the year and by July sixty-one of them were operating in the Region.
UNITED NATIONS FRIENDSHIP COMMITTEES.
The European operations completely changed the picture of Anglo-American Relations work. Only small numbers of active troops were left in the Region, but instead there were several large hospital concentrations dealing with the wounded. The largest of these concentrations was at Cirencester, and it was here that in the spring of the year the first United Nations Friendship Committee was set up with a paid Organising Secretary and composed of representatives of the British Red Cross, St. Joan's Ambulance Brigade, American Red Cross, and any other organisation concerned with, or having facilities for entertainment and welfare. The Committee arranged entertainments in wards, conducted tours for the convalescent, assisted hospital visitors, supplied flowers for wards, and so on. Hospital staffs too were not forgotten in all these activities. Other departments of the Ministry co-operated in the provision of lecturers and films, and Brains Trust and Quiz programmes were arranged with the help of the British Council and the English-Speaking Union.
An interesting item of entertainment was the visit of several regimental bands to the various hospitals. These included the A.T.G., Grenadiers and Scots Guards Pipe Bands which toured the Region, and were often accommodated in the American Camps and Hospitals, thus supplying an excellent opportunity for furthering Anglo-American understanding.
Other United Nations Friendship Committees were set up in East Wiltshire, Swindon, Taunton, Yeovil and Bristol, and so much responsibility was shouldered by these Committees that by the end of the year it was possible to reduce 94 XXII.the Department's Regional staff by one Senior Assistant Officer. As there were few troops and practically no hospitals in Devon and Cornwall Brigadier Ford left the staff and accepted an offer to join U.N.R.R.A
INTELLIGENCE.
In addition to the general Weekly Reports, the Intelligence Department was kept busy rendering special reports to London on the proposed National Health Service, the Beveridge Report, Invasion reaction and Pilotless ‘planes. A monthly comment on Regional Anglo-American Relations was instituted early in the year.
CLOSE OF INTELLIGENCE DEPARTMENT
In July Headquarters asked for an overhaul and reconstitution of Intelligence contacts and Sub-Committees. This resulted in the dropping of many old contacts and in spite of Regional advice against it the plan was carried out. There was a great deal of dissatisfaction over this, and one or two really awkward incidents, but finally all difficulties were smoothed away. However, by the autumn it was decided that Intelligence work had served its purpose and was now no longer a necessary feature of M.O.I. work. -- Although this work had called forth. more than its share of abuse and mistrust in the early years, the decision to stop it was received with very mixed feelings. Many of the contacts were very glad to be relieved of their reporting but others felt it was more than ever necessary at this stage for the Government to have a public feeling. But the decision was made and adhered to and in December the last Report was rendered and the Intelligence Officer left the staff.
1945/46.
GENERAL.
CESSATION OF LIGHT DUTIES.
At the beginning of 1945 the work of the Office continued much as usual, but after Victory in Europe the pressure began to decrease and there were several staff changes, some Officers leaving and other Departments handling two or three jobs, Early in the summer the night and week-end duties were abolished and the Office officially closed at 6 p.m. through the week and 1 p.m. on Saturdays.
STAFF CHANGES & CLOSING OF PLYMOUTH OFFICE.
Mr. Jones, the D.R.I.O., left the Office in March to take up an appointment with the British Information Service in New York and Mr. Barrett, the Meetings Officer, took over his work, while Miss Bourne, the Senior Assistant Officer at Plymouth, returned to Bristol to handle Meetings work. This left Mr. Walters, the Plymouth District Officer, without an assistant, but gradually the work of both the Regional and District officers diminished until in July the latter was closed and Mr. Walters left the staff.
TAKING OVER OF CAMPAIGNS WORK BY PRESS DEPT.
In the spring the Press Department took over the Campaigns and Exhibitions work as well as its normal duties. This additional burden was a heavy one but other work began to be cut down.
PRESS ARRANGEMENTS FOR P.M.'s VISIT TO BRISTOL.
A highlight of the Department's work was the arrangement of Press facilities for the visit of the Prime Minister to Bristol in April, when he was presented with the Freedom of the City and conferred honorary degrees on Mr. Ernest Bevin and Mr. A.V. Alexander at the University. Arrangements were made for coverage by newsreels, B.B.C., national and local photographers and newspapers, also national press agencies.
END OF PRESS SUMMARY.
In June the Weekly Press Summary was discontinued, with, its one-hundredth issue. Many Government Departments who had found the Summary almost invaluable expressed regret that it was no longer to continue and it is obvious that it ranked as one of the outstanding features of M.O.I. Regional Press work.
In July both the Press Officer and Assistant left the staff to take up other appointments and their work was taken over by the D.R.I.O.
PRESS.
In September certain R.A.F. Stations throughout the country were thrown open in connection with the Commemoration of the Battle of Britain. All newspapers were advised and supplied on request to this office with special passes for representatives and photographers. Arrangements were also made for them to have interviews before the actual day with R.A.F. Officers in charge of publicity on the Stations.
When Mr. Aneurin Bevan, Minister of Health, held a conference in Bristol with Local Authorities from Gloucester, Somerset and Wiltshire on housing problems, Press arrangements were made from headquarters. At the last minute, however, it was found that the local press had not been catered for and the Regional Press Department sent out rush notices and was able to arrange adequate facilities for them.
NURSING EXHIBITION.
In January, 1946, the Press Officer began to give active assistance to the Ministries of Labour and Health in connection with a big drive to get volunteers for Nursing training in Bristol, and responsibility for a high percentage of the final arrangements for an exhibition in this connection fell to him.
The exhibition was a great success and many volunteers were enrolled.
PRODUCTION DRIVE CONFERENCE.
On the 5th April the Department carried through the first of its more important tasks under the C.O.I. arrangements for the Production Drive Conference addressed by the Rt.Hon. Arthur Greenwood at the Colston Hall, Bristol.
PRESS.
Under the C.O.I. the Regional Press work takes a comparatively minor place, but the cordial relations built up during the war years will be of invaluable help in handling requests for press publicity for other Government Departments which still continue to come in at Regional level.
ANGLO-AMERICAN AFFAIRS.
In the first few months of 1945 representatives of U.S. Army formations which had left the country the previous year returned to make various presentations to the towns and cities where they had been in occupation. One of the most interesting of these presentations was that of a gold and enamel link representing the Seal of the U.S. Navy, presented to Dartmouth Borough for inclusion in the Mayoral Chain. The presentation took place at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth in April.
By the autumn the changed war situation had resulted in the final departure of the greater number of U.S. troops and wounded from this country, and the work of the Department ended when the D.R.I.O.-U.S. left the staff in October.
Who can tell what far-reaching effects the American occupation of this country had, or may have in the future? It is at least safe to say that in this Region the promotion of understanding between the two peoples was striven for unceasingly, and a mass of factual evidence proves that these efforts met with a large percentage of success. There are many ties stretching across the Atlantic from the South West -- not only ties of friendship but even stronger bonds linking families of the two countries. In Bristol alone English brides of American soldiers numbered many hundreds.
In the Films Department new types of films were coming to the fore in 1945. Great interest was caused in three films particularly - “WORDS AND ACTIONS”, a film on citizenship, “WHEN WE BUILD AGAIN” and “HOUSING IN SCOTLAND”, the last two dealing with re-housing. These came in the spring of the year and were followed by other special films on jobs and careers which were shown in schools to classes of leaving age.
FLIMS.
In April a film unit was sent to the Scilly Isles and this visit was repeated in July when it was accompanied by a speaker, and again in October. Every effort has been, and is being made by the Department to give regular shows on these islands in spite of the difficulties of transport - during the October visit the operator was marooned on the islands for several days owing to bad weather conditions.
Civil Defence Training films had of course by this time completely disappeared from the picture but instead the Office began to show Instructional films of a general nature, particularly Educational and Agricultural. It is obvious that public demand will not let the Government Film service die and with the closing of the M.O.I. in March, 1946, the Department is ready to go forward as part of the C.O.I., confident that it can make its contribution to the public need for information, in peace as well as in war.
INFORMATION COMMITTEES.
Owing to staff shortages it became impossible to cover monthly meetings of Information Committees and, therefore, in April, 1945 most Committees began to meet on a two-monthly basis.
Victory in Europe was soon followed by a decision to disband Local Information Committees and the Regional Advisory Committee and on the 12th June, 1945 a letter was sent out from the Minister with an accompanying one from the R.I.O., intimating this decision and expressing the Ministry's thanks for all the help accorded to its activities. Every Committee except one decided to hold a final meeting, and the Advisory Committee meeting was preceded by a luncheon.
So ended one branch of the Ministry's Regional work entirely opposite to all its others. Films, Meetings and Exhibitions presented a free service to the public - in other words, they “gave”, while the Committee Department “took”. From Local Information Committees was drawn the main body of voluntary workers who gave unstintingly of their time and inspiration to the Ministry's work. It is doubtful whether any Government Department or official project had ever before gathered together as many volunteers who worked with no tangible recognition except the grateful thanks of the Ministry's Officers, led by the Minister himself. There were no medals for L.I.C. workers, they took no part in spectacular parades, even the public among and for whom they worked knew comparatively little of them. But the gratitude of those individuals whose problems and difficulties were alleviated by Committees’ representations was a tribute to their public service.
EXHIBITIONS
Several large exhibitions were shown in the Region during 1945, Including “MULBERRY HARBOUR” in Bristol in May and Plymouth In June, and “WAR AGAINST JAPAN” in Tor- quay in June and Bristol in August. It was proposed to show this exhibition in Gloucester and Swindon, but the Japanese surrender intervened and the tour ceased. An “EMPIRE” series was started in September with “MEET CANADA” and followed in December by “MEET AUSTRALIA”, both in Bristol. The Campaigns Officer left the Department in March and the work was undertaken, firstly by the Press Officer and then by the ex-Committee Officer.
“MEET AUSTRALIA” was the last large-scale exhibition organised by the M.O.I. in this Region and it achieved the high attendance figure of 20,000 in spite of the co-incidence of the Christmas shopping and holiday period.
PICTURE SETS .
In November the Picture Set Mailing List was overhauled and new circuits set up in readiness for the policy of postwar and reconstruction topics. The demand for these sets continued although from a rather different type of recipient, and the news of the continuance of these sets by the C.O.I. was gladly received.
MEETINGS.
From the beginning of 1945 the Meetings Department began to concentrate on the Far Eastern War Front and after the European victory the numbers of speakers on this topic increased even more. In June the Department was able to arrange for a speaker from S.E.A.C., Brigadier Lowther, to meet the relatives of men serving on that front, to tell them first-hand of conditions there.
During a three-week period in June immediately before the General Election no meetings were held.
The closing of the Volunteer Car Pool in June presented a problem in respect of the transport of speakers, but with the co-operation of drivers who had been in the Pool and who agreed to carry on for us, this difficulty was overcome.
Victory over Japan and the total end of war found the Department still meeting the needs of hundreds of organisations and bodies for speakers. European and Empire topics still proved of interest, but there was a demand for Reconstruction topics, too. Since the middle of the year very few public meetings were held, and the emphasis is now laid upon closed meetings for organisations. The winter season of 1945 saw a very sharp decline in the number of meetings held, principally due to the uncertainty of the future of the M.O.I. In February, 1946, the Meetings Officer left the staff and the former Committee officer undertook Meetings work as well as exhibitions, campaigns and general publicity.
Late in March the Voluntary Speakers Panel run by Professor C.M. Maclnnes was taken over by the Regional Office. By the time the M.O.I. closed in March, 1946, the Department had arranged approximately 11,000 meetings since its inception and looks forward to continuing its record under the C.O.I.