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8 Dark Days: December 1941 to May 1942
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 October 2009
Extract
Sunday 7 December 1941 We heard on the wireless tonight that the Japanese have made a violent attack on the American naval base at Pearl Harbour in Hawaii and other places in the Hawaiian group of islands – American ships sunk, aircraft destroyed, heavy casualties – they are also invading Thailand and the Malay Peninsula – and all the time their Ambassador and special agent are in Washington carrying out negotiations with Roosevelt – I suppose the little swine have been preparing this coup for some considerable time – and, after all, they are only doing what they did when they fought Russia – rushing into Port Arthur and torpedoing the Russian ships before they declared war – and now they have more excuse for their methods for Hitler has used them all along in this war.
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References
1 The Russo-Japanese War of 1904–05.
2 William Clive Bridgeman (1864–1935), Con. M.P. Oswestry 1906–29; Sec. for Mines 1920–22; Home Sec. 1922–24, 1st Lord of Admiralty 1924–29; cr. Viscount Bridgeman 1929.
3 Headlam served as junior minister at the Admiralty from December 1926 to June 1929, under Bridgeman as First Lord.
4 The loss of this battleship and battlecruiser, recently sent by Churchill to Singapore to act as a deterrent but lacking adequate air cover, was a humiliating blow to British naval prestige and removed the chance of preventing Japanese landings in Malaya. The ships were sunk by bombs and torpedoes dropped from aircraft by conventional means, not by suicide attacks as surmised here.
5 Workers whose skills were essential for the war effort were classed as ‘reserved occupations’ and exempted from conscription into military service.
6 The meeting of delegations nominated by the National Union and the T.U.C. to discuss the latter's request for the amendment of the 1927 Trade Disputes Act.
7 Walter McLennan Citrine (1887–1981), Sec., Electrical Trades Union 1914–20, Ass. Gen. Sec. 1920–23; Ass. Sec., T.U.C. 1924–25, Gen. Sec. 1926–46; member of Nat. Production Advisory Council 1942–46, 1949–57; Chairman, Central Electricity Authority 1947–57; kt. 1935, cr. Baron Citrine 1946.
8 David Patrick Maxwell Fyfe (1900–1967), Con. M.P. Liverpool W. Derby 1935–54; Solicitor-Gen. 1942–45; Attorney-Gen. 1945; Home Sec. 1951–54; Lord Chanc. 1954–62; Recorder of Oldham 1936–42; Dep. Chairman, Con. Post-War Problems Central Ctte. 1941–13, Chairman 1943–45; Dep. Chief Prosecutor at Nuremberg War Crimes Trials 1945–46; Chairman, Ctte. on Party Organization 1948–49; kt. 1942, cr. Viscount Kilmuir 1954, Earl of Kilmuir 1962.
9 John Jestyn Llewellin (1893–1957), Con. M.P. Uxbridge 1929–45; P.P.S. to W. Ormsby-Gore 1931–35; Ass. Whip 1935–37; Civil Ld., Admiralty 1937–39; P.S. Supply 1939–10, Aircraft Production 1940–41, War Transport 1941–42; Pres. Bd. of Trade 4–21 Feb. 1942; Min. of Aircraft Production Feb.–Nov. 1942; Min. Res. in Washington for Supply 1942–43; Min. of Food 1943–45; Gov.–Gen., Rhodesia & Nyasaland 1953–57; cr. Baron Llewellin 1945.
10 translation: accomplished fact, i.e. something now impossible to reverse.
11 Churchill's mother, Jennie Jerome, was a wealthy American heiress.
12 Henry Royds Pownall (1887–1961), army career; Dir. of Military Operations, War Office 1938–39; Chief of Staff, B.E.P. 1939–40; Inspector-Gen., Home Guard 1940; C. in C., N. Ireland 1940–41; Vice-C.I.G.S. 1941; C. in C. Far East 1941–42, Ceylon 1942–43, Persia & Iraq 1943; Chief of Staff to S.A.C. South-East Asia 1943–44; kt. 1940.
13 Henry Robert Moore Brooke-Popham (1878–1953), Commandant, R.A.F. Staff College 1921–26; A.O.C. Fighting Area, Air Defence 1926–28; A.O.C. Iraq 1928–30; Commandant, Imperial Defence College 1931–33; C. in C. Air Defence of Britain 1933–35, Middle East 1935–36; Gov. & C. in C. Kenya 1937–39; C. in C. Far East 1940–41; kt. 1927.
14 Assheton Pownall (1877–1953), Con. M.P. Lewisham E. 1918–45; P.P.S. to Sir L. Worthington-Evans 1923, to Sir A. Steel-Maitland 1924–29; Chairman, Public Accounts Ctte. 1943–45; kt. 1926.
15 Which negotiated with the T.U.C. on the Trades Disputes Act; see above.
16 Hermann Rauschning (1887–1982), President of the Senate, Danzig Free City 1933–34; an early member of the Nazi Party and colleague of Hitler, he became disillusioned and fled to Switzerland in 1935, living in the U.S.A. after 1948. He was the author of two influential books which exposed the ruthlessness and dangers of Nazism: The Revolution of Nihilism and Hitler Speaks (English translations of both published in 1939).
17 translation: with no one opposing; the abbreviation of the Latin phrase nemine contradicente, commonly used in this form in the minutes of meetings, etc.
18 Erwin Rommel (1891–1944), German army career; G.O.C. 7th Panzer Div. 1940–41; Comm. of Afrika Korps (German forces in N. Africa) 1941–43, where his tactical brilliance earned the nickname of the ‘Desert Fox’; Comm. Army Group B, Italy 1943 and France 1944; seriously wounded by air attack 17 July 1944, implicated in the anti-Hitler bomb plot of 20 July 1944 and commited suicide, as the alternative to arrest and trial, on 14 October.
19 Randolph Frederick Edward Spencer Churchill (1911–1968), Con. M.P. Preston 1940–45; only son of Winston Churchill.
20 The Latin title for the Archbishop of Canterbury.
21 The Latin title for the Archbishop of York; refers to William Temple (1881–1944), Fellow, Queen's College, Oxford 1904–10; Headmaster, Repton School 1910–14; Rector of St. James's, Piccadilly 1914–18; Canon of Westminster 1919–21; Bishop of Manchester 1921–29; Arcbishop of York 1929–12, of Canterbury 1942–44; Pres., Workers' Educational Assoc. 1908–24; inaugurated British Council of Churches 1942.
22 Presumably means ‘storks’, a reference to the fable in which the inactive ‘King Log’ is replaced by the active ‘King Stork’.
23 Philip John Baker (1889–1982), assumed surname Noel-Baker 1923; Lab. M.P. Coventry 1929–31, Derby 1936–50, Derby S. 1950–70; P.P.S. to A. Henderson 1929–31; P.S. War Transport 1942–45; M.S. For. Office 1945–46; Sec. for Air 1946–47; Commonwealth Sec. 1947–50; Min. of Fuel & Power 1950–51; Chairman, P.L.P. For. Affairs Group 1964–70; member, P.L.P. Parl. Ctte. 1936–40, 1951–59; member, N.E.C. 1937–48, Chairman 1946–47; cr. Baron Noel-Baker 1977; a conscientious object in the First World War, lifelong advocate of internationalism and dis armament, awarded Nobel Peace Prize 1959.
24 The division of responsibility between the Royal Air Force and the Navy's Fleet Air Arm; the question of the control of air forces was a matter of much debate during Headlam's time at the Admiralty in the 1920s.
25 translation: arrogant pride.
26 Due to bomb damage at the latter Club.
27 (Richard) Stafford Cripps (1889–1952), Lab. M.P. Bristol E. 1931–50, Bristol S.E. 1950 (expelled from the Lab. Party 1939, readmitted 1945); Solicitor-Gen. 1930–31; Amb. to Russia 1940–42; Lord Privy Seal & Leader of the House 1942; Min. of Aircraft Production 1942–45; Pres. Bd. of Trade 1945–47; Min. of Economic Affairs 1947; Chanc. of the Exchequer 1947–50; kt. 1930.
28 translation: the more things change, the more they remain the same.
29 Weekly constituency ‘surgery’, at the North Newcastle Conservative Association's offices.
30 Archibald Richard James Southby (1886–1969), Con. M.P. Epsom 1928–47; Whip 1935–37; cr. Bart. 1937.
31 Richard Rapier Stokes (1897–1957), Lab. M.P. Ipswich 1938–57; Min. of Works 1950–51; Lord Privy Seal & Min. of Materials 1951; member, P.L.P. Parl. Ctee. 1951–52, 1955–56.
32 Arthur Henderson (1893–1968), Lab. M.P. Cardiff S. 1923–24, 1929–31, King-swinford 1935–50, Rowley Regis & Tipton 1950–66; P.P.S. to Sir W. Jowitt 1929–31; jt. U.S. War Office 1942–43, F.S. 1943–45; U.S. India & Burma 1945–47; M.S. Commonwealth 1947; Sec. for Air 1947–51; cr. Baron Rowley 1966; son of Arthur Henderson (1863–1935), Lab. Leader 1931–32.
33 On 22 Feb. 1942 Sir Percy Grigg, the senior civil servant at the War Office, was appointed to be Secretary of State for War; this placed him above Sir Edward Grigg, who had served as Under-Secretary of State for War since 1940.
34 Austin Uvedale Morgan Hudson (1897–1956), Con. M.P. Islington E. 1922–23, Hackney N. 1924–45, Lewisham N. 1950–56; Ass. Whip 1931, Whip 1931–35; P.S. Transport 1935–39; Civil Ld., Admiralty 1939–42; P.S. Fuel & Power 1942–5; Chairman, Metropolitan Area 1932–34; cr. Bart. 1942.
35 Richard Antony Pilkington (1908–1976), Con. M.P. Widnes 1935–45, Poole 1951–64; P.P.S. to O. Stanley 1938–39; Civil Ld., Admiralty 1942–45; kt. 1961.
36 Robert Villiers Grimston (1897–1979), Con. M.P. Westbury 1931–64; P.P.S. to D. Hacking 1933–36, to H. Ramsbotham 1936–37; Whip 1937–42; Ass. Postmaster-Gen. 1942–45; P.S. Supply 1945; Dep. Chairman of Ways & Means 1962–64; cr. Bart. 1952, Baron Grimston of Westbury 1964.
37 Allan Chapman (1897–1966), Con. M.P. Rutherglen 1935–45; P.P.S. to W. Elliot 1938, to Sir J. Anderson 1938–41; Ass. Postmaster-Gen. 1941–42; jt. U.S. Scotland 1942–45.
38 Henry James Scrymgeour-Wedderburn (1902–1983), Con. M.P. Renfrew W. 1931–45; U.S. Scotland 1936–39, jt. U.S. 1941–42; Min. without Portfolio 1958–61; M.S. For. Office 1961–64; Con. Dep. Leader in Lords 1962–64; suc. 13th Viscount Dudhope 1952, 11th Earl of Dundee 1953; cr. Baron Glassary 1954.
39 William Allen Jowitt (1885–1957), M.P. Hartlepools 1922–24, Preston 1929–31, Ashton-under-Lyme 1939–45 (Lib. until June 1929, Lab. 1929–31, Nat. Labour 1931–36, rejoined Lab. Party 1936); Attorney-Gen. 1929–32; Solicitor-Gen. 1940–42; Paymaster-Gen. Mar.–Dec. 1942; Min. without Portfolio 1942–44; Min. of Nat. Insurance 1944–45; Lord Chanc. 1945–51; Leader of Opposition in Lords 1952–55; kt. 1929, cr. Baron Jowitt 1945, Viscount 1947, Earl 1951.
40 Douglas MacArthur (1880–1964), American army career; Chief of Staff 1930–35; C. in C. Phillipines 1935–42; S.A.C. South West Pacific 1942–45; C. in C. Occupation Forces in Japan 1945–51, U.N. Forces in Korea 1950–51.
41 (Percy) James Grigg (1890–1964), joined Treas. 1913, Private Sec. to Chanc. of the Exchequer 1921–30; Chairman, Bd. of Customs & Excise 1930–31, Bd. of Inland Revenue 1931–33; Finance Member, Govt. of India 1934–39; Perm. U.S. War Office 1939–42; Sec. for War 1942–45; Nat. Con. M.P. Cardiff E. 1942–45; kt. 1932.
42 (William) Averell Harriman (1891–1986), American businessman; head of Lend-Lease administration in London 1941–43, U.S. head of mission to Moscow to arrange supplies for Russia 1941; U.S. Amb. in Moscow 1943–46, in London 1946; Sec. of Commerce 1946–48; U.S. rep. in Europe for Marshall Aid programme 1948–50; Director, Mutual Security Agency 1951–55; Gov. of New York State 1954–58; Ass. Sec. of State for Far East 1961–63, Under. Sec. 1963–65; Amb.-at-large 1965–69.
43 A reference to the Muslim and Sikh regions of northern India, from which most of the ranks of the Indian Army were recruited; conventional British opinion regarded the Hindu population as being intrinsically less martial.
44 Walter John Montagu-Douglas-Scott (1894–1973), Con. M.P. Roxburgh & Selkirk 1923–35; Ld. Steward of the Household 1937–40; Lord Clerk Register 1956–73; Ld. Lt. Roxburghshire 1932–73; styled Lord Whitchester 1894–1914, styled Earl of Dalkieth 1914–35, suc. 8th Duke of Buccleuch 1935, K.T. 1949.
45 A correction in the diary entry for the next day notes that the meeting in fact took place on 15 April.
46 George Sidney Roberts Kitson Clark (1900–1975), historian; Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge Univ. 1922–75; Reader in Constitutional History, Cambridge Univ. 1954–67.
47 Matthew White Ridley (1902–1964), Regional Controller for the North, Min. of Production 1942–49; Chairman, Northumberland County Council 1940–46, 1949–52; suc. 3rd Viscount Ridley 1916; owner of over 10,000 acres in Northumberland.
48 One of the most powerful battleships in the fleet.
49 Edward Taswell Campbell (1879–1945), Con. M.P. Camberwell N.W. 1924–29, Bromley 1930–45; P.P.S. to Kingsley Wood 1931–43; kt. 1933, cr. Bart. 1939.
50 Patrick Munro (1883–1942), Con. M.P. Llandaff & Barry 1931–42; joined Sudan Political Service 1907, Gov. of Khartoum Province 1925–29; P.P.S. to E. Wallace 1935–37; Whip 1937–42.
51 Alec Stratford Cunningham-Reid (1895–1977), Con. M.P. Warrington 1922–23, 1924–29, St. Marylebone 1932–45 (whip withdrawn May 1942, sat as Ind. Con. 1942–45; P.P.S. to Sir J. Baird 1922–24, to W. Ashley 1924–29.
52 William John Brown (1894–1960), Sec., Civil Service Clerical Association 1919–42; Lab. M.P. Wolverhampton W. 1929–31 (resigned whip & sat as Ind. Lab. Mar.–Oct. 1931), Ind. M.P. Rugby 1942–50.
53 Edgar Louis Granville (1899–1998), M.P. Suffolk Eye 1929–1951 (Lib. to 1931, Lib. Nat. 1931–42, resigned whip & sat as Ind. from Feb. 1942 to Apr. 1945 when rejoined Lib. Party, joined Lab. Party 1951); P.P.S. to Sir H. Samuel Aug.–Oct. 1931, to Sir J. Simon 1931–36; cr. Baron Granville of Eye 1967.
54 The withdrawal of the whip was announced in The Times on 15 May 1942, and reason given was Cunningham-Reid's announcement of the formation of the ‘People's Movement’, whose object was ‘to attain total efficiency in this total war’.
55 William Henry Beveridge (1879–1963), civil service career, Dir. of Labour Exchanges 1909–16; Ass. Gen. Sec., Min. of Munitions 1915–16; 2nd. Sec, Perm. Sec., Min. of Food 1916–19; Dir., London School of Economics 1919–37; Master, Univ. College, Oxford 1937–45; Chairman, Inter-Departmental Ctte. on Social Insurance & Allied Services, 1941–42; Lib. M.P. Berwick 1944–45; kt. 1919, cr. Baron Beveridge 1946.
56 Harold Rupert Leofric George Alexander (1891–1969), army career; C. in C. Southern Command 1940–42, Burma 1942, Middle East 1942–43, 18th Army Group N. Africa 1943, Allied Armies in Italy 1943–44; S.A.C., Med. 1944–45; Gov.-Gen., Canada 1946–52; Min. of Defence 1952–54; kt. 1942, cr. Viscount Alexander of Tunis 1946, Earl 1952.
57 A semi-official Conservative organisation popular in the late-Victorian and Edwardian era, founded in memory of Disraeli and taking its name from his favourite flower; it had a deferential social atmosphere, and a large female membership.