Six Minutes in May
Page 48
60 on the precise, Nick Smart, ‘Four Days in May: The Norway Debate and the Downfall of Neville Chamberlain’, Parliamentary History, vol. 17, no. 2, 1998, 231
61 barbed-wire, holes, Moore-Brabazon, 97
62 so as to introduce, Geoffrey Shakespeare, Let Candles Be Brought In, 227
63 indefatigable second, Beverley Baxter, Men, Martyrs and Mountebanks, 255
64 saved from, Geoffrey Shakespeare, 40
65 the Victorian sandglass: A sandglass measured the time until May 1941, when it was replaced by a clockwork instrument called ‘the clock’. This was started by pressing a button. Four more minutes were allowed for Members to get into the voting lobbies between the ‘second call’ and the order to lock the doors. ‘At the end of the four minutes a very small bell strikes and the dial hand stops.’ Dennis Herbert, Backbencher and Chairman, 131
2 ‘NAR-VIK’
1 My eye has, Churchill, Hansard, 8/5/1940
2 Who will want, in Stephen Spender, New Selected Journals
3 the focal point … disaster, John Shakespeare interview with author, 4/1/2016
4 NAR-vik, Frances Partridge, A Pacifist’s War, Diaries 1939–45, 36
5 no time … hope, ibid., 37
6 an outlandish place, Ronald Blythe, The Age of Illusion, 153
7 a battleship could, Giles Romilly, The Privileged Nightmare, 8
8 That day lightning, Theodore Broch, The Mountains Wait, 74
9 abominable, insulting bangs, Romilly, 9
10 I was going to, Armidale Express, 28/6/1940
11 What he did, Edmund Romilly interview with author, 8/9/2016
12 Yes. Yes … rails, Romilly, 9–10
13 I dashed … gone, CA CH 4/142, Romilly diary, 9/4/40
14 I want to make, Broch, 79
15 I got captured, GR to parents 27/4/1940, private collection
16 fluttered around crazily, CA CH 4/142
17 He was upset, Mary Marshall interview with author, 10/9/2016
18 Das ist Pech für Sie, Romilly, 11
19 What ship are … journy!, ibid., 12–13
20 a forest of mast tops, CA CH 4/142
21 dominating and brutal, Broch, 109
22 without a stitch … available, CA CH 4/142
23 on the general, GR’s affidavit at General Keitel’s trial, 14/3/1946
24 Monday April 8 … miles out, CA CH 4/142
25 In war, speed, Romilly, 21
26 We did not … Sun, Broch, 102
27 Six mounted … uniform anywhere, Leland Stowe, No Other Road to Freedom, 72
28 the most important, ibid., 118
29 an unbelievable … hours, ibid., 83–4
30 practically on starvation, CA CH 4/142
31 the snow, snow, Armidale Express, 28/6/1940
32 You can’t imagine, GR to parents, 27/4/1940
33 Well, Mr Romilly … Churchill, Romilly, 23
34 Winston Churchill, the greatest, Narvik War Museum
35 The Nazis are taking, CA CH 4/142
36 caused him no, BI EH diary, 12/4/1940
37 The British have, Geirr Haarr interview with author, 12/5/2016
38 Everyone knows … imagination, Kevin Ingram, Rebel: The Short Life of Esmond Romilly, 17
39 reading telegrams, John Colville, The Fringes of Power, 538
40 a stern-looking, Anna Gerstein, Misdeal, 3
41 No, no, ibid., 35
42 I don’t believe, Mary Soames, Speaking for Themselves: The personal letters of Winston and Clementine Churchill, 118
43 a perambulating, Meredith Whitford, Churchill’s Rebels: Jessica Mitford and Esmond Romilly, 47
44 a big-shouldered structure, Giles Romilly, unpublished MS
45 For the latter part, Giles and Esmond Romilly, Out of Bounds, 209
46 a very tough … attacks him, T. C. Worsley, Fellow Travellers, 86
47 it would kill, Ingram, 184
48 who was inclined, John Sutherland, Stephen Spender, 223
49 hideous blow … captors, Whitford, 257
50 You shall … heads, Nellie Hozier, ‘Prisoners in Germany’, English Review, Feb 1915
51 I needn’t tell … sorrow and pain, Whitford, 258
52 sympathy for … young people, Colville, Action this Day: Working with Churchill, 55, 65
53 sentimental about people, David Carlton, Anthony Eden, 159; Nicolson diary, 6/1/1940
54 supreme question, The Argus (Melbourne), 20/11/1937
3 OPERATION ‘WILFRED’
1 A lot of nonsense, quoted in Beesly, 153
2 I can’t help … publicly, Soames, 143, 150
3 This so called, Alexander Cadogan, The Diaries of Sir Alexander Cadogan, 244
4 the importance of stopping, W. S. Churchill, The Gathering Storm, 421
5 doing Narvik, Cadogan, 242
6 It is like, Ironside, 192
7 the power of, Martin Gilbert, The Churchill War Papers: At the Admiralty, vol. I, 101
8 900 bombers … communication, SP Lord Londonderry to Lord Salisbury, 22/9/1939
9 abject depression, Robert Self ed., The Neville Chamberlain Diary Letters, vol. 4, 466
10 However much, ibid., 456
11 Winston, of course, Colville, Fringes of Power, 60
12 needed a diet, J. H. Godfrey, The Naval Memoirs of Admiral J. H. Godfrey, vol. 5, 326
13 it would give, Christopher M. Bell, Churchill and Sea Power, 174
14 into an imprudent, Churchill and Gilbert, Finest Hour, 178
15 I can manage, Soames, 92
16 A modern fleet … come, Ironside, 41
17 obsessed with the idea, Godfrey, vol. 8, 18
18 The search for, At the Admiralty, 127
19 And when he digs, Maisky, 473
20 If Germany can … decisive, At the Admiralty, 523
21 Our defeat … guide, ibid., 524
22 My wife doesn’t … party, Ralph F. De Bedts, Ambassador Joseph Kennedy 1938–40: An anatomy of appeasement, 197
23 much to the disgust, Ironside, 196
24 to turn down … split, Cadogan, 245
25 I have felt very, At the Admiralty, 638
26 technical infringement, Geirr Haarr, The German Invasion of Norway: April 1940
27 he wanted to do, Godfrey, vol. 5, 327
28 brought the whole, ibid., 328
29 by a full three, Roberts, Holy Fox, 189
30 very seldom, Hastings Ismay, The Memoirs of General the Lord Ismay, 103
31 the endless procession, At the Admiralty, 760
32 Halvorsen was unaware, Haarr interview with author
33 We are sitting opposite, At the Admiralty, 773
34 one or two … went ahead, BI EH diary, 16/2/1940
35 You should board, At the Admiralty, 772
36 Winston rang me, BI EH diary, 17/2/1940
37 At 7.45 before, NC Diary Letters, vol. 4, 499
38 Come on up, Geirr Haarr, The Battle for Norway: April–June 1940, 429
39 You must have, CHAR 1/355/17
40 under the noses … Navy is here”, At the Admiralty, 794–95
41 Altmark – drawn cutlasses … our way, Ronald Tree, When the Moon Was High, 112
42 the most flagrant, At the Admiralty, 760
43 Most of them, CHAR 1/355/17
44 complete subservience, François Kersaudy, Norway 1940, 28
45 pleaded earnestly, At the Admiralty, 796
46 Strike while the iron, ibid., 761
47 The operation being, ibid., 780
48 medieval story, Florence Harriman, Mission to the North, 246
49 certain indications … territory, Erich Raeder, Struggle for the Sea, 158–9
50 the war could not be, Klaus A. Maier, ‘German Strategy’, Germany and the Second World War: vol. 2, 185
51 all-destroying blow, Rauschning, Hitler Speaks, 20
52 if Germany were, Geirr Haarr, The German Invasion of Norway: April 1940, 127–30
53 a trustworthy impression, ibi
d., 140
54 upon mentioning … time, Kersaudy, 42
55 Führer orders investigation, ibid., 42
56 issue of Norway, Haarr, German Invasion of Norway, 6
57 the awful difficulties, Churchill, Gathering Storm, 554
58 a decisive blow, Paul Reynaud, In the Thick of the Fight, 266
59 in complete ignorance, Kersaudy, 44
60 on a theoretical, ibid., 43
61 This incident put, Raeder, 163
62 No opposition, Haarr, 6
63 Really stupid initiative, Kersaudy, 44
64 siege of Great Britain, ibid., 38
65 a north-Germanic, Peter Longerich, Goebbels, 449
66 human material … upbreeding of men, H. D. Loock, ‘Weserübung – A Step towards the Greater Germanic Reich’, Scandinavian Journal of History 2, 1977, 67–88
67 the boarding of, Kersaudy, 45
68 to launch a, ibid., 45
69 Once outside, ibid., 46
70 I cannot and I, Loock, op. cit.
71 It was remarkable, Raeder, 167
72 We have no, Ironside, 190
73 To help form, Information from Geirr Haarr
74 utmost importance … operation, Kersaudy, 48
75 into a rage, Maier, ‘German Strategy’, 192
76 expressed his … losses, Kersaudy, 49
77 breakfast, Haarr, German Invasion of Norway, 44
78 cross-examined … war, Kersaudy, 49
79 Wesertag ist der, Haarr, German Invasion of Norway, 44
80 Everything has, Peter Longerich, Goebbels, 446
81 First we will keep, Ian Kershaw, Hitler 1936–45: Nemesis, 288
82 A hundred … available, Harriman, 246
83 Have you read, NC Diary Letters, vol. 4, 498
84 a very pleasant, Amery, Diaries, vol. 2, 553
85 When I wage … Norway, Hermann Rauschning, Hitler Speaks, 128
86 1. that Denmark … ships, CA HNKY 10/7-8
87 the danger came, ibid.
88 a fantastic story … nerve war, William L. Shirer, Berlin Diary, 229
89 would be taken, Haarr, German Invasion of Norway, 48
90 Recent information, Reynaud, 270
91 the Germans were, Amery, Diaries, vol. 2, 592
92 did not support, Haarr, 48
93 a mad expedition, Beesly, 151
94 Information reached us, CA HNKY 10/7–8
95 vain boggling, Churchill, Gathering Storm, 458
96 one of the most, Kersaudy, 49
97 you should never, NC Diary Letters, vol. 4, 21
98 Apparently Cabinet, Cadogan, 255
99 I am concerned, Geoffrey Shakespeare, 232
100 that Mr Churchill, ibid., 231
101 so I might be, ibid., 234
102 on which Winston, NC Diary Letters, vol. 4, 504
103 rash suggestions, ibid., 407
104 conscious that Winston, ibid., 508
105 I said that for once, ibid., 505
106 a bull with snails, NC Diary Letters, vol. 4, 512
107 kill two birds, Graham Rhys-Jones, Churchill and the Norway Campaign, 5
108 We had everything, At the Admiralty, 532
109 I think the whole, John Kennedy, The Business of War, 51
110 amateurish and half-hatched, Cadogan, 263
111 We had a dreadful … consider, Ironside, 227
112 tired and lugubrious … go, John Kennedy, 50
113 My dear Edward … not, At the Admiralty, 883–84
114 The first step, ibid., 854
115 to do something, Colville, Fringes of Power, 92
116 It is time we stopped, Hansard, 19/3/1940
117 the delay, the vacillation, Macmillan, 59
118 Great Britain and France, The Times, 20/3/1940
119 a foxy expression, NC Diary Letters, vol. 4, 512
120 I rejoice that you, At the Admiralty, 909
121 the battle of iron, Reynaud, 267
122 because of his loyalty, Colville, Fringes of Power, 96
123 as I believe, BI EH diary, 6/4/1940
124 the necessity of throwing, Colville, Fringes of Power, 97
125 by the spring, NC Diary Letters, vol. 4, 456
126 Attlee actually looks, ibid., 410
127 of the gathering, Maisky diary, 4/4/1940
128 This I heard later, BI EH diary, 4/4/1940
129 very warmly received, NC Diary Letters, vol. 4, 38, 6/4/1940
130 we showed a lamentable, Spears, 99
131 I doubt if, Normanbrook, Action This Day, 29
132 We are ready, Express, 4/4/1940
133 to speak more, SP Lord Salisbury to Lord Wilmer, 2/4/1940
134 There is a curious, NC Diary Letters, vol. 4, 515
135 When an operation, At the Admiralty, 893
136 deplorably insecure, Cadogan, 262
137 an alarming communiqué, Colville, Fringes of Power, 92
138 indicated a decision, Dilks, ‘Great Britain and Scandinavia in the Phoney War’
139 You cannot keep, Ironside, 221
140 Gamelin on his visit, Kersaudy to author
141 and stated it, CA CHU 4/142
142 were talked about, Raymond E. Lee, Journals, December 1940
143 If anyone starts, Geoffrey Shakespeare, 234
144 See the midnight … Norway, D. J. L. Fitzgerald, History of the Irish Guards in the Second World War, 10
145 tragic impasse, Paul Baudouin, Private Diaries, 11
146 Thanks to our, Reynaud, 266
147 a game of musical chairs (footnote), CRL AP20/1/20-20A, Eden diary, 1/4/1940
148 Why take the trouble (footnote), Amery, Diaries, vol. 2, 586
149 Winston has hankered, Amery, Diaries, vol. 1, 590
150 1st L now becomes, CA GBR/0014/INKP, Inskip diary 9/4/1940
151 putting Churchill in charge, Maisky diary, 4/4/1940
152 Winston is in seventh, NC Diary Letters, vol. 4, 496
153 personally doubted whether, At the Admiralty, 951
154 always rather pooh-poohed, Patrick Donner, Crusade, 272
155 commit some overt, At the Admiralty, 762
156 the moment the Germans, T. K. Derry, The Campaign in Norway, 15
157 new officers, Haarr, German Invasion of Norway, 51
158 and found forts, BOD MSS Dawson 81/39–41/13
159 German warships, Haarr, German Invasion of Norway, 50
160 well dined, ibid., 86
161 I don’t think so, Henry Denham, Inside the Nazi Ring, 4
162 100 Ships, At the Admiralty, 977
163 some operation against, Haarr, German Invasion of Norway, 49
164 in principle fantastic, Derry, 28
165 evidently doing [an] exercise, Admiralty War Diary 223/126; Haarr, German Invasion of Norway, 50
166 All these reports, At the Admiralty, 977
167 The war is going, Haarr, German Invasion of Norway, 41
168 the silliest thing, Cadogan, 268
169 he was like, Ironside, 248
170 all gone without, BI EH diary, 8/4/1940
171 Winston very optimistic … 10.30, J. A. Cross, Samuel Hoare, 313
172 The man who, Simon Garfield, We are at War, 194
4 THE FIRST CRUNCH
1 Faultless timing, Evelyn Waugh, Put Out More Flags, 31
2 It was the Duty, Ismay, 118
3 No news from, Cadogan, 268
4 Our information was, At the Admiralty, 989
5 We listened to the news, Colville, Fringes of Power, 100
6 The German Government, Shirer, 245
7 In the same way, Loock, 67–88
8 What a sharp … of the day, Maisky, 270
9 Little girls could, Spears, 102
10 no chance of Narvik, Nicolson, 69
11 crackling in the forests … flowers growing (footnote), CRL NC 11/2/1a, Anne Chamberlain journal, 29/1/1940
12 beyond all challenge (footnote) Churchill, A History
of the English-Speaking Peoples, vol. 1, 21
13 totally failed to blow up (footnote), BI EH diary, 25/4/1940
14 despatches in hand … unexpected, Paul Baudouin, 9
15 Norway was against, The Diaries of William Lyon Mackenzie King, http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca, 9/4/1940
16 Judging by the way, Spears, 105
17 clock-like precision, BOD MSS Simon diary 11, 12/4/1940
18 and we were ninnies, Colville, Fringes of Power, 100
19 all had one, Maisky, 270
20 We have bungled, Ironside, 250
21 It is sometimes, At the Admiralty, 996
22 I consider Germans, ibid., 996
23 The First Lord, Colville, Fringes of Power, 99
24 even more … hours, Basil Liddell Hart, Memoirs, vol. 2, 278
25 that something very, A. J. Sylvester papers, PA LG/g/241/1
26 only one enemy, At the Admiralty, 993
27 an entirely different, ibid., 998
28 gloomy news … bad day, John Wheeler-Bennett, King George VI, 438
29 with monkeyish, Ironside, 250
30 nagging at everybody, Cross, 314
31 excellent, Donner, 272
32 paramount necessity … expedition, At the Admiralty, 999
33 lack of information, ibid., 993
34 like cut flowers, BI EH diary, 9/4/1940
35 and said “Look at it! W. P. Crozier, Off the Record, 169
36 a sideshow in, Peter Fleming, Invasion 1940, 156
37 first love, Churchill, Gathering Storm, 493
38 the trophy at, At the Admiralty, 1100
39 As enemy is, Haarr, German Invasion of Norway, 353
40 It is at your, ibid., 336
41 that I did not, ibid., 338
42 the Admiralty’s intolerable, Stephen Roskill, Churchill and the Admirals, 101
43 A miraculous change, New Statesman, 13/4/1940
44 8 a.m. news, Partridge, 35
45 something considerable, Margery Allingham, The Oaken Heart, 133
46 There’s something about, Collin Brooks, Fleet Street, Press Barons and Politics, 265
47 the British had effected, Mackenzie King, 10/4/1940
48 Everywhere, in the, Brooks, 265
49 You can take it, Allingham, 171
50 “We have the Germans, Garfield, 194
51 the shores of Norway, Fitzgerald, 13
52 The papers were, BOD MS Eng hist 496, Euan Wallace diary
53 The world was, BOD MSS Dawson 44 diary
54 In that speech, Hansard, 7/5/1940
55 such a damaging effect, Hansard, 8/5/1940
56 We have been completely, At the Admiralty, 1001