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Six Minutes in May

Page 54

by Nicholas Shakespeare


  34 He was an extremely barometrical, Colin Coote, Editorial, 203

  35 Kingsley could, ibid., 203

  36 I can’t help, Bonham Carter, Champion Redoubtable, 224

  37 surprised, CRL AP20/1/20-20A

  38 as if he were fending, Maisky, 101

  39 that Neville … seconded it, CRL AP20/1/20-20A

  40 Quite soon after, PA BBK/G/11/11

  41 misled … warn Chamberlain, Paul Addison, The Road to 1945, 102

  42 General opinion that Neville, FRO D/MJ/21 Diary 1940

  43 calmly … look tired, Channon, 247–8

  44 So far as I can, Addison, 99

  45 At first he thought, Channon, 248

  46 v tired and “effarouché”, Cadogan, 280

  47 a pathetic interview … office, Williams, 113

  48 Nobody loved him, Rowse, 16

  49 is obsessed with, Maisky, 43

  50 the one indispensable … Prime Minister, BOD MSS Simon 12

  51 a serious … grievously wounded, Hereford Times, 11/5/1940

  52 Thereafter soldiers, Edmund Romilly to author, 8/5/2017

  22 THE SILENCE

  1 Winston’s account, CA Amel 8/76, Halifax to LA, 20/11/1954

  2 I won’t ask whether, CA Amel 8/76, LA to Halifax, 18/11/1954

  3 all the arguments, BI EH diary, 9/5/1940

  4 There is no place, Butler, 84

  5 sound and sensible, Colville, The Churchillians, 53

  6 The idea then was, Rhodes James, George VI, 190

  7 that diaries are, CA Amel 8/76, LA to EH, 22/11/1954

  8 Friday 9 May, Roberts, Churchill and Hitler, 96

  9 Winston’s chronology, CA Amel 8/76, EH to LA, 24/11/1954

  10 one of the most, Reynolds, 127

  11 Neville began … terminated, CP diary, 5/6/1941

  12 neither excited nor, Churchill, Gathering Storm, 522

  13 You must be Prime Minister, Channon, 248

  14 perfectly clear, CA Amel 8/76, EH to LA, 24/11/1954

  15 sat down to it, BI EH diary, 9/5/1940

  16 He would serve … definitely, ibid.

  17 that the House of Commons, PA BBK/G/11/11

  18 was the man, Cadogan, 280

  19 I do not recall … adherence, Churchill, Gathering Storm, 663

  20 and my stomach, BI EH diary, 9/5/1940

  21 several times … sending for you, Colville, Fringes of Power, 123

  22 & told him, CA Amel 8/76, LA talk with BB, 22/1/1955

  23 at once and much, Killearn diaries, 234

  24 In this crisis, Bruce Lockhart, 543

  25 I think I should be, Bonham Carter, Champion Redoubtable, 224

  26 Perhaps I can’t handle, Joseph Kennedy, Letters, 476

  27 I am sure you, Bruce Lockhart, 563

  28 a very long, Churchill, Gathering Storm, 663

  29 completely silent … What now?, Moorhouse, Berlin at War, 26

  30 Here was the … intolerable PA BBK/G/11/11

  31 Usually I talk, Churchill, Gathering Storm, 663

  32 One sees everything, Dilks, Churchill & Company, 3

  33 Accuracy of drawing, Stewart, 41

  34 very circumstantial, CA Amel 8/76, LA to EH 22/10/1954

  35 hamming up, Reynolds, 127

  36 It certainly seemed, Churchill, Gathering Storm, 663

  37 one was inclined, CA GBR/0014/LWFD 2/2, ‘Three Ministers’

  38 I then said … view, BI EH diary, 9/5/1940

  39 Luckily, I am bald, Colville, Fringes of Power, 108

  40 he would prefer, At the Admiralty, 1261

  41 The question of, CA Amel 8/76, EH to LA 24/11/1954

  42 there were a good, CA Amel 8/76, EH to LA 29/12/1954

  43 opposed by a growing, BOD MS Eng hist 497, Wallace diary

  44 the definite question … party, NC Diary Letters, vol. 4, 529

  45 sitting in the sun, Tom Hickman, Churchill’s Bodyguard, 35

  46 My doctor has, At the Admiralty, 764

  47 Good God, I think, notice in Churchill War Rooms

  48 a curious detached, Killearn diaries, 86

  49 I would gladly, Self, Chamberlain, 322

  50 about nothing in particular, Churchill, Gathering Storm, 596

  51 not even his daughter, Gay Charteris interview with author, 8/1/2015

  52 Just as I … tension, At the Admiralty, 1261

  53 Isn’t that … brandy, Maisky, 271

  54 platitudinous and indecisive, Wyburn-Powell, 108

  55 on a virile … give, S (4) WCI/96

  56 in a bad way … two later, CA Amel 87/6, LA to Davies 27/7/1954

  57 Attlee & Greenwood, At the Admiralty, 1265

  58 Opinion is hardening, ibid., 1263

  59 Lord Halifax is, Bruce Lockhart, 59

  60 He appeared calm … remember, Williams, A Prime Minister Remembers, 32

  61 a bit evasive, BI EH diary 9/5/1940

  62 vigorously supported, Roy Jenkins, Mr Attlee, 218

  63 what a splendid fellow, CA Amel 87/6

  64 completely flabbergasted, CA Amel 87/6

  65 We haven’t come, Thompson, 1940, 87

  66 Winston had Norway, Kenneth Harris, Attlee, 174

  67 It is not pleasant, Williams, 32

  68 apparently startled and hurt, King, 38

  69 Until that moment … parted politely, Williams, 32

  70 I did not name, NC Diary Letters, vol. 4, 529

  71 swung against Halifax … Winston (footnote), At the Admiralty, 1261

  72 I said I thought, Williams, 32

  73 that it was perfectly, BOD MSS Simon 12

  74 In order that, Williams, 32

  75 written in Neville’s (footnote), CA Amel 8/76 file 5, Leo Amery talk with Clem Davies 26/7/1954

  76 There it is, Cadogan, 280

  77 Neville still reigns, Channon, 248

  78 might want to try, Rhodes James, George VI, 190

  79 My dear Baba, Roberts, Holy Fox, 206; and Andrew Roberts papers

  80 sensing that … these days, At the Admiralty, 1282

  81 W quiet … for him, CRL AP20/1/20-20A

  82 I think I shall, At the Admiralty, 1266

  83 his intimate friend, Guy Liddell, Diaries, 75

  84 An unprofitable day, Rhodes James, George VI, 191

  23 HINGE OF FATE

  1 Well, I suppose, Waugh, Men at Arms, 176

  2 gaily & so unheedingly, Soames, A Daughter’s Tale, 140

  3 But this time, Ismay, 124

  4 Hotler’s troops, Bright Astley, 76

  5 like flocks … me again, Partridge, 38

  6 possible invasion, FRO D/MJ/21 Diary 1940

  7 Intense excitement, BOD MSS Sankey diary, 10/5/1940

  8 Information from Norway, Fleming, Invasion 1940, 54

  9 The effect of this, BCA Dep. Monckton Trustees 2

  10 The battle beginning, Shirer, Berlin Diary, 261

  11 that the greatest battle, Rhodes James, George VI, 191

  12 It struck me, Joseph Kennedy, Letters, 423

  13 prepared to the last, BI EH diary, 10/5/1940

  14 We had had little, At the Admiralty, 1268

  15 As I dismounted, Colville, Fringes of Power, 121

  16 sat for half an hour, Ironside, 301

  17 Well, the German … enemy, Gilbert, Finest Hour, 306

  18 about the big … matters, Bruce Lockhart, 564

  19 I walked up … heels, Ironside, 301

  20 Plenty happened, Hereford Times, 11/5/1940

  21 any discussion at all, CA Amel 8/76, EH to LA 29/12/1954

  22 downhearted … was saved, Channon, 249

  23 first inclination was, Hoare, Nine Troubled Years, 432

  24 Hitler has, I think, Nick Smart, ‘Four days in May: downfall of Neville Chamberlain’, Parliamentary History, vol. 17. no 2. 1998

  25 Hitler has seized, Taylor, Beaverbrook, 410

  26 not the slightest doubt, CRL NC 13/17

  27 the dangers of, BOD
MS Eng hist 496, Wallace diary

  28 Decided in light, PA HRS/1

  29 any insolence or rudeness, Colville, Fringes of Power, 121

  30 should the composition, Maisky diary, 13/5/1940

  31 the complete tragic, King, 49

  32 consequence or value, At the Admiralty, 1191

  33 a million Liberals, ibid.

  34 the best P.M., Cadogan, 277

  35 The fundamental difficulty, Colville, Fringes of Power, 120

  36 The people who, BOD MS Eng hist 496, Wallace diary

  37 Reith tells me, NC Diary Letters, vol. 4, 528

  38 that in view of, Williams, 33

  39 send a message, Dalton, Fateful Years, 310

  40 that new attack, CRL AP20/1/20-20A

  41 in quite good … other crisis, Reith, Diaries, 250

  42 he had no direct, CA Amel 8/76, CA to LA 19/11/1954

  43 many messages, CA Amel 8/76, HW to LA 26/11/1954

  44 Confused news, Cadogan, 281

  45 before the Labour, Amery, Diaries, vol. 2, 613

  46 After the invasion, National Library of Wales, I/2/8

  47 possibly dictated … crisis, CA Amel 8/76, Reith to LA 15/11/1954

  48 He could put out … assemble, Reith, Into the Wind, 382

  49 An announcement, BOD MS Eng hist 496, Wallace diary

  50 tough guys, Dalton, Fateful Years, 311

  51 was specially indignant, CRL AP20/1/20-20A

  52 both Chamberlain and, CA Amel 8/76, Reith to LA 24/11/1954

  53 Chamberlain would have, Faber interview with author

  54 to leave things, Reith, Diaries, 250

  55 despite the attacks, CRL AP20/1/20-20A

  56 Personally, I think, ibid.

  57 it wouldn’t take, At the Admiralty, 1275

  58 Do they think, CA Amel 8/76, Reith to LA 24/11/1954

  59 the information was … calmer, BI EH diary, 10/5/1940

  60 This impressed many … expressed it, CRL AP20/1/20-20A

  61 quite heartless, Cross, 318

  62 on the contrary, Churchill, Gathering Storm, 662

  63 must have felt, Coote, Editorial, 203

  64 was inclined to, Churchill, Gathering Storm, 662

  65 that all changes, CRL AP20/1/20-20A

  66 with rather an engaging smile, Dalton, War Diary, 345

  67 He said things, BL Add Ms 89013/2/1/9

  68 It’s like trying, Macmillan, 64

  69 Saw Alec Dunglass, BL Add Ms 89013/2/1/9

  70 to carry us … to fall, Nicolson, 82

  71 calm and charming, Channon, 249

  72 that he had, BI EH diary, 10/5/1940

  73 the final decision, CA Amel 8/76, EH to LA 3/12/1954

  74 fat gents in black, Zita Crossman, ‘The 1940 Labour Party Conference’, in Speak for Yourself: A Mass Observation anthology, 1937–1949, 188–99

  75 People smoke … frequently heard, ibid.

  76 There was a … looking, ibid.

  77 when the grim thunder, BOD MS Eng d 2989, Greenwood memoirs

  78 The answer to … nation, Williams, 34

  79 If you don’t, Dalton, Fateful Years, 311

  80 a palm covered, Spears, 130

  81 in anticipation … or two, CA Amel 8/76, EH to LA 3/12/1954

  82 when he told me, CA Amel 8/76, LA to EH 22/11/1954

  83 under the pledge, Amery, Diaries, vol. 2, 613

  84 Labour was a class … bosses, ‘Winston Churchill at the Cambridge Union’, Geoffrey Shakespeare private papers

  85 not one injurious epithet, Coote, 210

  86 in the light of, Manchester, 674

  87 that he would be, BOD Wallace diary MS Eng hist, 496

  88 We at No. 10, Colville, Action this Day, 49

  89 is understood not, Colville, Fringes of Power, 121

  90 Neville hesitated, Channon, 249

  91 Easier said than done, Patrick Higgins, unpublished biography of Rab Butler

  92 He would not … final try, Channon, 249

  93 You can do a great deal, Thorpe, Uncrowned Prime Ministers, 181

  94 the rather “Second Empire”, Channon, 249

  95 may well have played, ibid., 249

  96 I am not sure of this!, Information from Herry Lawford

  97 It was H who, ibid.

  98 true to form, Colville, Fringes of Power, 122

  99 It is all looking, Nicolson, 83

  100 two teeth … thank God, BOD MSS Sankey diary, 10/5/1940

  101 had to bolt off, NC Diary Letters, vol. 4, 501

  102 to stay 2 or 3 days, CA ACAD 1/9 1940, unpublished entry Cadogan diary 9/4/1940

  103 Having been tormented, BI EH diary, 30/7/1940

  104 I was informed, Rhodes James, George VI, 191

  105 Resigned, CRL NC 2/29/37

  106 The plants … my failure, Feiling, 28

  107 No doubt a sharper, CRL NCP, 1/6/10/114, NC to Joseph Chamberlain, 28/4/1896

  108 All my world, NC Diary Letters, vol. 4, 531

  109 Perhaps it was providential, ibid.

  110 He told me, Wheeler-Bennett, George VI, 443

  111 of the step, Kenneth Rose, The Later Cecils, 192

  112 I owe something, Crozier, 175

  113 whose wisdom, Wheeler-Bennett, George VI, 443

  114 changed their minds, NC Diary Letters, vol. 4, 529

  115 … he told me, Wheeler-Bennett, George VI, 444

  116 I was sorry not, ibid.

  117 with suitable expressions, BI EH diary, 11/5/1940

  118 Then I knew, Wheeler-Bennett, George VI, 444

  119 a condition that, At the Admiralty, 1261

  120 after further thought, Rhodes James, George VI, 191

  121 very undesirable, ibid., 191

  122 according to his research, ibid., 193

  123 was funny about Winston, BI EH diary, 5/6/1940

  124 was clearly apprehensive, BI EH diary, 11/5/1940

  125 of the mind of, BOD MSS Woolton 76, 19/3/1942

  126 very anti-Winston, Rhodes James, George VI, 192

  127 I doubt if any, CRL NC 18/2/1161–1198

  128 Few people have, Frederick Woolton, Memoirs, 174

  129 a marvel … poor Mr Chamberlain, CA CHUR 4/109/42-3

  130 “True,” said Chamberlain, Joseph Kennedy, Letters, 477

  131 come round to, NC Diary Letters, vol. 4, 527; Reith, Into the Wind, 381

  132 In my long life …, Churchill, Churchill’s Visit to Norway, 33

  133 Only just to say, At the Admiralty, 1283

  134 most graciously … Government, ibid., 1283

  135 Do you think, Frank Longford, Eleven at No. 10, 54

  136 Will the bloody, Blake & Louis, 79

  137 I will certainly, At the Admiralty, 1283

  138 in complete silence … stairs, Hickman, 90–91

  139 came quite spontaneously, NC Diary Letters, vol. 4, 530

  140 magnificent … champagne, Nicolson, 84

  141 You have acted nobly, CRL NC 18/2/1161-1198

  142 The idea is prevalent, Ismay, 115

  143 My relief when, AM diary, 10/5/1940

  144 May I wish … fortune!, Bridges, Action this Day, 219

  145 I went home, Colville, Fringes of Power, 122

  146 a man of peace, Walker-Smith, 334

  147 the greatest adventurer, Self, Chamberlain, 431

  148 a terrible risk … at the prospect, Colville, Fringes of Power, 122

  149 Well, we had better, BOD MSS Woolton 76 diary 2

  150 I remember what, SP MO to Salisbury, 16/5/1940

  151 I felt very sad … card up, ibid.

  152 which I know so well!, Wrench, 415

  153 delighted to see me, ibid.

  154 They were both rather … rotundity, ibid.

  155 with a happy face Foot, British Political Crises, 183

  EPILOGUES

  1 So it is to be Winston!, Dugdale, Baffy, 169

  2 The substitution of Churchill, Galeazzo Ciano, Ciano’s Di
ary, 248

  3 symbolic sexagenarians, Bonham Carter, Champion Redoubtable, 213

  4 should have been, BOD MSS Simon 86, GS to JS, 14/5/1940

  5 indispensable Judas, Maurice Cowling, The Impact of Hitler, 385

  6 incredibile dicta, Reith, Into the Wind, 384

  7 According to Clemmie, Bonham Carter, Champion Redoubtable, 224

  8 and so he has, Headlam, 198

  9 will take nothing, Cadogan, 282

  10 poor old Sam Hoare, CA LKEN 1/23

  11 No one has said, CRL NC7/11/33/98, SH to NC 14/5 1940

  12 asking if 10.30, BOD MS Eng hist 497, Wallace diary

  13 within ten minutes, Reith, Into the Wind, 383

  14 in a difficulty … membership, CA CHAR 20/7/96–105

  15 Everything about you, Kingsley Martin, Editor, 266

  16 He has sometimes, CA CHAR 20/7/96-105

  17 I do hope you, CA Amel 2/1/31 1940, LA to WC 14/5/1940

  18 poured out his soul, BI EH diary, 28/7/1940

  19 As I was leaving, BL Add Ms 89013/2/1/9

  20 now referred to, Maisky, 280

  21 nobody had served, BI EH diary, 7/11/1940

  22 they found Horace, CA GBR/0014/LWFD 2/2, Lawford diary, 7/12/1940

  23 general commissioner, Maisky diary, 18/5/1940

  24 After deep and very, PA LG/G/4/4

  25 I shall wait, Sylvester, 281

  26 sixty feet below, ibid., 281

  27 completely tired, ibid., 282

  28 The gangsters will, Roberts, Holy Fox, 209

  29 a well-executed, BI EH diary, 9/4/1940

  30 In the train, BI EH to AM, 14/1/1941

  31 no political ambitions, BI EH diary, 18/10/1943

  32 which I have always, CP diary, 16/2/1941

  33 They are of great interest, BI AM to Richard Halifax

  34 There are none, BI RH to AM, 30/10/1985

  35 some confidential, BOD MSS Attlee dep 42, fols. 105, 129, 10/10/1946

  36 Dear Prime Minister, BOD MSS Attlee dep 42, 117, fols. 204–5

  37 The family of, FL to Defence Minister, June 2008, private collection

  38 Dearest Mummy and Daddy, GR to parents, 27/4/1940

  39 dear uncle … Birthday Present, CA CHU 4/142

  40 well-covered, Maund, 52

  41 The British did, Ivan Vanya interview with author, 18/10/2015

  42 the end of, Fleming, Invasion 1940, 146

  43 The withdrawal, Maund, 58

  44 like my father before, Self, Chamberlain, 445

  45 He is definitely, Joseph Kennedy, Letters, 427

  46 unswervingly under extremely, NC Diary Letters, vol. 1, 239

  47 At bottom it was, ibid., 242

  48 with a heavy heart, CRL AP20/1/20-20A, Eden diary 12/5/1940

 

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