Six Minutes in May
Page 54
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