The Gathering Storm: The Second World War (113 page)

There must be no discrimination on grounds of race or colour [in the employment of Indians or Colonial natives in the Royal Navy]. In practice much inconvenience would arise if this theoretical equality had many examples. Each case must be judged on its merits, from the point of view of smooth administration. I cannot see any objection to Indians serving on H.M. ships where they are qualified and needed, or, if their virtues so deserve, rising to be Admirals of the Fleet. But not too many of them, please.

I see no reason to suspend these enlistments or bar the Navy door to the Dominions in time of war. Most particularly am I concerned with Newfoundland, about which I have given special directions. The Newfoundlanders are certainly not to be “left to find their own way to this country” from Newfoundland. Care and pains are to be taken to recruit, train and convey to the United Kingdom as many as possible. I hope we shall get one thousand. I understand this is in progress, and let me have a report saying exactly what is being done in Newfoundland.

With regard to the other Dominions, suitable enlistments should be accepted whether for hostilities only or for permanent service. These ratings can be trained at the naval ports in the Dominions: at Sydney, at Halifax and Esquimalt, and at Simonstown. Opportunity will then be given to transport the men in batches to this country or draft them on to His Majesty’s ships visiting the Dominions.

Pray let a scheme on these lines be put forward with a view to surmounting the difficulties.

“Salmon’s” War Patrol Narrative

I am in entire accord with the Second Sea Lord’s Minute of yesterday. I shall be most willing to concur in the promotion and honours proposed, both to the officers and to the men. I await the proposals of the Sea Lords in respect of the promotion. Naval Secretary should prepare submissions for the Honours to the King, and, if possible, these should be published, both as to officers and men, before the
Salmon
sails again. Perhaps His Majesty would like himself to see the officer (Lieutenant-Commander Bickford), and conclude the audience by pinning on the D.S.O. Naval Secretary might find out what they think about this at the Palace. It seems probable that similar, though not necessarily the same, awards will be required in the case of the Commander of the
Ursula,
and here again the crew must participate. Every effort must be made to announce the awards to the men at the same time as the officers. The whole of this should be put through in forty-eight hours at the latest.

I am told that the minesweeper men have no badge. If this is so, it must be remedied at once. I have asked Mr. Bracken to call for designs from Sir Kenneth Clark within one week, after which production must begin with the greatest speed, and distribution as the deliveries come to hand.

It seems very difficult to understand why this candidate should have been so decisively rejected in view of his high educational qualifications, his Service connections, and his record as set out by his father in his letter of January 4. One has to be particularly careful that class prejudice does not enter into these decisions, and, unless some better reasons are given to me I shall have to ask my Naval Secretary to interview the boy on my behalf, before assuming responsibility for writing to his father as proposed.

Candidate for the Navy Entrance Examination, November,
1939,
who failed

I do not at all mind “going behind the opinion of a board duly constituted,” or even changing the board or its chairman if I think injustice has been done. How long is it since this board was re-modelled? I could not help being unfavourably struck with the aspect of the Dartmouth cadets whom I saw marching by the other day. On the other hand I was enormously impressed with the candidates for commission from the ranks who I saw drilling and being trained on the parade-ground at Portsmouth. They were of course much older, but a far finer-looking type.

Not only shall my Naval Secretary see the boy, but I shall hope to have time to see him myself. Who are the naval representatives on the board of selection? Naval officers should be well represented.

Action accordingly.

Let me have a list of the whole board – with the full records of each member and the date of his appointment.

I should like
Salmon
to go to Devonport as you suggested as an extra practice submarine for a few months after the severe and distinguished service she has rendered. There would be advantages in having Commander Bickford in the Plans Division of the Admiralty for, say six months, in order to bring them in close and direct contact with the very latest conditions prevailing in Heligoland Bight. This officer seems to me very able, and he has many things today about anti-U-boat warfare which I trust will be gathered at the earliest opportunity.

2. Is there any reason why
Ursula
should not go, on escort to the Norwegian convoy?

3. There may be other vessels which R.A.S. (Rear Admiral Submarines) would say have also had heavy strain. Perhaps this might be looked into later.

4. If the war were general and everybody engaged to the hilt there would be no need to consider these variations of duty. But considering that the peculiar brunt falls upon very few at the present time, and that nothing is comparable to submarine work amid the minefields and all its increasing dangers, I am strongly of the opinion that we should keep a rotation, shifting boats and crews which have had a particularly hard time, or have distinguished themselves, to easier duties, and letting others have a chance of winning renown. Is there any possibility of arranging a certain number of relief crews for submarines, suitable for the Bight so as to divide the strain among a larger proportion of the personnel? I should like this to be studied.

5. Have the men of the
Salmon
and
Ursula
received their medals and honours? The officers have already been decorated. Let special measures be taken to ensure that the men have these rewards before they go to sea again.

Backgammon would be a good game for Wardroom, Gunroom, and Warrant Officers’ Mess, and I have no doubt it would amuse the sailors. What happened to the one thousand pounds Lord Rothermere gave me for various kinds of amusements? Is it all expended, and how? I have no doubt I could get some more if necessary. Backgammon is a better game than cards for the circumstances of wartime afloat, because it whiles away twenty minutes or a quarter of an hour, whereas cards are a much longer business.

I see charges of looting preferred against our men in the German press. I should not think it necessary to mention this but for the fact that it has come to my notice that the Captain of the
Altmark’s
watch, chronometer, and Iron Cross were stolen, and are now in the hands of some of the sailors as souvenirs. Anything of this kind must be stopped with the utmost strictness. No souvenir of any value can be preserved without being reported and permission obtained. Personal property of enemies may be confiscated by the State, but never by individuals.

I have seen the three candidates. Considering that these three boys were fifth, eighth, and seventeenth in the educational competitive examination out of more than ninety successful, 320 qualified, and 400 who competed, I see no reason why they should have been described as unfit for the Naval Service. It is quite true that A has a slightly cockney accent, and that the other two are the sons of a chief petty officer and an engineer in the merchant service. But the whole intention of competitive examination is to open the career to ability, irrespective of class or fortune. Generally speaking, in the case of candidates who do exceptionally well in the examination, the presumption should be that they will be accepted. Similarly, those who do very badly in the educational examination may nevertheless in a few cases be fit to serve. But the idea of rejecting boys at the very top of the list, unless some very grave defect presents itself, is wholly contrary to the principles approved by Parliament.

I am sure if the Committee, when they had these boys before them, had known that they were among the cleverest in the whole list, they would not have taken so severe a view and ruled them out altogether on the personal interview. It seems to me that in future the Committee ought to conduct the interview
after
the examination, and with the results of it before them. Furthermore, it is wrong that a boy should be allowed to sit for examination, with all the stress and anxiety attached to it, when it has already been settled that, even if he is first on the list, he has already been ruled out.

I also feel that there is no need for any mention of a disqualifying standard for interview and record. The Interview Board should also be instructed that they may award different marks to the same candidate for different branches of the Service. It is obvious that a boy may be much more suitable for the Paymaster than the Executive Branch, and the Committee should be able to differentiate accordingly.

There will, of course, be no need for the Interview Committee to see all the candidates. There must be a qualifying educational standard. This is four hundred marks at present, out of a total of 1,350. I notice that all the successful boys in the last examination had well over six hundred marks. Surely it would ease the work of the Interview Committee if the qualifying educational standard were raised?

Pray make me proposals for rearranging the present system so as to achieve the above conditions. Cadetships are to be given in the three cases I have mentioned.

Book One

Chapter 1

¹
Siegfried Sassoon.

Chapter 2

¹
Conservatives 413, Liberal 40, Labour 151.

²
Theodore Lessing, murdered by the Nazis, September, 1933.

Chapter 5

¹
Four years later, Sir Thomas Inskip, Minister for Co-ordination of Defence, who was well-versed in the Bible, used the expressive phrase about this dismal period, of which he was the heir: “The years that the locust hath eaten.” – Joel, 2:25.

²
Now Major Sir Desmond Morton, K.C.B., M.C.

³
I cannot resist telling this story. The Oxford Union invited me to address them. I declined to do so, but said I would give them an hour to ask me questions. One of the questions was, “Do you think Germany was guilty of making the last war?” I said, “Yes, of course.” A young German Rhodes scholar rose from his place and said, “After this insult to my country I will not remain here.” He then stalked out amid roars of applause. I thought him a spirited boy. Two years later it was found out in Germany that he had a Jewish ancestor. This ended his career in Germany.

⁴
I his excluded the Russian losses.