§ LORD MOTTISTONE had given Notice that he would ask His Majesty's Government whether they can now state the terms of the instructions to be issued to the civilian population, including the police and the Civil Defence Services, as to their conduct in the event of invasion; and also move for Papers. The noble Lord said: My Lords, I raise this matter again at the request of many of my noble friends, some of whom are in the House to-day, and after consultation with the Lord President of the Council who has been dealing with the matter on behalf of the Government since the Lord Chancellor made his remarkable speech, which pleased all of us, I believe, very much. But how great was the divergence between what the Lord Chancellor then said was the duty of the citizen and what the citizen was told to do by a leaflet which I did not then quote, but which I will quote to-day. The divergence is so complete, so astonishing that I really must ask your Lordships to bear with me while I point it out. This is what the leaflet says. It is a very short passage that I read: It begins "What to do if fighting break out in my neighbourhood." And then follows these words which have caused the utmost despondency in all Allied and friendly countries: "Keep indoors or in your shelter until the battle is over." Those are the orders.
§
If I may, I would like to have the attention of the Under-Secretary of State for War for one moment. He is concerned in this matter. As I say, these are the instructions under which—until some new fact is produced and I understand that one may be produced by the noble Duke the Duke of Devonshire today—the defence committees work. I find that, in spite of the Lord Chancellor having used what I called robust patriotic words, the leaflet has not been withdrawn and all defence committees—I preside over two of them—are still hampered by it. Let me read it again. It says in the event of invasion "keep indoors or in your shelter until the battle is over." Now the Lord Chancellor, to our great joy, said that that was not the law at all. He said:
These statements—' Don't stay quiet, don't think it doesn't concern you; we expect everyone to do his utmost whatever it may be, everything that ingenuity can devise and common sense can suggest, for the purpose of
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repelling an invader '—are not to be dismissed as just meaningless verbiage. They seem to me very firm and sensible words.
Which is going to prevail? I understand that the Duke of Devonshire is going to make a statement which may give us some guidance. We know perfectly well that the Lord President of the Council is absolutely sincere in telling us, as he told the deputation that I introduced to him, that the Lord Chancellor, speaking from his place here, expressed what was the view, the unanimous view, of His Majesty's Government. He said that he wished that to be made public and he hoped that I would so inform this House. That I now do. But there is a very long gap between what is said by even so great an authority as the Lord Chancellor or the Lord President of the Council and the appearance in leaflets of this damnable doctrine, as I must describe it.
§ In this leaflet people are told in effect, "Go to your burrows like rabbits—stay in your houses until the fighting is over. "That follows upon the splendid words of the Prime Minister in which he told everybody to do his duty, to stand firm, and said that by doing so we should ensure that nothing could destroy us. There is some sinister influence here, though I do not believe that it is deliberate. Many people believe that these surprising things, of which I bring two to your Lordships' notice at once, are the work of the same kind of emissaries in this country as we have over in Germany, and who I hope are achieving great success in their work. We all do our best, and I hope that they are getting excellent results. But I do not think that this is the work of such emissaries. I think it is sheer stupidity. But mind you, it has got to be put right. Since we last discussed this matter two very strange things have happened. First, these Quislings or defeatists, whichever they are, having failed to persuade people that their duty is to stay in their burrows, now are carrying on what the Mayor of a very important town told me yesterday is a great whispering campaign. This campaign, it is said, is going on every-where. The agents of it are saying: "If you join in repelling the invader, as the Lord Chancellor says is your duty, or if you train yourselves for that purpose "— and I think it was the Lord-Lieutenant of Fife who told us that that was already being done by people all over the country following the publication of the Lord Chancellor's speech—" if you do that you 229 are not entitled to compensation of any kind in the event of injury or death."
§
I have a most interesting document which I know that your Lordships would like me to read. It is from the chairman of a district council, who says:
I do think this is a matter which requires a decision at the earliest possible moment. If a Civil Defence worker is injured when undergoing training, he would apparently have difficulty in getting compensation, as every Government Department would deny responsibility.
§
Following upon this, the Chief A.R.P. Officer—and I may say that I showed this document to the noble Duke, the Duke of Devonshire, who is going to reply, and he was good enough to say that he would endeavour to deal with it—says:
The question has arisen in certain districts of the insuring of Civil Defence personnel who are given weapon training by the Home Guard. I have taken that up with the Region, and have to-day been informed that the Ministry of Pensions are still considering this question, and, pending a final decision, it must be considered that Cavil Defence personnel carrying out weapon training with the Home Guard are not employed on Civil Defence duties, and are not, therefore, covered by the personal injuries scheme. This point must be made plain to any personnel who volunteer for such training.
§ I have had time since I got this to find out from other Lords-Lieutenant whether the same thing is happening in other parts of the country, and I find that that is indeed so. People have read the Lord Chancellor's speech, and they have said:
§ " If we are going to defend our country, as we have always wanted to do, we had better be trained, and trained under proper direction," and they have gone to the Home Guard or to the nearest military officer to be trained. Then they have all been confronted with this whispering campaign, and they have all been told:
§ " If you are injured in your training, and still more if you are injured by the enemy, you are not covered." This kind of thing has to be stopped, and I hope that the noble Duke will be able to assure us that it will be stopped.
§ Then there is another sinister thing. At the time when we were first debating these matters, there came a call that the young people should all be trained, as they have been in Russia with wonderful results, as all who know about it are aware, and as their Ambassador has told me, in helping the country to repel the invader. The question was asked why we should not do the same thing here, and agreement was 230 reached. The noble Lord, Lord Croft, made a statement here that every young man from the age of fourteen onwards was to be encouraged to join some training corps, and notably the Cadet Corps. In my own county the response was immediate and surprising. I brought the document to which I am going to refer to the attention of the noble Lord, and he telegraphed to say that the people concerned need not be disbanded. But the position is that as soon as the Government said: "Yes, let every young man train himself to defend his country; as the Lord Chancellor says, it is his bounden duty," some Quisling or some fool—whichever it may be—issued orders that only a certain number can be so trained, that that number is already largely exceeded, that those young men whom we have urged during these last few months to come forward and defend their country, and so enable our Forces to go abroad, are to be disbanded, and that in no circumstances, it is added, shall any grant be given.
§
I find it difficult to believe that I am not dreaming, and I think that you will do the same, when I tell you this undoubted fact. I have here a letter from the captain of a Cadet Corps, and what he says is confirmed by the General who has taken charge of the Cadet movement in a large; county. He says:
These boys are all ready from the age of fourteen to undergo their Service training and, as they are too young to join the Air Training Corps, the Cadet Corps is admirably suited to meet their needs; yet in this county alone thousands of such boys will be unable to join the Corps as a result of the latest ruling of the War Office.
§ That letter comes from a devoted scoutmaster, who has taken up this work with very much zeal. Since I received it and showed it to Lord Croft, I hear that there has been a further order that in no circumstances will any grant be given to any boy above this artificial "ceiling," as they call it, of 175,000 cadets.
§
Your Lordships can easily calculate how many young men there are between the ages of 14 and 16 in this country. They amount almost to millions, but some Quisling says: "No, we will not allow this to happen. In just the same way as we make it known to the older men that none of those who wish to defend their country shall get a penny compensation, nor their widows a pension, so to these young men we will say—because whispering campaigns will
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not keep them away—that we shall have to stop it," and they are stopping it. In the olden days, one would be tempted to quote Latin. Who are these people? Who are these who issue these instructions?
Non his juventus orta parentibus
Infecit aequor sanguine Punico.
§ Perhaps the Lord Chancellor will say that that is not inapplicable—I know that he loves to apply these things—because at this very moment the Punic Sea is being made to run with blood in one of the decisive moments of the world. Let us stamp on these people! Your Lordships must forgive me if I am more emphatic than is customary in this House, but I do ask you to support me in saying that we must have an end of this nonsense. We have a splendid Lord Chancellor, who makes a magnificent speech, and then it is all watered down.
§
I think it would be a good plan to crystallize the idea if I tried to draft a leaflet to substitute for this cursed document, a document which I hope will be burned by the common hangman. We cannot have this "Keep indoors or in your shelter until the battle is over." One should also quote the context. "If you can have a trench ready in your garden or in a field, so much the better." Let the rabbits go to ground at the first sign of the enemy! The church bells ring, and the rabbits go to ground. This is what I prefer, and this is what I described on the last occasion as "the Gospel according to St. Simon." When the leaflet Beating the Invader has been publicly withdrawn—and I think it should be emphatically stated that it will be withdrawn—I suggest something which will say:
(1) It is the duty of every citizen, in company with others or, if need be, alone, to use his utmost endeavours to overcome the enemy.
(2) If possible, he will place himself under the orders of the police or military authorities and obey them.
(3) In order to fulfil this duty, every citizen should train himself in the use of such arms as may be appropriate and available. The military and police authorities in each district have orders to facilitate this instruction.
§
I may say that that was the provision until the other day—until this new trouble came along—in a great many counties.
(4) Should a citizen be killed or injured either in battling with the enemy or in preparing himself to do so, as in paragraph (3) above, full compensation will be paid without delay.
§
You must remember there was another document which in many ways was even more defeatist than the one I quoted. It referred to parachutists. This is my fifth paragraph:
(5) Should the enemy be landed by parachute they will normally be helpless for a few moments from the shock of landing. This is the opportunity to overcome the enemy and secure him.
§
Then there is No. 6: I do hope this will be included; I really do regard it as vitally important:
(6) As soon as the enemy has surrendered he is a prisoner and must be treated fairly. Food and drink should be given him if he is in need.
§ I wrote this some time ago, but since then, of course, what has happened in Libya makes it perhaps apparent that, just for once, I was rather far-seeing. It is important, for in the amazing document to which I referred it is pointed out, first of all, that parachutists are a very helpless people when they first land. Then it says that in no circumstances should you give them anything: Do not give them food; do not give them water—in fact everything that is against the principles of a valiant people defending their own land.
§
I think the Lord Chancellor will see that I have not in any way exceeded what he said in his speech, except in the next paragraph, which I believe is also accurate—and here I should like to have the support of the noble and learned Viscount, Lord Maugham:
(7) If when called upon to render assistance against the enemy a citizen fails to obey and keeps indoors or in his shelter until the battle is over, or even if he fails to take reasonable opportunity to overcome the enemy no compensation will be payable to him; moreover, he will be tried and, if found guilty, will be fined or imprisoned for his failure to comply with the law.
§ That is, in fact, the law. The way to put it always, as I have found, is to say, "What would you do if you saw a man beating a child to death? "Everyone says, "Well, of course, whether I was armed or not, I would have to go and stop that." Yes, but as the Lord Chancellor pointed out to us on the last occasion, it applies even more to an invader. It is your duty to prevent a felony, a wicked act. The most wicked act is that of a man who attempts to invade us. So it is the law of the land. A man who does what he is told in the leaflet to do is committing a crime against Statute and Common Law.
233§ I have suggested that these should be the things that we should do, and I would ask your Lordships to insist that this, or something very like it, must be made public. I know that the noble Duke has received full instructions, I understand from the Lord President, and I think he has been in consultation with the highest legal authority—namely, the Lord Chancellor himself—and I hope he will give us some satisfaction. For my part, I would beg your Lordships to agree with me that we will never be safe until the whole of the Lord Chancellor's speech and its implications are not only accepted but are made known, and made known much more widely even than these leaflets, which still survive. And, further, that it will be publicly announced that these leaflets are completely superseded and are indeed contrary to the law of the land. Thus and thus only, it seems to me, can we in Parliament do our duty.
§ Lord Brabazon implied that the danger of invasion was over. Well, of course, as long as we have these great forces here, that may be true, but what are they here for? They are here in order that they may go elsewhere, and it seems to me—and I am sure it does to your Lordships—that we should all so act and plan that when they go—this great Army of Deliverance, as I should like to think them—we could say to them as they go: "Well, good-bye and au revoir, and our prayers go with you. You may rest assured that the homes you leave behind you are safe in our charge, we older and younger men. We will defend those hearths and homes you leave and love to the last drop of our blood." I beg to move for Papers.
§ LORD MOTTISTONEMay I, by leave, say I was given to understand that the noble Duke had an announcement to make, and it would be a convenience to subsequent speakers if he could make it now? I think that was arranged. I did not have time to tell Lord Cork, but I understand it would be a convenience.
§ THE PARLIAMENTARY UNDERSECRETARY OF STATE FOR INDIA AND BURMA. (THE DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE)It would be a convenience to your Lordships for me to follow, but I am entirely in the hands of the House.
THE EARL OF CORK AND ORRERYI had not heard of that, but I will willingly conform to the arrangement.
§ THE DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE"It is lawful for Christian men, at the commandment of the Magistrate, to wear weapons, and serve in the wars." Those are the concluding words of the 37th Article of Religion, and they seem to me sensible and robust words, but the law of the land goes very much further than that. It provides that every man of military age who is not specially exempted must wear arms and serve in the wars, and further, that in time of emergency every member of the civilian population, man or woman, must place his or her services and resources unreservedly at the disposal of the military. That is a statement of the Common Law in an emergency which threatens the safety of the realm. Any member of the Armed Forces may claim the help and obedience of civilians, and merely because the emergency exists it is their duty to respond. That is the Common Law, and no Proclamation of Martial Law is necessary to bring that into operation. It is obvious that orders should not be obeyed without verification if there is any reason to suppose that they are being given either by mere busybodies or by enemies, or Fifth Columnists, masquerading as police or as members of the Armed Forces. Subject to this qualification it is the absolute duty of every citizen to do everything he is told by any member of the Armed Forces.
Since the time of the very useful debate which was held on an earlier Motion by the noble Lord, on March 24, the Government have been examining further the questions raised in the course of that debate, and now raised in the terms of my noble friend's Motion. These matters have been looked into, not because the Government want to suggest that invasion is imminent but because it is important that we should be fully prepared and that, so far as is possible, everyone should know what he is expected to do if invasion comes. The noble Lord's Motion on the present occasion covers a wider field than the matters he raised on March 24 since, on the former occasion, he referred simply to the position of the general public, whereas now he is also concerned about the police and Civil Defence Services. In order to get the instructions to the police and other civilian 235 services into their proper perspective, it is necessary to examine the arrangements which have been made for the government of the country to be carried on in emergency conditions. One of the most important developments that the war has produced is the adaptation of the public services to fit them to play their part under the exacting conditions likely to be experienced during an invasion.
Since the beginning of the war, much of the work of Government has been regionalized, and the Regional Commissioners, in addition to their immediate responsibility for Civil Defence, have the duty of seeing that the plans of all Departments and local authorities in regard to all matters connected with Civil Defence are properly co-ordinated. At present, the regional representatives of Departments are responsible to their respective Ministers; but in the event of invasion, Regional Commissioners will assume all the functions of the Central Government in their regions at any time when reference to the Central Government becomes impracticable, and with the regional representatives of the various Departments of State will operate as the governing centre of a self-contained community. Wherever possible, the military or naval or air authorities will work with and through the civilian authorities. Plans have been made, of which I shall give some indication in a few moments, to enable this to be done smoothly and efficiently. I need not say that the civil authorities will carry on their duties as long as possible without waiting for orders from the military authorities.
That brings me to the subject of invasion committees, of which between 6,000 and 7,000 have now been set up throughout Great Britain. The development of these committees has been fostered by the Government and by the Regional Commissioners, but they do, to a considerable extent, represent a native and spontaneous growth which has sprung up to meet an obvious need for collaboration between the civil and military authorities at the local level. In most of the larger areas, the Civil Defence emergency committees formed the nucleus of the invasion committees in which the officers of local Government Services, local officers of State Departments, Police, the Women's Voluntary Services and other agencies, and the military can meet together 236 and work out plans of action in advance. Each civil and military member of this committee has his instructions, but only local contact and discussion can secure that these instructions are welded into a smoothly working plan of action. In every town, village, and rural centre where Civil Defence emergency committees do not exist, contact between the civil and military authorities is achieved through specially constituted invasion committees. These work in exactly the same way as the committees in larger towns which I have described.
I call the attention of your Lordships to the fact that the arrangements vary because, quite clearly, it is necessary that they should. For instance, the arrangements in closely populated districts are obviously different from those in districts like the Peak of Derbyshire. This lack of uniformity is intentional and does not represent a lack of any central direction. In most places where preparations are needed, the committees take one of the forms I have described, but there are naturally wide variations to suit the circumstances of the various regions. In some areas the emergency committee may be able to act without the formation of a special invasion committee; in others the preparations are being organized by a small committee of three consisting of a local authority representative or other suitable person, the local Military Commander and the police representative. In other regions again a special official may be selected to co-ordinate the preparations. It is for the Regional Commissioner, in consultation with the Army Commander, to decide where and in what form these special invasion arrangements are to be made.
At this staged—the stage we are at now —the task of invasion committees is to plan and to prepare. The representatives of the civil and military authorities on the committee will carry out the plans each in his own sphere under his ordinary executive powers. If invasion comes, action will have to be taken at short notice, and the more the committee has done by way of preparation, the less there will be for it to do if invasion comes. The work which these committees can do now covers a wide field, varying according to local circumstances, but including the following: Co-ordination of civilian plans with the military schemes of defence; 237 enrolment of volunteers and the allotment to them of various tasks which would help the military if invasion comes, such as digging trenches, clearing or blocking roads, removing debris, or doing first aid work, carrying out the various orders-arid possibly counter orders—of the military; ensuring that an efficient messenger service is available in the event of a breakdown of telephonic communication, using for this purpose young persons who know the district, on foot or on bicycles; ascertaining local sources of drinking water in case ordinary supplies are interrupted; making plans for the cooking and distribution of food to the military or Civil Defence Services and distribution of food to civilians as directed by the Ministry of Food; making a census of the tools available for any labouring work, and of stirrup pumps, sandbags, and so forth. All these are activities which can and should be undertaken now, and which it is reasonable to suppose will be of real value to the country in the event of having to defend any part which is invaded.
It is obviously necessary that the existence and location of the committee should be made widely known in its own neighbourhood, and that volunteers should be instructed where to offer their services. If invasion comes, the committee will be a focal point to which the civil population can look for guidance. It will meet to co-ordinate any necessary action which affects a number of services. It will deal with any urgent matter for which no existing service is responsible and, if need be, will provide, through its chairman or other selected member, a channel of communication between civil and military authorities. If the need arises, the compulsory enlistment of civilian labour for work of military importance will be carried out by the Ministry of Labour and National Service. Normally, if a town or village is cut off, the Military Commander will be in control, and it will be the duty of the civil authorities to undertake any work which he considers necessary. But, if circumstances make it impossible for the various civilian services to obtain orders from their official superiors, or from the Military Commander, the chairman of the committee will be responsible for seeing that any necessary action is promptly taken and, if casualties occur, he will take steps to see that the service affected continues to carry on. That completes the description I wish to give of the plans 238 that have been made to adapt the civil organization to meet the needs of invasion. Obviously I could say a good deal more, but quite obviously also it is undesirable to say more than a certain amount to indicate to the Germans exactly the kind of welcome that awaits them when they get here. It is only possible for me to give a very rough sketch of these preparations.
I now turn to the part which the public should play and on which we had our debate in March of this year. So far as concerns the position of the civilian under present conditions, first of all he can, and should if he possibly can, join the Home Guard, and be trained to make the best use of himself as a fighter. If he is in work that can come to an end during invasion, he will be enlisted "immediately available" and put in List (1); if he is in work that must go on, invasion or no invasion, he will be accepted for List (2), and will not be called out until fighting is imminent in his own neighbourhood, which means that the work in which he is engaged cannot go on. In either case he will be given the full Home Guard train-in. Later on it may be possible to arrange to take into the Home Guard, under special conditions, men who cannot spare the time for the periods now prescribed for Home Guard. And that brings me to the point raised by my noble friend about compensation for persons undergoing weapon training with the Home Guard who were not themselves Home Guards. The short answer but not the complete answer is that everyone who possibly can should join the Home Guard. Then the whole question of compensation is solved.
§ LORD MOTTISTONEWill the noble Duke forgive me for interrupting him? That would be [...] help, because many Civil Defence servants and a number of other people cannot join the Home Guard. It is those people who cannot join the Home Guard who will not get compensation. These Civil Defence people have been told they will not get it.
§ THE DUKE OF DEVONSHIREA very large number of Civil Defence workers are entitled and are allowed to enrol in List (2) of the Home Guard. There are many people who cannot join, and the question is not a simple one. As I have said, the short but only partial 239 answer is that everyone who possibly could should join the Home Guard. The Civil Defence workers can join category 2 of the Home Guard, and they become both Civil Defence workers and Home Guards and receive the whole Home Guard compensation if they are injured in the course of training; but there remains the considerable class of people who cannot join the Home Guard because they have not the time. For instance, clearly a miner who does a heavy week's work cannot give time to the Home Guard. That is a question of great complication which my right honourable friend and the War Office and the Treasury are discussing at the moment.
It is a difficult question because it is not desirable, I think, to put a premium on people receiving weapon training and not joining the Home Guard. I know that in many local Home Guards very considerable indignation has been expressed in regard to a certain number of people who say: "I am willing enough to fight when the times comes, and I am willing to learn the use of weapons, but I do not see why I should waste my time week after week drilling with the Home Guards. I will fight all right when the Germans come, but I will not spend my time on this training; I will turn out only when the Germans do come." In the meantime the heat and burden of the day is borne by the Home Guard, and if at a critical moment they are to be joined by men not fully trained but only half trained, I think it is desirable not to put a premium on receiving weapon training with the Home Guard and not joining that Force, unless of course it is absolutely impossible for these persons to do so. That is why my right honourable friend is going to try and make arrangement for people to get special facilities to join the Home Guard.
Then persons who cannot join the Home Guard in cither category can volunteer for emergency duties of urgent military importance under the auspices of the invasion committees. In modern war, while some soldiers are using weapons in the front line, many others are doing necessary military tasks many of which are really similar to work which civilian volunteers will have the opportunity of performing without engaging in combat. Therefore the position of the civilian may 240 be something like this. In whatever capacity he is engaged, whether he is in the Home Guard or is doing other civilian work, he will be expected to stand firm and carry out his duties with energy and resolution. In order to afford full scope for the training of civilians in arms and to secure that when so trained they may take an organized part in the defence of this country, the Government have decided to make forthwith a very considerable increase in ceiling numbers to be recruited into the Home Guard. This increased ceiling is to be attained in stages as clothing and equipment become available. I hope that will deal to some extent with the point my noble friend made about the difficulty which certain persons are finding when they are in certain categories in not obtaining their place in the scheme of defence.
Returning to what I was saying about the duties of civilians, if stray enemy marauders or small parties of enemy soldiers are moving about in an area not in the effective occupation of the enemy, the Government expect that every stouthearted citizen will use all his powers to overcome them. I think that doctrine will appeal to the noble Lord. I may say perhaps at this point that the document called Beating the Invader, from which Lord Mottistone quoted, is a leaflet issued in May, 1941, and is now obsolete. It is being replaced forthwith by a document which is in the hands of the Press and will appear in the newspapers to-morrow. When I have said it is the duty of the civilian to make a stout-hearted resistance to small parties of the enemy or parachutists, I must not be misunderstood. It is not the duty of the civilian to set out to make independent attacks upon military formations. Such a course of action would be futile, and, worse still, might very considerably impede the operations of our own Forces. The civilian must quite clearly do nothing which would be of the slightest help to the enemy, but he must, on the contrary, hinder and frustrate him by every means which ingenuity can devise and common sense suggest, and if he is asked by the military, as he may well be, he must answer whole-heartedly any call, however exacting, which may be made upon him.
§ THE DUKE OF DEVONSHIREThe position is that he is bound to obey any order given to him by the competent military authority. He can, for instance, be ordered to dig trenches and to carry weapons if need be. My right honourable friend has had many suggestions made to him from various sources as to the part which the public should play under invasion conditions. They vary from a desire that every civilian should turn himself into a guerrilla fighter to a desire to take measures to secure that civilian life is disturbed as little as possible. I trust I have said enough to show that instructions will be given to ensure that the whole resources of the civilian population can be used to back up the military. There will be serious disturbance of civilian life and drastic restrictions of all kinds. Instructions on particular points will be issued to civilians by the civil authorities at appropriate times dealing with such matters as travel, the use of roads by cars and cycles, and the closing of schools, cinemas and theatres. Instructions for the immobilization of all cars and motor cycles, except those essential vehicles the owners of which have been specially warned, will be carried out where and when the civil authorities in each area give the word. Cyclists should immobilize: their bicycles by removing essential nuts and bolts when there is a risk of their falling into the enemy's hands.
In connexion with military operations certain roads may be closed by the police to all civilian use, and this may from time to time affect even the users of the essential vehicles to which I have referred. Such closure will take place to enable the military movements to be carried out, and will not necessarily be permanent. Emergency stocks of food have been provided in such form and in such places as will best serve the needs of the civil population during invasion. Supplies will be available even if enemy military action has dislocated normal transport. So far as possible local retail distribution of food will continue as usual, but if necessary emergency measures can be brought into operation and will be announced locally. As long as it is at all possible news and official instructions will be made known to the public through the normal channels, notably the Press and the B.B.C. If these fail emergency measures, for which provision has already been made, will 242 operate. In the situation envisaged it will be of paramount importance that the Police, National Fire Service and Civil Defence Services should concentrate on performing the essential functions for which they have been equipped, organized and trained.
My noble friend's Motion contains a reference to the police and the Civil Defence Services, and I want to make that point clear. It is not for a moment suggested that the police should take no notice and simply remain passively by while the invasion proceeds. It is stressed that the police have got very important functions, and that on the whole a policeman is probably doing better co-operating with the military. He can do so in many important ways by being a fully-trained policeman rather than by acting as a partially-trained soldier. The police can be of very great value to the military. I recollect an occasion years ago when the Derbyshire Yeomanry was first making use of one of our armed cars. Unhappily it came into collision with a civilian vehicle on the road. The driver was confused and the other occupants did not know what had happened. I thought it better to see the local policeman. To my surprise, although I had not gathered that he was on the scene of the accident, he had the whole account written out in his notebook and the Yeomanry driver was entirely exonerated. I told the policeman that I had not realized that he had seen the accident, and he replied, "I did not exactly see the accident, but of course I know the Derbyshire Yeomanry." If the police can be of valuable service to the military in peace-time manœuvres, so they can be of great value in war-time.
There are many ways in which the police are very important people. No doubt their first instinct would be to take up arms and go and fight the enemy, but it is essential that they should continue their proper functions. They have important functions of maintaining public order and controlling the civil population which must be carried out efficiently. Any failure on the part of the police to carry out their primary duties might seriously impede the operations of our Forces. The same holds true of the other Services in their own spheres, but all these Services alike, when not engaged in the discharge of their defensive duties, have the same responsibilities as civilians, but because these Services are disciplined bodies they 243 will be specially qualified and will be expected to provide an example and leadership to the general body of private citizens.
The last subject on which I should like to touch is the measures which would be taken to deny to the enemy the resources which would be of assistance to him in his military operations. On that subject all that can be publicly said is that plans have been made and have been, or are being, communicated to those concerned, but they are of a kind to which it would be obviously unwise to give publicity. They will, when required, be carried out solely with a view to national defence and without regard for private interests of any kind. Civilians should do what they can to keep their own stocks of food or other useful things out of the enemy's hands, but they should not set out to destroy plants or communications, to block roads or anything similar except on the definite orders of the military, the police or wardens. The scheme for denying our resources to the enemy has been carefully balanced with the needs of our own Forces. Independent action by civilians may have the most serious results on our military plan and is forbidden. What I have told your Lordships this afternoon is almost word for word, with one or two minor additions, the substance of a pamphlet which is being made available to the Press for publication to-morrow and which is available in the Library of your Lordships' House and in the Printed Paper Office now. More detailed instructions will be given to every member of every invasion committee as an appendix to a handbook now being printed.
It is hoped and believed that these measures will prevent any possible misunderstanding about the duties of civilians. I can summarize them very briefly. Here are some Do's and Don'ts for civilians: Stand fast. Do your duty. Do all in your power to help the military. Obey orders. Stop anyone who is engaged on any obviously hostile action. Don't attempt on your own account to attack the main body of the enemy. Don't, when the church bells ring, go and fire your neighbour's ricks till someone in authority has told you to. Don't, above all, go and clutter up the roads. Don't, if you see a man coming down in a parachute, kill or injure him until you have made quite sure he is not a Pole, a Czech, 244 a Dutchman, a Norwegian, or one of any other of our very numerous Allies. Those are the duties of civilians set out in this pamphlet and I hope it will be agreed that the directions are satisfactory.
THE DUKE OF SUTHERLANDMy Lords, there are just one or two simple questions I should like to ask. The first is whether the police have the same duty to fight as civilians. The noble and learned Viscount, the Lord Chancellor, when he spoke on March 24, said:
But when they [the police] are not discharging that duty, and the others are not discharging their duty, they are civilians and they are civilians who come under exactly the same requirement of taking active sensible parts to resist invasion as do any one of us here.That is one point, and the only other point is this. I understood the noble Duke to say that people were not to make an independent attack on the enemy. Does that mean that they are not to frustrate and hold an enemy parachutist in a field close to them but have to wait for orders? Are they to rush up and overpower parachutists at once, or wait until they get orders?
§ THE DUKE OF DEVONSHIREI anticipate that in an actual invasion area there could be no question of the police being off duty, so the first question of the noble Duke does not arise. I was careful to use the words "against the main body of the enemy." Certainly the public should go and overwhelm or apprehend a small enemy party.
§ THE EARL OF GLASGOWMy Lords, I will detain you for about five minutes only. I do not want to weary your Lordships with the repetition of what has been said in similar debates in this House lately. I will content myself with pointing out that there are one and a half or two millions—and that is an underestimate—of fit men in this country to-day who do not know one end of a rifle from another. I listened with care to what the noble Duke said but he did not touch on what I think is the most crucial point. All fit men must be trained to arms—must. But there is to be no compulsion apparently. I would like to ask the reason for Government apathy on this particular point. Is it because they do not think we are going to be invaded? If so, I think it is not correct. I think there is an even chance that we shall be invaded. 245 The German war machine is still strong and efficient. New forces have been trained and equipped to add to the already large Armies on the Russian Front and at any moment Russia may be attacked in the rear by the Japanese.
Hitler has been visiting Finland and at the same time some of his henchmen are meeting the delegates of several European States in Vienna. Rumour says he is asking those States for another 2,000,000 men. Owing to our just and right admiration for the Russians and their gallant fight against the Nazi menace, we have quite forgotten that there once existed such a thing as the Bolshevist menace, which in its day was a very sinister shadow over the world. Russia is now a great and friendly Ally, so I will not say anything more about that except to ask your Lordships to remember that the Bolshevist menace is very real to the Governments and peoples of Europe. Therefore I think Hitler will probably get his 2,000,000 men. However much we hope that Russia will crush her enemy, the outlook for her is not too rosy. If Russia fails, this country will no doubt be invaded. When we remember that we have to send men out of the country to all parts of the world it is difficult to understand why all fit men should not be trained in the use of arms so that when the moment comes they can use them instead of waiting like a herd of cattle to be slaughtered. Many men in industry and in other walks of life want to join the Home Guard, but owing to the nature of their employment are unable to give the time to carry out the present very strenuous training.
The noble Viscount, Lord Cranborne, who spoke in the debate in this House on March 24, said that men can join—it is always "can"—what he called List (2) of the Home Guard. But these men in List (2) have to do exactly the same training as the Home Guard. The great difference between them and between the men of List (1) is that they may wait until fighting is practically on their doorstep and they need not go far afield. I would like to see all fit men not now in the Armed Forces put into a special category of the Home Guard, where they would be taught, as Russia's factory workers are taught, rifle, machine-gun and hand grenade drill, and, possibly, street fighting. Home Guards, during their early training, are asked to remember 246 certain words which mean disposition. The words are: "Eyes, nails, knuckles and teeth." "Eyes" for observation; "nails" for harassing the enemy; "knuckles," a blow, unexpected or otherwise; and "teeth," stand and die where you are. The men of the special category which I am suggesting to your Lordships, might not be so good for "eyes," "nails" and "knuckles," but they would do very good work for "teeth," because if invasion meets with some success there must come a moment when civilian workers should stand and fight as they are no longer able to work.
That is the moment when the brawny mine workers can no longer provide the coal and the factory workers cannot produce munitions because the enemy is at the gate. Then, under the local Military Commander, they could, if they were trained, seize their arms and give a good account of themselves. When one remembers what the Spanish dynamiters did in that wretched civil war in Spain, one wonders whether complete arming with rifles would be necessary, or if grenades might not be almost good enough for defence. Lack of arms does not matter for the moment. We should want to get these men trained, and surely there must be enough arms in the country for use in their training. There are many old soldiers in the mines and factories who could be used to help and assist as instructors. All these men must be con-scribed into the Home Guard. It is not the slightest use the Government saying: "They should join." They must be made to join. It cannot be said too often that invasion of these islands is not unlikely, and, in that event, we shall only be halt fighting in our own defence if we allow millions of our fit men to remain unarmed, untrained and defenceless.
THE EARL OF CORK AND ORRERYMy Lords, I shall occupy your Lordships' time for a few minutes only. I rise to support the Motion, and to make just one or two remarks about it. Obviously the Motion has the support of the majority of your Lordships. It would be very surprising if it had not. We have now been for something like two years in imminent peril of invasion. The Government, by means of the spoken and the written word, have been trying to convey the knowledge of that peril to the nation. But there has been a milk-and-watery translation of those very fine words of the 247 Prime Minister which represented his first reaction to Dunkirk and the defection of France—that we should fight everywhere, on the hills, in the fields, in the towns and in the cities and everywhere else. Those words have been watered down to such an extent that they have lost much of their effect. In fact, so much is that the case that a sort of mental fungus seems to have grown up among a certain section of the population, and it had to be swept away eighteen months later by the Lord Chancellor's speech last March.
Can we really say that we are prepared against invasion when a large section of the men in this country have had to be reminded at this late period that we are really carrying on in face of the enemy, and the Government, in a sort of deathbed repentance, are trying to get out these orders which ought not to be necessary at all? The truth is that the defection of France caught us in this, as in many other things, on the wrong foot. We had built up this Civil Defence organization and those in charge were reluctant to let it go. The right reaction would have been to put the whole country on a military footing straight away, and then all these Services would have been absorbed. After all, what does Civil Defence mean? It is a misleading phrase which seems to imply some non-military connexion. Why should it be "civil defence" just because the bombs constituting the danger which it is designed to meet now come from the air instead of from guns, as they used to do? They did not talk about "civil defence" in times gone by when there was a change-over from bows and arrows to muskets and cannon.
Only the other day the Home Secretary warned people to be ready for civil defence. Nonsense. Why not call it military defence and have done with it? Invasion is a military operation and it can only be properly rebutted by military means. I, like my noble friend who last spoke, believe that the only foundation upon which we can really prepare for invasion is to make everyone train for whatever part he is best fitted to take in our plans for actively resisting the enemy. If you are going to amalgamate these Services, then call the new force the Home Defence Force, Let every individual know he has got a place in it; that he holds that place all the time. Make them all 248 understand that they are not civilians one moment and soldiers another, but that they are in this Home Defence Force the whole time. The police, who are probably the finest body of men physically that we have got, are now, I know, armed to some extent with Tommy guns, but I do not know if they have any rifle practice. They have, I am told, police clubs in which they pay for their own ammunition in order that they can practice. That, at any rate, is what I am told. I do not know of my own knowledge if it is the fact.
This conscription for the Home Guard is working very slowly and it has had the effect of almost stopping voluntary enrolment, so that there are now units below strength. It is very good news to hear that we are going to raise the ceiling, but it is all so slow, and this is surely the crucial year of the war. We want to have the men ready for the moment when it comes. All these preparations, building defences, clearing roads, running about with water, running messages and so on, are all very fine up to a certain point, but there will come a time, as there does in nearly every great conflict, when very little may decide whether it is to be victory or defeat. Many, many times in history have battles been turned by a comparatively small body of men armed and ready, being sent in to reinforce a weak point. As we are going on now, it seems to me that we are not going to have these few armed men ready for reinforcement. All this talk about part-time men in the Civil Defence Services may serve to create doubts as to whether they will be able to be spared. Of course, there are many, many cases in which they are not spared, although they could be spared, and in fact I understand that there is dispute, in which the Regional Commissioners are concerned, on this matter now in progress. All that would be washed away if there was one great Service, a Home Defence Service. Difficulties of this kind would not then exist.
I am glad to see that there has been some mention of the part which may be played by ministers of religion. In 1798 ministers had the duty of taking out the older people from their villages—of marching away members of their flocks who were unable to fight, to places of safety. It seems to me that plans might very well be made now for ministers 249 again to undertake duties of this sort, and that they might be trained to lead away from danger those members of their flocks who are not serving. I mean no disrespect to ministers in saying this. They enjoy great respect in their own parishes and they would be very good men to do this sort of thing.
But to return to the police. That they should not be able to stop and fight, instead of having to go to the rear with their villagers, seems to me to be a great mistake. I suggest that what is really wanted now, even more than the spirited pamphlet which the noble Duke said would be issued, is something which will really wake the country up. Great numbers of people in this country no longer believe in the danger of invasion. If the Government took some drastic step such as I have suggested, it would make people realize that we are in greater danger, if we have this large Army which we send abroad, than before. Whatever we may think of the Germans, every professional military man must have the greatest regard for their military qualities; and the diversionary effect on this country of a big raid, in preventing reinforcements being sent abroad, would undoubtedly be of military advantage for them.
We are told that we have not had to face this danger for a thousand years, but we have, of course, had to face it several times, more recently than that; and, if the Government will not take any hints from Russia, let them go back to 1798 and take hints from Mr. Pitt's Government. That Government was not above going back to the Spanish Armada for hints on how the country should be organized. I quote from memory, but the substance of the orders then issued was: "As soon as and wherever the enemy touches these shores, every man, whether afloat or ashore, is at once to attack him. Let there be no doubt about this; never fear the event." There is something in that. We were told the other day that it was uneconomic to use untrained and unorganized men for fighting. Of course it is, but the answer to that is to organize them. It is easy to do it; we have the instrument to our hand in the Home Guard. I do not believe that we can claim to have done our best to resist invasion until everybody is trained to arms, so that in the last event, when all the preliminary movements are of no more use, we can put them into the firing 250 line. If we do that, we shall have made our greatest effort. If we do not do it, and lose our country, what will it profit us if we have saved our cities from fire or have saved some waterworks from being destroyed? If we do not do it, and if we lose our country, then we, the generation responsible, will go down to posterity for all time as having failed in our duty, and as having handed over our race to be enslaved by the enemy.
THE EARL OF ELGIN AND KINCARDINEMy Lords, there is very little that need be said after the splendid speech of the noble Earl who has just sat down, but, having taken part in the previous debate, it is a disappointment to me that it has needed another Motion by the noble Lord, Lord Mottistone, to secure a further statement by the Government, following up the lead given by the noble and learned Viscount on the Woolsack in his fighting speech on March 24 last. We have received a further instruction to-day from the noble Duke, and I think that, when we have had time to digest it, we shall find that progress has been made; but, in spite of that, I think that it is rather a disappointing statement. There are two points on which the noble Duke has hung his argument: one is the fact that invasion committees have sprung up all over the country, and the other is the opportunity which everyone has to join the Home Guard. Let me consider those two points for a moment.
It is perfectly true that invasion committees have sprung up throughout the country. It has been the force of public opinion which has made them spring up. They have led the Government to think of this kind of administration, which allows local feeling to express itself, to organize itself and to prepare; but there has been a singular lack of planning and preparation on the part of those responsible for guiding the invasion committees—presumably either the Regional Commissioners, or the Sub-Area Commanders acting for the Military. They have not been provided with sufficient staff or given sufficient details to organize and prepare the necessary plans, so that they may link together both with the neighbouring localities and with organizations such as the Civil Defence emergency committees, which are already in existence in the counties. I should therefore like to impress on your Lordships, and 251 through your Lordships on the Government, that there is need for planning and preparation and guidance for these invasion committees, so that they may prepare their plans to deal with the emergency.
The second point is one which was taken up strongly by the noble Earl who has just spoken. Is it true that everyone can join the Home Guard? No, it is not. There are certain people who are prevented from doing so. The main difficulty, however, is that a ceiling has been placed upon the Home Guard which prevents the joining up of large numbers of men, both able-bodied men who have not yet joined anything and men who have joined the Civil Defence and other Services, and who can be taken only on List (2). That makes it obligatory on the Battalion Commander who seeks to have an efficient battalion to make sure that he fills his battalion with List (1) men, and therefore he refuses to accept, or discourages from joining, men of the Civil Defence Services, who would join up in List (2). We therefore have the position that the Home Guard, by reason of this ceiling, are prevented from taking in large numbers of the population and giving them training, although they would be much more useful if they were trained rather than untrained.
Not a single speaker this afternoon has mentioned that large part of the population, the women. The women wish to know much more about what is expected of them. They want to take their part. They are organized in various ways, and chiefly through the W.V.S. I heard recently of a meeting organized by the W.V.S. in a certain village which was attended by members of the local Home Guard, who were giving the women instruction and illustrations in how to deal with various situations. They gave instruction in how to use certain weapons, and they then gave an illustration of unarmed combat. The women were not satisfied with an illustration of one man against another, but took part in it and showed that they were prepared to meet any emergency which arose. They said: "If there are Germans to be killed, let us know how to kill them." That is, I think, the essence of the second point which must be dealt with. We must raise this ceiling. We must draw into closer liaison, as the noble Earl beside me has 252 just said, these big potential forces of Home Guard and Civil Defence, bring them all into one force as home defenders, and remove these unnecessary obstacles which are now preventing it.
§ LORD MOTTISTONEMy Lords, the noble and learned Viscount on the Woolsack has given me an advance copy of this pamphlet. With deep respect I do say that the seven simple paragraphs which I suggested would give the public the information they want, and I feel bound to say that it is deplorable that the fighting speech of the Lord Chancellor should be watered down, as everything that has been said has been watered down. Even the words of the Prime Minister are watered down until it is with the greatest difficulty that you can find what the duty of a citizen is. But I find this:
If stray enemy marauders or small parties of enemy soldiers are moving about in an area not in effective occupation of the enemy, the Government expect that every stout-hearted citizen will use all his powers to overcome them.That is very good doctrine.
§ THE EARL OF GLASGOWIf the citizen is unarmed and untrained how is he going to do it?
§ LORD MOTTISTONEI quite agree. I was going to say that things follow from that. If that is the truth—and it is the truth, and I think I discern the Lord Chancellor's own hand in those words—of course you must train them all to arms, and you must not have a ceiling for the Home Guard, you must not go about warning the stout-hearted citizen that he will not get compensation if he is using all his powers to overcome the enemy. No, there is something wrong in the state of Denmark, there is really. I think most of your Lordships will feel there is something wrong when we have this fin" speech from the Prime Minister, and the fine speech from the Lord Chancellor, and then this ridiculus mus emerges. The noble Duke seemed to think it was new that I should raise the question of the police. It was a salient part of our previous debate, and on that the Lord Chancellor made his famous pronouncement in which he said that the police and civil servants have like duties with civilians.
§ THE LORD CHANCELLOR (VISCOUNT SIMON)Though the noble Lord has said very kind words about me, apparently it 253 is at the expense of this document. If my noble friend will look at the paragraph headed, in great black type, "Police, National Fire Service and Civil Service," he will find in it this statement:
The same holds true of the other Services and their other responsibilities. All these Services, when not engaged in the discharge of their ordinary duties, have the same responsibility as civilians.That is exactly what I said on the previous occasion; and while I am grateful for the compliments, I do not wish it to be understood that these documents cannot be clearly seen to state what I then stated. The paragraph is not at present before the notice of the House, though it is in the hands of my noble friend. Paragraph 6 is headed "What should the civilian do in the event of invasion? "My noble friend has only to read the words below and he will find out in two minutes that it is set out very clearly.
§ LORD MOTTISTONEIf the Lord Chancellor had allowed me to finish he would have seen that I was coming to that point. I was going to point out that we want to know what part the police are going to play. That is what every defence committee wants to know. You have to read right down through all these paragraphs. Do you suppose the ordinary man in the street is going to read all that? It is very dull, and this vitally important paragraph comes right at the end of a long document which you cannot expect anybody to read. The police, then, have got to play their part, like the other civilians, in overcoming the enemy unless it is a large body. It follows that the police must all be fully armed. We need not go into that now, but it seems to me to follow. As the Chairman of an invasion committee I implore the noble Duke to see that simple instructions are given embodying the salient points of this document to ensure that all should serve. It would be foolish of me to attempt to say that I am satisfied, but we have made a great advance, thanks to the Lord Chancellor, and I have therefore no alternative but to thank him for the part that he has played, to thank the noble Duke for the courtesy of his reply, and to withdraw my Motion.
§ Motion for Papers, by leave, withdrawn.