CONTENTS
Cover
About the Book
About the Author
Also by Nicholas Shakespeare
List of Illustrations
Map
Dramatis Personae on 7 May 1940
Dedication
Title Page
Epigraph
Prologue
PART ONE: SIX MINUTES IN MAY
1. Perfect Blackout
PART TWO: THE CAMPAIGN
2. ‘NAR-vik’
3. Operation ‘Wilfred’
4. The First Crunch
5. In Great Strength
6. Flea and Louse
7. The First Land Battle
8. Worst of All Experiences
9. The Winston Impasse
10. Evacuation
PART THREE: THE WEEKEND BEFORE
11. Monsieur J’aimeberlin
12. The Master of Garrowby
13. The Wild Man
14. The Rebels
PART FOUR: THE DEBATE
15. Tuesday 7 May
16. Wednesday 8 May
17. The Division
PART FIVE: THE AFTERMATH
18. A Terrific Buzz
19. The Obvious Man
20. The Limpet
21. A Great Tide Flowing
22. The Silence
23. Hinge of Fate
Epilogues
Notes and Sources
Acknowledgements
Appendix
Bibliography
Index
Copyright
About the Book
London, early May 1940: Britain is on the brink of war and Neville Chamberlain’s government is about to fall. It is hard for us to imagine the Second World War without Winston Churchill taking over at the helm, but in Six Minutes in May Nicholas Shakespeare shows how easily events could have gone in a different direction.
The first land battle of the war was fought in the far north, in Norway. It went disastrously for the Allies and many blamed Churchill. Yet weeks later he would rise to the most powerful post in the country, overtaking Chamberlain and the favourite to succeed him, Lord Halifax.
It took just six minutes for MPs to cast the votes that brought down Chamberlain. Shakespeare shows us both the dramatic action on the battlefield in Norway and the machinations and personal relationships in Westminster that led up to this crucial point. Uncovering fascinating new research and delving deep into the backgrounds of the key players, he has given us a new perspective on this critical moment in our history.
About the Author
Nicholas Shakespeare was born in 1957. The son of a diplomat, much of his youth was spent in the Far East and South America. His books have been translated into twenty languages. They include The Vision of Elena Silves (winner of the Somerset Maugham Award), Snowleg, The Dancer Upstairs, Secrets of the Sea, Inheritance and Priscilla. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He currently lives in Oxford.
Also by Nicholas Shakespeare
Fiction
The Vision of Elena Silves
The High Flyer
The Dancer Upstairs
Snowleg
Secrets of the Sea
Inheritance
Stories from Other Places
Non-Fiction
Bruce Chatwin
In Tasmania
Priscilla
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
1. “My dearest Baba”, Halifax to Alexandra Metcalfe – author photo
2. Geoffrey Shakespeare and Lloyd George c. 1921 – private collection
3. Giles Romilly – Edmund Romilly collection
4. Altmark in Jøssingfjorden, February 1940 – Geirr Haarr collection
5. Man on torpedo, Narvik – Narvik War Museum
6. HMS Hardy, April 1940 – Geirr Haarr collection
7. Peter Fleming, 1940 – private collection
8. Fleming and Lindsay landing in Namsos, 14 April 1940 – Municipal Museum, Namsos
9. Sir Martin Alexander Lindsay of Dowhill, 7 September 1936 – Bassano Ltd © National Portrait Gallery, London
10. Chamberlain on Andros, c. 1891 – Francis Chamberlain collection
11. Workman on Andros – Francis Chamberlain collection
12. One of Chamberlain’s sisal-stuffed birds – author photo
13. Norman Chamberlain – Francis Chamberlain collection
14. Halifax haymaking at Garrowby – Alexandra Metcalfe’s photograph album, private collection
15. Alexandra Metcalfe – AM’s photograph album
16. Dorchester Hotel brochure – Anne de Courcy collection
17. Halifax composing speech for Norway Debate at Little Compton, 5 May 1940 – AM’s photograph album
18. ‘Namsosed’ – Geirr Haarr collection
19. Admiralty Board, 1939 – private collection
20. Leo Amery – All Souls College, Oxford
21. Clement Davies – Liberal Democratic News/Liberal Party archives
22. Lindsay Memorandum, April 1940 – author photo
23. Speaker Edward FitzRoy – Parliamentary Archives
24. Leo Amery [?] speaking on 7 May 1940 – John Moore-Brabazon © RAF Museum
25. David Margesson’s order for three-line whip – author photo
26. Sandglass for the division – author photo
27. Division vote in the Clerk’s minutes book – author photo
28. Lord Halifax – All Souls College, Oxford
29. Halifax & WSC at the British Embassy in Washington, 1941 – AM’s photograph album
30. Charles Peake’s diary account of 9 May 1940 – author photo
31. Chamberlain diary entry for 10 May 1940 – author photo
32. Tom Fowler and Torlaug Werstad at Krogs Farm, 2010 – Paul Kiddell
33. Steinkjer memorial – Paul Kiddell
34. Chamberlain tribute, November 1940 – author photo
35. WSC outside 10 Downing Street, 10 May 1940 – © IWM (HU 83283)
The Norway Campaign
April–May 1940
DRAMATIS PERSONAE ON 7 MAY 1940
War Cabinet
Neville Chamberlain – Prime Minister
Edward Wood, Lord Halifax – Foreign Secretary
Sir John Simon (Liberal National) – Chancellor of the Exchequer
Winston Churchill – First Lord of the Admiralty
Sir Samuel Hoare – Secretary of State for Air
Oliver Stanley – Secretary of State for War
Sir Kingsley Wood – Lord Privy Seal
Maurice Hankey, 1st Baron Hankey – Minister without Portfolio
Sir Edward Bridges – Secretary to the War Cabinet
Lieutenant General Sir Ian Jacob – Military Assistant to the War Cabinet
Chiefs of Staff
General Sir Edmund Ironside – Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS)
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Dudley Pound – First Sea Lord
Air Marshal Sir Cyril Newall – Chief of the Air Staff
Major General Hastings Ismay – Churchill’s Chief of Staff (since 1 May)
Ministers
Sir Anthony Eden – Secretary of State for Dominions
Sir John Reith (Independent) – Secretary of State for Information
Euan Wallace – Secretary of State for Transport
Frederick Marquis, Lord Woolton – Secretary of State for Food
Harry Crookshank – Financial Secretary to the Treasury
Robert Bernays (National Liberal) – Parliamentary Secretary, Transport
Geoffrey Shakespeare (National Liberal) – Parliamentary Secretary, Dominions (since 2 April)
House of Commons
Captain Edward FitzRoy – Spe
aker
Sir Dennis Herbert – Deputy Speaker
No. 10
Sir Horace Wilson – Permanent Secretary to the Treasury
Captain David Margesson – Government Chief Whip
Sir Arthur Rucker – Principal Private Secretary to Chamberlain
John Colville – Junior Private Secretary to Chamberlain
Alec Douglas-Home, Lord Dunglass – Parliamentary Private Secretary to Chamberlain
Sir Joseph Ball – political adviser to Chamberlain
Foreign Office
Sir Alexander Cadogan – Permanent Under-Secretary
Richard (‘Rab’) Butler – Parliamentary Under-Secretary
Henry (‘Chips’) Channon – Parliamentary Private Secretary to Butler
Valentine Lawford – Private Secretary to Halifax (until December 1940)
Charles Peake – Head of News Department (and Private Secretary to Halifax from 1941)
Buckingham Palace
Sir Alexander Hardinge – Private Secretary to George VI
Rebel Conservative MPs
Leo Amery
Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor
Brendan Bracken
Bob Boothby
Harold Macmillan
Sir Alfred Duff Cooper
Paul Emrys-Evans
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Roger Keyes
Major General Sir Edward Louis Spears
Ronald Tree
Other rebel MPs
Harold Nicolson – National Labour
Clement Davies – Independent Liberal
Leslie Hore-Belisha – National Liberal
Labour Opposition MPs
Clement Attlee – leader
Arthur Greenwood – deputy leader
Hugh Dalton – Shadow Foreign Secretary
Herbert Morrison – Shadow Home Secretary
Liberal Opposition MPs
Sir Archibald Sinclair – leader, Liberal Parliamentary Party
Sir Percy Harris – Chief Whip, Liberal Parliamentary Party
Dingle Foot – Liberal Parliamentary Party
David Lloyd George – Liberal Opposition Party
Norway Campaign: Namsos
Captain Peter Fleming – i/c No. 10 Military Mission
Captain Martin Lindsay – No. 10 Military Mission
Private Tom Fowler – 146th Infantry Brigade
Private Frank Lodge – 146th Infantry Brigade, Intelligence
Major General Adrian Carton de Wiart – Army commander, ‘Maurice Force’
Storm and Birger Evensen – drivers
Norway Campaign: Narvik
Giles Romilly – correspondent, Daily Express
Major General Pierse Mackesy – Army commander, ‘Rupert Force’
Admiral of the Fleet William Boyle, Earl of Cork and Orrery – Naval commander, ‘Rupert Force’
Miscellaneous
Ivan Maisky – Soviet Ambassador
Joseph Kennedy – American Ambassador
Max Aitken, Lord Beaverbrook – owner, Daily and Sunday Express
Geoffrey Dawson – editor, The Times
William Berry, Viscount Camrose – owner/editor-in-chief, Daily Telegraph
Albert James Sylvester – Principal Private Secretary to Lloyd George
Basil Liddell Hart – military correspondent, The Times
Lady Alexandra ‘Baba’ Metcalfe – George Curzon’s youngest daughter
Irene Curzon, Baroness Ravensdale – George Curzon’s eldest daughter
Nicholas Mosley – son of Oswald Mosley; nephew of Baba Metcalfe
Violet Bonham Carter – Liberal activist; daughter of Herbert Asquith
Margot Asquith, Countess of Oxford – widow of Herbert Asquith; stepmother of Violet
Blanche ‘Baffy’ Dugdale – niece and biographer of Arthur Balfour
Nancy Dugdale – wife of former Deputy Chief Whip, Sir Thomas Dugdale
Anne Chamberlain – wife of Prime Minister
Valerie Cole – niece of Prime Minister
Dorothy Wood, Countess of Halifax – wife of Foreign Secretary
Clementine Churchill – wife of First Lord
Mary Churchill – youngest daughter of First Lord
Nellie Romilly – sister of Clementine; mother of Giles
Colonel Bertram Romilly – father of Giles
TO JOHN HATT
SIX MINUTES IN MAY
NICHOLAS SHAKESPEARE
How Churchill Unexpectedly
Became Prime Minister
‘Strange that we do not fully realise men’s characters while they are alive.’
NEVILLE CHAMBERLAIN, 27 February 1918
PROLOGUE
On the one and only occasion that he visited Norway, Winston Churchill was received like a great hero. In May 1948, a fortnight before publication of The Gathering Storm, his first volume of memoirs of the Second World War, he flew with his wife Clementine to Oslo to receive an honorary Doctorate of Philosophy. While accepting the award in the University Aula, Churchill spoke with emotion about Hitler’s invasion of neutral Norway eight years earlier, that ‘foul and treacherous outrage’ which ranked with the Sicilian Vespers and the massacre of Glencoe ‘as one of the black deeds of history’.1, 2 He told the hall into which more than 1,500 students had once been packed for transportation to concentration camps in Germany: ‘We have emerged from the most terrible of wars which has yet been fought in the world.’
Yet many in his audience felt that Churchill – ‘known all over the globe as “the Architect of Victory”’ – had omitted something of immense significance.3 It fell to the governor of the Bank of Norway, Gunnar Jahn, to point this out. At a banquet in Churchill’s honour, after tens of thousands of Norwegians had waved him through the streets as he passed in an open motor-car, Jahn spoke of an argument he had had in 1942 with a depressed countryman who believed that the Germans would win the war. Jahn had said to him: ‘Oh no, the Germans lost the war when they invaded Norway.’
He then explained. ‘It had this effect, that Winston Churchill took over the leadership of Great Britain.’4
PART ONE
SIX MINUTES IN MAY
1
PERFECT BLACKOUT
‘Is there any MP who doesn’t want to be Prime Minister?’1
LESLIE HORE-BELISHA MP, 4 January 1940
A year to the day after Churchill became Prime Minister, the House of Commons was ‘blown to pieces’ by a Luftwaffe bomb.2 On 10 May 1941, the Speaker’s Chair and the front and opposition benches were crushed beneath a steep hill of smoking rubble. The MP Vernon Bartlett met Churchill clambering over it, ‘his face covered with dust, through which the tears that ran down his cheeks had made two miniature river beds’.3 All that remained of Churchill’s cherished Chamber – which, he was to tell the Norwegian Storting, ‘we pride ourselves is the cradle and also the citadel of parliamentary government throughout the nations’ – was a mass of broken masonry, ashes, and the tangled remains of metal railings.4 An historic stage stood obliterated. Reliable records of the dramas and rituals enacted upon it seemed, at that moment, irretrievable.
Then, in the 1960s, a tin of photographic negatives was discovered which were to give a tantalising glimpse into a vanished past. The twenty-nine images are the only known record of the old House of Commons during a sitting.5 More than that, they captured a seismic moment: what A. J. P. Taylor called the ‘splendid upheaval’ of the Chamberlain government.6
These unique photographs were taken illegally on two of the hottest afternoons of the unbelievably warm spring of 1940, during the Norway Debate of 7 and 8 May. It was a breach of privilege to take pictures inside Parliament. If discovered by the Serjeant at Arms or one of his Doorkeepers, Conservative backbencher John Moore-Brabazon risked confiscation of his negatives, and suspension. Not in the eighty-eight years of Sir Charles Barry’s Chamber had a Member violated this rule.
Moore-Brabazon had pioneered the art of snapping photographs from behind enemy lines. He
was the first Englishman to fly. In 1914, he established a photographic unit for the Royal Flying Corps, and following the first gas attack at Ypres made a map of the German trenches, diving low enough to identify the uniforms. At that time, he knew more about aerial photography than anyone in the world. Twenty-five years on, startling developments in a new world war compelled him to pick up his camera again. He used a special Minox as issued to Intelligence staffs. Purchased from Latvia and nicknamed ‘the spy camera’, this was small, light, easy to hide.
What became known as the Norway Debate, and was to be so significant to the fortunes of the British government and the Second World War, began with a routine adjournment motion on Tuesday 7 May. The Prime Minister appeared in the Commons to defend the conduct of Britain’s armed forces in Narvik, Namsos and Åndalsnes, and to answer some far-reaching questions about a calamitous military campaign that had been obscured by rumour, secrecy and hopelessly optimistic press reports.
After an ominous respite lasting seven months, following Germany’s annexation of Poland, the British army in its first land battle of the war had engaged the Nazi enemy – and been routed. The navy, which had been fighting unrelentingly at sea from September 1939, had had to evacuate 11,300 troops from central Norway, with the eventual loss of 4,396 men.
This stunning news had been delivered to Parliament by Chamberlain on 2 May. In the fearful words of Vernon Bartlett, the German invasion of Britain seemed at this point ‘almost inevitable’, with foreign troops predicted to land in large numbers on British soil for the first time since the Norman Conquest.7
It is important to emphasise that there was no expectation of a vote. The Conservative leader enjoyed a huge majority of 213 for his National government, and the opposition Labour Party under Clement Attlee was reluctant to divide the House at this precarious moment. Even though less popular with an increasingly anxious public, Chamberlain still appeared unassailable within Parliament. On 7 May, the reality for the majority of Conservative MPs was that there was no clear alternative to Chamberlain as Prime Minister; neither was there any formal procedure whereby the party could dispense with its leader.
Six Minutes in May Page 1