In my turn I heard him out. Then I made the blunder which was later to have such serious repercussions. Having said my piece, I should have stood my ground. I should simply have replied that I counted myself just as patriotic as himself, but could not agree with him; and that it was upon those very grounds of patriotism that my conscience would not allow me to accept the contract. As I had never had any hope of winning him over, and could look for backing only to some of the other members of the Board, I ought, as a next move, after letting him blow off steam, to have asked them for their opinions.
No doubt I was influenced by the vigour with which he had spoken, and a fear that the confidence he showed in his case would deprive me of the support I had hoped for from the others. Anyhow, I fell into the error of endeavouring to counter his arguments; and I was now speaking without the book.
By that I mean that whereas my first speech had been carefully thought out, this was extempore and discursive. It so happens that I am a very fluent speaker, and at times that can prove a mixed blessing. Pleasant as it is to have the most telling expressions trip off one’s tongue without having to search the mind for them, it tends to make one talk far too much and, occasionally, get carried away by one’s own eloquence to the point of saying things without giving due weight to their import.
Sir Charles had given me more or less carte blanche to use the ammunition with which he had provided me; so, having prefaced my remarks by saying that I must request the Board to consider anything which was said during this discussion as highly confidential, and not repeat it to anyone outside, I launched forth into facts and figures about the Soviet forces and our own. Short of actually describing secret weapons which were still in the development stage, I gave them everything I’d got.
I had been talking without interruption for a good ten minutes, while they all sat round obviously fascinated, when the Admiral pulled me up.
‘Excuse me for breaking in, Gifford,’ he said sharply, ‘but where did you get all this?’
Collecting myself quickly, I replied: ‘I didn’t get it from anywhere. Everything I have said could easily be deduced by anyone with a little common sense from facts that have been published in the press.’
His blue eyes bored into mine with an icy stare, and his voice had the snap in it that must have made midshipmen jump the length of the quarter-deck, as he retorted: ‘I do not agree! And if the press was your only source why should you have warned us not to mention to anyone else these things you have just been saying?’
That was a nasty one; but I countered it smartly. ‘Because I believe my guesses to be so near the real mark that public discussion of them might put ideas into the heads of our enemies.’
‘They cannot all be guesses,’ he snapped back. ‘I insist on knowing who it is that has supplied you with this information.’
I shrugged. ‘You are right, of course, that I didn’t get all of it from the newspapers. I have quite a number of friends who are now fairly high up in the Services. You know as well as I do that while such men are invariably security-minded about their own spheres of activity, they are often open to discussing more general problems with a responsible person like myself. They know what they say will go no further, and in my case it certainly would not have done, had it not been for our present divergence of views. That is the real reason why I asked the Board not to repeat any part of the discussion. As for giving you the names of my friends, I shouldn’t dream of it. What is more, it would get you no further if I did, as I can’t even remember now which of them told me this fact or that. I must ask you to accept it that my conclusions are based upon considerable reading spread over several months, backed by a certain amount of reliable information picked up here and there, but arrived at independently by myself.’
This lie spiked his guns for the time being and enabled me to secure the reactions of the others. On the sound principle of Courts Martial—that the junior member should be asked to give his opinion first—I looked across at Johnny and said:
‘Well, Johnny; what is your view about this?’
He had, all the time, been eyeing with me growing surprise and a highly speculative look. Now he massaged his square cleft chin with his hand for a moment, then replied: ‘If it comes to a vote, I’m with you, Sir. But in view of my present job on the Joint Planning Staff, I’m sure you will excuse me from giving my reasons, or entering into any discussion on the subject.’
The Admiral grunted, and I said: ‘Mr. McFarlane, what about you?’
With true Scottish caution the Engineer performed a skilful hedging operation. ‘There’s much to be said on both sides, Sir Gifford. However sound the Company’s financial situation may be it would be a sad pity to throw away such a valuable order. Against that, if the country’s interests are really at stake I’m sure none of us would be influenced by the thought of profits. But I’d be glad to hear what Mr. Compton has to say before committing myself; for maybe it would help to clarify my mind.’
I called next on Bill Wiltshire. His Lordship had arrived at the meeting in a far from good humour, as he was spending the week-end with friends near Winchester and to attend had necessitated his having to make do with a sandwich lunch after abandoning a day’s shooting half way through. Had he been summoned to a business meeting while in London, he would have turned up impeccably dressed in conventional City attire; but he was still wearing aged tweeds and had mud on his boots. Thrusting his hands deep into the pockets of his jacket, and tipping back his chair, he stared at me with an uncertain look in his slightly protuberant blue eyes, and muttered:
‘You’re putting us in a devilish awkward situation, Giff. Of course, I can see how strongly you feel about this, and you’re not the sort of chap who is given to getting bees in his bonnet; but, well, I mean—we couldn’t scrap the Navy, could we? That would be going a bit too far.’
‘Either that, or in another five years’ time we may see the whole country scrapped for us by the Soviets,’ I remarked sharply. ‘And, personally, I prefer the lesser evil.’
Lowering his head, he placed both his palms against his temples, so that his fingers temporarily hid a good part of his slightly wavy, sandy hair, and remained like that for a moment. Whether he still had a hangover from the previous night, or was endeavouring to cudgel the few brains he had, remained uncertain. Looking up, he said with a sigh:
‘I should have thought, myself, that Admiral Waldron knew best. Still, if you put it like that. Anyway, it was you who got me on to this Board, Giff; so it’s not for me to let you down. I’ll vote the way you want me to.’
Inspired by loyalty though it was, he could hardly have made a more embarrassing admission that he was a ‘guinea-pig’. So with a hasty word of thanks, I quickly looked down the table at Charles Toiller and asked his opinion.
Knowing that the old boy guarded the Company’s resources like a dragon, I had thought it likely that he would prove most averse to agreeing that we should forgo the handsome profit to be made out of two E-boats, for what might seem to him an exaggerated fear about the future. But I was right off the mark.
Holding up his left hand, from which two fingers were missing, he said: ‘That’s what I got out of the 1914 war, gentlemen, and I was one of the lucky ones. Half the voung men of my generation died in the mud of Flanders. Last time, as some of you will remember, I was an Air Raid Warden. No one who hasn’t done it knows what it’s like to drag mangled bodies and screaming children out from underneath beams and rubble, often with fires raging nearby, night after night, week after week, month after month. And if there’s another war it will be a hundred times worse. So, short of surrendering without a fight, it is up to all of us to do everything in our power to prevent it happening.
‘Most of my life has been spent in totting up figures; but there’s little point in doing that unless you can make them show you a picture when you’ve assembled the results. Those Sir Gifford has given us of the Russian forces as compared to those we could send against them make a
very clear picture to me. In an old-fashioned war we wouldn’t stand a hope; and in either kind of war it looks as though it will be the end of Britain.
‘For years past, Sir Winston and Sir Anthony Eden have been telling us that our only chance of survival is by making ourselves so strong that the Russians will not dare to start anything, and I believe they are right. Well, if we can’t muster anything near the number of troops and ships and planes that they can, we’ve got to try to get the lead of them some other way, haven’t we?
‘Again and again this country has been near defeat by evil men, but God has held His hand out, and given us time to save ourselves. In the sort of war we are thinking of it looks as if we should need more than that to save us, so I believe that this time He is giving us our chance in advance. It is only by the development of these new weapons that we can hope to become stronger than our enemies, and He has given us the means of doing that. Even if the refusal of this order meant running the Company into financial difficulties, I would still vote for its rejection; because I believe that everything else shoud be sacrificed for this one hope of protecting ourselves from being conquered and made slaves.’
I think we were all moved by the old man’s reference to the way in which God has so often saved Britain from the logical consequences of her unreadiness and blunders, and the faith he showed in His continuing to do so. I know I was; and having thanked him I turned to James Compton.
Addressing me directly, he said: ‘I was going to go against you, Gifford, but I must admit to having been a bit shaken by what Charles Toiller has just said. Still, we’ve got to consider the full implications of the decision you and he are urging us to take. If we refuse this order and our reasons for doing so get out, it will be the end for us as far as the Admiralty is concerned. They will never give us another.’
‘Huh!’ grunted the Admiral. ‘It’s good to hear someone talking a little sense at last.’
Ignoring the interruption, James went on. ‘So it is not just a question of our financial situation at the moment, and our work programme for the next twelve months. We have to think of next year, and, much further than that, to how we might find ourselves placed in five or ten years’ time.
‘By then, the Socialists might have got back into power. We all know what that would mean because they’ve told us themselves—increased Welfare State benefits at the expense of the middle classes. They call it a policy of further levelling incomes; but call it what you like, to take the jam off the bread of those with the brains or the guts to earn it means a return to austerity for all. Now, we can hardly keep pace with the demand for small boats; but within a year of the Socialists getting back we’d have to turn off half our workpeople. God forbid that they should, but they might; so can we afford to throw overboard the one big customer that neither booms nor slumps affect, and whose orders for naval craft could be counted on to keep us going?’
‘That is all very well, James,’ I replied. ‘But in ten years’ time …’
‘I know, I know.’ He held up his hand. ‘If the present Government fails to take the steps you advocate we may by then have all long since been blown into the middle of next week. I’ll admit that to be a very real and terrible danger. But I don’t quite see why we should have to be the people who stick their necks out in order to give it a lead.’
I shrugged. ‘Someone must; and there are not many firms in the kingdom as well placed as ourselves to do so.’
He nodded. ‘That’s true; and on the broad issue I am inclined to agree with you. But I feel this is much too big a thing for us to decide here and now. We’ve no call to send a formal acceptance or rejection of the order right away. How about taking the week-end to think it over, and meeting again same time on Monday?’
‘I’m afraid I couldn’t manage that,’ said Johnny, ‘but I have already given my opinion, and nothing anyone could say would alter it.’
The others nodded, except for the Admiral, who snapped: ‘I’ll be here, of course; but I warn you, Gifford, that should the Board accept this monstrous proposal of yours on a show of hands, I shall ask for an Extraordinary General Meeting to be called so that the matter can be put to the shareholders.’
His threat caused me no concern. If James came over to me, our holdings, together with the qualifying shares held by Johnny, Toiller, and Bill Wiltshire, would be more than sufficient to render the calling of a General Meeting pointless. But if James sided with the Admiral and a meeting had to be held, the result of the voting was of little consequence. My address to the shareholders would send the balloon up. The Press would get hold of it and make it front page news in no time; so by that means I should equally well achieve all that Sir Charles had asked of me.
With our minds still on the big issue we felt little inclination to spend long over the last three items on the agenda, and as soon as they were despatched the meeting broke up.
Since the early summer Johnny had been taking a lively interest in Sue Waldron, the Admiral’s daughter; so although he was staying with me, he had a date to dine with them that evening over at Beaulieu.
He had come down from London in his car and it was parked at the far end of the yard; but, as we left the building together, instead of making for it at once, he walked a little way in the opposite direction with me. As soon as we were out of earshot of the others, he said in a low voice:
‘Of course, you’re absolutely dead right about this business. But who on earth let you in on all that Top Secret stuff you were spouting?’
‘Was it Top Secret?’ I pretended surprise. ‘Well, that’s news to me. I’ve only picked up bits here and there these past few months from various people I know; the rest was simply putting two and two together. Are you going to be late tonight?’
‘Not very. Sue and I are not going dancing; so I expect I’ll be back around midnight. Still, best leave the key under the mat as usual. If you have gone to bed before I get back I’ll see you in the morning. I was due for forty-eight hours, so I haven’t to start back to London at crack of dawn tomorrow.’
He certainly saw me in the morning, but in most unexpected circumstances. Poor Johnny. If only he had set out for London first thing, as he had after attending most of our other Board meetings we had held since he had been posted to a job there, he would not now be in a cell charged with complicity in murder.
* * * *
Johnny turned away and I walked on towards the firm’s private pier. Lepe lies just outside Southampton Water, a mile or so along the coast to the west, whereas the city is situated near the top of the estuary but on its eastern side. To go round by road entails a twelve-mile run and it is less than half that distance by water; so, unless the weather is exceptionally bad, I always go back and forth in my motor launch.
Young Belton, who also acts as my chauffeur, usually pilots the launch, as that leaves me free on our trips to and fro to think of what I am going to do, or have been doing, during the day. He is a rather uppish young man, but good with the engines, and one can’t expect everything these days. As I came down the steps he said:
‘We’ve got another passenger this afternoon, Sir. The Prof’s in the cabin.’
It was typical of Belton that he should refer so casually to Professor Evans as ‘the Prof’, although I will admit that Evans has neither the age nor the personality to inspire much respect. He is in his early thirties, a short, dark, hairy little man who buys his clothes off the peg, and without them would be hardly distinguishable from those Celtic ancestors of his who fought the Romans to a standstill in the wild Welsh mountains.
Like many of his race he had a mystic streak and, coupled with genuine brilliance in higher mathematics, it seemed to get him the answers to all sorts of problems; some, but only some, of which had a commercial value. That, of course, was the trouble; he was erratic, pig-headed and only with difficulty could be persuaded to work for his employers’ advantage rather than on the things that suddenly caught his own interest. Had he been more amenable he might ha
ve done very much better for himself with some great industrial corporation; but then we could not have afforded to employ him, as the problems connected with boat building are not numerous enough to warrant the retention of a highly paid scientist.
I had come across him eighteen months before in connection with some experiments concerning the resistance of various metals to corrosion by sea-water. He had then been out of a job and, on learning by his own admission the reason, I had offered to take him on at a nominal salary but with quarters and board found. The result, as far as the Company was concerned, had proved moderately satisfactory; as he had produced a paint to which barnacles appeared to be allergic, a solution which lengthened the life of ropes, and several other products which, although expensive, we had found worth using ourselves, and had also marketed in limited quantities at a profit.
However, I must confess that I had been led to suggest the arrangement in the first place by a private interest. I have already mentioned that out of an income of ten thousand a year seven thousand now goes in taxation; and after having been married to Ankaret for five years I was finding it increasingly difficult to make ends meet.
The Ka of Gifford Hillary Page 7