Diary
of Admiral Andrew B. Cunningham,
1883-1963, C in C Mediterranean 1939-1942;
1st Sea Lord, Aug 1943 to 1946. [ diary
1944 | diary
1945 | diary
1946 ] 1945Mon Jan 1 (Got his Thistle) 'COS meeting at
11:00. The PM is being rather difficult
about Alexander's visit to Russia &
the Greek situation. Personally I can see
no good reason for a visit to Russia by
Alexander nor can the other two COS. Tues Jan 2 Staff meeting with the PM at 12 15. He
is very anxious for Alexander to go off to
Moscow & on his own has wired the
President. Cabinet at 17:30. A most
discursive business -- much time wasted by
not sticking to the point. Sat Jan 6 Informed by telephone that night that
the PM had refused to agree to the
appointment of Harold Burrough to relieve
Ramsay on the grounds that the post could
now be abolished and the staff saved. How
he works in such complete ignorance &
disregard for facts beats me. Sun Jan 7 The PM's minute puts me in a hole when
talking to Eisenhower tomorrow. Mon Jan 8 Went over & saw the PM. He had not
been told that I had gone over to attend
Ramsay's funeral but obviously thought I
had gone to discuss Ramsay's relief with
Ike. He consented at once to Burrough's
appointment. I told him of Ike's troubles
[which were? Presumably related to the
Ardennes fighting and command
jealousies] & he arranged with Ike
on the phone to read a nice message to
Bradley on the occasion of Ike presenting
him with the Bronze Cross. Tues Jan 9 CIGS disclosed a new scheme of PM's.
Tedder was to get a post at the Air
Ministry & Alexander to become Deputy
Supremo to Ike . . . I told the CIGS that
it was quite worthless putting up with the
suggestion. The Americans would take it as
an insult & think that Alex was being
sent to hold Ike's hand. Very heavy
snowstorm.' Wed Jan 10 PM has sent a message to the President
about Burroughs appointment & COS to
US COS. Mon Jan 15 (Cabinet meeting.) 'PM said there were
many too many sailors out there. I pointed
out that in his memorandum on Friday he
had implied there were not enough. Of
course he passed it off. With reference to
the rocket the PM said: "The Angel of
Death is abroad in land only if you can't
hear the flutter of his wings." First Lord
getting very het up about the U
boats.' Thurs Jan 18 'Great speech by Churchill in the
House. He lashed out at some of the Labour
members. He paid a great tribute to the
American army for the way they stopped
& repelled Rundstedt's push. This will
do much good in the States.' Mon Jan 22 'A very busy week before us getting
ready for Yalta & Malta & getting
the PM's views in line with ours or vice
versa. . . . Cabinet at 17:30. PM much
annoyed at the COS decision about the
war-weary aircraft being let loose against
Germany unmanned and packed with
explosives. As usual complete absence of
knowledge of the facts. It looks as though
he is waking up to the U boat threat. He
talked of OVERLORD bombing of the assembly
yards.' Tues Jan 23 'Staff conference with PM at 18:30.
Greece, future of the Army of Italy, date
of end of the war in Europe, Penetration
groups & many other subjects
discussed. Taking the Army out of Italy:
Though the PM calls this destroying the
army of Italy & is anxious about
Alex's position & has now the idea of
making him Deputy Supreme Commander to Ike
instead of Tedder & making Tedder
Supremo in the Med . . . Afterwards talked
to the PM on recognition of Ramsay's
services for OVERLORD & found he was
keen on it & thought it should include
Leigh-Mallory.' Fri Jan 26 11:00 meeting of War Cabinet to deal
with CROSSBOW. Very little done --
decisions not reached but effort on
CROSSBOW to be increased. 11:30 A/U
[Anti U-boat] meeting PM in the
chair. Nothing much done but the problem
laid bare. . . . (Cabinet) Fleet train came under
heavy attack. But the PM listened to my
arguments and the points I made were
certainly taken by several members of the
Cabinet, the Chancellor in particular. Mon Jan 29 (Malta:) 'At 21:00 we heard the PM was
arriving at midnight en route for Yalta
& John went off to the aerodrome to
meet him.' Tues Jan:30 'Of course the PM did not arrive until
06:00 & the waiting reception
committee were told that he was not
emerging till 09:00. Very nice for them.
Actually he had a temperature & went
straight on board the cruiser Orion where
I gather he has made himself fairly
comfortable.' Sun Feb 4 (Yalta:) 'The President who is
undoubtedly in bad shape & finding
difficulty in concentrating did not rise
to the occasion but the PM did
brilliantly. . . . Stalin was good &
clear in his points, the PM also very good
but the President does not appear to know
what he is talking about, and hangs on to
one idea.' Wed Feb 7 'Had a few words with the PM before
dinner he said the political talks were'nt
[sic] going too badly.' Sat Feb 10 (At the aerodrome) 'We were ushered
into a tent & had the usual dead fish
& vodka. A young woman put beside me
as interpreter kept urging me to drink
"bottoms up." Hers or someone else's was
not clear.' Mon Feb 19 PM returned evidently very fit. He had
come down at Lyneham owing to thick
weather. Mon Feb 26 (Re air supplies and factories after
the war) 'there is no doubt the PM is
right. The requirements need
co-ordinating. Wed Feb 28 CAS told us that early tomorrow there
might be an attack on London by the new V1
flying bomb -- greater range but perhaps
less weight of explosive. Fri Mar 2 We dined on caviar, vodka & Crimean
champagne at the flat. Sat Mar 3 PM over in France. Tues Mar 6 Cabinet at 17:30 . . . Principal
discussion however was on whether in the
Family Allowance legislation the money
(children's allowance) should be paid to
the mother or the father. Prime Minister
in his puckish mood said it must be left
to a free vote & he would not vote at
all lest he lose the votes of the fathers
or mothers. Wed Mar 7 (COS meeting) 'Herbert Morrison came
& set out the reasons for trying to
end the V1 & V2 attacks by drastic
action to be taken as far as one could see
at the expense of the battle. Mon Mar 12 Cabinet meeting at 12:00.
Atlee [sic] in the chair so
business progressed rapidly. Thurs Mar 15 Little news at 21:00 but Churchill's
speech to the Conservative Association was
given. There is no doubt the man
understands politics & enjoys the
rough & tumble of it all. Sounded a
good speech but I wonder how much of it he
really believes. Mon Mar 19 Cabinet at 12:00. Attlee in the
chair. Tues Mar 20 Saw a very rude memorandum by the PM to
the CAS & Air Ministry. Apparently in
one of their bombing attacks on the V2
sites & communications they made an
error & knocked down a large part of
The Hague. Many Dutch killed &
wounded. Wed Mar 21 Dined with Sir Alexander Livingstone at
Claridges . . . Lord McGowan also there.
He told me that these dinners though
ostensibly given by Livingstone were
financed by someone else. I wonder. Fri Mar 23 Dealt with the PM's suggestion that we
should allow the Ministry of War Transport
to decide how many ships' sailings there
were to be to the Med & East Indies
for the next three months -- we decided to
resist that. PM & CIGS are off this
afternoon to watch the Rhine crossing by
Montgomery's army which comes off
tomorrow. Sun Mar 25 Violent nose bleeding now added to the
cold. Found a memorandum from PM about the
release of trawlers urged by the Ministry
of Agriculture & Fisheries who says
operations should now give way to catching
fish!!. Mon Mar 26 A most violent nose bleeding attack at
10:30 prevented me going to COS meeting.
Had to get the doctor to plug my nose . .
. I had to send Syfret to the Cabinet in
my place as I could not trust my nose. Thurs Mar 29 Had a COS meeting with the PM at 18:30
on Eisenhower telegram sent direct to
Stalin '(a most improper procedure)' PM
did not show much capacity for picking up
the salient points. . . . Something
curious has happened at Eisenhower's HQ.
Perhaps the US generals have all ganged up
& insisted on their national army
being under US command. Sun Apr 1 PM was a bit savage with the message
from the US COS & had written a
telegram full of soft soap but with some
pretty shrewd digs in it to the President.
He told us that the President was in a
pretty bad way & only the last day or
two had been writing his own
telegrams. (Whilst still at Chequers) . . . CIGS
got into a chair & read a book he got
from the shelf 'The Theory and Practice of
Prostitution.' . . . PM came in & vetted the reply
& then we tried to get away but
Brookie & I were had by him for a
stirrup cup in the library. Mon Apr 2 Minute from the PM ordering the release
of 10% of high grade trawlers in April
& a further percentage in May. Such an
irresponsible order, just shows how much
he knows about the U boat war. I am going
to resist it. Tues Apr 3 Cabinet at 17:30. Smuts, Fraser of New
Zealand, Archie Wavell, George ? Khan,
Forde & Evatt (?) from Australia
present. The PM welcomed them in a
discourse on unity.' Thurs Apr 5 The consequence of staying to the end
was that I arrived at the PM's dinner to
the Dominion representatives as the soup
was being cleared away. PM made a fair
speech nothing very striking in it. Fri Apr 6 PM gave a figure for the killed among
the London people including those in the
armed forces of one in 131. Sat Apr 7 Sudden call to COS meeting. The PM
neither understood or liked what he called
our chilling telegram to Mountbatten about
his Rangoon projected operations.
Explanations made. Sun Apr 8 Worked in the garden. Hobbs came in
& I set his mind somewhat at rest
about wages. A most lovely day. We had tea
outside. Mon Apr 9 Cabinet at 17:30. PM in difficult mood
& inclined to show off before the
Dominion representatives . . . After
dinner found that the War Office were
demanding that a memorandum by the PM on
the appointment to the Control Commission
in Germany which we had arranged in the
morning should be answered by the Vice
Chiefs, should come before the COS
tomorrow. I dug my toes in & said I
would not be ready to take it. Someone was
obviously trying something on. Thurs Apr 12 A violent memorandum directed against
Tedder by the PM was considered at COS
today in private session. It is curious
that with all his great qualities when he
deals with personalities he gets childish.
He is such a bad picker too. Montgomery he
has fairly well sized up but he is
completely bluffed by Alexander. Fri Apr 13 Heavy news in the morning papers -- the
death of Roosevelt. A sad blow for the
Allies. On the whole it was by me not
unexpected, he was a very sick man at
Yalta. A difficult man to size up -- a bit
of an actor but charming &
approachable. Probably I never saw him at
his best. . . . Considered a minute by the
Secretariat to send in reply to PM's
violent one about Tedder. In it we have
put him right -- suggested he should
withdraw his. The First Lord being away I
had an interview by myself with the PM on
the subject of his minute ordering
trawlers to be given up. I was quite firm
with him but persuasive & refused to
give an undertaking other than that I
would do my best to release 40 in May. As
usual when one gets alongside him on a
subject he knows little about I had my
way. I was glad the First Lord was not
there, he rather gets the PM's back up
& he enjoys bullying him.' During our
interview the PM mentioned that Himmler
appeared to be trying to show that he
wasn't so bad as painted & PM said if
it would save further expenditure of life
he would be prepared to spare even
Himmler. I suggested there were plenty of
islands he could be sent to. Tues Apr 17 (COS) 'Discussed PM's minute on
bringing Sweden into the war. I rather
favour his ideas but we compromised on
recommending that diplomatic approaches
& staff conversations should start at
once.' [Biro -e added to Lamb] Wed Apr 18 11:00 meeting with the PM in Defence
Map Room . . . The PM is wiring to the
President pointing out that there are two
zones the tactical zone & the zones
agreed by the European Advisory Committee
& that we should not evacuate the
former until the control Committee is set
up. Fri Apr 20 The PM came back to us about the minute
he wrote about Tedder's functioning as
Deputy Supreme Commander in rather a
childish minute. We had suggested he
withdraw his minute but he refused so we
also stuck to our guns. Mon Apr 23 I am sure the PM is with me but the
other two COS are against me. We decided
to give Eisenhower what he thought ought
to be the terms & leave it to him. Tues Apr 24 Considered discussions on the
President's reply to the PM on fixing of
zones fixed by the leaders in the field
while operations are in progress &
only move into the zones as agreed by the
EAC European Advisory Commissions when
governments decide. But as usual he has
mixed it up with something completely
irrelevant, the feeding of the population
of Germany, this due to his complete
ignorance of what has gone on in the EAC.
We sent him a minute & a draft reply
to Truman. In the meantime quite a
reasonable telegram on the subject of
action to taken when the armies meet has
been received from the Russians. Nothing
of interest going on. The U boats are
causing us some losses. Wed Apr 25 To my surprise the PM took without
comment our draft telegram for him to send
to Truman for Stalin on the subject of
zones. . . . PM with approval of the Cabinet
despatched a message deleted: 'letter' to
Stalin giving him the information &
informing him that the unchanged view of
the British Govt was that the surrender
must be to all three great powers. Fri Apr 27 Final entry 'The end is near. Sat Apr 28 Another example of the infuriating
delays imposed by the PM insisting on
having his hand in everything. The signal
regarding the Borneo operation which the
British COS do not favour hung up for 36
hours & so missed the combined COS
meeting in Washington yesterday. No wonder
the US Chiefs of Staff complain of delays
in getting things through. Sun Apr 29 Found in the paper the news of
Mussolini's execution by the Italian
patriot forces. A messy business only to
be expected of the Italians. Mon Apr:30 Cabinet at 18:00. PM very discursive on
the foreign situation. He made a remark
that though the powers were near the end
of their tether as regards fighting they
were ending the war in a friendly spirit.
There was a tendency to quarrel. Quite
true. The French are very difficult &
the Russians very suspicious & so
difficult. Tues May 1 Death of Hitler announced. Doenitz
announces himself as his successor. Thurs May 3 Minute from the PM asking if we can get
into Copenhagen. At least that's what I
think he meant. I answered him explaining
the situation as regards mines. Actually
we gingered up C in C, H.F., to prepare a
plan for passing the Skagerrak some time
ago. Fri May 4 Sent for by the PM with other COS at
19:30. He informed us that Field-Marshal
Wilhelm Keitel had been to Montgomery's HQ
& arranged the surrender of all the
Northern armies -- Denmark, Frisian
Islands, Heligoland, Holland by 08:00 GMT
tomorrow. Great news. Sat May 5 PM very busy on the telephone. He
wanted to know the total U boats killed
& the percentage by British &
US. . . . PM still very restless &
trying to telephone. [Obviously day entry
written at different times because
'Damp gardening' is bracketed off so as
to separate it from details about
Burroughs' call from 'Frankfurt in
Germany.'] Sun May 6 Planted stocks & worked in the
garden. Weather changed & we had tea
outside, Drove to town. No further
news. Mon May 7 (Re German surrender) 'Russians as
usual trying to throw a spanner into the
works by refusing to recognise the
signature at Eisenhower's headquarters
& wanting it done at Berlin & by
Zhukov. Air of great excitement in the
streets. Lunched with PM. He is in great
form but much annoyed with Russia. He is
waiting for a transatlantic call from the
President & hoped to broadcast at
18:00. After which the Cabinet &
Chiefs of Staff were to be received by the
King & VE day would be declared. In
the event the President must have refused
as no broadcast was made. . . . It is difficult to realise that
it is all over at home. What a time it has
been. Tues May 8 A signal from Stalin to PM trying to
put off any announcement of the German
surrender until P.M. May 9th on the ++++
(PREMISE? PRETEXT? EXCUSE?) that there was
still fighting going on, on the Russian
front. This will be resisted. . . . Board [of Admiralty]
meeting at 12:00. Principal business was
drinking Waterloo brandy of which the
First Lord produced a bottle. At 15:00 [displaced entry] went
to the Admiralty quadrangle to listen to
PM's broadcast which came through well.
Then a short service. (Went to the palace)
Some difficulty in getting there owing to
the crowds round the palace. For the same
reason the PM was very late. HM made a
very good little speech thanking us all
& the PM replied rather
emotionally . . . Then to the Ministry of Health where
the PM, war cabinet, & ourselves
appeared on the balconies. Such a crowd.
Whitehall packed from the Admiralty to
Parliament Square & the latter packed
too. PM said a few words. Great
enthusiasm.' Sun May 13 'It is much harder to make peace than
war. Cabinet meeting at 18:00. PM treated
us to a long diatribe & we did not
start business on the agenda till 19 40.'
Entries for Wed 16 and Thurs 17 obviously
written at the same time as the printed
dates have been crossed out and the entry
for Wednesday immediately following
Tuesday Mon May 21 'It seems certain we are to have a
general election. The PM's letter to
Attlee was rather in the nature of an
ultimatum but one cannot approve of
Attlee's reply referring to a Referendum
as smacking of Fascist & Nazi
procedure.' Tues May 22 'Went & saw First Lord. He has much
complaint over the behaviour of the PM in
this General Election matter. He says
Beaverbrook & Brendan Bracken have won
& persuaded him to issue the ultimatum
to the Labour Party. First Lord deplores
the break up of the coalition in this
unfriendly atmosphere.' Wed May 23 'The PM, Foreign Office have not been
[on the] consulted arrest of
Dönitz government & the CCS have
been supine. Government has broken up. The
King has asked PM to form a new one.' Fri May 25 'Very little going on. The political
game has stopped all work.' Sat May 26 'New cabinet announced. I see we are
after all to have Brendan Bracken as First
Lord. I hope only temporarily. I dislike
him, he is Winston's creature & this
is obviously Winston's way of trying to
gain closer control of the Admiralty. . .
. But I dislike all these politicians they
certainly put their politics and political
careers first.' Mon May 28 Paget C in C Middle East still without
instructions War Office & CIGS minutes
on the subject lie unheeded in the PM's
box while he electioneers.' Sat June 2 'I doubt ? the meeting of the big three
the date of which hovers between July 15th
(cleared by Truman & agreed to by
Stalin) and 10 days earlier cleared by the
PM.' Sun Jun 3 'The French are being silly & have
ordered the Jeanne d'Arc cruiser to Beirut
presumably with reinforcements.' Mon Jun 4 'Have sent a signal to Commander in
Chief Mediterranean suggesting that he
occupies all the berths in Beirut harbour
with British ships so that should the
Jeanne d'Arc arrive she will be unable to
berth.' Tues Jun 5 'A message from the PM suggesting the
interception of the Jeanne d'Arc at sea
& saying that perhaps there would be
less bloodshed this way. I doubt it. . . .
Cabinet at 18:00. PM very unsound on the
question of intercepting the Jeanne d'Arc.
Suggesting that a ship should steam
alongside her & tell her not to go to
Beirut but was not to use force if she
disobeyed. A fantastic idea. Great fight
over the fleet train. . . . Finally PM
decided that First Lord & Leathers
under the arbitration of Anderson should
fight it out.' Thurs Jun 7 'Received copy of a telegram which
passed between Truman & the PM on the
subject of the French occupation of
certain parts of North West Italy &
their threat of resisting by force any
attempt to set up Allied Military
Command.' Sun Jun 9 'Meeting of "big three" settled for
Berlin July 15th. PM is insisting that we
have our own enclave guarded by the
British military & not be guests of
the Russians. Mon Jun 11 'My report of the Trenchant sinking a
Japanese cruiser off Sumatra received with
much pleasure by the War Cabinet & the
PM instructed me to so inform the
Trenchant. . . . PM at the Cabinet spoke
for about an hour about the menace of the
Russians. He is very gloomy about it.' Tues Jun 12 (Mansion House) 'Lord Mayor made a good
& witty speech followed by the PM
fairly good. [This section has been
marked in the margin with a
green/red/green line] Ike told me that
Brendan Bracken told him he was the finest
American orator since William Jennings
Bryan, the only difference being that Ike
talked sense. . . . Went to the Annexe to
dine with PM . . . A cheerful party but
the PM rather gloomy about Russia. He has
always wanted to use the Anglo American
retirement to their own zones as a lever
to extract similar treatment for us in
Berlin & Vienna from the Russians. But
the Americans will not go along with him.
Their argument being that having entered
into engagements about the zones they must
keep to them & that that is a better
way of dealing with the Russians. I am
sure that they are not right.' Wed Jun 13 'We heard the PM broadcasting about
milk for babies -- it sounded a bit
incongruous!! I have no doubt he had a
strong whiskey & soda alongside
him.' Sun Jun 17 'The US Chiefs of Staff are willing to
meet us in London before the 'big three'
meeting in Berlin lest they be accused of
ganging up with the British against the
Russians. They say they don't think it is
necessary for them to come with President
Truman as the Berlin discussion will be
solely political. I don't think they want
to meet us!!.' Mon Jun 18 'We are having another go at the US
COS. It is essential that they should be
here with Truman & the PM so that we
can have their approval of our labours
before Truman goes back to the States.
Ismay said the PM was thinking of going to
Biarritz for a holiday from 4th July to
14th July. He certainly needs one he
looked very tired when Eisenhower was over
here.' Tues Jun 19 'COS at 10:30. PM has been firing off
minutes most of them off the point. But
one of them is to Field Marshal
[sic] Wilson suggesting that the
first meeting of the CCS should be in
London after the Berlin meeting. It looks
as though he expected the COS to come to
Berlin & twiddle their thumbs. . . .
In the afternoon arrived for comments of
COS a draft telegram to Truman &
Stalin suggesting a months postponement of
the 'big three' meeting. Reasons given
that the election was a very bitter
contest & that the Labour party had
refused a free hand to Attlee at the
conference. Rather washing dirty linen in
public.' Wed Jun 20 Discussion on the PM's draft telegram
which has not yet gone off. Perhaps he is
thinking better of it.' Thurs Jun 21 'PM has of course at short notice
arranged the meeting on new construction
for tomorrow Friday. I shall not be
there.' Mon Jun 25 [Marked green/red] 'Finally
decided to have the meeting of the "big
three" on 15th July at Berlin in a suburb
called Babelsberg -- an apt name. The
meetings with the US COS will take place
there.' Wed Jun 27 'Action on Prime Ministers minute about
destruction of War Material for Saturday
cabinet decided.' Thurs Jun 28 'Finally decided that if PM concurred
to make an offer on broad lines to the
Americans.' in connection with the British
army's contribution to the Japanese main
operations. Fri Jun 29 'Approved Planners minute for the PM
dealing with the contribution to the
Japanese was & also the change in
command in S.W.P.A..' Mon Jul 1 'The PM has put off the Staff meeting
we were to have tonight till Wednesday at
22:00. I hope he will not have indulged
too much to be sensible. This
electioneering is the devil.' Wed Jul 4 'The PM put on the staff meeting to
12:00 which effectively prevented Mona
& I going to the American lunch. A
good meeting with the PM who obviously was
very tired after his electioneering. He
was upset with Herbert Morrison who he
said had broken his Privy Councillors
oath. Actually Morrison has said in a
speech something about the syren
[sic] warning against V bombs
which had been settled in the Cabinet. PM
concluded his remarks by saying 'I'm going
to the little bastard's constituency this
afternoon I'll let him have it.' He agreed
on the question of a land force taking
part in the assault on Japanese main
islands also the reorganisation of command
in S.W.P.A. He finished with a lecture on
constitutional procedure after the
election.' Fri Jul 6 (COS meeting) 'It was agreed that we
start for TERMINAL e.g. [sic]
meeting of the 'big three' at 10:30 Sunday
15th July. The President will arrive
Antwerp at about 10:00 that day & the
PM at Berlin in the afternoon.' . Mon Jul 9 'Hollis threw a nasty spanner into the
works by telling us that Halifax had sent
a message to the PM saying Truman expected
TERMINAL to last two to three weeks. I
hope there is some mistake.' Tues Jul 10 'Cabinet at 15:00. Foreign Secretary in
the chair so business went quickly.' Sun Jul 15 'Then drove to our villa. Fairly
comfortable & the food situation good.
Drink situation poor. We are apparently
expected to do with one soda each per
day.' Mon Jul 16 'Leahy most insistent that the
President would like to have a memorandum
from the PM suggesting some reduction in
the terms. . . . However, PM who is quite
clever enough to see the pitfalls may
decide it worth taking some of the
approbation ?. If so I'm sure he is right.
The Americans wanted to shift the
responsibility for ending the war onto the
British Tues Jul 17 Sans souci -- [which is a palace in
Potsdam.] 'An old German woman showed
us round. A regular old royalist. The
scorn in her voice was worth hearing when
she was asked if the Nazi leaders came
there. 'Hitler niemals!! Göring nur
einmal .' . . . We went into the Reichstag
& the Chancellery. We picked up what
we hoped were bits of Hitler's marble
topped desk & also grubbed about the
rubbish on the floor in one room &
collected iron crosses & other
medals.' Fri Jul 20 'Got the minutes of the Big Three
plenary with my morning tea. PM in general
was good about the German fleet but said
it must be part of a general settlement.
On the detail he was not quite so good. .
. . We hope to have a plenary meeting with
Prime Minister & President on Tuesday
& get back to England on Wednesday.
Whether we have to come back or not I
cannot say.' Sat Jul 21 'We embarked in half expressed as a
fraction tracks at the saluting base &
steamed round the troops following the PM
. . . Monty & Alex alongside the PM
took all the photography.' Mon Jul 23 'The PM is certainly keeping his end up
but Truman is holding back & not
giving him much support. . . . Lunched
with PM. He full of zeal to tackle the
lend-lease problem but had not read the
papers, and too inclined to get down to
details. . . . PM said the US did not want
the Russians to come in against Japan. PM
now most optimistic & placing great
faith in the new bomb [i.e. the atomic
bomb]. He now thinks it a good thing
that the Russians should know about and
& may make them a little more humble.
Attlee has written what appears to be a
damned silly letter to the PM saying we
ought not oppose a great country like
Russia having bases anywhere she wants
them. What an ass!! Attended a banquet at
PM's house. Mostly a military affair. . .
. Leahy got very bottled &
[Admiral] King very mellow, fell
on my neck & besought me to call him
Ernie!! . . . RAF band played very nicely
& made an interlude to the nonsense
being talked. . . . Truman looked &
talked like a successful small grocer. The
PM was not at his best.' Tues Jul 24 'had our plenary meeting with the
President & PM and presented the joint
final report. The only thing not agreed
was the article on Basic undertakings.
Much discussion in which the PM displayed
his total ignorance of the subject.' Thurs Jul 26 'PM rang me up at 09:30 & told me
the President was going to fly to Plymouth
embark there for USA. . . . Wished the PM
luck. He seemed very optimistic. By noon
it was clear there was a landslide victory
towards the left & by evening the PM
was out & had handed in his
resignation. . . . It is not difficult now
to see the reason[s] and they can
be put under 4 headings [reason was
in singular] - The hardships the people have
undergone have caused them to try
someone else.
- The thought, not wholly without
reason, that the PM was becoming a
dictator.
- Dislike of PM's 'favourite sons.'
Beaverbrook in particular, but Duncan
Sandys, Randolph & others may be
involved.
- The attempt of the Conservative
party to cash in on Winston's
reputation as a great war leader before
it waned. Winston's farewell statement
to the nation was to my mind very
dignified.'
Fri Jul 27 'Busy speculating who would be the next
First Lord. VCNS suggested Strabolgi I
nearly fainted. . . . Went with the others
and the secretariat to say goodbye to
Winston. He was quite cheerful but rather
emotional when the moment came to say good
bye.' Goes fishing in Scotland until August
8 [Friday August 3, 1945 was the
first time there had not been an entry in
the diary since its beginning in April
1944] Thurs Aug 9 (COS Meeting) ' In the middle of it a
charming letter from Winston offering me a
barony as a recognition of the work of his
friends the COS during the time he was PM.
I fear it is just what I don't want. I
have not the cash to sustain the dignity.
CIGS feels the same but after consultation
we decided we could not refuse when
offered in such generous terms.' Fri Aug 10 [Japanese wanting the Emperor to
remain as sovereign ruler] 'How
often do our rulers miss the salient point
?. When we were lunching with Winston at
Potsdam he showed us the draft declaration
& all the COS told him that something
about the Emperor should be included. Now
instead of having a formula of our own we
have this Japanese formula which no one
can really understand. . . . Well it looks
like being all over for which we must be
profoundly thankful. I have now my own
position to consider. I do not wish to
hang on here keeping other people back so
as soon as the fleet gets a bit sorted out
I will go. My relief requires
thought.' Mon Aug 18 'I fear the PM [Attlee] is
aping Winston without the latter's great
knowledge.' Thurs Aug 23 'CIGS wishes to go at the end of the
year though Winston has written to Attlee
saying that Brooke will stay on quite
against Brooke's will.' Tues Sep 11 'Looked in a reception in Admiralty
House . . . Mrs Bevan & a pretty
daughter received. Fancy Ernie Bevan
having a pretty daughter!! A dull party I
left early.' [Website note on the
confusion here between names. John
Bevan was head of Churchill's deception
comittee; Ernest Bevin was corpulant
Minister of Labor, and foreign
secretary in Attlee's government;'
Aneurin Bevan was the Welsh firebrand
and Labour MP.] Thurs Oct 25 'Winston rang me up in the morning
about a ship taking him from Antwerp in
November. I think he has a guilty
conscience about the navy. Curiously he
said that in his Alamein speech he had
tried to hold the balance even between the
services. This confirmed me in my opinion
that he really did'nt [sic] know
what he had said as according to press
reports he never mentioned the air or the
navy. Its wonderful how the Army wins the
war by itself.' Mon Oct 29 '(COS Meeting) Our first business was
to consider a very mischievous question to
be put in the house by Winston. He wishes
to know the numbers of army and RAF
personnel at home & in the various
theatres of operations. Very awkward as at
present there are 1,315,000 army in Great
Britain & we cannot honestly say that
there are conclusive reasons from a
military point of view for withholding the
figures. Of course Winston wishes to wreck
the Bevin demobilisation scheme &
discredit the Government. Tues Oct:30 1945 Parliament passed a vote of thanks to
the Services today. Churchill made a mild
protest against the prominent leaders
being given no grants & the matter
dropped probably never to be heard of
again. My preliminary examination of my
finances after retirement make it very
uncertain whether we shall be able to
remain at the Palace House. Rather
depressing but we should not have counted
on getting anything. Wed Oct 31 'Mona's birthday & I had nothing to
give her as usual.' Sunday Nov 25 'Left at 16:00 & drove to town to
get on with the speech. Found darkness in
the streets & no hot water in the
flat. The Gas Light & Coke Co
employees are on strike!!! I hope most of
them have had to do without a hot Sunday
dinner.' Tues Nov 27 '. . . invitation to preside at the
first dinner of the Navy Club on Feb 5th
with Winston as the guest of honour. I
have accepted perhaps foolishly.' [See
Feb 5, shows that Brooke was in fact the
guest.] Sun Dec 9 'Kenneth & Heather Browne to tea.
Cannot make up my mind whether I like him
or not but he has a lot of his father in
him. The girl is no beauty but may be
quite nice.' Tues Dec 11 'So I wrote off & accepted the
Viscountcy. I don't want it. I am too poor
for it to be of any use to me & I care
not for these titles but I suppose for the
good of the navy one must take it.' Mon Dec 24 'Drove to Winchester to get a tin big
enough to roast the turkey in!!.' Wed Dec 26 [Request by Lady Keyes to have
Roger buried in St Paul's leads to a
memory flashback in the diary.] 'I
also had some signals from Winston about
Roger being in command of the expedition
in the Med to take Pantelleria &
turned this suggestion down.' Friday Dec 28 'She Lady Keyes had evidently rung up
the Dean of St Paul's & Winston
Churchill. The latter rang me up &
asked what was the situation. I told him
& that James Somerville was going down
to see Lady Keyes & that I was
suggesting that the burial should be at
sea in the Straits of Dover after the
funeral service in Westminster Abbey.
Winston thoroughly approved & sent a
message to Lady Keyes by James S to say
so.' | 
write to David
Irving