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Catalogue Reference:CAB/65/41/26 Image Reference:0001

THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF H I S BRITANNIC M A J E S T V S GOVERNMENT"

Printed for the War Cabinet. February 1 9 4 4 .

S E C R E T C o p y J S o .

W . M . (44)

26th Conclusions.

W A R C A B I N E T 2 6 ( 4 4 ) .

CONCLUSIONS of a Meeting of the War Cabinet held at 1 0 Downing Street. S.W. 1, on Monday, 28th February, 1 9 4 4 , at 6 p.m.

P r e s e n t : The R i g h t Hon . W I N S T O N S. CHURCHILL, M.P. , P r i m e Min i s t e r (in the Chair

for Items 1 - 1 0 ) .

The R i g h t Hon . C. R. A T T L E E , M.P . , L o r d P re s iden t of the Council (in the Chair for Item 11) . .

The R i g h t Hon . Sir J O H N A N D E R S O N , M . P . , Chancellor of the Exchequer .

The R i g h t Hon . O L I V E R LYTTELTON, M.P . , Min is te r of P roduc t ion .

The R i g h t Hon. A N T H O N Y E D E N , M.P . , Secretary of S ta te for Fore ign Affairs.

The R i g h t Hon. E R N E S T B E V I N , M.P . , Min i s te r of Labour and Na t iona l Service.

The R i g h t Hon . H E R B E R T M O R R I S O N , M.P . , Secretary of S ta t e for the Home D e p a r t m e n t a n d Min i s t e r of Home Securi ty .

The R i g h t Hon. L O R D WOOLTON, Min i s t e r of Reconstruct ion.

T h e following were also p r e s e n t :

The R i g h t Hon . S. M. B R U C E , Repre ­sentat ive of the Government of the Commonweal th of A u s t r a l i a (Items 1 - 1 0 ) .

The R i g h t Hon . V I S C O U N T SIMON, L o r d Chancellor (Items 7^8).

The R i g h t Hon. L O R D BEAVERBROOK. L o r d P r i v y Seal.

The R i g h t Hon . Si r J A M E S G R I G G , M . P . , Secretary of S ta te for W a r .

The R i g h t Hon . Si r STAFFORD C R I P P S , K.C. , M.P . , Min i s te r of A i r c r a f t P roduc t ion .

The R i g h t Hon . H . U . W I L L I N K , K.C. , M.P . , Min i s te r of H e a l t h (Item 6 ) . '

Colonel the R i g h t H o n . J . J . L L E W E L L I N , M.P . , Min i s t e r of Food (Item 9 ) .

The R i g h t Hon . BRENDAN BRACKEN, M . P . , Min is te r of In fo rmat ion .

The R i g h t Hon. R I C H A R D L A W , M.P . , Min i s t e r of S ta te (Item 9 ) .

[ 2 7 0 5 7 - 1 ] .

The Hon . W . N A S H , Depu ty P r i m e Min i s te r of the Dominion of New Zealand .

The R i g h t Hon . V I S C O U N T CRANBORNE,-Secretary of S ta te for Dominion Affairs.

The R i g h t Hon . A. V . ALEXANDER, M.P . , F i r s t L o r d of the Admi ra l t y .

The R i g h t Hon . S i r ARCHIBALD SINCLAIR, Bt. , M.P . , Secretary of S ta t e for A i r .

The R i g h t Hon . R. A . B U T L E R , M.P . , P re s iden t of the Boa r d of Educa t ion .

The R i g h t Hon . L O R D , L E A T H E R S , Min i s te r of W a r T r a n s p o r t (Items 6 - 9 ) .

The R i g h t Hon . L O R D P O R T A L , Min i s te r of W o r k s (Item 6 ) .

The R i g h t Hon. the E A R L OF SELBORNE, Min i s te r of Economic W a r f a r e (Item 9 ) :

The R i g h t Hon . L O R D C H E R W E L L , Paymas te r -Genera l .

The E i g h t Hon . S i r DONALD S O M E R - I S i r D A V I D M A X W E L L F Y F E , K . C . , M.P . , VELL, K.C. , M.P . , A t to rney-Genera l Sol ic i tor-General (Items 7 - 8 ) . (Items 7 - 8 ) .

The E i g h t Hon . W . W H I T E L E Y , M.P . , The E i g h t H o n . J A M E S STUART, M . P , , J o i n t P a r l i a m e n t a r y Secretary, J o i n t P a r l i a m e n t a r y Secretary, T r e a s u r y (Item 1 1 ) . T r e a s u r y (Item 1 1 ) .

S i r O R M E SARGENT, D e p u t y U n d e r - A d m i r a l of the Flee t S i r A N D R E W Secre tary of S ta te for Fore ign CUNNINGHAM, F i r s t Sea L o r d and Affairs (Items 1 - 9 ) . Chief of Nava l Staff (Items 1 - 6 ) .

M a r s h a l of the A i r Force Si r C H A R L E S F ie ld -Marsha l Sir A L A N BROOKE, Chief F . A . P O R T A L , Chief of the A i r Staff of the I m p e r i a l Genera l Staff (Items (Items 1 - 6 ) . 1 - 6 ) .

Secretariat : Sir E D W A R D B R I D G E S . L i eu tenan t -Gene ra l S i r H A S T I N G S L . I S M A Y . Si r G I L B E R T L A I T H W A I T E . Mr . W . S. M U R R I E . Mr . L. F . B U R G I S .

W A R C A B I N E T 26 (44 ) .

C O N T E N T S . Minute

No. Subject. Page 1 Mr. Nash .... .... 1 2 3 2 Naval , Mi l i ta ry a n d Air Opera t ions .... .... .... 1 2 3

Air Operations: Home Theatre. Mediterranean Theatre. Pacific. .

Naval Operations: Pacific.

Military Operations: I taly Burma. Russia.

3 I t a l y 1 2 4 ; ;- Proposals arising out of consideration of the future of the Italian

Fleet.

4 Fore ign Affairs. . . . .... .... .... .... 1 2 4 Finland,

i ' Poland. Spain. Italy. Argentine."

5 Ai r Ra ids '.' .... .... 124 Casualties and Damage. ­

6 Civil Defence .... 1 2 4 Use of Deep Shelters.

7 Civil C la ims aga ins t M e m b e r s of t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s Forces 1 2 6 8 App l i ca t ion of Al l ied P o w e r s (Mar i t ime Cour ts ) Act, 1 9 4 1 ,

t o F r a n c e .... .... .... 1 2 6 9 F o o d P r o b l e m s in L i b e r a t e d E u r o p e .... .... .... 1 2 7

1 0 A r m y Benevo len t F u n d .... .... .... 1 2 7 1 1 Service P a y a n d Al lowances .... .... .... .... .... 1 2 7

0

Mr. Nash. L The P r i m e Min i s t e r ex tended a welcome, on behalf of the W a r Cabinet , to Mr . Nash, who was now on a visi t to th is country.

Naval, Military 2. The Chiefs of Staff repor ted the p r inc ipa l events of the and Air previous week. Operations. So fa r as a i r opera t ions were concerned, the week h a d been the (Previous most active of the whole war , 20,000 sorties having been flown; Reference: 9,058 tons of bombs h a d been dropped on Germany alone. W.M.(44)23rd Bomber Command h a d a t tacked Schweinfur t and Augsburg , Conclusions, following dayl ight a t t acks on these cities by U n i t e d States a i rcraf t . Minute 1.) I n addi t ion , U n i t e d Sta tes bombers had a t tacked Regensburg, Air Operations. Rostock, F u r t h and Gotha w i t h good results .

w a s D e n e v e ( ^Home Theatre ^hat the Ge rman capaci ty for a i rc ra f t produc­" ' t ion h a d been considerably reduced as a resul t of the combined

U n i t e d Kingdom and Un i t ed Sta tes a i r offensive, cu lmina t ing in the a t tacks car r ied out d u r i n g the previous week.

" Crossbow " t a rge t s had been a t tacked. Enemy losses for the week, inc luding claims by the U n i t e d

Sta tes A i r Forces, amounted to 348 destroyed, 86 probably destroyed and 155 damaged. Our losses included 63 R A P . bombers and 165 U n i t e d States bombers.

The enemy had lost 22 a i r c ra f t destroyed, 5 probably destroyed and 6 damaged in r a ids on th is country, while 7 fur ther a i r c ra f t h a d been destroyed by i n t rude r s across the Channel .

Mediterranean. W e a t h e r had in te r fe red w i t h our act ivi ty in suppor t of the land batt le, bu t t a rge t s in Southern Germany and the Ba lkans h a d been at tacked. I n the Med i t e r r anean the enemy h a d lost 272 and the Allies 141 a i rcraf t .

Pacific. I t was considered t h a t J a p a n e s e a i r resis tance in the New I r e l and and New B r i t a i n a rea h a d collapsed. Some 40 enemy merchant vessels (most of them large) had been sunk and a number of others damaged.

Naval Confirmed sh ipp ing losses by enemy action for the week Operations. amounted to 28,349 tons, inc luding belated reports . February

losses so far amounted to 67,042 tons. D u r i n g Februa ry 12 Ge rman U-boats h a d been destroyed a n d

4 probably destroyed. . Since i ts format ion the Second Escor t Group had destroyed

17 U-boats , of which the Commanding Officer h a d sunk 12 w i t h his own ship . .

Pacific. The J apanese m a i n fleet h a d abandoned T r u k as a fleet base. I n an a t t ack on G u a m by a i r c ra f t from a U n i t e d States car r ie r 135 J a p a n e s e a i rc ra f t h a d been claimed as destroyed for the loss of 6 U n i t e d States a i rc raf t .

Military D u r i n g the previous week the fighting h a d not been very severe Operations. on the Anz io br idgehead front, bu t an ear ly a t t ack by the enemy Italy. was expected. Owing to the size of the force in the br idgehead, th i s

command would in fu tu re be known as the All ied Br idgehead Force. On the ma in f ront there had been no th ing to repor t .

Burma. ' The s i tua t ion on the B u r m a front had improved considerably and the J apanese h a d suffered a very large number of casualt ies.

The Prime Minister sa id t h a t he h a d in mind to make a s tate­ment to the House of Commons in the near fu ture r e g a r d i n g the s i tua t ion on . th i s front.

Russia. The Russ ians h a d made considerable advances along the whole of the Nor the rn p a r t of the f ront from Lake P e i p u s to near Novo Sokolniki. I t looked as though the enemy in tended to effect a

' considerable w i t h d r a w a l in th i s sector.

The W a r C a b i n e t -Took note of these s ta tements .

[ 2 7 0 5 7 - 1 ] B 2

Italy.

Proposals arising out of considera­tion of the future of the Italian Fleet. (Previous Reference: W.M.(44)16th Conclusions, Minute 2.)

Foreign Affairs. (Previous Reference: W.M.(44)23rd Conclusions, Minute 3.)

Finland. Poland.

Spain.

Italy.

Argentine. (Previous Reference: W.M.(44)13th Conclusions, Minute 3.)

Air Raids,

Casualties and Damage. (Previous Reference: W.M.(44)25th Conclusions, Minute 1.)

Civil Defence.Use of DeepShelters.

3. The Prime Minister gave the W a r Cabine t in fo rmat ion as to the la tes t pos i t ion in r e g a r d to the proposal which h a d been m a d e to meet the request of the Soviet Government t h a t ce r t a in I t a l i a n ships should be handed over for the i r use.

A record is contained in the Secre ta ry ' s S t a n d a r d Fi le of W a r Cabine t Conclusions.

4. The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs gave the W a r Cab ine t in format ion about the m a i n issues in the field of foreign affairs.

The F i n n i s h s i tua t ion seemed to be developing sat isfactor i ly . A s r ega rds the Po l i sh -Russ i an s i tua t ion , our Ambassador was

to see P r e m i e r S ta l in t h a t day. Meanwhi le , the Po l i sh Govern­ment h a d not helped ma t t e r s by the s ta tements which they h a d p u t out in th i s country.

The discussions w i t h the Span i sh Government were proceeding sat isfactor i ly .

The Prime Minister informed the W a r Cabinet t h a t the P r e s i d e n t had agreed t h a t any change in the I t a l i a n Government should awa i t developments in the mi l i t a ry s i tua t ion .

The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs r epor ted t h a t the s i t ua t ion t h a t had ar i sen in the Argen t ine , which was obscure, was sti l l unde r examinat ion , a n d t h a t he could not yet make any s ta tement about it.

The W a r C a b i n e t -Took note of these s ta tements .

5. The Home Secretary and Minister of Home Security made a r epo r t to the W a r Cabinet on the a i r r a i d s t h a t h a d t aken place in London between the 21st and 25th Februa ry .

The r a id on the 2 1 s t / 2 2 n d Februa ry , ca r r i ed out by 26 a i rc ra f t , h a d been of minor impor t ance ; very extensive f lare-dropping h a d been a fea ture of i t . The r a id s on the th ree following n igh t s h a d been in many respects s imi lar to one another . Each of these r a i d s h a d been ca r r ied out by 100 to 150 a i rc ra f t , many different types h a y i n g been employed. Casual t ies las t week and the p reced ing week h a d been as follows :—-

Week Week 21st-28th Feb. 14th-21st Feb.

Ki l led 314 371 Seriously in ju red 556 1,016 Sl ight ly in ju red 392 500

T h e W a r C a b i n e t -Agreed t h a t the mon th ' s casual ty figures, which in the normal course were due for release in the immedia te fu ture , should be publ ished.

6. The W a r Cabinet had before t h e m a Memorandum by the H o m e Secretary a n d Min i s t e r of Home Secur i ty ( W . P . (44) 135) on

Deep Tube Shel ters . The M e m o r a n d u m set out t he presen t pos i t ion in r e g a r d to these shelters, the i r numbers , and the accommodation they afforded. A s a resul t of recent r a ids , there h a d been a sha rp

increase in the p ressure on shelter accommodation, which w a s aggrava ted by the removal of ce r ta in of the bunk accommodation from tube shelters . The resu l tan t congestion a t ce r ta in tube shel ters h a d led to pressure , encouraged by sections of the Press , for the opening of the deep shelters. The accommodation in those shelters had been prov ided to meet the need felt a t the end of 1940 for shel ters in which people could spend the whole of the n igh t . The recent r a i d s h a d been short and sharp a n d the deep shel ters had not been bui l t for th i s contingency. Moreover, of the e igh t deep shelters, one was in occupat ion by mi l i t a ry staffs and two others were being a d a p t e d for the accommodation of Opera t iona l Staffs. The Civi l Defence Commit tee h a d agreed t h a t i t would be desirable t ha t al l the deep shelters should be so reserved, whi le the Defence Commit tee (Operat ions) had' decided t h a t in the al location of accommodation in deep tube shelters p r i o r i t y mus t be given to the main tenance of the machinery of Government .

The Home Secretary and Minister of Home Security sa id tha t , looking a t the m a t t e r from the po in t of view of the shelter accommo­da t ion available, there was no need to take these shelters in to use. H e deprecated a n y t h i n g t h a t would encourage the development of the deep shelter menta l i ty , and drew a t t en t ion to the possible effect on morale of Civil Defence workers of encouraging it. On a review of the whole posit ion, he recommended t h a t the deep shelters should not be opened to the publ ic and t h a t a n exp lana t ion of the reasons under ly ing th i s decision should be given.

The Prime Minister suggested tha t , if the present r a i d s were continued, a n d these shel ters were known to exist , bu t the accommo­da t ion was not made available, there was a r isk of s t rong publ ic cr i t ic ism. W o u l d i t not be possible to allow the publ ic to use them temporar i ly a n d to close or empty them at the a p p r o p r i a t e t ime? H e also though t t h a t the effect on morale of the opening of these deep shelters could be exaggera ted .

The Home Secretary and Minister of Home Security sa id t h a t the possibi l i ty of a l lowing the publ ic to use these shel ters temporar i ly , a n d thereaf te r r equ i r i ng them to vacate, h a d been most carefully examined ; but all exper t opinion was agreed tha t i t would not be pract icable to do so and t h a t very serious difficulties would follow any a t t e m p t to app ly such a policy. Admi t t ed ly , the amoun t of shelter accommodation in issue was small in re la t ion to the to ta l popula t ion to be ca tered for. B u t he a t t ached impor tance to the quest ion of morale, a n d to avoid ing a n y t h i n g t h a t would encourage the ex is t ing pre judice aga ins t s t reet shelters, or tend to develop the deep dugout menta l i ty . A quest ion h a d now been p u t down i n the House of Commons for to-morrow and he was anxious, if the present policy was approved, to give in reply to i t a rea l just if icat ion of the policy which he was advocat ing. H e out l ined the t e rms of h i s proposed reply.

The Prime Minister sa id tha t , while he s t i l l felt some doubt as to the course proposed, he would not press his po in t of view.

Af t e r fu r ther discussion, the W a r Cabine t— Endorsed the proposals of the Home Secretary a n d Minis te r of Home Securi ty, as conta ined in W . P . (44) 135, and agreed as to the te rms of the reply to be given in P a r l i a m e n t , subject to the omission of the reference to ' ' for thcoming offensive ' ' a n d the subs t i tu t ion therefor of some such words as " essential mi l i t a ry pu rpose s . "

Civil ClaimsagainstMembers of theUnited StatesForces.

" X 1

7. The W a r Cabinet had before them a Memorandum by the Secretary of S ta t e for Fore ign Affairs ( W . P . (44) 133) se t t ing out

proposed a r r angemen t s for deal ing w i t h civil claims aga ins t members of the U n i t e d Sta tes Forces. A t t a c h e d to the Memo­

r a n d u m was a d ra f t s ta tement which would be made in the House of Commons if the a r rangement s were approved. '

The m a i n proposals in the Memorandum were :-— (i) H i s Majes ty ' s Government should assume responsibi l i ty

for the set t lement a n d payment of claims a r i s ing out of traffic accidents, accidental shootings, accidenta l explo­sions, loss of or damage to chat te ls in premises requis i t ioned by Un i t ed S ta tes Forces, a n d cer ta in other accidents, such as those caused by prac t ice gun-fires a n d fires in bil lets. Responsibi l i ty would be l imi ted to claims a r i s ing on and af ter the 19th March , a n d claims would be accepted only if they arose out of acts or omissions of U n i t e d Sta tes Forces in the course of the i r mi l i t a ry du t i e s ;

(ii) H i s Majes ty ' s Government should accept responsibi l i ty for payment , bu t not for the examinat ion , of any out­s t and ing claims of the k i n d re fe r red to in (i) and the Amer icans should be u rged to clear u p these claims sat isfactor i ly and speedily; and

(iii) I n the case of ou t s t and ing claims for sums exceeding 5,000 dollars, H i s Majes ty ' s Government should assume a t once the responsibi l i ty for the examina t ion as well as the payment , since, if i t were left to the Amer icans to settle these claims, they would be forced to refer them to Congress, w i t h a consequent delay of many months .

The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs sa id t h a t there w a s a g r ea t deal of cr i t ic ism of the delay in se t t l ing claims aga ins t members of the U n i t e d Sta tes Forces and tha t , unless a sa t i s fac tory solution could be reached, i t would be difficult to keep th is cr i t ic ism in check. By no means all the traffic accidents which gave r ise to claims were due to dangerous dr iv ing .

The following poin ts arose in discussion :— (a) Could Amer ican dr ivers not be made to conform to the same

res t r ic t ions on speed as were imposed on B r i t i s h Service dr ivers? I t was suggested t h a t the possibili ty of ge t t i ng the U n i t e d S ta tes au thor i t i es to agree to th i s migh t be explored.

(b) To w h a t a reas would the a r r angemen t s proposed in W . P . (44) 133 ex tend? I t was expla ined t h a t the a r r angemen t s would extend only to the areas covered by the B r i t i s h Cla ims Commission.

(c) The Prime Minister thought t h a t the proposed s ta tement to be made in the House of Commons was too long. I t w a s agreed t h a t the Secretary of S ta t e for Fore ign Affairs should make a br ief oral announcement a n d circulate the full s t a tement in the Official Repor t .

The W a r C a b i n e t -Approved the proposals in W . P . (44) 133 subject to X " above.

8. The W a r Cabinet h a d before them— Application of Allied Powers (i) A Memorandum by the L o r d P r e s i d e n t of the Council (Marit ime ( W . P . (44) 124) proposing t h a t an order should be made Courts) Act , under Section 1 (2) of the Al l ied Powers (Mar i t ime 1951, to France. Courts) Act , 1941, app ly ing the A c t to France.; and

(ii) A Memorandum by the H o m e Secretary and Min i s t e r of Home Securi ty ( W . P . (44) 130) s t a t i ng w h a t responsi­bi l i t ies and l iabi l i t ies would fall on h i m in the event of the establ ishment of a F rench M a r i t i m e Cour t in th i s country.

The Memorandum by the L o r d P re s iden t of the Council exp la ined t h a t the L o r d P r e s i d e n t s Committee were satisfied t h a t a n order should be made to enable a French Mar i t ime Cour t to be established, but tha t , i n view of the des i rabi l i ty in present circum­stances of proceeding w i t h g r e a t caut ion in any mat t e r involving the French Committee of L ibera t ion , they had felt it necessary to d r a w the a t t en t ion of the W a r Cab ine t to the proposal .

The W a r Cabine t— Approved the proposa l t h a t an order should be made under Section 1 (2) of the Al l ied P o w e r s (Mar i t ime Courts) Act , 1941, app ly ing the A c t to F rance .

Food Problems 9. The W a r Cabinet h a d before them a Memorandum by the in Liberated Min i s t e r of Economic W a r f a r e ( W . P . (44) 113) propos ing tha t , in Europe. v iew of the presen t wor ld food s i tua t ion , B r i t i sh p r o p a g a n d a should (Previous encourage the S p r i n g sowing of crops whi le con t inu ing to u r g e Eeference: peasan t s not to marke t the food th rough Nazi-control led channels. W.M. (43) 131st jjfog Minister of Economic Warfare recalled t h a t a t the Conclusions, meet ing on the 24th September, 1943 (W.M. (43) 131st Conclusions, Mmute 3.) M i n u t e 3), the W a r Cabine t h a d decided to reconsider before the

S p r i n g sowings the question whe the r Br i t i sh p r o p a g a n d a should go so f a r as to encourage food p roduc t ion in Europe . H e suggested t h a t the t ime h a d come to t ake th i s s tep if we were going to avoid a s i tua t ion in which the popu la t ion of l ibera ted areas in Eu rope would blame the All ies for the shor tages of food which were likely to arise.

- The Prime Minister saw some objection to open p r o p a g a n d a on these lines. H e suggested tha t , while not changing our open p r o p a g a n d a to the popula t ions of occupied areas , local agents should be ins t ruc ted to speak on the lines proposed. -

The W a r C a b i n e t -Agreed t h a t there should be no change in the public p ropa ­ganda to popula t ions of occupied countr ies on the subject of food product ion , bu t t h a t local agents in these countr ies should be ins t ruc ted to encourage food product ion.

A r m y 10. The W a r Cabinet h a d before them a Memorandum by the Benevo lent Secre tary of S t a t e for W a r ( W . P . (44) 116) covering a scheme Fund. worked out by the A r m y Council for the format ion of an A r m y

Benevolent F u n d .

The W a r C a b i n e t -Defer red considerat ion of t he scheme un t i l af ter the for th­coming debate i n the House of Commons on A r m y pay a n d allowances.

Service P a y and 11 . The Secretary of State for War sa id t h a t in the Debate Allowances. on A r m y Es t ima tes Mr . Kendal l , M.P . , had a Motion call ing

a t t en t ion to the inadequa te p a y and allowances of Service men a n d women and moving " t h a t th is House is of the opinion t h a t the pay

and allowances of members of H i s Majes ty ' s A r m y are i nadequa te to enable them and the i r families to m a i n t a i n a reasonable s t a n d a r d of l iving, and therefore i t is u r g e n t t h a t immediate increases be made in such p a y a n d a l lowances ."

The Secretary of S ta te for W a r reminded the W a r Cabinet t h a t on the occasion of the last major a l te ra t ion in Service pay a n d allowances in September 1942 i t h a d been stated on behalf of the Government t h a t the concessions then int roduced were r ega rded as a final solution of the m a t t e r so long as pr ices remained substant ia l ly a t thei r present levels.

Since t h a t da te pr ice levels h a d not changed, but there h a d been some increase in indus t r i a l wages. The Secretary of S t a t e informed the W a r Cabinet of the genera l lines of the s ta tement which he proposed to make. This was t h a t H i s Majes ty ' s Govern­ment stood on the posi t ion which they h a d taken u p in September 1942 and Which had been reaffirmed on several subsequent occasions, and t h a t they remained of opinion t h a t the genera l scheme of the present pay a n d allowances was essentially sound and afforded a fa i r and reasonable s t a n d a r d for officers and other r anks and the i r families. A t the same t ime the door was not closed so f a r as concerned the deta i led appl ica t ion of the scheme then adopted. The posi t ion w a s constant ly being examined in the l ight of the informat ion received, and suggestions made in debate would be added to evidence a l ready received a n d would be taken in to consideration.

I n discussion, i t was suggested t h a t the House migh t be reminded t h a t on the occasion of the a l tera t ions effected in September 1942 the whole posi t ion h a d been very fully discussed between the present Chancellor of the Exchequer and Min i s te r of A i r c r a f t P roduc t ion and a committee representa t ive of all sections of the House, who h a d accepted as sa t is factory the ra tes of pay a n d allowances which h a d then been introduced. I t was general ly agreed tha t reference to th i s migh t be included in the Secretary of S ta te for W a r ' s s ta tement .

Subject to th i s point , the W a r Cabine t—

Endorsed the general l ines of the s ta tement out l ined by the Secre tary of S ta te for W a r .

Offices of the War Cabinet, S.W. 1, 28th February, 1944.