Scope and Contents

Letter from Herbert Morrison [Lord President of the Council] (Privy Council Office, Great George Street) to WSC marked "Secret" commenting on: the recent election campaign and remarks made by WSC on a visit to Lewisham [London]; WSC's method of conducting War Cabinet business; discussion on warnings for single V1s [flying bombs]; reaction to the subsequent incident at Lewisham; and hoping their disagreement will not have a long-term effect on their relationship. [signed].

Scope and Contents

Letter from WSC (Chartwell) to Herbert Morrison [Lord President of the Council] requesting an apology or withdrawal of Morrison's allegations about WSC's conduct concerning warnings for single V1 [flying] bombs and the subsequent Lewisham (London) incident, and commenting on discussion of warnings and Morrison's allegation that he had "countermanded" WSC's decision. [Carbon copy].

Scope and Contents

Cutting from the Daily Telegraph: letter from Major C H Mowbray, District Warden, Blackheath [London], stating that if a warning had been given before the flying bomb fell in Lewisham [London], the casualty list would have been higher as it fell on a shelter.

Scope and Contents Minute from "E E B" [Sir Edward Bridges, Secretary to the War Cabinet] to [John] Colville [Prime Minister's Private Secretary] replying to "Reveal No. 2", commenting on whether [Herbert] Morrison's statement breached the Official Secret's Act or infringed the Privy Councillor's Oath, Morrison's [then Home Secretary] opportunities to protest about the decision on warnings for single flying bombs, and making recommendations concerning WSC's response to the statement, arguing against full...

Scope and Contents

Minute from "J R C" [John Colville, Prime Minister's Private Secretary] to WSC setting out the sequence of events concerning the "single flying bomb issue" and stating that there is nothing in these papers to bear out [Herbert] Morrison's [then Home Secretary] statement that he countermanded WSC's order. [initialled and annotated by Colville].

Scope and Contents

History of the decision that a warning should not be sounded for single flying bombs. [Typescript prepared by ?WSC's Private Office and annotated by John Colville, Prime Minister's Private Secretary].

Scope and Contents

Minute from V G Laithwaite to Sir Edward Bridges [Secretary to the War Cabinet] giving Sir William Brown's (Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Home Security) comments on happenings in the Ministry on receipt of the news of the Lewisham [London] flying bomb. [Copy].

Scope and Contents

Extracts from War Cabinet, Chiefs of Staff, and Civil Defence Committee minutes for June and July 1944 of discussions on warnings for flying bomb attacks.

Scope and Contents Telegram from WSC [Hendaye, France] marked "Reveal No. 2" passing on messages to: Sir Edward Bridges [Secretary to the War Cabinet] requesting he look into the constitutional position concerning [Herbert] Morrison's statements at Greenock [Renfrewshire, Scotland] on warnings for V1 [flying] bombs and giving his own perspective on the matter. His Private Office requesting they send him relevant background information on the statement and the incident at Lewisham [London, in July 1944]. [copy...

Scope and Contents

Cutting from the Daily Telegraph reporting a speech by Herbert Morrison at a Labour rally in Greenock [Renfrewshire, Scotland] attacking WSC's electoral performance, accusing him of "dictatorial" tendencies, and commenting on the Lewisham [London] flying bomb incident.

Scope and Contents

Minute from [General Sir Hastings] Ismay [Chief of Staff to the Minister of Defence] to WSC giving background on the decision not to sound the sirens for single flying bomb incidents, sending on information on the "spread" of flying bombs [around London] in June and July 1944 [CHAR 20/231/52], and recommending that WSC does not make use of these statistics because of a ban on publishing such details. [signed].

Scope and Contents

Note on the "spread" of V1 flying bombs around London in June and July 1944. [prepared by the Ministry of Defence and flagged "A"].

Scope and Contents

Minute from "J H P" [John Peck, Prime Minister's Private Secretary] to WSC on the background to the decision that a warning should not be sounded for single flying bombs. [initialled; annotated by Peck and WSC].

Scope and Contents

Cutting [from the Kentish Mercury] on statements by Herbert Morrison at an election meeting in East Lewisham [London] on WSC and the decision not to sound warnings for single flying bombs.

Scope and Contents

Memorandum [from Henry Brooke, later Lord Brooke of Cumnor, MP for West Lewisham, London] attaching a report from the Kentish Mercury [CHAR 20/231/56] and commenting on the likely effect on local Conservative electoral fortunes of remarks by Herbert Morrison on the Lewisham flying bomb. [Carbon copy].

Scope and Contents

Cutting from the Times reporting a meeting in East Lewisham [London] at which Herbert Morrison, former Minister of Home Security, defended himself in connection with two bomb incidents in the constituency, claiming he countermanded WSC's order that sirens should not be sounded in single flying bomb incidents.

Scope and Contents

Cutting from Hansard of a statement by Herbert Morrison, Home Secretary, on warning signals for flying bomb attacks followed by a number of questions.

Scope and Contents

Extract from War Cabinet minutes of discussions on the public warning system for attacks by flying bombs in relation to public transport, including contributions from the Home Secretary and Minister of Home Security [Herbert Morrison] and the Minister of War Transport [1st Lord Leathers].

Scope and Contents

Minute from "H M" [Herbert Morrison], Minister of Home Security, to WSC on revising a draft statement on the imminent danger warning [for flying bomb attacks] in relation to advice to the public and public transport. [initialled].

Scope and Contents

Minute from "H M" [Herbert Morrison], Minister of Home Security, to WSC on the imminent danger warning system [for flying bomb attacks] in relation to bus drivers and advice given to people receiving the warning indoors. [initialled; annotated by Leslie Rowan, Prime Minister's Private Secretary].

Scope and Contents

Minute from WSC to Home Secretary [and Minister of Home Security, Herbert Morrison], and for Sir Edward Bridges [Secretary to the War Cabinet] to see, on the need to clarify a paragraph concerning buses in [Morrison's] draft statement on the imminent danger warning [for flying bomb attacks]. [Carbon copy; annotated by WSC's Secretary Patrick Kinna].

Scope and Contents

Minute from "H M" [Herbert Morrison], Minister of Home Security, stating that the Civil Defence Committee have agreed that warning officers should be given the discretion to sound warnings for single flying bombs and reporting on a "nasty incident" at Lewisham [London]. [initialled; annotated by WSC on 29 July and also by Leslie Rowan, Prime Minister's Private Secretary; flagged "Y"].

Scope and Contents

[?Home Office] Note stating that the new public warning system [for flying bomb attacks] will not affect factories [addition to CHAR 20/231/68-69]. [initialled by WSC and annotated by his Private Office].

Scope and Contents

Draft [House of Commons] statement [prepared by the Home Office] setting out the new warning system for flying bomb attacks. [annotated by WSC and his Private Office].

Scope and Contents

Minute from WSC to Home Secretary [and Minister of Home Security, Herbert Morrison] generally approving of [Morrison's] statement [on the new warning system for flying bomb attacks], suggesting further information is given, and commenting on the timing of the announcement [to the House of Commons]. [Carbon copy].