18 Nov 1935 - Ministry for Co-ordination of Defence

[Diarist]

COL Wilkins was already at work when the four of us arrived, Admiral Keyes was with him. "Good morning, Admiral Keyes here's a colleague of yours." I introduced Wilhelm and Heinz.
"Canaris. That name rings a bell. Military counter-espionage?"
"You are well informed as head of Combined Operations HQ."
"I love this mutual admiration. Johnny I need a sergeant or corporal."
"Congratulations on your promotion, Bob. I hope to see more coordination now."
"Funny. That's just my job-title. CPL Williams, good morning."
"Good morning, Sir."
"I would like you to show these two German officers one of our closely guarded secrets. The fantastic bakery a few minutes walk from here. We have half a dozen guests arriving for an 09:00 meeting and we need a couple of dozen doughnuts and cakes then coffee and tea prepared when you return. You may answer any questions about the above mentioned items but nothing else. A couple of pounds should cover it."
"Yes, Sir. Meine Herren, bitte folgen Sie mir."
I looked at COL Wilkins. "I thought you'd prefer someone who speaks German."
"You read my mind, Johnny. I need to keep them busy during the meeting. We're going to Colchester this afternoon so could you inform/warn the 4th ID and the Para Regt., please?"
"I could give them the Italian report to read. There's nothing in there confidential. We could ask the admiral what he has."
"Do that. Is the break room free of 'secret' notes, etc."
"Yes, it is but I'll double-check."
"Thanks."
I telephoned Edward at TRADOC and told him about Daryl Shepherd. "Make him aware of how secret the project is. If he is accepted he can also recruit other underemployed carpenters in the area and be their 'platoon leader'."
"I agree."
"Thanks again for the great weekend. Bye."
Winston had arrived and was sitting on my sofa. "Anything new?" He asked. I told him the carpenter story. "It's amazing how hiring a hand-worker leads to an increase in aircraft production."
"It is. We could use this to streamline our RAF recruit for maintenance personnel. To identify people who stay in the industry and those who put on RAF uniform."
"Have that organized, Bob. I see our German guests are here."
"We're going to Colchester this afternoon. We know they have a parachute unit so there's nothing secret there. I did divulge the location of one our elite bakeries though."
"Shame on you. It'll be entered in your records."
I told them that they hadn't yet finished preparing for the meeting. Afterwards we have some interesting reading material for you and we can compare notes afterwards.

[Diarist]

"This first SOE meeting has been called for several reasons. There have been organizational changes since the Italian conflict and the new structure needs to be made clear to all present." I gave each person an organizational chart. "If a mission is planned which could be considered an act of war it needs to be approved by Secretary Churchill. He has delegated the initial screening to my operation. Only if it passes our scrutiny will it be brought to his attention for approval. There are a few requirements:

    a. Do we really need this operation?
    b. Can it be traced back to the UK?
    c. If it goes wrong can it be blamed on someone else?

For example, military personnel like to have tattoos. Any soldier with a tattoo that clearly identifies them with the UK has automatically excluded himself from undercover operations. He can still be an instructor but cannot take part in a mission. These are of course peacetime rules. Would you like to add anything, Mr. Secretary?"
"I shall be talking to my colleagues in the Home and Foreign Offices with the goal of coordinating activities so that we don't get in each other's way. I shall be arguing that the Foreign Office should under no circumstances conduct military operations and that any such operations planned by the Intelligence Branch be coordinated with the MoD to ensure no overlap and that they adopt the same three criteria outlined earlier."

"Secondly we have listed which type of operations are authorized. They are separated by category and this is by no means the final list. If you have further suggestions please don't be shy and don't put them in a Suggestion Box, instead pass them on to CDR Mountbatten. He loves new ideas. Any questions?" There were a couple of minor questions.

"The next topic is the Far East. The British Empire, France and Holland all have a common 'enemy' - Imperial Japan. It would be to our advantage if we were to coordinate our defence measures. Is there any reason not to include Siam? I believe you already have a COHQ in the Far East, is that correct, Admiral?"
"A fledgling operation in Singapore."
"It will be receiving more attention in the near future. We need a report on Siam including its relations with neighbouring countries." Time to drink some coffee while hearing of border tensions between France and Siam. I whispered to Winston, "Anthony Eden needs to have a chat with his French counterpart. The last thing we need is Siam becoming a Japanese ally because of a small piece of Indochine." He agreed.

"The last topic I have is the Middle East with a sprinkling of the Near East. At the weekend it came my attention that my family's bank, the London and Midlands, is heavily involved with the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC). It's a 100% subsidiary of a firm they own. I don't have all the facts yet and I've made them aware of the problems. I'm going to let them address the situation for the moment but I would like to propose that we send a Colonel to be part of the AIOC staff to ensure necessary changes are being made.
The situation in Egypt and Palestine is of greater concern. What can you tell us Orde? Do the Egyptian authorities have the situation under control?"
"They closed Gizeh University for a few days but the protests continue, if not on a daily basis."
"Have there been any actions directed against British forces?"
"No."
"We need to keep a low profile," Winston said, "and allow the Egyptians to maintain order."
"Winston, we could ready a few battalions of the 51st Division to be moved north if necessary and that will mean transports be available at Massawa, Eritrea."
"I'll consider it, Bob."
"I intend visiting Egypt and Palestine and perhaps Amman and Abadan at the beginning of December. I need a list of people who I need to meet. Orde and Thomas, don't disappear this week. We have other things to talk about. Plan to be here for a week."
There were still a couple of doughnuts remaining so I grabbed them both. One is for Sally.