Post by Diarist on Nov 28, 2016 5:00:28 GMT 1
At MCD I asked COL Wilkins to give me five minutes to get organized and talk to Sally then I need to speak to him and Louis Mountbatten.
"Sally, we've been invited to the United States and a cabin has been booked for us on the RMS Franconia. It sails from London on the 27th, next Friday, bound for New York. I want to reserve another cabin for Mum but the return journey will be on a warship or she can stay in New York and wait for the next cruise liner to England."
"Who invited us?"
"General Craig, the US Army Chief of Staff. We'll be catching the train from New York to DC but I want to visit Edward Mitchell III for a day or so and hopefully meet the Morgan family too. But first I have to call Cunard-White Star to enquire whether there are any free cabins. Ask COL Wilkins and Louis to come in and join us, please."
"So you're officially back at work now?" Louis asked.
"Until next Thursday then Friday Sally and I will be travelling across the pond to America. Have you heard about Prince Edward's new assignment?" Nobody had. "Starting next Monday he'll be working in the MoD as Liaison Officer to TRADOC leaving me free to concentrate on Force Readiness and our SOE work."
"What caused that?"
"Why don't you ask him. Sally, can you find the phone number for Cunard, please? So, to business. Tomorrow morning I'll be bringing a Belgian and a Dutch general here. They'll be planning a Belgian-Dutch response to a German remilitarization of the Rhineland so they'll need an office here with three desks and a safe. A mission for SSG Hargreaves."
"Three desks?"
"The third is for COL de Gaulle. He'll be working with them until he goes back to France sometime in January."
"Good. I can't remember seeing that it in your notes."
"It was part of my 'Winston only' package. He's approved it. He's also approved the export of Hawker Hurricane fighters to our friends in Europe. Actually they'll be allowed to build them under licence if they wish but the engines will have to be imported. Here is a list of interested customers."
"You've been busy in Europe, Bob."
"Next is Admiral Keyes. Do you have any idea where he is, Louis?"
"I believe he's at the Admiralty this week. Do you need to talk to him?"
"Yes. We have an SOE lunch date at the Army and Navy Club on Friday and he needs to be there. I also need to talk him before the meeting. I'll call Duff Cooper."
"Anything you need to add concerning Palestine?"
"I'd like to know which ships are assigned to our fleet at Alexandria. We need a couple of battleships there as a show of force."
"Your plans appear to be pro-Jewish. Is that intentional?"
"The Palestinian Arabs aren't interested in a compromise and their leader is a fan of Adolf and Mussolini. He likes Hitler's policy towards the Jews but can't understand that it's precisely this policy that's causing the immigration problem. He also supports the Arab terrorists. Not the ideal negotiating partner. The plan calls for Emir Abdullah to becoming King of Jordan including Arab Palestine after we partition the territory. The PM wants me to go back to Palestine in February and try to negotiate a permanent truce. I'm buying time to prepare our forces for a conflict. Here's the battle plan that's been approved by the PM and Winston Churchill. Winston needs a daily update on that. Personal delivery. 'His eyes only'. Coffee anyone?" It had finished percolating. "Did I miss anything in Spain?"
"There's just the usual tensions."
"The last thing we need is a civil war with Stalin supporting one side and Hitler supporting the other. Neither victor would be a pleasant neighbour on France's southern border. We need a third option, gentlemen."
"What if we support the Franco side under the condition that they stay away from Hitler?"
"Do we have any contact person near to Franco?"
"What about your friend in the Spanish Embassy here in London?"
"Now why didn't I think of that? Great idea, Louis. We need a plan though. Can you have someone organize that?"
"I'll supervise it myself," Louis answered.
"Fine, I have to make a few phone calls."
Sally came in and told me that the cruise liner is fully booked. "There aren't many at this time of year."
"Thanks for trying."
I then called Duff Cooper and we discussed sending a couple of battleships to Alexandria. He also got Admiral Keyes on the phone. We'll be meeting at the Dorchester so I quickly wrote a letter to Wilhelm Canaris so I have a reason to invite LTC Rodriguez there too. I asked him to bring his wife too.
"Sally, we've been invited to the United States and a cabin has been booked for us on the RMS Franconia. It sails from London on the 27th, next Friday, bound for New York. I want to reserve another cabin for Mum but the return journey will be on a warship or she can stay in New York and wait for the next cruise liner to England."
"Who invited us?"
"General Craig, the US Army Chief of Staff. We'll be catching the train from New York to DC but I want to visit Edward Mitchell III for a day or so and hopefully meet the Morgan family too. But first I have to call Cunard-White Star to enquire whether there are any free cabins. Ask COL Wilkins and Louis to come in and join us, please."
"So you're officially back at work now?" Louis asked.
"Until next Thursday then Friday Sally and I will be travelling across the pond to America. Have you heard about Prince Edward's new assignment?" Nobody had. "Starting next Monday he'll be working in the MoD as Liaison Officer to TRADOC leaving me free to concentrate on Force Readiness and our SOE work."
"What caused that?"
"Why don't you ask him. Sally, can you find the phone number for Cunard, please? So, to business. Tomorrow morning I'll be bringing a Belgian and a Dutch general here. They'll be planning a Belgian-Dutch response to a German remilitarization of the Rhineland so they'll need an office here with three desks and a safe. A mission for SSG Hargreaves."
"Three desks?"
"The third is for COL de Gaulle. He'll be working with them until he goes back to France sometime in January."
"Good. I can't remember seeing that it in your notes."
"It was part of my 'Winston only' package. He's approved it. He's also approved the export of Hawker Hurricane fighters to our friends in Europe. Actually they'll be allowed to build them under licence if they wish but the engines will have to be imported. Here is a list of interested customers."
"You've been busy in Europe, Bob."
"Next is Admiral Keyes. Do you have any idea where he is, Louis?"
"I believe he's at the Admiralty this week. Do you need to talk to him?"
"Yes. We have an SOE lunch date at the Army and Navy Club on Friday and he needs to be there. I also need to talk him before the meeting. I'll call Duff Cooper."
"Anything you need to add concerning Palestine?"
"I'd like to know which ships are assigned to our fleet at Alexandria. We need a couple of battleships there as a show of force."
"Your plans appear to be pro-Jewish. Is that intentional?"
"The Palestinian Arabs aren't interested in a compromise and their leader is a fan of Adolf and Mussolini. He likes Hitler's policy towards the Jews but can't understand that it's precisely this policy that's causing the immigration problem. He also supports the Arab terrorists. Not the ideal negotiating partner. The plan calls for Emir Abdullah to becoming King of Jordan including Arab Palestine after we partition the territory. The PM wants me to go back to Palestine in February and try to negotiate a permanent truce. I'm buying time to prepare our forces for a conflict. Here's the battle plan that's been approved by the PM and Winston Churchill. Winston needs a daily update on that. Personal delivery. 'His eyes only'. Coffee anyone?" It had finished percolating. "Did I miss anything in Spain?"
"There's just the usual tensions."
"The last thing we need is a civil war with Stalin supporting one side and Hitler supporting the other. Neither victor would be a pleasant neighbour on France's southern border. We need a third option, gentlemen."
"What if we support the Franco side under the condition that they stay away from Hitler?"
"Do we have any contact person near to Franco?"
"What about your friend in the Spanish Embassy here in London?"
"Now why didn't I think of that? Great idea, Louis. We need a plan though. Can you have someone organize that?"
"I'll supervise it myself," Louis answered.
"Fine, I have to make a few phone calls."
Sally came in and told me that the cruise liner is fully booked. "There aren't many at this time of year."
"Thanks for trying."
I then called Duff Cooper and we discussed sending a couple of battleships to Alexandria. He also got Admiral Keyes on the phone. We'll be meeting at the Dorchester so I quickly wrote a letter to Wilhelm Canaris so I have a reason to invite LTC Rodriguez there too. I asked him to bring his wife too.