Post by Diarist on Dec 26, 2016 10:39:29 GMT 1
I got up early this morning and quickly typed a memorandum about yesterday evening's discussion with King Leopold. Before driving to London we stopped at Church Street and gave a copy to Major Joe Collins to pass on to General Gort. In London I gave a 2nd copy to SSG Hargreaves. "Good morning. That's for Winston Churchill only."
"Good morning, Sir. I'll take care of that for you."
"Johnny, I need a corporal who speaks French for a coffee and cakes detail. The Belgian King, Leopold III, and his Defence Minister will be here some time after 09:00 so we'll need the conference room."
"I'll get Hargreaves to organize that when he returns."
"Fine, I'm going to have a chat with our Rhineland team. They are the reason for our visitors coming here. I need to bring them up to date." I collected Louis then we walked to the Rhineland office and was pleased to see that all three desks were occupied. "Good morning, gentlemen. King Leopold and Defence Minister Devèze will be here soon. Here's my notes about our conversation yesterday. After you have read it please pass it on to COL Wilkins. I believe my telephone will be ringing soon."
I'd just started typing notes for Versailles when Winston called. "I've just received your memorandum, Bob. We need to discuss it. What do you have planned today?"
"King Leopold and his SecDef will be here in an hour or two. You could drop in and invite them to lunch at the MoD. Then Duff Cooper and Admiral Royle are visiting us this afternoon to discuss a new Naval Doctrine. You're welcome to join that chat too, Winston."
"Inform me when King Leopold arrives, Bob."
"Will do. Out here."
So I got back to typing but only for about 10 minutes. Retired Major Reginald Sheppard knocked on my door and gave me an 'early Xmas present' as he called it. I opened the box and there was a submachine gun inside. "Your design may I presume?"
"Yes. What do you think?"
"Give me a moment please. Well it's a lightweight weapon. How many rounds in the magazine?"
"Thirty-two and the effective firing range is around 100 yards."
"That's adequate. What's the estimated unit cost?"
"Three pounds at the most. We could further simplify it and save even more money."
"The wooden parts could be considered an unnecessary luxury. The metal parts are stamped, correct?"
"Most of them are which means there is almost no waste because the remaining metal is recycled." He then dismantled it and assembled it again.
"Let me try that." He guided me through the dismantling process and then I reassembled it alone. "Did I forget anything?"
"No you didn't. It was fairly straight forward. It will need extensive testing before we show it to the MoD but I believe we have a winner here."
"I'm very impressed Reginald. Please pass on my congratulations to Harry. I'm sure the MoD will love it."
"What might the MoD love?" Winston was at the door. I introduced Major Reginald Sheppard (ret.) and showed him a design to replace the Thompson SMG.
"It has a unit cost of less than £3 and an effective firing range of a hundred yards."
"That is very impressive. Which firm do you work for, Major?"
"My firm, Winston. I created it when I came back from Africa then hired Reginald to design a couple of weapons. This is one of them."
"And the other."
"A squad assault weapon (SAW) to replace the Enfield. To guess your next comments we are only a design team. If the design is accepted we allow other firms to produce it under licence. I'm sure that Reginald's share of the license fees will make a handsome pension."
"You have my blessing."
"And you need someone to run the War Office. No requests are coming from there. Reginald, thank you for your Xmas present. Can I keep it?"
"I'm afraid not. We need it for the trials."
"We shall talk again in the new year. Have a Happy Christmas and New Year. In January we visit a firing range. How about the Parachute Regiment in Colchester? They'll probably be the first unit to receive them."
"Count me in too, Bob." Winston added. "A very impressive design, Major Sheppard. Enjoy the holidays."
"Thank you, Mr. Secretary, Bob."
"A positive beginning to the day don't you think so."
"Indeed I do. Back to business. Germany as an ally? That's new."
"Of course it is new. We've avoided the subject before this weekend. The new Versailles group was a French proposal which you, and may I quote, 'wholeheartedly' supported. Well King Leopold supports the idea too and the Germans will kick in his front door way before they get anywhere near to ours. Unlike Belgium we have a huge moat and no drawbridge."
"So you believe that any other result would be a return to 1919."
"Winston, if you have a better idea then please tell me. The current situation or a variation of it is not a solution."
"That's true. There's King Leopold. Let's go."
"At least I don't have to inform you that the King's here."
"Good morning, Sir. I'll take care of that for you."
"Johnny, I need a corporal who speaks French for a coffee and cakes detail. The Belgian King, Leopold III, and his Defence Minister will be here some time after 09:00 so we'll need the conference room."
"I'll get Hargreaves to organize that when he returns."
"Fine, I'm going to have a chat with our Rhineland team. They are the reason for our visitors coming here. I need to bring them up to date." I collected Louis then we walked to the Rhineland office and was pleased to see that all three desks were occupied. "Good morning, gentlemen. King Leopold and Defence Minister Devèze will be here soon. Here's my notes about our conversation yesterday. After you have read it please pass it on to COL Wilkins. I believe my telephone will be ringing soon."
I'd just started typing notes for Versailles when Winston called. "I've just received your memorandum, Bob. We need to discuss it. What do you have planned today?"
"King Leopold and his SecDef will be here in an hour or two. You could drop in and invite them to lunch at the MoD. Then Duff Cooper and Admiral Royle are visiting us this afternoon to discuss a new Naval Doctrine. You're welcome to join that chat too, Winston."
"Inform me when King Leopold arrives, Bob."
"Will do. Out here."
So I got back to typing but only for about 10 minutes. Retired Major Reginald Sheppard knocked on my door and gave me an 'early Xmas present' as he called it. I opened the box and there was a submachine gun inside. "Your design may I presume?"
"Yes. What do you think?"
"Give me a moment please. Well it's a lightweight weapon. How many rounds in the magazine?"
"Thirty-two and the effective firing range is around 100 yards."
"That's adequate. What's the estimated unit cost?"
"Three pounds at the most. We could further simplify it and save even more money."
"The wooden parts could be considered an unnecessary luxury. The metal parts are stamped, correct?"
"Most of them are which means there is almost no waste because the remaining metal is recycled." He then dismantled it and assembled it again.
"Let me try that." He guided me through the dismantling process and then I reassembled it alone. "Did I forget anything?"
"No you didn't. It was fairly straight forward. It will need extensive testing before we show it to the MoD but I believe we have a winner here."
"I'm very impressed Reginald. Please pass on my congratulations to Harry. I'm sure the MoD will love it."
"What might the MoD love?" Winston was at the door. I introduced Major Reginald Sheppard (ret.) and showed him a design to replace the Thompson SMG.
"It has a unit cost of less than £3 and an effective firing range of a hundred yards."
"That is very impressive. Which firm do you work for, Major?"
"My firm, Winston. I created it when I came back from Africa then hired Reginald to design a couple of weapons. This is one of them."
"And the other."
"A squad assault weapon (SAW) to replace the Enfield. To guess your next comments we are only a design team. If the design is accepted we allow other firms to produce it under licence. I'm sure that Reginald's share of the license fees will make a handsome pension."
"You have my blessing."
"And you need someone to run the War Office. No requests are coming from there. Reginald, thank you for your Xmas present. Can I keep it?"
"I'm afraid not. We need it for the trials."
"We shall talk again in the new year. Have a Happy Christmas and New Year. In January we visit a firing range. How about the Parachute Regiment in Colchester? They'll probably be the first unit to receive them."
"Count me in too, Bob." Winston added. "A very impressive design, Major Sheppard. Enjoy the holidays."
"Thank you, Mr. Secretary, Bob."
"A positive beginning to the day don't you think so."
"Indeed I do. Back to business. Germany as an ally? That's new."
"Of course it is new. We've avoided the subject before this weekend. The new Versailles group was a French proposal which you, and may I quote, 'wholeheartedly' supported. Well King Leopold supports the idea too and the Germans will kick in his front door way before they get anywhere near to ours. Unlike Belgium we have a huge moat and no drawbridge."
"So you believe that any other result would be a return to 1919."
"Winston, if you have a better idea then please tell me. The current situation or a variation of it is not a solution."
"That's true. There's King Leopold. Let's go."
"At least I don't have to inform you that the King's here."