Post by Diarist on Dec 28, 2016 20:03:18 GMT 1
Winston called me at the MCD to inform me that we're meeting at the Naval and Military Club at Cambridge House, Piccadilly. Ladies are welcome there. It's also called the In & Out Club. Duff Cooper was waiting at the entrance to sign us in then we went to The Goat (Bar and Brasserie). Guess who was last again. "That was a very constructive meeting this afternoon. Thank you Bob and Louis," Duff said after the drinks had arrived.
"I agree," Winston added. "The carrier fleets will dominate the oceans and we need to find ways of defeating them."
"I like the bouncing bombs idea," Sally said. "The crazy things you people think of."
Winston replied, "Sally, we British aren't crazy, we're certified."
"In other words, it's official," I added.
"Will you be at work tomorrow morning, Bob."
"We'll be dropping in on the way home after we collect Sally's parents in Bromley. Will you be at the TRADOC party tomorrow evening, Winston?"
"I wouldn't miss it for the world. I'm staying at Rab's home for the night. I'll be bringing him as my guest. Are you taking your parents?"
"No, they'll be at the Conservative Party Club with Lady Gort."
"King Leopold told me that your Mum invited him in for a cup of tea yesterday."
"Yes. I can imagine her saying 'Sup up, luv'. She's a real Yorkshire lass and likes meeting people."
"How long did you live in Yorkshire?"
"My first eight years. It's different to Kent. On the bus everybody talks to the other passengers sitting next to them. In the south we politely ignore each other. I used to received a slap if I didn't stand up quick enough to offer a lady my seat."
"Where did you live?"
"In Doncaster, a coal mining area and LNER has an engineering operation there. My grandfather was a train driver so he wasn't called up in the last war."
"Bob's on his way to be a war profiteer. Did you see the SMG this morning, Louis?"
"I did. A fantastic design and it only costs three quid?"
"Yes and that's the luxury version. The Thompson costs $250 a piece! Now that's saving some money."
"You intend that to be the standard infantry weapon?"
"No, Louis. It only has an effective range of 100 yards and is for paratroopers who need a compact weapon with firepower which they can carry with them when they jump. I'd even recommend it for commandos, tank crews and possibly aircraft crews too in case they have to bail out behind enemy lines."
"Boarding parties for the Navy and Marines too."
"Exactly. I'm counting the licence fees already. We can have our Yankee friends produce it too. I want our infantry squads to have more firepower. It's that simple."
"Sally, as a German, what do you think of Bob's proposal to befriend a post-Hitler Germany?" Winston changed the subject.
"It won't be easy if they have to concede defeat and a reversal of their Jewish policies will be difficult for the general public to swallow. I also believe that they have to violate the Locarno Treaties in order to successfully overthrow Hitler. We shouldn't punish the anti-Hitler faction for that because the people have to recognize that Hitler got them into a new war."
"That's good argument," Churchill admitted.
"I'd like see all the Gauleiters replaced with Jews," I added.
"And execute the Gauleiters too?"
"If they have blood on their hands they don't deserve to live, Louis. Rehabilitation won't work so what other choice. I'm just saying that we should give them a dose of Nazi medicine."
"Two wrongs don't make a right, Bob."
"Nothing will make ardent Nazis right again, Winston. They need to be culled. Okay, we could put them in labour camps in the desert building roads. We wouldn't have to guard them either because if they run away the desert will kill them."
"There's a side to you that I don't know."
"It's my pragmatic, practical side and you do know it. What is wrong with politicians and diplomats is that they always look for a nice solution to an nasty problem. There is no nice solution to Nazi Germany, gentlemen. Germany needs a fair deal but the Nazis don't. Can we change the subject?"
"What other businesses have you started, Bob? I seem to recall you asking Edward and myself about business projects during the summer."
"That was before I heard of my inheritance. I found out that I'm already in the armaments business. I've bought half of de Havilland and half of Scammell since then so that they have the funding for further expansion. The SMG project is minute compared to those businesses."
"Do you have any Navy ideas?"
"I have some ideas for new warship designs but I'm working with Thorneycroft and Vosper on those. Oh, George Patton and I are designing a super tank."
"It appears that I'm not giving you enough work."
"He does too much work at home so no more!" He got his marching orders from Sally.
"And you also need a Secretary of War. Edward should get the job when he becomes King."
"You know the restrictions concerning the Royal Family and politics, Bob. By the way, are you still available on New Year's Eve?"
"Yes. At two o'clock and it's a stupid restriction if it means that a qualified Commander in Chief can't attend a Defence Cabinet meeting just because he is the King. It's especially stupid when we have a horrific World War on the horizon."
"Democracy can be frustrating."
"Why don't we turn communist and join COMINTERN. France and Spain aren't too far from doing that either. We could ally ourselves with the Soviet Union to deal with Japan then divide up Europe between us."
"I'm not that frustrated, Bob."
"Neither am I but it does good to weigh our options every now and then. It doesn't change the fact that you need a Secretary of War."
Duff agreed. "Bob's right, Winston."
"Bob, Prince Edward and TRADOC are filling that role adequately. One more round then I'm going home."
"I'll take a White Shield, please then give Edward the goddamned job so that TRADOC and I can concentrate on Force Readiness and SOE stuff. There's too much overlap at the moment. I also remember that the PM gave you a free hand to decide how best to utilize Edward within the MoD."
"You're right, Bob. He did. Cheers!"
"Cheers," we returned.
"I agree," Winston added. "The carrier fleets will dominate the oceans and we need to find ways of defeating them."
"I like the bouncing bombs idea," Sally said. "The crazy things you people think of."
Winston replied, "Sally, we British aren't crazy, we're certified."
"In other words, it's official," I added.
"Will you be at work tomorrow morning, Bob."
"We'll be dropping in on the way home after we collect Sally's parents in Bromley. Will you be at the TRADOC party tomorrow evening, Winston?"
"I wouldn't miss it for the world. I'm staying at Rab's home for the night. I'll be bringing him as my guest. Are you taking your parents?"
"No, they'll be at the Conservative Party Club with Lady Gort."
"King Leopold told me that your Mum invited him in for a cup of tea yesterday."
"Yes. I can imagine her saying 'Sup up, luv'. She's a real Yorkshire lass and likes meeting people."
"How long did you live in Yorkshire?"
"My first eight years. It's different to Kent. On the bus everybody talks to the other passengers sitting next to them. In the south we politely ignore each other. I used to received a slap if I didn't stand up quick enough to offer a lady my seat."
"Where did you live?"
"In Doncaster, a coal mining area and LNER has an engineering operation there. My grandfather was a train driver so he wasn't called up in the last war."
"Bob's on his way to be a war profiteer. Did you see the SMG this morning, Louis?"
"I did. A fantastic design and it only costs three quid?"
"Yes and that's the luxury version. The Thompson costs $250 a piece! Now that's saving some money."
"You intend that to be the standard infantry weapon?"
"No, Louis. It only has an effective range of 100 yards and is for paratroopers who need a compact weapon with firepower which they can carry with them when they jump. I'd even recommend it for commandos, tank crews and possibly aircraft crews too in case they have to bail out behind enemy lines."
"Boarding parties for the Navy and Marines too."
"Exactly. I'm counting the licence fees already. We can have our Yankee friends produce it too. I want our infantry squads to have more firepower. It's that simple."
"Sally, as a German, what do you think of Bob's proposal to befriend a post-Hitler Germany?" Winston changed the subject.
"It won't be easy if they have to concede defeat and a reversal of their Jewish policies will be difficult for the general public to swallow. I also believe that they have to violate the Locarno Treaties in order to successfully overthrow Hitler. We shouldn't punish the anti-Hitler faction for that because the people have to recognize that Hitler got them into a new war."
"That's good argument," Churchill admitted.
"I'd like see all the Gauleiters replaced with Jews," I added.
"And execute the Gauleiters too?"
"If they have blood on their hands they don't deserve to live, Louis. Rehabilitation won't work so what other choice. I'm just saying that we should give them a dose of Nazi medicine."
"Two wrongs don't make a right, Bob."
"Nothing will make ardent Nazis right again, Winston. They need to be culled. Okay, we could put them in labour camps in the desert building roads. We wouldn't have to guard them either because if they run away the desert will kill them."
"There's a side to you that I don't know."
"It's my pragmatic, practical side and you do know it. What is wrong with politicians and diplomats is that they always look for a nice solution to an nasty problem. There is no nice solution to Nazi Germany, gentlemen. Germany needs a fair deal but the Nazis don't. Can we change the subject?"
"What other businesses have you started, Bob? I seem to recall you asking Edward and myself about business projects during the summer."
"That was before I heard of my inheritance. I found out that I'm already in the armaments business. I've bought half of de Havilland and half of Scammell since then so that they have the funding for further expansion. The SMG project is minute compared to those businesses."
"Do you have any Navy ideas?"
"I have some ideas for new warship designs but I'm working with Thorneycroft and Vosper on those. Oh, George Patton and I are designing a super tank."
"It appears that I'm not giving you enough work."
"He does too much work at home so no more!" He got his marching orders from Sally.
"And you also need a Secretary of War. Edward should get the job when he becomes King."
"You know the restrictions concerning the Royal Family and politics, Bob. By the way, are you still available on New Year's Eve?"
"Yes. At two o'clock and it's a stupid restriction if it means that a qualified Commander in Chief can't attend a Defence Cabinet meeting just because he is the King. It's especially stupid when we have a horrific World War on the horizon."
"Democracy can be frustrating."
"Why don't we turn communist and join COMINTERN. France and Spain aren't too far from doing that either. We could ally ourselves with the Soviet Union to deal with Japan then divide up Europe between us."
"I'm not that frustrated, Bob."
"Neither am I but it does good to weigh our options every now and then. It doesn't change the fact that you need a Secretary of War."
Duff agreed. "Bob's right, Winston."
"Bob, Prince Edward and TRADOC are filling that role adequately. One more round then I'm going home."
"I'll take a White Shield, please then give Edward the goddamned job so that TRADOC and I can concentrate on Force Readiness and SOE stuff. There's too much overlap at the moment. I also remember that the PM gave you a free hand to decide how best to utilize Edward within the MoD."
"You're right, Bob. He did. Cheers!"
"Cheers," we returned.