The spring of 1940 saw the British people completely united in their determination to win the war against Nazism.
We give below excerpts from advice to custodians of the nation’s food supplies, the text of a Franco British undertaking so soon to be rendered void, and the moving speeches of Mr Chamberlain after resigning from the Premiership and of Mr Churchill when he assumed office.
Sir Samuel Hoare, Lord Privy Seal in Broadcast Message to Farmers, March 11th 1940.
From all sides I hear tell of the ploughs going up and down night and day .From all sides I hear of big farmers and small holders, and the man with the spade who digs his own allotment, pushing on with the work.
From one of the biggest counties I hear that they intend far to exceed their quota, from another country that they will finish in 23 ploughing days ….
Let us lighten our ships burden of foreign food, and by this means free our hands for victory in the war, and make our land richer and stronger for the days of peace.
For the harvest will surely come with its reward for those who have worked for it, for our men under arms, and for our workers at home, and not least among them you men and women on the land of Britain.
Not then in vain will have been the toil of sowing, the watching and waiting, the troubles and anxieties of war.
For the end of a victorious war will be the greatest harvest home that the world has ever seen.
Declaration issued after a Meeting of the Supreme War Council in London, March 28th 1940
The Government of the FrenchRepublic and his Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland mutually undertake that during the present war they will neither negotiate nor conclude an armistice or treaty of peace except by mutual agreement.
They undertake not to discuss peace terms before reaching complete agreement on the conditions necessary to ensure to each of them an effective and lasting guarantee of their security.
Finally , they undertake to maintain, after the conclusion of peace, a community of action in all spheres for so long as may be necessary to safeguard their security and to effect the reconstruction, with the assistance of other nations , of an international order which will ensure the liberty of peoples, respect for law and maintenance of peace in Europe.
Lord Woolton, Minister of Food at a Meeting in the Queen’s Hall April 5th 1940
Today in my first speech as Minister of Food, I am going to call on the women of England to mobilize themselves on the Kitchen Front.
It doesn’t sound romantic, it doesn’t sound grand, it isn’t dangerous work, but it is vital to our victory.
I want women of England to go into training for the days which may come when the whole staying power of the nation will depend on them being able to keep up the energy and the spirits of the industrial workers of this country by feeding them sufficiently when supplies are difficult, when things they have been accustomed to eat and to use in cooking are no longer available
We have to experiment now, when it is not necessary, so that we can be ready. We cannot be carefree because we have got the food, we must husband it, and while we are in this happy position we must consider and prepare for the future, looking as it at the worst.
Mr Chamberlain in a Speech Broadcast after his Resignation May 10th1940
Early this morning, without warning or excuse, Hitler added another to the horrible crimes which already disgrace his name by a sudden attack on Holland, Belgium and Luxemburg.
In all history no other man has been responsible for such a hideous toll of human suffering and misery as he.
He has chosen a moment when perhaps it seemed to him that this country was entangled in the throes of a political crisis and when he might find it divided against itself.
If he has counted on our internal divisions to help him he has miscalculated the minds of this people.
I am not now going to make any comment on the debate of the House of Commons which took place on Tuesday and Wednesday.
But when it was over I had no doubt in my mind that some new and drastic action must be taken if confidence was to be restored in the House of Commons and the war carried on with the vigour and energy essential to victory.
It was clear that at this critical moment in the war what was needed was the formation of a Government which would include members of the Liberal and Labour Opposition, and thus present a united front to the enemy
By this afternoon it was apparent that the essential unity could be secured under another Prime Minister.
In these circumstances my duty was plain.
I sought an audience of the King this evening and tendered to him my resignation, which his Majesty has been pleased to accept.
The King has now entrusted to my friend and colleague, Mr Winston Churchill, the task of forming a new Administration on a national basis, and in this task I have no doubt he will be successful.
The hour has come when we are to be put to the test, as the innocent people of Holland and Belgium and France are being tested already, and you and I must rally behind our new leader, and with our united strength and with unshakable courage fight and work until this wild beast that has sprung out of his lair upon us is finally disarmed and overthrown.
Mr Churchill in a Speech in the House of Commons May 13th 1940.
On Friday evening last I received his Majesty’s commission to form a new Administration.
It was the evident wish and will of Parliament and the nation that this should be conceived on the broadest possible basis and that it should be includes all parties, both those who supported the late Government and also the parties of the Opposition.
I have completed the most important part of this task.
A War Cabinet has been formed of five members representing, with the Opposition Liberals, the unity of the nation.
The three party Leaders have agreed to serve, either in the War Cabinet or in high executive office.
The three Fighting Services have been filled. It was necessary that this should be done in one single day, on account of the extreme urgency and rigour of events.
A number of other positions, other key positions, were filled yesterday, and i am submitting a further list to his Majesty tonight.
To form an Administration of this scale and complexity is a serious undertaking in itself, but it must be remembered that we are in the preliminary stage of one of the greatest battles in history and that we are in action at many other points in Norway and in Holland, that we have to be prepared in the Mediterranean, that the air battle is continuous, and that many preparations have to be made here at home.
I would say to the House as I said to those who have joined this Government, I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat.
We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering.
You ask what is our policy , I will say , it is to wage war ,by sea, land, and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us , and to wage war against a monstrous tyranny , never surpassed in the dark , lamentable catalogue of human crime, this is our Policy.
You ask what is our aim, I can answer in one word, it is victory – victory at all costs victory in spite of all terrors victory, however long and hard the road may be, for without victory there is no survival let that be realized no survival for the British Empire, no survival for all that the British Empire has stood for, no survival for the urge and impulse of the ages, that mankind will move forward towards its goal.
I take up my task with buoyancy and hope, and I feel sure that our cause will not be suffered to fail among men.
At this time I feel entitled to claim the aid of all, and I say “come then, let us go forward together with our united strength”.
