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Otago Daily Times, Issue 27357, 5 April 1950, Page 7

CHURCHILL MEMOIRS

An Exciting Return Home By Winston S. Churchill XL. When I got back to The White House I found that great progress had been made by the Combined Chiefs of Staff, and that it was mostly in harmony with my views. The President convened a meeting on January 12, when there was complete agreement upon the broad principles and targets of the war. The differences were confined to priorities and emphasis, and all was ruled by that harsh and despotic factor, shipping. “ The President,” says the British record, “ set great store on organising a ‘ Super-Gymnast ’ —i.e., a combined United StatesBritish expedition to North Africa. A tentative time table had been worked out for putting 90,000 United States and 90,000 British troops, together with a considerable air force, into North Africa.”

It was settled to send three or four divisions of American troops to Northern Ireland, with the objects which have been described. The President had told me privately that he would, if necessary as quickly as possible, send 50,000 United States troops to Australia and the islands covering its approaches, by the Japanese. Twenty-five thousand were to go as soon as possible to occupy New Caledonia, and other stepping-stones between'America and Australasia. On ” Grand Strategy ” the Staffs agreed that “ only the minimum of forces necessary for the safeguarding of vital interests in other theatres should be diverted from operations against Germany.” No one had more to do with obtaining this cardinal decision than General Marshall.

One evening the general came to see me and put a hard question. He had agreed to send nearly 100,000 American soldiers to Northern Ireland. We had, of course, placed the two “ Queens ” —the only two 80,000-ton ships in the world—at his disposal for this purpose. General Marshall asked me how many men we ought to put on board, observing that boats, rafts and other means of flotation could only be provided for about 8000. If this were disregarded they could carry 16,000 men. I gave the following answer: “I can only tell you what we should do. You must judge for yourself the risks you will run. If it were a direct part of an actual operation, we should put all on board they could carry. If it were only a question of moving troops in a reasonable time, we should not go beyond the limits of life-boats, rafts, etc. It is for you to decide.” He received this in silence and our conversation turned to other matters. In their first voyages these ships carried only the lesser numbers, but later on they were filled to the brim. As it happened, Fortune stood our friend. Plans For Return The time had now come when I must leave the hospitable and exhilarating atmosphere of the White House and of the American nation, erect and infuriate against tyrants and aggressors. It was to no sunlit prospect that I must return. Eager though I was to be back in London, and sure of ultimate victory,. I felt continually the approaching impact of a period of immense disasters which must last for many months. My hopes of a victory in the Western Desert, in which Rommel would be destroyed, had faded. Rommel had escaped. The results of Auchinleck’s successes at Sidi Rezegh and at Gazala had not been decisive. The prestige which these had given us m the making of all our plans for the Anglo-American descent on Frerfch North Africa was definitely weakened and this operation was obviously set back for months. * * * * Prime Minister to Lord Privy Seal, Jan. 12, 1942. As I shall soon be silent for a while, though I trust not forever, pray cable tonight any outstanding points which require decision here before I leave. On the 14th I took leave of the President. He seemed concerned about the dangers of the voyage. Our presence in Washington had been for many days public to the world, and the charts showed more than .20 U-boats on our homeward courses. We flew in beautiful weather from Norfolk Roads to Bermuda, where the Duke of York, escorting destroyers, awaited us inside the coral reefs, r. travelled in an enormous Boeing Clipper” flying boat, which made a most favourable impression upon me - During the three hours’ trip I made friends with the captain, Commander Kelly Rogers, who seemed a man of high quality and experience. 1 took the controls for a bit, to reel this ponderous machine of 30 or more tons in the air. I got more and more attached to the Clipper. * asked the captain, What about flying from Bermuda to England? Can she carry enough petrol?” Under his stolid ex*e“®r be became visibly excited. Of course we can do it. The present weather forecast would give a 40-mile-an-hour wind behind us. We could do it in 20 1 .asked how far it .was, and he saffi, “About 3500 miles.” At this I became thoughtful. However when we landed I opened the matter to Portal and Pound. Formidable events were happening in Malaya; we ought all to be back at the earliest moment. The Chief of the Air btaff said at once that he thought the rrsk wholly unjustifiable, and he could not take the responsibility for it. The First Sea Lord supported his colleague. There was the Duke of York with her destroyers, all ready for us offering comfort and a certainty. I said, ‘What about the U-boats you have been pointing out to me? ” The admiral made a disdainful' gesture about them, which showed his real opinion of such a menace to a properlyescorted and fast battleship. It occurred to me that both these officers thought my plan was to fly myself and leave them to come back in the Duke of York, so I said, “Of course there would be room for all of us.” They both visibly changed countenance at this. After a considerable pause. Portal said that the matter might be looked into, and that he would discuss it at length with the captain of the Clipper, and go into weather prospects with the meteorological authorities. I left it at that. Decision To Fly

Two hours later they both returned, and Portal said he thought it might be done. The aircraft could certainly accomplish the task under seasonable conditions; the weather outlook was exceptionally favourable on account of the strong following wind. No doubt it was very important to get home quickly. Pound said he had formed a very high opinion of the aircraft skipper, who certainly had unrivalled experience. Of course, there was a risk, but on the other hand there were the U-boats to consider. So we settled to go unless the weather deteriorated. The starting time was 2 p.m. the next day. It was thought necessary to reduce our baggage to a few boxes of vital papers. Dill was to remain behind in Washington as my personal military representative with the President. Our party would consist only of myself. the twd Chiefs of Staff, and Max Beaverbrook, Charles Moran, and Hollis. All the rest would go by the Duke of York. That afternoon I addressed the Bermuda Assembly, which is the oldest parliamentary institution in the western hemisphere. I pleaded with them to give their assent and all their aid to the establishment of the United States naval and air bases in the island, about which they were in some distress. The life of the whole Empire was at stake. The smooth working of our alliance with the United States made final victory certain, however long the journev might be. They did not demur. The Governor. Lord Knollys, gave a banquet that night to' the island notables and their fleeting guests.

We were all in high spirits. Only Tommy, my flag commander, as I called him, was in terror that there would be no room for him. He explained how deeply wounded he was at the idea of going home by sea. I reminded him of his devotion to the naval service, and of the pleasures to a hardy sailor of a life on the ocean wave. I dwelt upon the undeniable hazards from the U-boats. He was quite inconsolable. However, he had a plan. He had persuaded one of the stewards of the Clipper to let, him take his place; he would do the washing up himself. But what, I asked, would the captain say? Tommy thought that if at the last moment the captain were confronted with the arrangement, he would make no objection. He had ascertained that he weighed less than the steward. I shrugged my shoulders, and on this we went to bed in the small hours of the morning. I woke up unconscionably early vvith the conviction that I should certainly not go to sleep again. I must confess that I felt rather frightened. I thought of the ocean spaces, and that we "should never be within 1000 miles. of land until we approached the British Isles. I thought perhaps I had done a rash thing, that there were too many eggs in one basket. I had always regarded an Atlantic flight with awe. But the die was cast. Still, I must admit that if at breakfast, or even before luncheon, they had come to me to report that the weather had changed and we must go by sea, I should have easily reconciled myself to a voyage in the splendid ship which had come all this way to fetch us. J .. . . , Divine sunlight lapped the island, and the favourable weather prospects were confirmed. At noon we reached the Clipper by launch. We were delayed for an hour on the quay because a picket boat which had gone to the Duke of York for items of baggage had taken longer than expected. Tommy stood disconsolate. The captain had brushed his project aside in a way that captains have. The steward was a trained member of the crew; he could not take one smgle person more; every tank was filled to the brim with petrol. It would be quite a task getting off the water even as it was. So we taxied out to the far end of the harbour, leaving Tommy lamenting bitterly. Never before and never afterwards were we separated in these excursions. Mistaken For Enemy It was, as the captain had predicted, quite a job to get off the water. Indeed, I thought that We should hardly clear the low hills which closed the harbour. There was really no danger; we were in sure hands. The flyingboat lifted ponderously a-quarter of a mile from the reef, and we had several hundred feet of height to spare. There is no doubt about the comfort of these great flying-boats. I had a good broad bed in the bridal suite at. the stem with large windows on either side. It was quite a long walk, 30 or 40 feet, downhill through the various, compartments to the saloon and dining room, where nothing was lacking in food or drink. The motion was smooth, the vibration not unpleasant, and we passed an agreeable afternoon and had a merry dinner. These boats have two storeys, and one walks up a regular staircase to the control room. Darkness had fallen and all the reports were good. We were now flying through dense mist at about 7000 feet. One could see the leading edge of the wings, with their great flaming exhausts pouring back over the wing surfaces. In these machines at this time a large rubber tube which expanded and contracted at intervals was used to prevent icing. The captain explained to me how it worked, and we saw from time to time the ice splintering off as it expanded. I went to bed and slept soundly for several hours, y * * * * •*

I woke just before the dawn and went forward to the controls. The daylight grew. Beneath us Was an almost unbroken floor of clouds. After sitting for an hour or so m the co-pilot’s seat, I sensed a feeling of anxiety around me. We were supposed to be approaching England from, the south-west and we ought already to have'passed the Scilly Islands, but they had not been seen through any of the gaps In the cloud floor. As we had flown for more than 10 hours / through mist and had had only one sight of a star in that time, we might well be slightly off our course after such a lengthy flight. Wireless communication was of course limited by. the normal war-time rules; It was evident from the discussions which were going on that we did not krfow where we were. Presently Portal, who had been studying the position, had a word with the captain, and then said to me, “We are going to turn north at once.” This was done, and after another half-hour in and out of thq clouds we sighted England, and soon arrived over Plymouth, where, avoiding the balloons, which were all shining, we landed comfortably. As I left the aircraft, the captain remarked, “1 1 never felt so much relieved in my life as when I landed you safely in the harbour.” I did not appreciate the significance of his remark at that moment. Later on I learnt that If we had held on our course for another five or six minutes before turning northwards we should have been over the German batteries in Brest. We had slanted too much to the southward during the night. Moreover the decisive correction which had been made brought us in. not from the south-west, but from just east of south—that is to say, from the enemy’s ' direction rather than that from which we were expected. This had the result, as I wps told some weeks later, that we were reported as a hostile bomber coming in from Brest, and six Hurricanes from Fighter Command were ordered out to shoot us dpwn. However, they failed in their mission. To President Roosevelt, I cabled, “We got here with a good hop from Bermuda and a 30-mile wind.”

Copyright, 1950. in USA by the New York Times Company and Time, Inc. (publisher of Time and Life); in the British Empire by the Daily Telegraph. Ltd.; elsewhere by International Cooperation Press Service, Inc. World rights reserved. Reproduction in full or in part in any language strictly prohibited.

This concludes the publication of instalments of excerpts from Volume -111 of “The Second World War.” entitled “The Grand Alliance.”