LOCKED
AWAY: Queen Elizabeth's correspondence with her beloved Lord Halifax
was sealed for a century after her death. Halifax, then Foreign Secretary, is seen, left,
with Nazi chief Hermann Goering during a 1937 visit to Germany. Who were the traitors urging
surrender to the Nazis in 1940?
by Sue Davies
My dad was an RAF Regiment regular and, though Cardiff-born, I was raised on air bases all over Britain and abroad. As a result I have a healthy respect for service men and women but precious little for the commanders, politicians and those royals whose chests-full of medals are rarely genuinely earned.
It is also why my passion for historical research includes seeking the truth about wartime events.
So I have no problem with Britain having an Armed Forces Day – our forces deserve it – though I fail to see why in Wales the AFD flag should not be the Welsh Dragon, Wales being deliberately kept off the Union Flag.
I have another big concern. And to understand it we need to return to 1940 when Britain stood alone in the face of the all-conquering Nazis who had swept across Europe. We now know that before the war several aristocrats as well as at least two members of the royal family were (even if they didn’t particularly like Hitler) strongly sympathetic to Nazi ideals, which included the persecution of Jews.
From that murky pool, in 1940 when all seemed lost, sprang the idea that Britain should surrender to Germany and accept the bare bones of a peace deal then doing the diplomatic rounds in Europe - basically that, in return for Germany being given a free hand in Europe, Britain would be allowed to keep its empire and, most importantly of all, its monarchy. A hand-over of British Jews seemed likely.
This dangerous nonsense ended when hard-line Churchill became Prime Minister in May, 1940. What I – along with historians and researchers – want to know is: precisely who were the traitors so willing to betray Britain earlier that year?
After the war, researchers trying to answer that question found there had been a a sudden and wholesale clear-out of files that could have cast light on the subject. But there exists a box of correspondence - the famous (or infamous) Box 24 - containing correspondence between Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother) and several appeasement figures, including Lord Halifax (who she adored and wanted as PM rather than Churchill). That box’s contents are being kept secret until 100 years after her death. Why?
So, before I accept any royal as truly deserving to lead military events, such as Armed Forces Day, I want to see that question answered through a full-scale independent public enquiry. Even 70 years on, the answer is out there somewhere. Britain’s brave military men and women deserve no less.
Much mangled letter
I sent a letter to the Western Mail as above, verbatim. It was published but, as is often the case with my letters offering a dissident viewpoint, the letter was much mangled by the Mail's censors and made to look as if I saying something else. See for yourself, here's what the Mail published, headed Open Box 24:
SIR – I have no problem with there being an Armed Forces Day – our forces deserve it – though I fail to see why in Wales the AFD flag should not be the Welsh Dragon, Wales not being represented on the Union Flag.
I have another big concern. And to understand it we have to go back to 1940 when Britain stood alone in the face of the all-conquering Nazis. We now know that before the war several aristocrats as well as at least two members of the Royal Family were strongly sympathetic to Nazi ideals.
This dangerous nonsense ended when hard-line Churchill became Prime minister in May, 1940. What I – along with historians and researchers – want to know is: precisely who were the traitors so willing to betray Britain earlier that year?
After the war, researchers trying to answer that question found there had been a sudden and wholesale clear-out of files that could have cast light on the subject. But there exists a box of correspondence – the famous (or infamous) Box 24 – containing correspondence between Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother) and several appeasement figures.
That box’s contents are being kept secret until 100 years after her death. Why?
So, before I accept any royal as truly deserving to lead military events, such as Armed Forces Day, I want to see that question answered through a full-scale independent public enquiry.
SUE DAVIES
Whitchurch, Cardiff
Note the ommisions:
* All mention of my childhood/military background (the reason why I support Armed forces Day) and all my criticism of commanders and royals with unearned medals.
* All mention that there was anyone
in 1940 urging surrender to the Nazis (a matter of record), leaving it
looking as if I was only concerned with some sympathisers in the 1930s.
I wasn't.
* All mention of the "peace deal" terms (again, a matter of record).
* All mention of Lord Halifax and QE's strong support for him (again a matter of record).