274

Mr F.K. Officer, Australian Counsellor at British Embassy in Washington, to Lt Col W.R. Hodgson, Secretary of Department of External Affairs

Cablegram 61 WASHINGTON, 9 October 1939, 5.56 p.m.

PERSONAL SECRET

My immediately preceding telegram. [1] Most confidential.

It is for this reason that it is important that our war aims should be stated as fully and clearly as possible at an early date.

A more urgent need is for much fuller publicity here as to our war effort and life under war conditions written, pictorial and on the movies. At present the Germans are away ahead of us in any department and this is undoubtedly having a subtle effect on opinion otherwise friendly to us and possibly a more serious result on that section who are somewhat detached. Anything you could do in London to urge this would be useful.

OFFICER

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1 Document 273.

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[AA: A981, WAR 45B, i]