Cablegram 507 LONDON, 3 July 1940, 8 p.m.
FOR THE PRIME MINISTER MOST SECRET PERSONAL FOR HIMSELF ONLY
I am most disturbed at the lack of information supplied when
advising you in Dominions Office telegram No. 22.8 [1] of complete
reversal of the United Kingdom Government’s naval policy in the
Far East and asking you to undertake the serious commitment of
sending a division to Malaya.
I have told the United Kingdom Government that personally I would
flatly refuse to entertain their request unless I received a great
deal more information as to United Kingdom appreciation of the
situation resulting from French collapse and of their plans and
strategy for the future conduct of the war.
In view of the attitude I have taken suggest that possibly the
wisest course for you would be masterly inactivity for two or
three days. If during that period I can get no satisfaction I feel
that it will be necessary for you to send a strong cable to the
Prime Minister [2] as it is essential that the United Kingdom
Government should be [stunned] [3] by someone into facing the
great and fundamental issues that now confront us, which in my
view they are not doing.
BRUCE
_
1 Documents on Australian Foreign Policy 1937-49, vol. III,
Document 459.
2 Winston S. Churchill.
3 Corrected from Bruce’s copy on file AA: A100, July 1940
_
_
[AA: A3195, 1940, 1.5035]
_