MOI

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1.6.41 [George Orwell]

June 1, 2011 in Baghdad, Britain, Crete, Damascus, Duke of Hamilton, Hansard, Hess, Iraq, MOI, Parliament, Political, War-time, air raid, censorship, evacuation, newspapers, oil by orwelldiaries

We are clearing out of Crete. Mention of 13,000 men being evacuated. [1] No mention yet of the total number involved. The most frightful impression will be created if we remove the British troops and leave the Greeks behind, though from a cold-blooded military point of view it might be the right thing to do.

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8.4.41 [George Orwell]

April 8, 2011 in Benghazi, Connolly, Francis Beeding, Fyvel, Germans, Greece, Hugh Slater, Italian empire, Libya, MOI, Madrid, News Chronicle, Piccadilly, Political, RAF, The Battle of Britain, Triploi, War-time, air battle by orwelldiaries

Have just read The Battle of Britain, the M.O.I.’s best-seller (there was so great a run on it that copies were unprocurable for some days). It is said to have been compiled by Francis Beeding, the writer of thrillers. I suppose it is not as bad as it might be, but seeing that it is being translated into many languages and will undoubtedly be read all over the world – it is the first historical account, at any rate in English, of the first great air battle in history – it is a pity that they did not have the sense to avoid the propagandist note altogether. The pamphlet is full of “heroic”, “glorious exploits”, etc., and the Germans are spoken of more or less slightingly. Why couldn’t they simply give a cold accurate account of the facts, which after all are favourable enough? For the sake of the bit of cheer-up that this pamphlet will accomplish in England, they throw away the chance of producing something that would be accepted all over the world as a standard authority and used to counteract German lies.

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27.6.40 [George Orwell]

June 27, 2010 in Britain, Churchill, Communism, Falangist, France, Franco, Hitler, I.L.P., Italy, L. H. Myers, MOI, Madrid, Munich, Mussolini, New Leader, Petain, Political, Rab Butler, Russia, Russo-German pact, Samuel Hoare, Spanish, Stalin, Tangier, U.S.S.R., War-time, air raid, all clear, aristocracy, german, occupation, propaganda, recruiting campaign, ruling class by orwelldiaries

It appears that the night before last, during the air-raid alarm, many people all over London were woken by the All Clear signal, took that for a warning and went to the shelters and stayed there till morning, waiting for the All Clear. This after ten months of war and God knows how many explanations of the air-raid precautions.

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