There were occasions when I was truly horrified at the cost of some of the work we did, especially the "crash" programmes. Air - craft manufacturers had long been used to working on a cost plus basis, in fact even today, many still are, and a system which encouraged excessive costs by rewarding waste with extra remuneration seemed to me iniquitous.
I took this matter up one day with Air Commodore Leedham in connection with some job or other on which I had been told to spare no expense. Looking at me with some severity behind his usual kindly expression, he spoke the words which are still engraved in my memory: "Equipment delivered after the battle at a quarter of the price is useless. Equipment delivered before the battle at twice the price is priceless."
There was a continuous problem throughout the war, of how to decide when development has gone far enough and a decision ha to be taken to produce, as, left alone, design engineers - and not only in electronics - will go on forever, perfecting and improving their pet projects. In commercial life just as in wartime, the ability to decide when to "chop" development and go into production is a most difficult decision. Given more time, any new project can be improved, but missing the market, is like being late for the battle - fatal!
As light relief from these more serious reminiscences, I remember being involved about 1942 in a minor war between Government Departments. Our hostel at Rodbourne had lost its H.M.S. status and was then housing some 25 girl operatives ranging from ex service girls to university graduates, who had been drafted under the National Service Act.
Keeping them happy at weekends and free from boredom became a major problem, and I obtained permission under the then strict petrol regulations, to use one of our Ministry of Supply Vehicles to transport a dozen or so girls each Saturday night to a dance held in the Works Canteen or at one of the local RAF stations.
This had been going on for a year or more, the journeys being entered in the Vehicle use log, when one night, our local Police Inspector, name "Edwards" prompted, I gathered, by a local busybody, stopped the driver on her way into town with the girls, and challenged our right to that use of a Government Vehicle and petrol. This was immediately reported to me as the person responsible, by the Police Inspector. I showed him the full correspondence with the M.A.J. giving permission for such use, but he nevertheless reported the case, which eventually reached the Ministry of Fuel in London.
My chief contact at the M.A.P. at the time was the late Freddie Tomlinson, who had been seconded to the Ministry from Standard Telephones and Cables on outbreak of war as deputy to Air Commodore Leedham. I gave him the details of my "crime" which he proceeded to sort out with the Ministry of Fuel, but to no avail and a summons was issued returnable at the Police Court in Malmesbury.
Tomlinson told me not to bother with defense as he was arranging to have the summons withdrawn on grounds that he had authorised the use of petrol for the purpose in question, so, when the date of the hearing came round, and I had heard nothing, I went to court still expecting that the case had been withdrawn.
I was annoyed to find that the Ministry of Fuel had sent down a Treasury Solicitor from London to prosecute, and when the case was called, I had to state that I was not in a position to defend the action as I had received a letter from Mr. Tomlinson of the M.A.P. assuring me that the affair was being taken care of. "Who", asked the Magistrate, "is Mr. Tomlinson?", and he immediately impounded the letter which I had produced, and gave me to understand that this was a gross interference with the course of justice which he could not tolerate, and the case must proceed.
I asked for an adjournment to enable me to contact the Ministry, or at least brief the Court, who was of course, the local Pooh Bah the magistrate ruled that an adjournment could only be granted to 2 p.m. that same day. By this time, about 11 am, there was no time to set in motion the wheels of Ministerial procedure, and, after informing Tomlinson what had happened I tried to locate a solicitor.
The nearest was 14 miles away at Swindon; he had no petrol for the journey, and as the only train of the day to Malmesbury had already left I said I would send my own car for him, which I duly did. Inspector Edwards was waiting outside the court and questioned my driver as to the ownership of the car and the provenance of the petrol used. When the case came up at 2 p.m. the solicitor requested a 7 day adjournment which was immediately granted! It now seemed as if I was also to be prosecuted for the unauthorised use of my car to fetch the solicitor from Swindon!
The Sunday papers had a field day out of this:- a headline "Manager prosecuted for sending girls to a dance in Ministry Car" or words to that effect. Another paper headed the paragraph: "Who is this man Tomlinson?" in heavy type. This brought in the A.I. (Air Ministry) Security Branch, who were disturbed at the publicity thus given to one of the most hush hush factories in the country, so that by the time the case came up the next week, the affair had been patched up between the two Ministries, and the prosecuting solicitor asked leave to withdraw the charge. This, the Magistrate (angry at being robbed of his victim) refused, finding me "guilty but discharged".
At this I protested asking how I could be guilty when authorising Ministries had agreed that my action was in order, but to no avail. I was told I could appeal - and that was that! There was no other explanation for this extraordinary piece of justice, other than that it was the local "Establisment's" revenge for my having so rudely, disturbed their long enjoyed feudal domination of the district.
The magistrate was a local, retired Colonel, whose use of his car on non-official business, was well known, as was his addiction to the very potent local "Scrumpy"! This unholy alliance between the Clerk to the Court, the local police inspector who took out the summons, and the local gentry in person of the magistrate, was and in places, still is, what passes for justice in rural England. And, remember, this little comedy was played out, involving two Ministries, two solicitors, the court and myself, at a most critical period of the war.
