1939

Abstract

Sunday 1 January 7–30 pm. After some work and a bite of lunch I took a taxicab for fleet Street, calling en route at the Press Association Offices, at the Central News and the Exchange Telegraph, to see that Cecil Harmsworth has a good show in tomorrow's Press when his Peerage is announced. At the D.M. office I found Bob Prew by himself and congratulated him on being, even against his will, the acting editor of the Daily Mail. While we waited for the honours list he told me the inside story of the ‘sackings’ of Cranfield and Head and the resignation of Roberts, the Night Editor. It seems that Cranfield was away on holiday. The day before his return Esmond Harmsworth and Bell drafted a careful letter which they sent to Cranfield's flat, telling him to take six months holiday and saying they would announce his health was indifferent. But Cranfield came straight from the aerodrome to the office, to Bell's extreme embarrassment. Esmond was in Scotland and Bell didn't know if the letter had been sent. The next day and the next Cranfield appeared as usual. One night he and Prew arranged to go to their respective flats for dinner, before the proofs came down of the first edition. Prew then had a ring from Cranfield saying that they had both better return together as news had come that Neville was flying to Berchtesgaden the next day. Prew suggested that he would wait outside his own flat till Cranfield picked him up in the office car. He waited and to his surprise the car was driving past him. He attracted the driver's attention and climbed in. Cranfield was huddled in a corner. Prew began to report that by phone he had told them to be ready to open the leader page, had got a leaderwriter waiting, and so on. To all this Cranfield made no response.