Rumours

Dr Taylor from Home Intelligence writes to Andrew Stewart (a BBC member of staff seconded to the Ministry of Information) about the Lord Haw-Haw rumours that are spreading across the country, listing the towns where they are circulating. At one factory in Peterborough, the workforce was absent due to false information about an attack triggering unfounded fears of being bombed.

Dr Stephen Taylor (1910-88) was a neuro-psychiatric specialist who served in various sections of the forces before becoming Director of Home Intelligence and Wartime Social Survey for the Ministry of Information (1941-45). After the summer of 1940, Haw-Haw's propaganda was more feared than enjoyed. This gave rise to an increased amount of rumour-mongering. German propagandists did, however, talk of terrifying 'secret weapons' such as new gases and the atom bomb. Consequently, Haw-Haw's words were given more sinister meaning by listeners. The belief that he knew a public clock in Cambridge was set at the wrong time resulted in fears of Nazi spies at large and of the town being selected for attack.