| Main Performers | Mrs Lionel Whitehead,
Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Neville Chamberlain,
Lady Grimthorpe,
Mrs A McCarthy - speakers,
R Arnold Greir - organ |
| Set List | 'God Save the King' ( (The National Anthem),
Speech (Neville Chamberlain) |
| Performance Notes | "DANZIG WARNING BY PREMIER.
FORCE WOULD MEAN WAR.
The Prime Minster, at a mass meeting of women Conservatives at the Albert Hall yesterday, addressed to Europe a plain and unequivocal warning of the consequences which would attend the use of force over Danzig..."
(The Daily Telegraph, 12 May 1939)
Associated Press (AP Archive - Story No. BM36747) hold British Movietone B&W footage of the event at which Mr Chamberlain addresses the Womens' Conservative Association at the Royal Albert Hall. During the speech he pledges support for Poland should it suffer from aggression.
Neville Chamberlain's speech:
"We ourselves have been through the whole gamut of emotions. Anxiety, listening until it became acute, the intense relief followed by renewed doubts and fears until now the people have settled down in to a mood of firm and fixed results. I seem in these days to be a target for a lot of rotten eggs, but I can assure you that doesn't keep me awake. You have, I believe, approved our efforts strenuous and, up to now successful to keep Europe out of war. Well let me say now as I have said before that never has it entered our thoughts to isolate Germany, or to stand in the way of the natural and legitimate expansion of her trade. In Central and South Eastern Europe still less to prove some connection against her, with the idea of making War upon her. In many minds the danger spot in Europe today is Danzig. Our assurances to Poland are clear and precise and although we should be glad to see the differences between Poland and Germany amicably settled by discussion, although we think that they could and should be so settled. If an attempt were made to change the situation by force in such a way as to retain Polish Independence. By then that would inevitably start a general conflagration ... this country would be involved." |
| Related Archival Material | Programme (RAHE/1/1939/50) |