Office of the Historian

840.50/2539

The British Embassy to the Department of State

Aide-Mémoire

His Majesty’s Government received with great satisfaction the acceptance by the United States Government in the Aide-Mémoire from the Department of State of August 17 of the proposal that His Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom should send a delegation of senior officials to engage in informal and exploratory talks envisaged by Article VII of the Mutual Aid Agreement of February 23, 1942.

2.
His Majesty’s Government cannot yet state definitely who will lead the United Kingdom Delegation but the official members who are coming from the United Kingdom are likely to be:
  • Lord Keynes, Sir David S. Waley and Mr. F. G. Lee of the Treasury;
  • Mr. P. Liesching, Mr. R. J. Shackle and Mr. J. E. Meade of the Board of Trade;
  • Mr. Nigel Ronald of the Foreign Office;
  • Mr. G. L. M. Clauson of the Colonial Office;
  • Mr. P. W. Martin of the Ministry of Food;
  • Professor L. C. Robbins of the Economic Secretariat, the War Cabinet Offices; and
  • Mr. A. Baster of the Reconstruction Secretariat.
3.
The Delegation will also include Mr. J. H. Magowan and Mr. Redvers Opie of the British Embassy, Professor D. H. Robertson of the United Kingdom Treasury Delegation in Washington, Mr. S. L. Holmes, the Dominions Office representative attached to the British Supply Council in Washington and such other members of the Embassy and the British Missions in Washington whose participation is likely at any time to be required.
4.
His Majesty’s Government have been considering the question of informing the Governments of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and China that informal and exploratory conversations are to take place and of keeping them informed of progress made. It would not be physically possible for His Majesty’s Government to conduct parallel conversations with these two governments while the discussions with the United States Government were in progress. Nevertheless His Majesty’s Government would consider it highly desirable to make some communication to both of these governments at a fairly early stage and would prefer to agree with the United States Government the terms of a joint communication stating what the two governments [Page 1109] were doing and promising to keep them generally informed on the upshot of the discussions. His Majesty’s Government would welcome the views of the United States Government on this question.
5.
In view of the possibility that the United Kingdom Delegation may not escape public notice His Majesty’s Government believe that it would be desirable to consider in advance of the arrival of the Delegation what, if anything, should be said to the press in Washington and London whether or not the fact that the discussions were proceeding became known.
Washington , 31 August, 1943.