741.00/9–1153: Telegram
No. 422
The Ambassador in the United Kingdom
(Aldrich) to the Department of
State
1054. For the Secretary. At his invitation I saw Churchill yesterday afternoon. He stated that his reason for asking me to visit him was that he was somewhat afraid he might have caused me personal embarrassment with President by making unjustified assumption during my last interview with him regarding possibility of a visit by President to London.1 I assured him on this score and said that although his message to President had caused momentary confusion in State Department, that confusion had been easy to straighten out. He talked to me for more than an hour and we discussed many subjects but only in most general terms in spite of effort I made to ascertain his specific thinking on Iran, Egypt, Lugano preparation et cetera. Only clear impressions I was able to gather from what he said were following:
- (1)
- He is still thinking in terms of arbitration to settle oil dispute with Iran;
- (2)
- He refrained from commenting on possibility of agreeing to shorter duration provision in connection with Egyptian negotiations;
- (3)
- I did not take up question of Saar for reason indicated in Embtel 1035;2
- (4)
- He is undoubtedly still thinking about possibility of Eastern Locarno because he asked me if I had noticed that Adenauer had taken up his suggestion on this point contained in his speech of May 11.3 Other than this observation he made no comment on preparation for Lugano.4 He stated that his health was continually improving and that during Salisbury vacation he had “resumed control of Foreign Office.” He said that he is intending to make the speech at the Conservative Party conference on October 9;
- (5)
- He said categorically that he would never vote for the entrance of Communist China into UN over opposition of US, but that on this issue Britain might abstain rather than vote with US.
His mind appeared very clear and he only repeated himself once and that on a very minor subject. When I left he walked all the way from Cabinet room and waved goodbye to me on the doorstep. His walking is very much improved and his general condition appeared better than I had expected. I might say that the interview was most cordial.
In view length of interview in relation to very little substance, I cannot help feeling that Prime Minister’s main purposes were (a) to create public impression of renewed intimate Anglo-American collaboration and (b) to demonstrate the degree of his physical recuperation.
- On July 31 Ambassador Aldrich lunched with Prime Minister Churchill at Chequers. The conversation was largely on Churchill’s health and Aldrich reported that the Prime Minister had made only a few remarks on substantive issues. (Telegram 490 from London, July 31; 741.13/7–3153) On Aug. 3 Churchill wrote Eisenhower stating that Aldrich had told him that the President might visit the United Kingdom and extending a warm welcome. (Eisenhower Library, Eisenhower papers, Whitman file) After several messages and telephone conversations between Washington and London it turned out that Aldrich had been misunderstood and the matter was dropped. Further documentation on this event is in files 741.13 and 711.11 EI.↩
- Not printed; it stated that since the French and Germans showed signs of settling the issue of the Saar, it did not seem desirable to take any initiative on the question. (762.022/9–1053)↩
- Regarding Churchill’s speech on May 11, see Document 409.↩
- For documentation on the proposed four-power meeting at Lugano, which was eventually held at Berlin, Jan. 25–Feb. 18, 1954, see vol. vii, Part 1, pp. 601 ff.↩