Increasing irrationality

Tuesday, November 17th., Comarques, Thorpe-le-Soken.

Bertie Sullivan was here the other day. He is doing the same sort of thing at Brightlingsea as I am doing here (Military Representative). He told me of astonishing 'coincidences' at Brightlingsea. How, on the same day, the Customs' Officer's telephone wouldn't work, signalling was thought to be seen from the second martello tower (belonging to a suspicious family) on Beacon Hill, and a man had seen bubbles (indicative of a submarine) in B'sea reach, and two other coincidences which I forget. Next day the Blackwater was 'swept' by the new apparatus for a submarine, also the Colne, but naught was found; and that in fact there was nothing in the whole thing. All hysteria of course. And on top of that there will be people who, for reasons of their own, report 'suspicions' against people they dislike. We will have to be very careful about that sort of thing.

He told me that the Wallet was being closed by a boom. The War Office theory was that if an invasion was to be attempted it would be within the next fortnight. He said there was absolutely no co-ordination of effort against an invasion, and in particular no co-ordination between Army and Navy. Yet almost in the same breath he gave me two instances of the Admiralty informing the War Office of certain facts. Irrationality is on the increase.

He told me that Brightlingsea had between 8 and 9 percent of its population in the forces. As sergeant of special constables his difficulty was the sheer stupidity of people. Men kept writing week after week that Brightlingsea waterworks ought to be guarded etc., and at last demanded a military guard for it. In the end I think they got it but I'm not sure. Sullivan agreed with me that the chance of invasion was nil. Also he couldn't see the use of more new armies beyond what we have in training, as we couldn't arm them etc., etc. He said Kitchener didn't believe in invasion.