On Aug. 7 the Press Bureau (the outward and visible sign of the censorship) was established by Lord Kitchener, acting in conjunction with Mr. Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty. The first Director of the Bureau was Mr. F. E. Smith, M.P., afterwards Lord Birkenhead. He was followed by Sir Stanley (afterwards Lord) Buckmaster, who was succeeded by Sir [[Author:Frank Swettenham|]] jointly with the late Sir Edward Cook. In the first instance the Bureau was located in a tumble-down building in Whitehall, backing on to the Admiralty. Later it was removed to the United Service Institution.
The objects of the Press Bureau were:
(1) The censoring of incoming and outgoing press cablegrams and certain inland press messages, chiefly those passing through the General Post Office. By order of the Government the former were diverted to the Bureau by the Post Office and cable com- panies.
(2) To issue to the newspapers official information received from other Government departments.
(3) To censor matter voluntarily submitted by the Press.
It should be mentioned here that the censoring of news by the Bureau was, for the most part, carried out in accordance with the wishes of the various Government departments concerned the Admiralty, the War Office, the Foreign Office, the Home Office, etc., with the result that the whole of the criticism was directed against the Bureau, which served as a sort of buffer state. In short, the Directors of the Bureau had to do as they were told. It was an open secret that in some instances they disagreed with the policy they were called upon to enforce. On the whole they performed a thankless duty with considerable ability. Upon Lord Birkenhead fell the difficult task of organizing the depart- ment and establishing regulations to deal with conditions al- together unprecedented. The work of his successors was hardly less onerous as fresh problems constantly presented themselves throughout the war. About fifty censors were employed, com- prising naval officers (appointed by the Admiralty), military censors (appointed by the War Office), and civilians, including ex-civil servants, barristers and journalists.
The Bureau was kept open day and night. On Aug. 8 1914 the Defence of the Realm Act was passed, followed a few days later by a series of censorship regulations as authorized by its provisions. These regulations were of a far-reaching character. They were amended from time to time and in their final form stood as follows:
Reg. 18. No person shall, without lawful authority, collect, record, publish or communicate, or attempt to elicit, any informa- tion with respect to the movement, numbers, description, condi- tion or disposition of any of the forces, ships, or aircraft of His Majesty or any of His Majesty's allies, or with respect to the plans or conduct, or supposed plans or conduct, of any operations by any such forces, ships, or aircraft, or with respect to the supply, descrip- tion, condition, transport or manufacture, or storage, or place or intended place of manufacture or storage of war material, or with respect to any works or measures undertaken for or connected with, or intended for the fortification or defence of any place, or any information of such nature as is calculated to be or might be directly or indirectly useful to the enemy, and if any person contravenes the provisions of this regulation, or without lawful authority or excuse has in his possession any document containing any such informa- tion as aforesaid, he shall be guilty of an offence against these regulations.
No person shall, without lawful authority, publish or communicate any information relating to the passage of any ship along any part of the coast of the United Kingdom. . . .
Reg. 27. No person shall by word of mouth or in writing or in any newspaper, periodical, book, circular, or other printed publication
(a) Spread false reports or make false statements; or
(b) spread reports or make statements intended or likely to cause disaffection to His Majesty, or to interfere with the success of His Majesty's forces or of the forces of any of His Majesty's allies by land or sea, or to prejudice His Majesty's relations with foreign powers; or
(c) spread reports or make statements intended or likely to prejudice the recruiting of persons to serve in any of His Majesty's forces, or in any body of persons enrolled for employment under the Army Council or Air Council or entered for service under the direction of the Admiralty, or in any police force or fire brigade, or to prejudice the training, discipline or administration of any such force body, or brigade; or
(d) spread reports or make statements intended or likely to undermine public confidence in any bank or currency notes which
are legal tender in the United Kingdom or any part thereof, or to prejudice the success of any financial measures taken or arrangements made by His Majesty's Government with a view to the prosecution of the war ; . . .
The maximum penalty was imprisonment with or without hard labour for six months or a fine not exceeding 100, or both. Prosecutions had to be instituted by the Director of Public Prosecutions in England, the Lord Advocate in Scotland, or the Attorney- General in Ireland. The Regulations (Regulation 51) gave the Government power in certain cases to seize the plant of a newspaper which had offended, or in others to seize the type on suspicion that an offence was about to be committed (Reg. 51 a).
These regulations placed heavy shackles upon the Press, but in the main they were accepted with patriotic equanimity. Prosecutions were few in number, which is surprising considering the length and magnitude of the war. It will be seen that the Press Bureau had no power to insist upon the submission of matter for censorship. The responsibility rested with the editor, who could publish what he thought fit, subject to complying with the Defence of the Realm Regulations. If he erred he was liable to prosecution, and even if the matter were passed by the Bureau he would not be relieved of the responsibility for infringement of the regulations, although the fact might be pleaded in mitigation. From time to time secret instructions were issued by the Bureau for the information and guidance of editors. At the end of the war these numbered several hundred. At intervals they were collected and issued in pamphlet form. For the most part they consisted of hints and elucidations concerning matters which in general terms were covered by the regulations quoted above.
Cable atvL Postal Censorship. In addition to the Press Bureau, censorships of incoming and outgoing cables, letters and parcels, were established by the War Office at the commencement of the war with the three-fold object of preventing information of military value from reaching the enemy, of acquiring similar information for British purposes and of checking the dissemination of information likely to be useful to the enemy or prejudicial to the Allies. Chief Censors of both departments were appointed by the Army Council.
The cable censorship extended throughout the Empire, and the number of persons employed in the United Kingdom, exclusive of those in the Press Bureau, was about 200. In other parts of the Empire they numbered about 400. The size of the task may be judged from the fact that 30,000 to 50,000 telegrams passed through the hands of the censors in the United Kingdom every twenty-four hours.
In the postal censorship, exclusive of clerical and post-office employees, a staff of 5,500 was employed comprising 3,451 women and persons with a knowledge of almost every foreign language. The department was divided into three branches (i) the section which censored the correspondence of prisoners of war in the United Kingdom and British prisoners in enemy countries; (2) the private correspondence section which dealt with letters from members of the British Expeditionary Force, letters and parcels to and from certain foreign countries, press messages sent abroad by other means than cable, and newspapers. In this branch more than a ton of mail matter was censored every week, exclusive of parcels; (3) the trade branch, which censored commercial correspondence with certain foreign countries, amounting to nearly four tons per week.
At the commencement, the system caused serious irritation amongst the commercial classes, to which point was given by foolish and, in some cases, amusing errors made by the censors. It must, however, be recognized that on the whole the work was well and efficiently done. The officers chiefly responsible were Gen. (afterwards Sir George) Macdonogh, Gen. Cockerill, Col. A. E. Churchill followed by Lord Arthur Browne, Chief Cable Censor, and Col. G. S. H. Pearson followed by Col. A. S. L. Farquharson, Chief Postal Censor.
In the early part of the war a great outcry was made by the British (and also the American) newspapers concerning the working of the Press cable censorship in London. In numerous instances, Press cables received in England were entirely suppressed without notice to the sender or addressee, and in others
