Lloyd George about body shields (2 september 1916)
This letter was written by David Lloyd George (1863-1945), Secretary of State for War at that time, on 31 july 1916 from the War Office, Whitehall, London (UK), to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Letter
War Office
2ns September, 1916.
Dear Sir Arthur
Many thanks to you for your letter of the 8th of August, to which I am afraid I have been a long time in sending a reply.
I may tell you that we are giving very special attention to this question of body shields, but, strange to say, our great difficulty is to get the soldiers at the Front to take them into use.
Even with the steel helmet there was a considerable amount of grumbling when they were called upon to wear it, and it is only experience which has taught them the very great value and safety given by it, and now, as you know, they will not do without the steel helmet.
I am taking a very early opportunity of discussing this matter personally with Sir Douglas Haig and others at the Front, and I can assure you that we shall not loose sight of the matter.
I may say that the Ministry of Munitions has already been in communication with Mr. Grist with regard to his specially treated steel, and this and other natures of steel are all engaging our attention. Our real great difficulty is to provide a shield of sufficient size that is completely bullet-proof without throwing an impossible weight on the soldier. We have already got a light shield which is merely splinter-proof. This has been tried at the Front with such success that a large number of them have been asked for and are in course of supply.
- Ever sincerely,
- D. Lloyd George
