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had presumably assumed that his new Downing Street neighbour could be counted on not to make too many waves. In July 1940 Cranborne had been offered the position of Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Aliens but had declined citing ill health as the reason. Churchill had commented at the time that if he could not take on this job because of his poor health 'there is not much in burdening him with the duties of serving as a member [of the Cabinet]'.79 Yet now he asked him to become a minister whose responsibilities called for him to handle what already appeared to be an extremely uncertain alliance. After the fall of France in July 1940, Punch had published a cartoon showing two soldiers looking out to sea. One of them says, 'So our poor old Empire is alone in the world', and the other replies 'Aye, yes we are—the whole five hundred million of us'.80 There must have been times when it was felt within Whitehall and in the British High Commissions overseas that this could not be further from the truth.

Coalition United

The appointment of the Fifth Marquess of Salisbury in October 1940 carried with it a significance for Anglo-Dominion relations that cannot be overstated.1 Although it was only his second Cabinet position, and still acknowledged as being very much a junior one, 'Bobbety', as he was known to his peers, brought with him an enormous sense of enthusiasm and determination. As one of those who knew him well said of him, although 'frail in body'—the result of having been gassed in the trenches during the last war—he made up for it with 'the robustness of his spirit'.2 One of his DO staff detected 'an unusual range of gifts and accomplishments' with a 'subtlety' to his intelligence, 'a strong sense of pride', 'a natural courtesy towards all' and 'a lively and amusing mind, with a keen sense of humour'. This left him well suited for the demands of working in the department.3 Despite being a long-standing friend, he was not afraid to tackle Churchill on the need to provide more information to the Dominions and give them a greater say in coalition management. Cranborne was not suggesting any greater permanent presence; indeed he was particularly dismissive of the idea that a second London-based Imperial War Cabinet should be established. What he instead argued was that, if for no other reason than the progressively greater contributions of manpower and material they were providing, the British government needed to be more open with the Dominions and its leaders.

He was quick to show his resolve to resist measures which he believed might harm his new department. Both of his wartime predecessors had tried to do the same but their efforts had generally been frustrated. Cranborne was quick to try and offer reassurance, not least to the Union of South Africa and Australia, telling them that he recognized the amount of information they received was still far from adequate.4 Shortly after his appointment he had written to Waterson apologizing that he had not been told before Eden's October 1940 visit to Egypt, a slip which had embarrassed and angered the South African.5 This appeared to gain him little in the eyes of a high commissioner who had been critical of both of his predecessors and was uncertain about the new man, 'the usual inbred perfect gentleman, full of good qualities but really not tough enough for our purposes'. Bruce would reserve judgement, but only because he had been told that the new minister had 'ability and guts' and just needed the opportunity to prove himself.

Massey was alone in thinking him to be 'an admirable choice'.6 Waterson's view seemed harsh indeed as the early suggestions were that a more dogmatic and pugnacious attitude now prevailed within the DO with a Dominions secretary not afraid to disagree with his Whitehall colleagues.7

His greatest clashes would be reserved for Churchill. This was particularly unfortunate as the rapid deterioration in relations between the two that resulted coincided with a growing political challenge based in part around the actions of one of the Dominion's