December 1953-January 1954: Origins of the Draft History

W.H. Barton, the Under-Secretary of State for External Affairs, writes to the Canadian High Commissioner in London about a speech by Sir Winston Churchill mentioning a proposed history of Anglo-American atomic cooperation. The Canadian government is "concerned by the narrowly bilateral language" in Churchill's speech, and Barton emphasizes the importance of involving Canada in the process and including Canadian wartime contributions in the history. In his reply, the High Commissioner writes that Lord Cherwell, a close adviser to Churchill, supports the idea of Canadian comments. Cherwell also outlines the rationale for the draft history, saying that Churchill’s goal is to persuade Congress to revise the restrictions on atomic information sharing put in place by the McMahon Act. This was based on Churchill's belief that the passage of the McMahon Act was based on a lack of awareness in Washington of the extent of Anglo-American cooperation in atomic development.