https://declassified.library.utoronto.ca/files/original/fbbb47f92e6a9de773fbe6657342b548.pdf ecddfa4e8bb182c1c3f3f20be04c83bf PDF Text Text Document disclosed under the Access to Information Act Document divulgue en vertu de la Loi surl'acces a /'information LDH/MGR FILE COPY % CC. European 'Division I So 11S-G - Lo 1 _ld ... r () 7 | V I CONFIDENTIAL Ottawa, October 23, 1952. Dear Mr. Claxton, I received your two letters of October 22 and greatly appreciate receiving the enclosures about the Narvik incident. I also was surprised when I read over the report of the British Vice-Consul at Narvik because I had had a talk with Captain Budge, when I was in Halifax, and was very much impressed with the objective account he gave of the incidents. It is obvious from what he told me that the newspaper reports had been greatly exaggerated. This is admitted by the British Vice-Consul, but then he goes on to imply that the behaviour of the Canadian sailors was not all that could be desired. I think we have to bear in ini nd that standards of behaviour as seen from the point of view of an experienced Naval Captain and of the residents of a small outlying town can be very much at variance. There is no doubt that there was a considerable amount of drinking on the part of the sailors, due probably to the fact that in a town like Narvik there was nothing else for them to do. This would have interfered with the pleasant course of the lives of the residents of the town and this is probably what most impressed itself on the British Vice-Consul. We know that there is a fairly strong Communist element in Narvik as it is a shipping port for the Swedish iron ore. It is therefore quite obvious that The Honourable Brooke Claxton, Q.C., M.P., Sinister of National Defence, Ottawa, Ontario. 000172 �Document disclosed under the Access to Information Act Document divulgue en vertu de la Loi surl'acces a /'information -2- the newspapers in that area would have made the most they could of the incidents that happened. . This was then taken up by other Communist newspepers in Forway and finally repeated by the two Moscow newspapers and broadcast over the Moscow radio. There isn’t much Ho can do in a case of this kind', other than to endeavour to give the true facts of the case. . This we have done and in your own particular case, as you point out, you went further than you. would have if you had seen the report of the British Vice Consul first* However, I do not think that what you said -was unjustified because it is so obvious that the -incidents have been used for the purpose of Communist propaganda* I have been thinking over what further steps we might take but have come to the conclusion that so far as the public are concerned we had better let matters rest* I also doubt if there is very much more we can do to verify the facts because our Legation at Osin already took the only course open . to us when they communicated with the British Vice 'Consul and obtained his side of the story. We are referring a summary of the information you have' furnished to our Minister at Oslo for his information and assistance in case he sees any opportunity of doing. anything. further to verify the facts. For this reason I would like to keep the enclosures you sent me for a few days--longer but will return them to you after they have served our purpose so that your file may be complete. Needless to say we will let you know- if we obtain any further information on this subject. Yours sincerely, - (SGD) L. D. WILGRESS L. D. Wilgress 000173 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource CDEX (NATO Exercises) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context CDEX00068 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived RG25, 50115-G-40, "North Atlantic Treaty Organization - Military, naval and air exercises," Part 1, Library and Archives Canada. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Canadian Crown Subject The topic of the resource Exercises Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Canada Declassified Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource en