I won't quarrel with my bread and
butter
(Jonathan Swift)
?
Well of course this WAS said by
Jonathan Swift.? I'm not denying that and
my case does not rest on that at all.??
But it was said at another time by another man whom I think some tribute
at this point or juncture.
?
The man is Edward J. Mason, who
every week compiles the programs, compiles all the questions. And what people
don't know is that Edward J. Mason, Captain Edward J. Mason, as he is known,
had a very distinguished war record.
?
In fact, they were going to film
his war record.? He was going to be
played by Anna Neagle But all I heard when I asked about it was that it fell
through. They didn't tell me what fell through but Miss Neagle is all right, so
it must have been something to do with Edward J. Mason
?
But this war experience of his is
rather interesting because although a young man, he'd only been in the army
about eighteen months and already he'd earned quite a name for himself. He'd
blown up three ammunition dumps and two air fields and then he was sent
overseas.
?
And the idea was that he was to work in France creating
alarm and despondency among the occupying troops by broadcasting on the Freedom
Radio panel games. So, he was dropped into France what the service called the
hard way; that's without a parachute.
?
And he set up these programs and
he did hit on one program, which was called Mon Mot, which is quite
untranslatable into English.? The idea
was that certain people were asked to name the origins of phrases or the next
line of a quotation.? But what wasn't
generally known was that the quotations that were chosen had a special meaning
to British intelligence who monitored them.
?
So if they said, "Earth has
not shown anything to show more fair," then that would mean that three
troop transports coming through; be ready for it on the nineteenth.
?
They had this whole code. And it
was listened to in a little room in Maedervale.?
You know that all sorts of odd things go on in little rooms in
Maedervale.? At this time it was listened
to.
?
And he did very well and passed a
lot of information back until one day he had this very important message that
was coded into the quotation "I won't quarrel with my bread and
butter."
?
And he had this on a slip of
paper and was just about to broadcast it when there was a knocking on the door
[I mustn't forget that loaf of bread to take back.? You will remind me.? And the Petri dish.] and in burst the
enemy.? Well, luckily, Mason knew that
whatever happens to the code mustn't be captured.
?
So he took this piece of paper
with "I won't quarrel with my bread and butter."? And he swallowed it.? Well, it's not a very nice death being choked
to death by a quotation.? And when the
news got back.? And they said, Mason's
had it, choked to death on "I won't quarrel with my bread and
butter."
?
Thank heavens, it may have been
brutish, but it was Swift.
?
Denis Norden 580616b
?
