{"product_id":"winston-churchill-ministerial-munitions-council-despatch-box-1917","title":"Winston Churchill - Ministerial Munitions Council Despatch Box, 1917","description":"\u003cp\u003e12cm (5in) x 39cm (15.5in) x 17cm (6.5in)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA George V government despatch box in pine covered with red leather - the colour traditionally used for cabinet minister rank and above. The despatch box of unusual smaller dimensions with hinged lid gilt embossed with the crowned GVR cypher and the title ‘Munitions Council’. Complete with working lock and key, and brass carrying handle position on the back to ensure that the box is locked before being carried; the interior stamped with the maker’s details of  ‘John Peck \u0026amp; Son \/ Nelson Square, Blackfriars \/\/ Manufacturers \/ to H.M. Staty Office’. The interior and underside retaining printed and manuscript labels ‘O[n] H[is] M[ajesty’s] S[ervice] \/ The Secretary, \/ Mission Anglaise d’Amarment \/ Avenue Kleber 16 \/ PARIS’. \/\/ ‘\u003cspan\u003eBox to be returned to\u003c\/span\u003e’ Chief Council Officer, \/ Ministry of Munitions of War, \/ Room 101B, ARMAMENT BUILDINGS, \/ Whitehall Place, \/ LONDON, S.W.1.’\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"This is a very heavy department, almost as interesting as the Admiralty, with the enormous advantage that one has neither got to fight Admirals nor Huns!”, declared Churchill on his appointment to the Ministry of Munitions in 1917. At the fall of the Asquith government earlier that year, David Lloyd George formed a new coalition and gave Churchill charge of all war industries notwithstanding a storm of protest from Conservative MPs and the Press with stark memories of the Gallipoli campaign of 1915-16.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch6\u003eRead more \u003c\/h6\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e~section 2~\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eChurchill quickly reorganized the department and streamlined operations using the skills developed at the Board of Trade before the war in settling labour disputes. He also established a Tank Board to facilitate improvements in one of his favourite new weapons. The Ministry under Churchill became so effective that in April 1918, he delivered twice as many guns and aircraft as had been lost in the German Spring Offensive of the previous month, and replaced every tank with a newer, better model.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe present box relates directly to the Munitions Council which was the executive body established in 1917 within the Ministry of Munitions, which itself was established on 9 June 1915 to address the Shell Crisis of that year. The Council was composed of Churchill as Minister, parliamentary secretaries, and the heads of the Ministry’s various administrative and supply departments (such as explosives, raw materials, and finance). It acted as the central governing board for nationalizing factories and managing the workforce until it was gradually dissolved following the 1918 Armistice. Churchill remained in post until 10 January 1919 when he was replaced by Andrew Weir, 1st Baron Inverforth. On 31 March 1921 the Ministry of Munitions was finally wound up. Its remaining powers, duties and property were transferred to the Treasury.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe labels to the underside reference 16 Avenue Kleber, the site of the Majestic Hotel. The hotel belonged to a British MP and was used as a military hospital in the early months of the war. It was damaged during its hospital service, and was not renovated and reopened until 1916. In 1919 the Hotel Majestic was the setting for the Supreme Inter-Allied Council and Preliminary Peace Conference from February to June.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Armoury St James","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57508371366261,"sku":null,"price":5200.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0511\/7008\/3014\/files\/L1700311.jpg?v=1787059918","url":"https:\/\/armoury.co.uk\/products\/winston-churchill-ministerial-munitions-council-despatch-box-1917","provider":"The Armoury St James's","version":"1.0","type":"link"}