Duke of Portland on the Somme, 4th July 1916

With the Battle of the Somme in its first week, the Duke of Portland gave a speech at the Victoria Hall, Mansfield, on 4th July 1916 in support of the National War Savings Campaign. He referred to the then Minister of Munitions, David Lloyd George's belief that artillery was the answer to the deadlock of the trenches on the Western Front. Lloyd George seems to have changed his view in post-war years.

Portland said:

"We are up against so strong a foe that, in order to conquer it we shall, I believe, have perhaps to put our very last man in the field, and the country may have to spend its last shilling.

"No one has spoken more forcibly about the peril in which our country stands at present about the enormous drain which the war is making upon the resources of the country in men and money, and about the imperative need there is for individual effort on the part of every man and woman than has Mr. Lloyd George, who is doing a strenuous service for the country. On one occasion he said, "’Every soldier tells me that there is but one way to win the war. Have enough ammunition to crush every trench where the enemy lurks, to destroy every concrete emplacement, shatter every machine gun, and cut and tear every yard of barbed wire, so that if the enemy resists he shall be made to do so in the open face to face with better men than themselves." That’s the secret, plenty of munitions.

"To the question, how is the Government to provide this great store of munitions, the plain answer is that a constant stream of money must flow into the Exchequer, and it is up to all those who cannot fight or make munitions to do their utmost to provide the Government with silver bullets. Like Mr. Lloyd George, I have full confidence in the power of this country to triumph over our enemies, and I am convinced that victory can be ensured only by universal and whole hearted concentration to our great task. Our whole available strength is needed, and we cannot put forth our whole available strength unless we have plenty of money to do it, and this must be supplied by taxation or loans."

‘Nottingham Daily Guardian’, 5th July 1916.