" Who's Who" at the Ministry of Munitions —so Far as Motor Vehicles are Concerned.
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Where to Go and Whom to Address.
A very large proportion of the purely trade frienda of this journal are nowadays almost, if not entirely, engaged on Governmental work, and this means that they either directly or indirectly look to the Ministry
of Munitions as their sole customer. Not only, with a
few Admiralty and. Aircraft exceptions, do their orders emanate from the neighbourhood of Armament Buildings, but to the various departments of this mammoth war-conceived organization do they have to turn for the many facilities with which only is production a practical possibility nowadays. So vast are the ramifications of the Ministry in these fateful days, so all-embracing are its powers and potentialities, that not a few of those who have to do
business with it frequently find themselves at a loss 1."find their way about " amongst the various
branches and to keep track of the many enlargements, consolidations and regroupings that are undoubtedly necessities if efficiency is to be promoted. Were it possible for the public to realize the amazing increase of activity which the Ministry has, as a whole, initiated and is constantly fostering there could be little wonder at the need to "take over" hotel after hotel in the Ministry area, to say nothing of the comparable nationalization activities of other Ministries old and new. We are constantly appealed to nowadays by people whose business is with the Ministry for advice as to how to go to work to make such-and-such an applica tion or inquiry, or as to which department is supposed to be dealing with this and that matter, and where the office in question can be found. It has occurred to us, therefore, that some service may be afforded to many of our regular readers by an-endeavour to indi cate the "way about" the Ministry, so far, at any rate, as those parts of it are concerned which are occupied with motor-vehicle activities. In our endeavour to cull the necessary information, before attempting to boil it dawn, we felt something like a man would were he suddenly asked to compile
a new Bradshaw or a guide to the British Museum. Familiar as we are with much of the organization and
acquainted with many of those who are bearing th-o strain and responsibility of the Ministry's work, it has been no easy task to confine our inquiries to that which we had in mind. There appears to be no simple "Guide to the Ministry" for the use of visitors, although a well-arranged directory of the whole organization, which we were shown, is obviously useful to the members of the staff themselves.
So far, then, as the motor-vehicle branch of the Ministry's work is concerned, this has, as is fairly well known, during the past few months, been con solidated at the Grand Hotel, 28, Northumberland Avenue, to the undoubted advantage of the many people who have to deal with that branch of muni tions. Here we find the Supply officers and their staffs, the Inspection Staff, the proper Finance Branch and the Contracts Branch, all closely related and yet each under its own Director-General and in close touch with similar branches dealing with all other classes of "munitions."
As all orders arise from "demands," we may perhaps start with that branch of the work. All " de
mands " for motor vehicles of every kind for the Army's use,, for their accessories, spare parts and the thousand and one miscellaneous stores they involve are received, through the proper recording channels, by the respective supply officers. These are two innumber under a director-general, until recently Sir
• Albert, Stanley, whose successor, so far as our inquiries go, has not yet been appointed. The two sup ply directors are known as D.M.T, and D.M.M.T., the former, the Director of Mechanical Transport, Col. Sir H. C. L. Holden, who is responsible for filling all motor-transport demands for the British forces all over the world, and the latter Mr. W. P. Rainforth, the Director of Munitions Mechanical Transport, who similarly looks after the requirements of those of our Allies whose needs are-dealt with in whole or in part by Great Britain.
Such " demands " as are of any considerable monetary value are put into proper shape by both these supply branches, as regards specifications and requirements, and sent with recommendations to the Contracts Branch with a request for suitable contracts to be arranged. Relatively small orders are dealt with direct by a branch of D.M.T.'s organization located near by. The supply officers mentioned are responsible for all questions of type, design, and suitability. The Contracts Branch, known as PM4 (Purchase of Munitions 4), controls the issuing of tenders and the drafting and allocation of contracts. This branch was Until a few months ago part of the organization of the Director of Army Contracts. at Tothill Street, Westminster. It has its own assistant director, Mr. Wynne Edwards, who is directly responsible to the Director of Munitions Contracts, Mr. P. Hanson, who was included in the recent list of New Year's
Honours.
Responsible for seeing that all contracts thus arranged are effectively carried out is the Branch of the Munitions Inspection Branch allocated to mechanical transport, known as D.M.T.I., of which Lieut.-Col. Holbrook is in charge he being under the direction of Sir R. &Ahern Holland, Bart., the DirectorGeneral of Munitions Inspections, another name in the Honours list. This branch, too, is, we learn, also responsible for questions of badges,output and delivery and similar subjects requiring close contact with the many factories ; it has branch representatives in all the necessary manufacturing areas. Finally and by no means least important is the branch of the munitions finance organization allocated for mechanical transport. This is known as MFsai and is under the assistant directorship of Capt. Cooke, who deals with the settlement of all bills and accounts rendered.
All the above branches are, we repeat, easily discoverable nowadays, by inquiry in proper form at 28, Northumberland Avenue, they in turn being in close touch with their correlated branches throughout the Ministry. Of other and less frequently required offices with which our readers at times ask to be put into communication, the following appear to be the principaL All applications as to priority of work are dealt with by the Priority Branch of the Ministry (BM3), to be found at 1, Caxton Street, Westminster ; as to licences to import, by the Department of Import Restrictions, 22, Carlyle Place, S.W., but it is usually desirable, in the case of imports for the purpose of Government contracts, to make application in the first place to the department from which the contract issued. • as to release of vehicles, by the DirectorGeneral of Mechanical Transport • as to labour supply by the Labour Supply Dept., at 'Whitehall Gardens ; as to applications for work if plant disengaged, by the Central Clearing House, 5, Northumberland Street; and as to inventions of all kinds, by the office in Princes Street, Westminster.
The Aircraft Supply Department haa been recently moved to the Hotel Cecil, and the Department of Mechanical Warfare is at 17, Cockspur Street.