propaganda had been sadly neglected by the British Government. Few realised its value, and officially it was regarded as an unimportant "side-line." That it might be a weapon of warfare, equal in effect to several army corps, would at that time have been ridiculed. Money for such purposes was grudgingly spent, while the whole-hearted endeavours of a few enthusiasts were disparaged as the exuberances of harmless "cranks."
In October, 1914, Lieutenant-Colonel (now Major-General) Swinton, who was then acting as "Eye-Witness" with the British Army, prepared a propaganda leaflet, a reproduction of which appears in this book. To enable him to produce it. Lord Northcliffe lent the aid of his Paris organisation, and a large number of copies were printed and distributed by aeroplane among the German troops. But the Army chiefs at that time did not show any enthusiasm for the innovation, and Colonel Swinton was unable to proceed with the project.
Propaganda against the enemy was, during a long period, almost a single-handed campaign by Mr. S. A. Guest. He struggled on, despite official discouragement or lack of encouragement, undeterred by all the vicissitudes through which British propaganda
