Thinking about War Again

It was not only in governmental circles that further war was now once again perceived as a possibility for which contingency plans were needed. Reuters and the Press Association had in 1934 commissioned for themselves a new shared building in Fleet Street, designed by Lutyens, of which the estimated cost was exceeded more than three-fold, and occupation not achieved until just before WWII started. One major reason for overruns was the late additional requirement for air raid shelters; in January 1936 Lutyens explained that meeting this requirement in full would be too expensive. In the years following, despite financial losses suffered covering the 2nd Italo-Abyssinian and the Spanish Civil Wars, ¹¹⁰ the Agencies did provide the resources to protect their staff in London (at £10 per head) and at their joint service centres and Creed (teleprinter) hubs in the provinces; but in case of bomb damage they chose to use their Manchester Centre rather than provide a new Emergency Base in the London suburbs. ¹¹¹