ABSTRACT
The sometimes tetchy relationship between the Press Bureau, the AWOPC and the Press had many causes. The course of the War itself did not run smoothly until near its end. The AWOPC, still new itself, had to adjust to rapid improvisation and innovation (of which the unplanned Press Bureau was part), to confusion and disorganisation (in the press as well as in government), to expansion in almost every field except the Press, to continuous tension between government and press, and, after the initial optimism and patriotic fervour, to strong public apprehension about the progress of the War. Although the public was generally not aware of the AWOPC, its existence and role were openly reported within the internal organs of the Press, such as the house journals of the NPA and NS. 51
