OVERVIEW 1932

On Gareth's return from the United States he joined the Office of David Lloyd George once again. The former Prime Minister was writing his War Memoirs and unbeknown to many Gareth researched numerous secret wartime documents for the book. He spent a great deal of time at the country home of Lloyd George, Churt.

In the autumn of 1932 knowledge was seeping through of the terrible crisis in Ukraine. As early as September 1932 Gareth wrote a letter to Ivy Lee saying he had met a journalist, Bruce Hopper who told him. "The Soviet Government is facing the worst crisis since 1921. The harvest is a failure and there will be millions facing starvation this winter. There is at present moment famine in the Ukraine." Others were returning from the Soviet Union with bringing news of the tragic state of affairs in Ukraine.

Prof. Jules Menken of London School of Economics, a very well known economist was appalled with the prospects: "What he had seen was the complete failure of Marxism. Menken says there is already famine in Ukraine. The harvest is a failure; there is shelter lacking for 1,000,000 head of cattle; potato plans have broken down. He dreaded this winter, when he thought millions would die of hunger. He had never seen such bungling and such breakdowns. What struck him was the unfairness and the inequality. He had seen hungry people one moment and the next moment he had lunched with Soviet Commissars in the Kremlin with the best caviar, fish, game and the most luxurious wines."

These reports emanating from the Soviet Union prompted Gareth to write his two articles "Will there be Soup?" published in October in the Western Mail, Cardiff, based on his knowledge of Ukraine and facts he had read in the Soviet Press. It was also 15 years since the Soviet Revolution and the founding of the Bolshevist State and Gareth wrote a commemorative article about Lenin's widow who impressed him so much when they had met. At the turn of the year he wrote a survey of the world situation, prophetic in its content: "Shadows of the Old Year".

Following these articles when at the end of his employ with David Lloyd George he made his plans to visit the Soviet Union and investigate for himself the tragic situation of terror, hunger and death from starvation.