France as a Holiday Ground (speech)

From The Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia

On 6 november 1912, Arthur Conan Doyle was guest at the Franco-British Travel Union inaugural dinner held at the Café Royal (Regent Street, London). Conan Doyle gave a speech about the Channel Tunnel.



Attendees

  • President and chairman of the Franco-British Travel Union : Lord Montagu of Beaulieu
  • Speakers :
    • Sir Thomas Elliott
    • Arthur Conan Doyle
    • Sir. George Reid (High Commissioner for Australia)
    • M. De Coppet (Consul-General of France)
    • M. Paul Doumer (ex-president of the French Chamber of Deputies)
    • Sir John and Lady Cockburn
    • Sir C. Cartwright
    • Sir Thomas and Lady Barclay.


Conan Doyle speech

Report from The Times

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, in responding for the guests, whose health was proposed by Professor Salmon, expressed his opinion that the least intelligent thing which had been done in our generation was the refusal to build the Channel Tunnel. It was in his judgment a matter of such urgent national necessity that it should be pressed forward at once to completion, but it should be a Government undertaking. In peace the tunnel would bring an enormous tourist traffic to London, and it would be a cheap and complete insurance against national starvation in time of war. If the estimates given were correct, we could for the price of about three Dreadnoughts have an absolute insurance against the one great threat which another nation could hold over us.


Full Report