Army Bureau of Current Affairs The Army Bureau of Current Affairs , or ABCA , was an organisation set up to educate and raise morale amongst British servicemen in World War II . ABCA issued pamphlets in units and promoted discussions , for instance about post - war reconstruction and the Beveridge report . It met with resistance from Winston Churchill , who felt it was a poor use of military time . The organisation is generally regarded as a factor in the landslide Labour Party victory in the post - war general election in 1945 . ABCA organisers and teachers predominantly seem to have been left - wing , as were the soldiers who attended the classes , and classes became dominated by discussion of nationalisation and social justice . The service vote in the election that followed is said to have been the most dramatic reflection of the public mood , with as many as 80 % of soldiers voting for the Labour Party according to some sources . Some of the ABCA titles in the series WAR and CURRENT AFFAIRS are as follows : Apart from these pamphlets ( usually containing 16 pages , including front and rear cover ) there seems to have been a French language version for Canadian French speaking troops . A completely different series is made for the Middle East but not many come onto the market . A different approach for discussion was an ABCA issued wall chart , for use in barracks etc . Not many of these seem to have survived the war , however . Last but not least a song book was released in 1944 , called the ABCA song book . Edited by Capt . C . Hassall . . . Musical arrangements by Lieut . E . Fenby , etc . [ With a foreword by W . E . Williams , fondly known as " ABCA Bill " , who had been closely involved with Allen Lane in 1935 founding Penguin Books and had created the Pelican imprint . ] A . B . C . A . pamphlets series WAR 1941 No . 1 20 Sep : News - facts for fighting men ; No . 2 4 Oct : News - facts for fighting men ; No . 3 18 Oct : News - facts for fighting men ; No . 4 1 Nov : News - facts for fighting men ; No . 5 15 Nov : News - facts for fighting men ; No . 6 29 Nov : News - facts for fighting men ; No . 7 13 Dec : News - facts for fighting men ; No . 8 27 Dec : News - facts for fighting men 1942 No . 9 10 Jan : News - facts for fighting men ; No . 10 24 Jan : News - facts for fighting men ; No . 11 7 Feb : News - facts for fighting men ; No . 12 21 Feb : Fifty - five days in Malaya ; No . 13 7 Mar : If invasion comes ; No . 14 21 Mar : The enemy in the east ; No . 15 4 Apr : The mind of a Nazi ; No . 16 18 Apr : The Libyan See - saw ; No . 17 2 May : The German army ; No . 18 16 May : How Russia fights ; No . 19 30 May : The Greeks fight on ; No . 20 13 June : In a desert battle ; No . 21 27 June : Libya , summer 1942 ; No . 22 11 July : The thrust for Egypt 23 25 July : The U . S . Army 24 8 Aug : Guide for Jap invaders 25 22 Aug : The Merchant Navy 26 5 sep : The Indian Army ; No . 27 19 sep : Life in the R . A . C . ; No . 28 3 Oct : Dieppe Summary ; No . 29 17 Oct : The British Soldier ; No . 30 31 Oct : I didn ’ t think it mattered ; No . 31 14 Nov : Where did that one go ( RA ) ; No . 32 28 Nov : The Airborne Forces ; No . 33 12 Dec : Desert song ; No . 34 26 Dec : Army Food ( + CMP + selection ) 1943 No . 35 9 Jan : The trouble with Italians ; No . 36 23 Jan : And what did you see ? ( RA ) ; No . 37 6 Febr : Little men , what now ? ; No . 38 22 Feb : This is the Red Army ; No . 41 3 April : “ Be Mean and kill ‘ em ” ; No . 42 17 April : He leads , the others follow ; No . 44 15 May : Casualty report ; No . 45 29 May : Operation Diary ; No . 46 12 June : The Royal Marines ; No . 47 26 June : The horse ’ s mouth ; No . 48 10 July : Enemy : Japan ; No . 49 24 July : The documents in the case ; No . 50 7 Aug : Mediterranean Journey ; No . 51 21 Aug : The guards at Mareth ; No . 52 4 Sept : A night out in Sicily ; No . 53 18 Sept : ATS ( progress report ) ; No . 54 2 Oct : Daylight bombing ; No . 55 16 Oct : Coastal Forces ; No . 56 30 Oct : Soldiers ’ Battles ; No . 57 13 Nov : All orders faithfully executed ( RE ) ; No . 58 27 Nov : When in Rome ; No . 59 11 Dec : Parachuting as a career 1944 No . 61 8 Jan : Seaward watch ; No . 62 22 Jan : Frankfurt revisited ; No . 63 5 Feb : Recce Corps ; No . 64 19 Feb : Strictly G . I . ; No . 65 4 Mar : Salerno Diary ; No . 66 18 Mar : Louder and Faster ( AA ) ; No . 67 1 Apr : The man overhead ; No . 68 15 Apr : Self - preservation ( booby traps ) ; No . 69 29 Apr : One more river ; No . 70 13 May : The other army ; No . 71 27 May : Next of kin ; No . 72 10 June : Up in Arms ; No . 75 5 Aug : The case against Private Abbott ; No . 76 19 Aug : Tiger , tiger , burning bright ; No . 77 2 Sep : Two sides of battle ; No . 78 16 Sep : The Captain in search of his youth ; No . 79 14 Oct : Not only concerned with food ; No . 80 28 Oct : Gentlemen , let us not hurry ; No . 81 11 Nov : Five years of war ; No . 82 25 Nov : Yes , if he has no fingernails ; No . 83 9 Dec : Arnhem , part I ; No . 84 23 Dec : Arnhem , part II 1945 No . 85 6 Jan : Look Homeward , Jap ; No . 86 20 Jan : Antwerp ; No . 88 17 Feb : Riding high ; No . 89 3 Mar : The Philippines ; No . 90 17 March : The Red Army advances ; No . 91 31 March : Incidental explosion ; No . 93 28 April : Report ( 20 p . ) ; No . 94 12 May : Return via Dunkirk ; No . 96 9 June : The road to Rangoon ; No . 97 23 June : Swan song A . B . C . A . series CURRENT AFFAIRS 1941 No . 1 27 Sep : A background bulletin ; No . 2 11 Oct : A background bulletin ; No . 3 25 Oct : A background bulletin ; No . 4 8 Nov : A background bulletin ; No . 5 22 Nov : A background bulletin ; No . 6 6 Dec : A background bulletin ; No . 7 20 Dec : A background bulletin 1942 No . 8 3 Jan : A background bulletin ; No . 9 17 Jan : A background bulletin ; No . 10 31 Jan : A background bulletin ; No . 11 14 Feb : A background bulletin ; No . 12 28 Feb : A background bulletin ; No . 13 14 Mar : A background bulletin 14 28 Mar : A background bulletin 15 11 Apr : A background bulletin 16 25 Apr : A background bulletin 17 9 May : South Africa and the War 18 23 May : Britain ’ s Acres go to War 19 6 June : Cripps on India 20 20 June : Women at War 21 4 July : Hitler ’ s Own War 22 18 July : Meet the Americans 23 1 Aug : The British Empire 24 15 Aug : The Chungking Angle 25 29 Aug : The Russian Background 26 12 Sept : Here are the Americans 27 26 Sep : Town Planning 28 10 Oct : What price Victory ? 29 24 Oct : Development of Nazism 30 7 Nov : How can we abolish War ? 31 21 Nov : Taking Stock 32 5 Dec : North Africa 33 19 Dec : The Beveridge report 1943 34 2 Jan : The Mediterranean 35 16 Jan : Rumour 36 30 Jan : North African Resources 37 13 Feb : The Nation ’ s health 38 27 Feb : The Middle East and Turkey 39 13 Mar : Spain 40 27 Mar : Latin America 41 10 Apr : Germany ’ s New Order 42 24 Apr : The Colonies 43 8 May : Problems in the Pacific 44 22 May : Women after the war 45 5 June : Social Security 46 3 July : Facts about Italy 47 17 July : Balkan Background 48 31 July : When the Lights go on 49 14 Aug : The trouble with Germans 50 28 Aug : You are going to Europe 51 11 Sep : What about our schools 52 25 Sept : Transatlantic Soundings 53 9 Oct : Here ’ s Tae Us ! 54 23 Oct : What we ’ ll Find in Europe 55 6 Nov : Are we United Nations 56 20 Nov : Building the Post - war Home 57 4 Dec : Farming in Soviet Russia 58 18 Dec : What about France 1944 59 1 Jan : You and the Americans 60 15 Jan : Armies of Occupation 62 12 Feb : What we ’ ll Find in Germany 63 26 Feb : This Business of Public Opinion 64 11 Mar : The Yank in Britain 65 25 Mar : What is good food 66 8 Apr : Belgium and Holland 67 22 Apr : How about Japan 0 68 6 May : Partners in Battle 69 20 May : The Nazis in Scandinavia 70 3 June : Electing the President 71 17 June : Work for All 72 1 July : So you ’ re going to France 73 15 July : Partisan Setting ! 74 29 July : Friends in Need 75 12 Aug : After the Blitz is Over ? 76 26 Aug : Schools for Tomorrow 77 9 Sep : The Japanese Way 78 23 sep : “ Show me the way to go home ” 79 7 Oct : Brush - up for civvy street 80 21 Oct : Parisian come - back 81 4 Nov : a Weapon against want 82 18 Nov : What happened at home ? ( 20p . ) 83 2 Dec : Fewer children 84 16 Dec : Men from the Dominions 85 30 Dec : The cinema and the public 1945 86 13 Jan : Japanese purpose 87 January 27 : What price Peace ? 88 10 Feb : Chinese prospect 89 24 Feb : A practical democracy ( on New Zealand ) ( 20 p . ) 90 10 Mar : The more we are together 91 24 March : ‘ Jolly Swagman ’ 93 21 April : Theirs is the Future 94 5 May : On thinking geographically 96 2 June : The artist and the public ( 20 p . ) B1 July 21 : Bridging the Gap 108 17 Nov : South African Survey B 10 24 Nov : Hungry World 109 1 Dec : Indian Background ( 20 p . ) 110 15 Dec : Housing Brief ( 20 p . ) 112 12 Jan : Burning Issue ( 20 p . ) 117 “ What Manchester thinks to - day … ” ( 20 p . ) Note : between July and December 1945 ABCA ‘ Current Affairs ’ had a ‘ B ’ - series in between the normal bi - weekly issue , with a B prefix for the book number .