Sir: I agree with every word of Paul John- son's
article.
In the last year of my service in the army I commanded a Territorial division and was also Deputy Constable at Dover Castle and required to live in Constable's Tower, pic- turesque but lacking many modern conve- niences.
I was expected to entertain not only members of the services in my district but also the more prominent civilians in Kent. As Deputy Constable I had to play a lead- ing role in the installation of the Lord War- den, who is also Constable of Dover Castle, and on the eve of his installation I had to give a dinner party for 16 people, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lord Warden, the Lord Lieutenant, the Bishop of Dover, the Mayor of Dover and at least eight other prominent civilians. My visitors' book showed that during my two-and-a- half-year period in the castle I put up over 30 military and civilian official guests, all of whom needed entertaining. Mr David Ennals was at that time Member of Parlia- ment for Dover and also Permanent Secre- tary to the Armed Forces, and his office would frequently ring up to say he would like to stay the next Friday night and meet some of the local people. He would duly arrive in a ministerial car in time for dinner and then on the Saturday morning would depart to his constituency surgery in a more modest car and suitable clothes to match.
Of course, I enjoyed many of my duties.
LETTERS
But I had an inadequate entertainment allowance, and living in a semi-public build- ing with thousands of tourists wandering round in the summer outside one's front door and with very little private grounds was not particularly attractive.
It was fortunate for the army that they had an occupant who would maintain the Constable's Tower and that I had a wife (unpaid) who despite being a semi-invalid for much of the time was prepared to run the establishment and act as unofficial host- ess to a very large number of comparative strangers.
Major General Sir Brian 14Ydbore-Smith
Grantham House, Grantham, Lincolnshire
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