ALANBROOKE AND CHURCHILL
Sta,---Lord Templewood'i reView in your paper of Arthur Bryant's book The Turn of the Tide contains by implication some inaccuracies. For example, it gives the impression that General Alan Brooke, as he then was, became CIGS in the summer of 1940, after the evacuation ,of the prixish forces from France. In fact, the late Field-Marshal John Dill succeeded General Ironside as CIGS on the latter's appoint- ment as Commander-in-Chief Home Forces and very shortly afterwards Brooke replaced Ironside in that command.
That Brooke laid the foundations of the reorgani- sation and modern training of the Army at home— a task in which he was admirably succeeded by General Paget—before he became CIGS is a matter of historical importance.
Lord Templewood evidently regards entries in the earlier chapters of the book as confirmation of his own conviction that the Government, of which he was an important member, has been proved right in the prewar policy of appeasement designed to delay the outbreak of war and to win time for the better preparation of British military effort. That may be so—but it ignores the possibility that Germany may not have been as well prepared in 1937-38 as in Sep- tember, 1939, and that a 'tougher' attitude might have dissuaded Hitler from his gamble.—Yours faithfully, I. A. M. BOND
17 Chelsea Lodge, Tite Street, Chelsea, SW3
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