The Age of Generals The disturbed international situation, combined with
the opportunities for discussion of military affairs which the annual training season affords, has brought the subject of the Higher Command into some prominence. The Military Correspondent to The Times opened the ball by publishing two articles comparing the ages of the four principal Corn- manders-in-Chief and Commanders of Regular divisions in 1937 with those in 1914, and also comparing the ages of appointment to those offices. These articles provoked some correspondence, notably a letter which it is reasonable to guess was written by an eminent military historian, which argued that the real difficulty was the age of battalion com- manders and General Staff Officers attached to divisional commands, and then pointed out that this could not be materially reduced without rendering the terms of service so unfavourable as to necessitate a complete readjustment of our military system. The most effective objector to reform is always the man who says that no reform is possible without a fundamental change which will take a long time to effect. The essential for the time being is to appoint men with flexible minds to the key posts, leaving dignified but less vital appointments for other deserving senior officers—a policy which Mr. Hore-Belisha seems to be following in his recent appointments to key posts at the War Office and the Staff College.
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