The Anonymous Islands We were talking about security measures and
the comedies to which they sometimes give rise. General Bob Laycock remembered the occasion during the last war when it seemed to the Chiefs of Staff possible that in certain circumstances we might have to carry out landings in the Azores. As the commander of a Commando Brigade, he was summoned, with one staff officer, to the presence of Sir Roger Keyes, who was Chief of Combined Operations at the time. In an atmosphere thick with secrecy they were shown the chart of an archipelago on which all the proper names had been blacked out. " I am not going to tell you where these islands are," began Keyes. " You don't have to, sir," said Laycock, for the security people had forgotten to black out the longitudes and latitudes. " They're the Azores." " The Azores ? " said his staff officer in a pleased voice. " I say, how splendid ! I've always wanted to go to the Mediterranean."
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