Sir Harry Verney, who had just returned from the front,
declared that from Sir Douglas Haig downwards there was " a universal feeling of disgust " in the Army at the dismissal—so apparently it is called out there—of General Trenchard. Lord Hugh Cecil paid a particularly eloquent tribute to General Trenchard's leadership and capacity for organization. He pointed out that in the Air Force the men who show the greatest aptitude and talent for flying and for fighting in the air are young men who make rather an art than a science of their business. The nervous and artistic side of their temperament is wrought upon to a high degree by their occupation. In such circumstances it is easy to see that the moral of the force may be as easily shaken by folly in high places as it is easily developed by right and inspiring guidance. It is open to leadership, as Lord Hugh Cecil explained, to make the Air Force either wonderful or rotten within a very short time. He remarked that flying men might not assent to his description -of them, but after studying them he felt sure that it was true.
Previous page
