Sir Arthur Longmore's return from the Middle Eastern Command to
be Inspector-General of the R.A.F. at home is unexpected. The Inspector-Generalship is by no means a sinecure, but it commonly figures, and is generally regarded, as marking a dignified transition of the active towards inactivity. Inactivity is not a state with which Sir Arthur Longmore can be readily associated, and the record of the R.A.F. under his com- mand in the Middle East would seem to the layman to mark him out for greater, not smaller, responsibilities. But the lay- man is not as a rule in a position to see far below the surface, and he can only assume that in making their decision the highest authorities are endowed with the highest wisdom. There is no doubt about the ability of Air-Marshal A. W. Tedder, Sir Arthur Longmore's successor in the Middle East, but he has not so far exhibited in anything like the same degree the quali- ties of leadership and inspiration. * * * *
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