Soldier at Bomber Command by Charles Carrington

Author:Charles Carrington [Carrington, Charles]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Armed Services, Strategy, Leaders, World War 2
ISBN: 0850520819
Amazon: B00KYVE0BU
Goodreads: 23081769
Publisher: Leo Cooper
Published: 1987-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

At the War Office

The six months from September, 1943, to March, 1944 covered the only period in my life when I have worked in a government office, for a military HQ is quite another thing. Like it or not, the work I was called upon to do in the War Office was administration according to the rule of the Civil Service, under a civilian chief, the Secretary of State for War. For part of the time I held the established post of GSO1 Air (a) in the Department of Air, under a Director with the rank of major-general. My new master, Kenneth (afterwards Lieutenant-General Sir Kenneth) Crawford was a quiet, firm, and highly competent Scot, whom I respected though he had yet much to learn in the labyrinths of Army/Air relations. Under him were two deputy directors, my friend Brigadier Eric Smith who dealt with what we used to call Army Co-op, and Brigadier Richard Gale who dealt with the new and multiplying problems of Airborne Troops. Each has a GSO1 as his assistant and they, in turn, had GSO2s (majors) and GSO3s (junior captains) to whom tasks were delegated. The clerical grade consisted of warrant officers and NCOS, mostly rather middle-aged, whom I found efficient and reliable, Army-trained and more soldierly in their style than clerks in the RAF were Air-minded. All soldiers make jokes about all War Offices, but institutions look different from the inside and I protest that I found the workings of the War Office honest and reasonable, if sometimes a little slow-footed.

Above our heads, the D Air, General Crawford, was responsible to the Vice-Chief, Sir Archibald Nye, who took as much of the load as he could off the shoulders of the CIGS, Sir Alan Brooke.

It happened that I had met Alan Brooke several times in my dealings with the Air Chiefs, but not how; he was far above my head and I do not remember exchanging a word with him in his own office; nor with his deputy, though ‘Archie’ Nye was an old friend of the inter-war years, like Jack Slessor. Nye looked after the Army/Air business, with which he had a long-standing connection and he, I believe, was the General who persuaded ‘Bert’ Harris to cooperate in lifting the Airborne Troops and in bombing the beach defences on D Day. I could act, if at all, only at a much lower level. Mostly I dealt with colleagues of my own grade in other departments, various branches of MO (Operations), MI (intelligence), MT (Training) and SD (organization of Staff Duties) where Woodall found a new niche as Deputy Director. In our Department my grade was equivalent to that of a ‘principal’ in the Civil Service.

On looking back, and consulting my diaries, which for this period are fragmentary, I am surprised to find how small a part the Civil Service, or the politicians, took in our work at the War Office. I am obliged to a retired Civil Servant who formerly held high

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