PEAK OF FAME

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 21853, 25 October 1945, Page 5

PEAK OF FAME

BRITISH AT ALAMEIN CHURCHILL'S TRIBUTE VICTORIOUS LEADERS (10 a.m.) LONDON, Oct. 24. “Long may the old comradeship continue among those who fought side by side at Alamein, whose „ unflinching courage and unwearing vitality raised the reputation of the British Army to heights unsurpassed in ancient times,” said Mr. Winston Churchill, in a speech at the Alamein dinner. “The Battle of Alamein was the .turning point in British military fortunes,” he said “Before Alamein, we survived. After Alamein, we conquered. _ “I found a grave and critical situation when I arrived in Cairo at the beginning of August, 1942. It was only after the most careful consideration, aided by the advice of General Sir Alan Brooke and General J. G. Smuts that I proposed to the Cabinet the changes in the command which were necessary. “The appointment of Field Marshal Montgomery and Field Marshal Alexander, whose names were then little known, will be acclaimed by history. Neither of these men was ever defeated or long checked in the intense and bloody fighting which lay ahead. Their names are now household words. Their fame will long be cherished by their fellow countrymen and honoured by the nations of the world.”