THE BRITISH SOLDIER

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXII, 27 January 1939, Page 5

THE BRITISH SOLDIER

UNFAILING TACT AND GOOD HUMOUR VISCOUNT GORT’S TRIBUTE f British Official Wireless! RUGBY, 25th January. Viscount Gort, Chief of the Imperial i Staff, who is leaving on a visit to Egypt and Palestine, in a broadcast address to-day, said: “I am looking forward with great interest to my forthcoming visit because I am anxious on the one hand to study, in consultation with those locally

responsible, the various problems of imperial defence in the Middle East, and on the other hand to renew personal contact with the British soldiers of all ranks who are doing work of which their fellow countrymen usually hear too little.

“Nowadays it is only natural that problems of home defence should loom large in our thoughts, but we should also remember as well that the British soldier stands as a sentinel, day in and day out, supporting the civil authorities in the maintenance of law and order in far-off parts of the world. “Usually, by the performance of his routine duties, he carried out two tasks ! simultaneously, which at first sound ! almost irreconcilable—the maintenance ! of order and the establishment of | friendly relations in whatever part of j the world he may find himself. Hi.s; great secret lies in his unfailing good j humour, his tact and sense of fair | ; play, coupled with his uncanny ability j to make his meaning understood in any I language.”