The Dennis Wheatley 'Museum' - Dennis Wheatley in World War II: a supplement

The working atmosphere....

An extract from a letter James Arbuthnott
wrote to DW from Ceylon on 14th December 1945

Click on the image to enlarge
For a transcript of the relevant portion, click here

DW mentioned in his memoirs that, while normally cordial, when the pressure was on, the atmosphere in the office would sometimes become somewhat less so.

DW recounted in 'The Deception Planners' how, during periods of great strain, Bevan would sleep badly and would become irritable and curt, and how Bevan's wife Barbara (a daughter of the Earl of Lucan) once confided to DW that on coming home, Bevan would sometimes say "I've been horrid today. How my staff put up with my bad temper I can't imagine".

Bevan was generally best with people in the Army, and then with those in the Armed Forces. Others sometimes suffered more, with Sir Reginald Hoare complaining to DW that Bevan sometimes treated him 'like a footman'.

Cordial as things may generally have been, it is clear from the above letter that Arbuthnott at least sometimes found the working atmosphere difficult, and that he considered that on occasion DW was the person responsible for lightening the atmosphere.