James Arbuthnott reveals the reaction to DW’s first efforts to write a History of LCS

My dear Dennis,

One is missing you somewhat but no doubt you are having a good time – alas not good weather though. About your opus. Apparently Harold was reading it, which Johnny saw & demanded a copy. Harold made some weak protest & J. of course got his copy. I think it is a most delightful production with some really lovely bits in it e.g. “spent 25 years peacefully oscillating with the changing seasons between Delhi & Simla” is a gem to my mind. However, unfortunately my opinion is not really important. What happened was this: You made a mistake about my foreign service leave before joining – I had had that, but the Admiralty made an ambiguous signal to me so I came to London without my gear and had to ask Johnny straight away for leave to go back to Devonshire for my things. Well, I explained this error in your narrative to Johnny who then opened up on the general subject of your paper. As no doubt you expected, he said it was no good as an official report, & it was all very embarrassing as you had worked so long and hard at it & so on. He also criticised it being such a personal document. I said it was the sort of document I personally would like to be able to keep for the rest of my life. He said; No doubt, but we can’t do that – which is incontrovertible! So what it amounts to is that your history has been ‘killed’ almost at birth & I wondered whether any of your highly placed friends could rescue it from destruction – Morton, Pug or someone like that - & get it, after the minor inaccuracies have been corrected, into some archives somewhere. Anyway, I think you will be glad to know in advance J’s reaction – which was really inevitable. By the way Ronald wrote privately to Johnny & inter alia asked for 48 hours extension, which of course was granted. For all the work there is for you to do you might well do the same thing if you want a few extra days. So long old boy – looking forward to seeing you soon. Love to Joan.

Yours affectionately,

James