his report to have been quite correct. There was not much "rushing"
about the move. It took weeks to complete.

General Pershing and his staff arrived in England just at this time,
and I enjoyed the pleasure of meeting them and discussing many
matters. The attitude of these distinguished soldiers, one and all,
impressed us most agreeably. One had heard something about "Yankee
bounce" in the past, which exists no doubt amongst some of the
citizens of the great Republic across the water. But here we found a
body of officers who, while manifestly knowing uncommonly well what
they were about, were bent on learning from us everything that they
possibly could, and who from the outset proved themselves singularly
ready to fall in with our methods of doing business even where those
methods differed widely from what they had been accustomed to.

Some weeks later (in the capacity of War Office representative) I
accompanied Lord Jellicoe and Admiral Sims, together with Sir I.
Malcolm and Sir W. Wiseman of the Foreign Office, to Devonport to meet
a large party of high officials from the United States who were coming
over to Europe to take general charge of things in connection with the
American share in the war. It was headed by Colonel House, and
included the Chiefs of the Naval and Military Staffs with their
assistants, as well as financial and other delegates. We arrived some
time before the two cruisers conveying the party were due, so we
proceeded to Admiralty House. While waiting there, one was afforded a
most welcome opportunity of learning something about how the strings
were being pulled over the great water-area which was under special
charge of the local commander-in-chief. The whole thing was set out on
a huge fixed map covering, I think, the billiard-table. On it were
shown where the various convoys were at the moment, the minefields,
the positions where German U-boats had recently been located, and
numberless other important details. To a landsman it was absorbingly
interesting to have all this explained, just as it had been
interesting, a few days before, to visit General Ashmore's office at
the Horse Guards and to learn on the map how the London anti-aircraft
defences were controlled during an attack.

Just about dusk the two cruisers were descried coming in past the
breakwater, so it became a question of getting to the Keyham dockyard
where they were to fetch up. Ever keen for exercise in any form, Lord
Jellicoe