Page 88 - They Also Served

minister described Gort as ‘utterly brainless’. However, criticism of Gort did not play well back in Westminster, and it was Hore-Belisha who was sacked. Later, once the German Blitzkrieg had split the Allied forces, Gort ignored orders to counter-attack and instead initiated the retreat to Dunkirk.
With hindsight, it is unsurprising that a man who had never commanded a division or corps should struggle to control an army. The debate as to whether it was right to abandon the defence of France to save 338,000 Allied soldiers still rages today, but, back then, the new prime minister, Winston Churchill, was unimpressed and quietly sidelined Gort.
Appointed governor of Gibraltar 1941–42, Gort was then sent to Malta in what was to be his finest hour. Ever-present to boost morale during the incessant air raids, he extended the airfield against the advice of Churchill, which was later to prove vital in the Mediterranean campaign. His leadership and courage were rewarded when the king personally presented his field marshal baton in 1943. Gort ended the war as High Commissioner for Palestine and did much to build better relations between Arabs and Jews. However, he was suffering from liver cancer and returned to England in late 1945. Field Marshal Viscount Gort VC GCB CBE DSO MVO MC died in March 1946.
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