Page 137 - GFA – A Different Drumbeat
P. 137
GFA – A Different Drumbeat 137
POST WAR TO 1950
Towards the end of the War, the SOE and Force 136 were losing their influence in China.
The main reason for this was that the British and Americans did not agree on tactics. The
Americans were strongly anti-Communist and would not consider any action that might
allow the Communists in China to gain control of the country. The British however, were
concentrating their efforts against the Japanese, even if this meant co-operating with the
Communists. By that time the the War was over in Europe, the Americans were putting all
their powerful resources into supporting Chiang Kaishek and the Kuomintang government,
even though it was riddled with corruption.
What was GFA to do? He had lost everything, and now even the one role that was giving
his life meaning had come to an end. He had no real roots anywhere but in China, no
home, no property, no work. At a lose end, and with the War obviously coming to a
conclusion, GFA decided to visit England. Was this because the SOE had their
headquarters in London, and he wondered whether they had some peace time role for him?
His niece Jessie and David Bentley-Taylor were visiting the Bentley-Taylor seniors in
Hereford at the time. Bentley-Taylor says:
We tried hard to get him to visit us, but some instinct caused him to avoid this, so on
August 1st we took Michael and Arthur, aged 3, to see him at his hotel in London.
Once again there was talk of conferring a knighthood on him, but he refused it as It
did not suit his style of life to become 'Sir George’.
In 1949 GFA received his three service medals for his service during World War II:
The 1939-45 Star The Burma Star 1939-45 War Medal
Return to Table of Contents
POST WAR TO 1950
Towards the end of the War, the SOE and Force 136 were losing their influence in China.
The main reason for this was that the British and Americans did not agree on tactics. The
Americans were strongly anti-Communist and would not consider any action that might
allow the Communists in China to gain control of the country. The British however, were
concentrating their efforts against the Japanese, even if this meant co-operating with the
Communists. By that time the the War was over in Europe, the Americans were putting all
their powerful resources into supporting Chiang Kaishek and the Kuomintang government,
even though it was riddled with corruption.
What was GFA to do? He had lost everything, and now even the one role that was giving
his life meaning had come to an end. He had no real roots anywhere but in China, no
home, no property, no work. At a lose end, and with the War obviously coming to a
conclusion, GFA decided to visit England. Was this because the SOE had their
headquarters in London, and he wondered whether they had some peace time role for him?
His niece Jessie and David Bentley-Taylor were visiting the Bentley-Taylor seniors in
Hereford at the time. Bentley-Taylor says:
We tried hard to get him to visit us, but some instinct caused him to avoid this, so on
August 1st we took Michael and Arthur, aged 3, to see him at his hotel in London.
Once again there was talk of conferring a knighthood on him, but he refused it as It
did not suit his style of life to become 'Sir George’.
In 1949 GFA received his three service medals for his service during World War II:
The 1939-45 Star The Burma Star 1939-45 War Medal
Return to Table of Contents
