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[Page 23]
Readers may ask what kind of man Tristram James was. Unfortunately., we cannot turn to his contemporaries to ascertain how he appeared and appealed to them for they did not publish their impressions of him. On the other hand if one wishes to study the carreer of a soldier one must understand first something of the age in which he lived and of the Army in which he served and of its conditions of service. This knowledge alone brings substance and understanding to one's estimates and judgement. Moreover, it defends one agains surprise and imposture.
I remember Tristram James myself as an officer and a gentleman in the best sense of that widely known and much used expression. He Y^as energetic, an industrious and a vigilant regimental officer - he was articulate and his taut, tidy and alert mind suggested that he knew what he wanted and that he knew how to attain what he wanted but in no way in the manner of a "bull in a china shop’. His "criticisms" in camp, after having returned from "shoots" on an artillery range, were constructive and pointed out shortcomings in individual training. But his style avoided giving offence to individual officers. With the aid of a cheerful personality., he could infuse the right spirit into a unit so that all ranks were moved to play their parts willingly and effectively. His manner was firm and decisive, but courteous and tactful. However, he was easily moved to indignation by displays of longwindedness or fuss by an officer.
Off parade and in the mess he was amiable and approachable; and in conversation he was, to quote Edward Gibbon, "a stranger to vanity or affectation". He talked freely and informally in the Mess to anybody nearby. But talk with him was usually a quiet interchange of opinions or in the form of questions and answers. It was not characterised by a rapid and sustained flow or give and take as one might expect in a university college. I cannot recall him engaging in animated and controversial descussions but then these were