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World War II-dated TLS, one page, 8 x 10.5, Allied Force Headquarters, Office of the Commander-in-Chief letterhead, May 10, 1943. Memorandum to Maj. Gen. Humfrey Gale, chief administrative officer at Allied Force Headquarters, addressed “General Gale,” in full: “Will you please distribute to all ranks under your command the following message to the Allied Forces from His Majesty the King: ‘Throughout the six months during which you have been in command of the Allied Forces in North Africa, I have watched with admiration the progress of operations on sea, on land, and in the air. Under your leadership, forces diverse in nationality and race have been knit into one united and successful whole. Their task has not been easy and the resistance of the enemy has been determined and desperate. But now, with the capture of Tunis and Bizerta, your campaign is almost concluded; the last enemy forces in Africa are being captured or destroyed and the debt of Dunkirk repaid. On behalf of all my peoples, I express to you, as supreme Commander of Allied Forces, and to all ranks under your command our heartfelt congratulations on your victory.’ I am profoundly grateful to all portions of the Allied Forces for having carried out their assigned tasks so magnificently as to earn this commendation from His Majesty.” In very good to fine condition, with light scattered spotting, and a tear and paper loss to the top left edge.
Dated three days after Allied forces captured Tunis and Bizerta, this memorandum relays King George VI’s congratulations on the Allied campaign in French North Africa, which began with the Operation Torch landings in November 1942 and ended with the surrender of the remaining Axis forces in Tunisia on May 13, 1943. Its recipient, Maj. Gen. Humfrey Gale, had a personal stake in the King’s reference to Dunkirk. In 1940, he had served on the administrative staff of III Corps of the British Expeditionary Force, and he was responsible for its administrative arrangements during the Battle of Dunkirk, keeping the supply system working through the evacuation.
On September 15, 1942, Gale was appointed Chief Administrative Officer of Eisenhower’s Allied Force Headquarters. Because British and American administrative systems differed so greatly that separate organizations had to be maintained, Gale’s task was to coordinate the two, a job Eisenhower described as ‘unique in the history of war.’ When Eisenhower left the Mediterranean to take supreme command for the invasion of Europe, Gale was among the key officers he insisted on bringing with him. His chief of staff, Walter Bedell Smith, explained that Eisenhower would be unwilling to undertake another large Allied command without Gale’s administrative help. As SHAEF’s Chief Administrative Officer, Gale oversaw the vast stores of supplies built up before D-Day.
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