The General: The Classic WWI Tale of Leadership

by C.S. Forester

was a firm supporter of the rule that professional subjects should not be discussed in the mess. Whether the subject rashly brought up was ‘The Tactical Employment of Cavalry in the Next War’ or the new regulations regarding heelropes, Curzon was always on the side of propriety, and saw to it that the discussion was short-lived. It did not matter to him – probably he did not know – that the convention prohibiting the discussion in mess of professional matters and of women dated back to the days of duelling, and that these two subjects about which men are more likely to grow angry had been barred then out of an instinct of self-preservation. It was sufficient to him that the convention was established; it was that fact which justified the convention.

Pro dev banned in the mess - sounds like a really good option in 1912....