Excerpt from The Post Office of India in the Great War There were two alternatives. One was to write the book entirely myself from materials supplied by myself and others. The other was to get each officer who was best acquainted with the facts to write his own account and to use existing official reports and narratives. For the former alternative I have neither the ability nor the time as postmaster-general of a busy Circle, even though blessed with an excellent staff. I therefore chose the latter alternative which seemed to me to have many advantages. In the first place my self-imposed task would be considerably lightened and in the second place the book written by different pens would avoid monotony and be more vivid. I therefore suggested this course to the director-general and asked him to approach the different officers and to put at my disposal his office files. He carried out my suggestion and at the same time I wrote to the Director. Posts and Telegraphs, Iraq, who very kindly sent me the old files of the Mesopotamia Expeditionary Force.