London, July 27.
Likeliest head of the British military mission that is soon to leave for Moscow was Fieldmarshal Sir Philip Chetwode, former Commander-in-Chief of the Army in India, War Office quarters disclosed today.
Sir Cyril Newall, First Air Marshal, was previously thought a possible choice for the task but the Cabinet is not now expected to dispense with the services of the R.A.F. Chief of Staff for the time that the Moscow parleys would require. Sir Philip, on the other hand, is at present without any particular command and would therefore be able to remain away from Britain for a longer period of time than Sir Cyril.
The projected Moscow military Staff consultations are expected to be "somewhat lengthy," owing to the "complexity of the problems which are to be discussed."
Sir Philip Chetwode is one of the eleven Field Marshals of Great Britain. Among the other ten are the Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, the Duke of Windsor, ex-King Alphonso of Spain and Emperor Hirochito of Japan. He recently headed the British mission that went to Spain during the civil war to investigate the refugee situation.
Seventy years old, he entered the Army fifty years ago at the age of twenty. He saw service in Burma, South Africa, Egypt, Palestine and Syria apart from routine duties in Britain. He holds the First Class Order of the Sacred Treasure of Japan.—Havas.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.