Six months in Britain

Alexander's return to Britain was of course partly dictated by the fact that his year's leave of absence from Woodbrooke had expired, and he could in any case feel very reasonably that he had done all that he could to see the Unit well established. And, as the Viceroy remarked, all his Congress friends were in detention where he could be of little service to them as a conciliator. There was much to be done in Britain. The scale of the Bengal famine had not yet been sufficiently realised, and Indian political aspirations were understood even less. Alexander was particularly dismayed by the Government's continued refusal to acknowledge Gandhi's essential goodwill. The first thing he did on his return was to seek an interview with Amery in order to brief him on the situation as he saw it, and in particular to urge him to enlist Gandhi's help in coping with the famine. Amery was too busy to see him. He could see P. J. Patrick instead, and did so on Thursday 23 September.

Meanwhile Agatha Harrison lost no time in organising a programme for him. In a letter of 19 September, just four days after his arrival, she proposed meetings with concerned Members of Parliament, with journalists such as Crozier of the Manchester Guardian and Kingsley Martin of the New Statesman, with representatives of the religious press, and with the various groups working on India who would have had a sense of great grievance if Alexander's knowledge had not been shared with them too.