Gort, Viscount

(Vereker, John Standish Surtees Prendergast)

(1886–1946)

   Palestine high commissioner 1944–5 In 1937 Gort was appointed chief of the General Staff, and was in charge of the British forces in France at the beginning of World War II. In October 1944 he replaced Sir Harold MacMichael as high commissioner for Palestine. Gort, a fair and well-meaning man, attempted to improve relations with both the Jewish and the Arab sectors of the population. He was responsible for the return of the ‘illegal’ immigrants who had been transported to Mauritius. But tension rose after the Labour government elected in Britain in 1948 continued the repressive White Paper policy. The yishuv decided on resistance by underground action. In October 1945 over two hundred ‘illegal’ immigrants were released from the Athlit internment camp. In November Gort resigned his position because of ill-health and died the following year.