Hastings Ismay , 1st Baron Ismay General Hastings Lionel " Pug " Ismay , 1st Baron Ismay , KG , GCB , CH , DSO , PC ( – ) was a British Indian Army officer and diplomat , remembered primarily for his role as Winston Churchill ' s chief military assistant during the Second World War and his service as the first Secretary General of NATO from 1952 to 1957 . Ismay was born in India in 1887 , and educated in the United Kingdom at the Charterhouse School and Royal Military College , Sandhurst . After Sandhurst , he joined the Indian Army as an officer of the 21st Prince Albert Victor ' s Own Cavalry . During the First World War , he served with the Camel Corps in Somaliland , where he joined in the British fight against the " Mad Mullah " , Mohammed Abdullah Hassan . In 1925 , Ismay became an Assistant Secretary of the Committee of Imperial Defence . After being promoted to the rank of colonel , he served as the military secretary for Lord Willingdon , the Viceroy of India , then returned to the Committee of Imperial Defence as Deputy Secretary in 1936 . On 1 August 1938 , shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War , Ismay became the Secretary of the Committee of Imperial Defence and began planning for the impending war . In May 1940 , when Winston Churchill became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom , he selected Ismay as his chief military assistant and staff officer . In that capacity , Ismay served as the principal link between Churchill and the Chiefs of Staff Committee . Ismay also accompanied Churchill to many of the Allied war conferences . For Ismay ' s advice and aid , " Churchill owed more , and admitted that he owed more " to him " than to anybody else , military or civilian , in the whole of the war . " After the end of the war , Ismay remained in the army for another year , and helped to reorganise the Ministry of Defence . He then retired from the military and served as Lord Mountbatten of Burma ' s Chief of Staff in India , helping to oversee its partition . From 1948 to 1951 , he served as chairman of the council of the Festival of Britain , helping to organise and promote the event . Then , in 1951 , when Churchill again became Prime Minister , he appointed Ismay Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations . Ismay accepted the position , but resigned after only six months to become the first Secretary General of NATO in 1952 . He served as Secretary General until 1957 , and helped to establish and define the position . After retiring from NATO , Ismay wrote his memoirs , " The Memoirs of General Lord Ismay " , served on a variety of corporate boards , and co - chaired the Ismay – Jacob Committee , which reorganised the Ministry of Defence once again . He died on 17 December 1965 , at his home Wormington Grange , Gloucestershire . Early life . Ismay was born in Nainital , India , on 21 June 1887 . His father , Sir Stanley Ismay , was a member of the Viceroy ' s Legislative Council and his mother , Beatrice Ellen , was the daughter of an Army colonel . Ismay began his education in Britain at the Charterhouse School , and his parents hoped that after completing his education there he would attend Cambridge and enter the civil service . Ismay , however , " had a sneaking desire to be a cavalry soldier " , and after doing poorly on his final examinations at Charterhouse , he was not eligible to attend Cambridge . As a result , he entered the Royal Military College , Sandhurst in 1904 . Ismay would later write : " Sandhurst never meant nearly so much to me as Charterhouse had " , but he enjoyed his time at the school and studied alongside many men who went on to become important military officers , including Lord Gort , Edgar Ludlow - Hewitt and Cyril Newall . Indian Army . After completing the course at Sandhurst , Ismay placed fourth overall on its examinations and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Indian Army . Ismay was then attached to the Gloucestershire Regiment of the British Army in Ambala , where he served a one year mandatory apprenticeship . After leaving the regiment , Ismay did not immediately find a place in the Indian cavalry , so he spent nine months floating among positions with various British and Indian units . In 1907 , Ismay found a permanent position in the Indian cavalry , joining the 21st Prince Albert Victor ' s Own Cavalry , based at Risalpur . Ismay thoroughly enjoyed his time with the regiment , describing it as " blissful . " In 1908 , he saw his first action with the regiment , when it was sent into Afghanistan , pursuing Mohmand raiders who had taken several Hindu women as hostages . Immediately after Ismay ' s regiment returned from action , he was hospitalised in Peshawar due to heat stroke , but he recovered quickly and , along with the rest of his regiment , received the India General Service Medal . In 1910 , after a reorganisation of the Indian Army , Ismay ' s regiment moved from Risalpur to Jhelum , further from the frontier . Shortly thereafter , Ismay was appointed the adjutant of his regiment , a position which he held for four years , during which time he also read voraciously and developed a great admiration for Winston Churchill , whom he sought to emulate . Somaliland . In early 1914 , just before Ismay ' s appointment as adjutant was set to expire , he met C . A . L Howard , another British officer serving in India , who told him about an opportunity to serve with the King ' s African Rifles in British Somaliland . Ismay decided that this was " just the sort of job that [ he ] wanted , " and applied immediately . Due to his reputation " as a thorough and dependable officer of sound judgement , " Ismay was appointed second in command of the Somaliland Camel Corps , a cavalry unit led by Thomas Cubitt . Ismay left India for Somaliland in late July 1914 , and arrived on 9 August , shortly after the outbreak of the First World War in Europe . Like other officers in Somaliland , Ismay was " unhappy at being left out of the great war " and repeatedly asked for a transfer to the European front . In the end , however , Ismay ' s superiors decided that he was " so indispensable that , despite his longing for action in Europe , he was retained in Somaliland until 1920 . " In Somaliland , the Camel Corps and other British soldiers were ordered to subdue an uprising by Mohammed Abdullah Hassan , known by the British as the " Mad Mullah " , who had been fighting against them for more than twenty years . Ismay ' s commander , Thomas Cubitt , was determined to end the rebellion forcefully and quickly , so on 17 November 1914 , he launched a major assault against Hassan ' s fortress at Shimber Berris . In the attack , Ismay fought closely alongside Adrian Carton de Wiart , later an important British officer in both World Wars . Not long after the attack on Shimber Berris , however , the Camel Corps received orders from London " forbidding all offensive operations in Somaliland " , due to the misfortunes of the Army elsewhere . As a result of this order , British operations were limited for the duration of the First World War , and Ismay ' s unit undertook no further major offensives . Despite limited British activity , a few operations combined with the effort of local forces led to " a drastic weakening " of Hassan ' s forces by 1918 . Thus , after the armistice ending the First World War , the government sent Major General Arthur Hoskins to take control of the forces in Somaliland and defeat Hassan conclusively in battle . After Hoskins arrived , his initial plan for dealing with Hassan focussed on the use of the newly formed Royal Air Force , so Ismay and the Camel Corps were consigned to a minor role . Hoskins ' s plans , however , were found " overscaled and far too costly " , so they were shelved throughout most of 1918 and 1919 . In October 1919 , plans for Hoskins ' s operation were finally approved , and on 21 January 1920 , the attack against Hassan commenced . After several days of bombing , Ismay was ordered to lead an assault by the Camel Corps against Hassan ' s fortress at Jidali . On , Ismay ' s forces first attempted the attack and were repulsed by strong resistance . That night , however , Hassan and his forces fled Jidali to take refuge in the countryside . Ismay was assigned to track down and capture Hassan , but he " had no idea of where he was " , and was forced to begin a large search . Ismay pursued Hassan for nearly two weeks , and managed to capture many members of his family and people close to him , including seven of his sons . Nonetheless , Hassan himself managed to evade Ismay and on , the effort to capture him was called off . Though Hassan was never captured , his power was broken , and he died in December 1920 of influenza . For his service in the effort against Hassan , Ismay received the Distinguished Service Order and was twice mentioned in despatches . Interwar years . In April 1920 , Ismay left Somaliland for England . While en route , he received word that he had been nominated for a place at the Indian Army ' s Staff College in Quetta . Depressed by the loss of life and destruction of the First World War , Ismay turned down the nomination , and " was even seriously thinking of resigning [ his ] commission " in the Army . After arriving in London , Ismay was given twelve months of medical leave , and decided to stay in the army . He then attempted to reclaim his seat at the Staff College , but was told that it had already been given to someone else . Service in India . While on medical leave , Ismay met Laura Kathleen Clegg , with whom he quickly fell in love . The two were engaged only three weeks after meeting . After four months , however , Ismay was proclaimed fit for duty , despite his remaining eight months of leave , and ordered back to India , where he rejoined his old regiment . His time back in India was relatively quiet , as there was " no serious fighting " in the area of his regiment at the time . In February 1921 , Ismay took the qualifying exam for the Staff College in Rawalpindi , and passed , earning himself a seat for the next year . In April , Ismay returned to London on leave , and married Clegg , with whom he eventually had three daughters . Ismay remained in London until February 1922 , when he entered the Staff College at Quetta . Ismay excelled at the Staff College , and its commandant called him " one of the two best , if not the best , of the students who have passed through my hands . " In his final thesis at the Staff College , Ismay correctly predicted that the next European war would be a total war , but he incorrectly predicted that cavalry would continue to play a role in future warfare . After the Staff College , Ismay became Deputy Assistant Quartermaster General of the Indian Army . In that position , he worked closely with Claude Auchinleck , beginning a long - standing personal and professional relationship between the two . Ismay found that his work as Deputy Assistant Quartermaster General " was a valuable experience " , but did not enjoy it . Service in England . In 1924 , Air Vice - Marshal Philip Game suggested to Ismay that he apply for a seat at the RAF Staff College , Andover . Although Ismay " had no desire to learn to be a pilot " , he was happy for the opportunity to return to England , and went to study at the college . After completing the programme , he was approached about the possibility of serving as an Assistant Secretary of the Committee of Imperial Defence ( CID ) under Maurice Hankey . Ismay gladly accepted the position , starting work in December 1925 . In the six months between finishing the Staff College and beginning at the CID , Ismay returned to India and held a staff position at the headquarters of the Indian Army in Simla . As Assistant Secretary , Ismay directed several of the subcommittees of the Committee of Imperial Defence , including those for Censorship and War Emergency Legislation , Principal Supply Officers , and Co - ordination of Departmental Action . As the Secretary of the Committee for the Co - ordination of Departmental Action , Ismay " was responsible for seeing that all plans and preparations made by Government Departments or sub - committees of the CID to meet the eventuality of war , were incorporated under appropriate headings in a document known as the War Book . " This task ended up consuming most of Ismay ' s time as Assistant Secretary , and gave him " exceptional insight into the ways of Whitehall . " While serving as Assistant Secretary , Ismay made important friends and gained the backing of Hankey , by whom he was " greatly valued " . Largely through Hankey ' s influence , Ismay was nominated as a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the Civil Division , an honour which he received in 1931 . Lord Willingdon and the War Office . In December 1930 , after five years , Ismay left his position at the CID . He was promoted to the rank of colonel and hoped to take command of the 12th Cavalry . Instead , he became the military secretary for Lord Willingdon , the newly appointed Viceroy of India . In this role , Ismay served as the " unofficial link " between Willingdon and the Indian Army . He also led Willingdon ' s personal staff , and organised his many trips throughout India . Ismay was also responsible for Willingdon ' s safety , and took precautions after he was threatened by assassins . In December 1932 , Ismay was informed that his service with Willingdon was over and that he was expected to take up a position in the War Office during the next year . At the War Office , Ismay served as an intelligence officer with responsibility for the Middle East , Far East , the Americas , the Soviet Union , Poland and the Baltic States . Ismay enjoyed his work , and wrote that " intelligence is perhaps the most interesting of all Staff work . " During his three years in the position , Ismay worked directly under Sir John Dill , who would later serve as the Chief of the Imperial General Staff . Committee of Imperial Defence . In 1936 , Maurice Hankey became determined to " bring Ismay in as his deputy and eventual successor " at the CID . Hoping that the appointment would " strengthen the organization of the CID " and enhance its influence , Hankey offered Ismay the position of Deputy Secretary . Although the appointment meant that Ismay would probably never command troops again , he viewed it as an important opportunity and " accepted with scarcely a moment ' s hesitation . " A week thereafter , Ismay received a letter offering him the command of a cavalry brigade in India , but declined , solidifying his choice to remain a staff officer . As Deputy Secretary of the Committee of Imperial Defence , Ismay had broad responsibilities , and was " concerned with every aspect of planning and preparation for a war which seemed imminent . " Ismay dealt extensively with a variety of matters and focussed much of his attention on the preparation of anti - aircraft defences and coordination among the military services . As the crisis in Europe escalated , however , Hankey announced his intention to retire in June 1938 . Hankey hoped that one person , preferably Ismay , would inherit all of the positions he had occupied , including Secretary of the CID , clerk of the Privy Council , and Secretary to the Cabinet , but the Prime Minister , Neville Chamberlain , decided that the positions should be split and assigned to different people . In the end , Ismay was named only to the position of Secretary of the Committee of Imperial Defence , effective 1 August 1938 . Ismay assumed the position scarcely more than a year before the outbreak of the Second World War , and the war totally dominated his time in office . Soon after Ismay took office , Hitler initiated a crisis over the Sudetenland . While Chamberlain was at the Munich Conference attempting to resolve the crisis , Ismay ordered the digging of trenches in London as protection against air attacks , should war occur . Ismay later said that he thought Britain should have gone to war at Munich instead of waiting , but said nothing at the time . As it became increasingly clear that war was inevitable in 1939 , Ismay also prepared for a " smooth , simple and practically instantaneous " transition from the Committee of Imperial Defence to the War Cabinet , or whatever other wartime authority the government might choose . Second World War . With the outbreak of the Second World War , the CID was immediately absorbed into the War Cabinet as Ismay had planned . In the midst of the turmoil , Ismay was promoted to Major General , and began to work closely with Chamberlain , accompanying him on a visit to France in December 1939 . Ismay disagreed with several Allied strategic choices , including the decision to try to stop the German advance in Belgium , but kept his doubts to himself . Chiefs of Staff Committee . In April 1940 , Winston Churchill took control of the Military Co - ordination Committee , charged with overseeing all of the military services . He selected Ismay as his chief staff officer , which also gave Ismay the additional responsibility of serving on the Chiefs of Staff Committee . While serving under Churchill had been a life - long dream for Ismay , he was initially skeptical about the duties of his new position , which seemed unclear and poorly defined . On 10 May , after the beginning of the Battle of France , Chamberlain resigned , and Churchill became both Prime Minister and Minister of Defence . Ismay , who later called Churchill " the greatest War Prime Minister in our history " , was " thrilled " by this development , and continued to act as Churchill ' s chief staff officer and military adviser . According to Churchill , the two developed a close " personal and official connection [ that ] was preserved unbroken and unweakened " throughout the war . As part of this relationship , not long after Churchill became Prime Minister , he arranged for Ismay to be appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in June 1940 . From the very moment he became Prime Minister , Churchill " relied heavily on General Pug Ismay , " who provided a crucial bridge to the military establishment . Ismay served as the " principal assistant to Mr . Churchill in his capacity as Minister of Defence " , continued to serve as the Secretary of the Imperial Defence Chiefs of Staff Committee , and became Deputy Secretary of the War Cabinet . Ismay was crucial to running the war effort , as he was able to effectively link the military and civilian leadership . Jock Colville , Churchill ' s private secretary , wrote that Ismay had the " tact , patience , and skill in promoting compromise " needed to keep the war running smoothly . " Ismay had the additional advantage of being admired by the Service Chiefs for his long and distinguished record as a soldier . In his role , Ismay handled " nearly all military messages " from Churchill to the Service Chiefs . Ismay also gave Churchill advice on military matters , and often " begged him to be reasonable " when he contemplated foolish actions , believing that Churchill ' s greatest fault was his " impetuous nature and impatience with opposition . " When the Chiefs of Staff found Churchill ' s demands unfeasible , Ismay took the role of " converting the Prime Minister " to their viewpoint . Allied conferences . As Churchill ' s chief military adviser , Ismay frequently attended wartime conferences and meetings of the Allies and accompanied other British leaders , such as Foreign Minister Anthony Eden , on their travels . Ismay ' s travel to the conferences began in 1941 , when he went with Lord Beaverbrook to the first Moscow Conference . Because English participation in the conference was a secret , Ismay faked influenza to explain his absence from London while it was taking place . The Conference was also the first time that Ismay worked closely with the Americans , whom he found " quite congenial . " Ismay would continue to work closely with the Americans throughout the remainder of the war , and he accompanied Churchill on his 1942 trip to the United States . Shortly after their return , U . S . General Dwight D . Eisenhower arrived in Britain to command the American forces . He established close relations with Ismay , who liked him greatly , and assisted him in coordinating with both British forces and the Cabinet . Eisenhower thought highly of Ismay , remembering him for his " stalwart support " , and calling him a man " of great ability " . Not long after Eisenhower arrived , on 16 August 1942 , Ismay was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General . Around the same time , his good relations with the Americans were recognised by others in the government . Thus , in November 1942 , when Eleanor Roosevelt visited Britain , Lady Ismay was chosen to host her for one night of her stay . 1943 conferences . In January 1943 , Ismay accompanied Churchill to the Casablanca Conference . Ismay attended nearly all of the proceedings of the Conference , and helped work towards consensus where the Americans and British disagreed on issues . Ismay was also appointed to the committee which wrote the formal report of the conference . After the conference , Ismay visited the American headquarters in Algiers to meet with Eisenhower , and helped resolve some differences of opinion between Eisenhower and his British colleagues . After Casablanca , Ismay accompanied Churchill to the third Washington Conference in May 1943 . At the conference , Ismay first met the American Admiral William D . Leahy , who is often described as his American counterpart . The two developed a friendly relationship , and Leahy wrote in his memoirs : " General Sir Hastings Ismay became my favorite , perhaps because his position closely paralleled my own " . After the Washington Conference came the Quebec Conference in August 1943 . Once again , Ismay attended along with Churchill . The Quebec Conference was the first time that the Allied leaders discussed the full details of Operation Overlord , so Ismay spent much of his time explaining details of the operation to Churchill and other leaders . During the conference , Ismay also observed that Dudley Pound " had had a breakdown " . He took the information to Churchill who demanded Pound ' s resignation a week later . Shortly after returning from Quebec , Ismay participated in his next conference , travelling with Anthony Eden to the Moscow Conference in October and November , where he served as Eden ' s top military adviser . At the conference , Ismay handled all of the Soviet questions about the planning for Operation Overlord , and met Joseph Stalin personally for the first time . After the conference , Ismay wrote that he " was optimistic about [ sic ] post - war relations with Russia " , showing his belief that the meeting had gone well . Only four days after returning from the Moscow Conference , Ismay left England again for the Cairo Conference and Teheran Conference with Churchill . One major source of conflict at the Cairo Conference was an American proposal to appoint an overall commander for the strategic bombing of Germany . Ismay and the British were strongly opposed , and Ismay wrote a long paper against the idea , which became the basis of British policy on the subject . At Teheran , Ismay helped to argue the case for Operation Overlord , but immediately after the conference he developed bronchitis and returned to England by ship , scrapping his other plans for the trip . 1944 – 1945 . In the first several months of 1944 , Ismay spent almost all of his time planning for the Normandy Landings . As part of the planning , Ismay personally coordinated the plans for Operation Bodyguard and Operation Fortitude , which were designed to deceive the Germans about the planned Normandy landings . In March , Duncan Sandys , Churchill ' s nephew , told Ismay that Basil Liddell Hart , a noted strategist and historian , had somehow discovered the secret plans for the Normandy landings . This development had the potential to compromise the entire operation , so Ismay personally interviewed Liddell Hart , who claimed to have simply " worked it all out for himself " without any access to secret information . After their interview , Ismay directed the matter to the MI5 , who never found evidence of wrongdoing , although it is suspected that Liddell Hart may in fact have received information from military planners . On 20 May 1944 , less than a month before the Normandy Landings were scheduled to take place , Ismay was promoted to the rank of full general . After the successful D - Day landings , King George VI decided to visit the troops in Normandy , and selected Ismay to accompany him on the visit . In September , Ismay accompanied Churchill to another conference , the Second Quebec Conference . Ismay also accompanied Churchill on his visits to Moscow and Paris in late 1944 . In February 1945 , Ismay attended the Yalta Conference . He found the conference different from the previous ones where " the military element had been the prima donna , occupying the centre of the stage . " Instead , at Yalta , political issues took precedence , leaving Ismay and other military advisers " waiting for calls that never came " . On VE Day , Ismay found it " quite impossible to be completely happy about the future , " due to the lingering Japanese threat , and the rising threat of the Soviet Union . Nonetheless , he was happy to be one of only three men to hold the same high government position throughout the war in Europe , along with Edward Bridges , 1st Baron Bridges and the King . Post - war military service . After VE Day , Ismay accompanied Churchill to the Potsdam Conference . Like Yalta , the conference focussed primarily on political issues , so there was little for Ismay to do . After Clement Attlee defeated Churchill in the 1945 election , becoming Prime Minister , Ismay kept his position , working with Attlee at the conference , but remained loyal to Churchill . Ismay and Churchill remained friends for the remainder of their lives , and Ismay even helped Churchill write his memoirs , reviewing and commenting on each chapter of his manuscript . Shortly after the Potsdam Conference , the war in Asia ended on VJ Day . After this victory , Ismay " would have liked to retire at once " , but at Attlee ' s request he remained in the military for another year . Before continuing work , however , Ismay travelled to New York on 6 September , for a six - week vacation ; he received a warm welcome . Over the next year , Ismay worked largely on the issue of reform for the Ministry of Defence . From December 1945 to February 1946 , Ismay worked with a small committee to draft the " Statement Relating to Defence " , which formed the basis of reforms implemented by Attlee later that year . For his role , Ismay became known as the " ' chief architect ' of the post - war Ministry of Defence . " During the year following the war , Ismay received many honours for his service . In August 1945 , as part of Churchill ' s resignation honours , he was appointed to the Order of the Companions of Honour , an honor rarely bestowed on soldiers . The next January , he received the Legion of Merit from the United States . He was also promoted to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Bath in June . Finally , he was named the Chairman of the Council of the Royal National Institute for the Blind . In November 1946 , Ismay announced his intention to retire . Attlee accepted his retirement , effective on 31 December 1946 . Immediately after retiring , in the 1947 New Year Honours , Ismay was created a baron taking the title Baron Ismay , of Wormington in the County of Gloucester . He accepted the barony and took his seat in the House of Lords in February . Partition of India . Shortly after Ismay ' s retirement , Lord Mountbatten of Burma was appointed as the last British Viceroy of India and Ismay offered to serve as his chief of staff . Thus , in March 1947 , Ismay left with Mountbatten for India to help preside over its transition to independence . After arriving in India , Ismay soon came to the conclusion that the situation there was dire , heading for civil war , and told Mountbatten that " India was a ship on fire in mid - ocean with ammunition in her hold . " When Ismay and Mountbatten arrived , they were committed to preserving a unified India , but Ismay soon realised " that the Moslem League would not agree to any plan which did not provide for the creation of Pakistan as an independent sovereign state . " In April , after several unsuccessful meetings with Muhammad Ali Jinnah , Mountbatten came to the same conclusion and began drawing up plans for the partition . Over the next month Mountbatten finalised his partition plan , and on , he sent Ismay back to London to present it to the British government . Ismay presented the plan to the Prime Minister and Cabinet , casting partition as a Hobson ' s choice . Ismay stayed in England for the next month , and helped to alter the plan based on the cabinet ' s suggestions , before returning to India on . Once the partition plan had been accepted , Ismay worked on implementing the details . In particular , Ismay dealt with the issue of dividing the Indian Army . Based on his own experiences and love of the Indian Army , Ismay did his " utmost to persuade " the leaders of the new Indian and Pakistani states not to separate the army immediately . His efforts failed due to the opposition of Jinnah . Ismay also travelled to Kashmir to ask Hari Singh to hold an immediate referendum over whether his territory would join India or Pakistan . Once again , Ismay was unsuccessful and Singh " changed the subject " each time that Ismay tried to discuss the referendum . Throughout the period immediately following independence , Ismay also tried to ensure that stories printed in the Indian and Pakistani press about the partition were accurate , but once again he was largely unsuccessful . The situation in India continued to deteriorate throughout the summer and autumn of 1947 . Nevertheless , Ismay and Mountbatten had agreed that Ismay would remain in his position for only three to four months after partition . In December 1947 , he left India to return to England . Shortly after his return , Ismay served briefly on the British delegation to the United Nations to deal with the Kashmir issue . Ismay played only a limited role , as the Pakistanis suspected him of pro - Indian sympathies . Festival of Britain . Shortly after Ismay returned from the United Nations , Prime Minister Attlee asked him to become the Chairman of the Council of the Festival of Britain , scheduled to take place in 1951 . Ismay accepted the offer , and on 10 March 1948 , he officially took the position of chairman . The appointment was largely symbolic , and Ismay " was at least partly appointed to forestall potential criticism by his friend Winston Churchill . " The Council , however , wielded " slight , but not insignificant influence " and Ismay took his duties seriously . Ismay helped to ensure that the festival would be truly national in character , rather than just confined to London . As such , in June 1949 , he called together all of the mayors in Britain to discuss the festival ; this was the first meeting of all British mayors since 1916 . Ismay also publicly defended the large cost of the festival , and emphasised its historic nature , saying , " We are consciously and deliberately determined to make history . " Once the festival opened , Ismay hosted various notable guests , including Margaret Truman , the daughter of US President Harry Truman . Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations . In the 1951 general election held shortly after the conclusion of the Festival of Britain , Churchill ' s Conservative Party once again won a majority in Parliament , making Churchill Prime Minister for a second time . The day after the election , Churchill asked Ismay to become the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations in his cabinet . Ismay " was overjoyed at the prospect of serving under Churchill again " and accepted the post immediately . Although not a politician , Ismay was well - suited for the position because of his close relationships with the leaders of the commonwealth countries , largely the result of his work during the war . As a result of his military background and experience , Ismay became " more closely involved in defence matters than is usual for a Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations , " and often served as de facto Minister of Defence and serving as temporary Minister of Defence until the permanent appointee , Harold Alexander , was able to take office . Through his close involvement in defence matters , Ismay began to be involved with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization . In January 1952 , he accompanied Churchill to a meeting in Ottawa about the alliance , and in February 1952 he attended the NATO Lisbon Conference as the British Ministry of Defence representative . When leaving the conference , Ismay remarked to Alfred Gruenther , " this is the first that I have seen of NATO , and thank heaven it ' s the last . " Secretary General of NATO . Eden asked Ismay to accept the position , but his response " was an immediate and emphatic negative , " as he saw NATO as an overly bureaucratic and inefficient organisation and complained that the position of Secretary General was " divided and ill - defined . " Churchill then personally asked Ismay to accept the position , telling him that " NATO provided the best , if not the only , hope of peace in our time . " After further urging , Ismay reluctantly agreed to take the job . On , the Atlantic Council officially passed a resolution appointing Ismay Secretary General , and he started work on . Ismay ' s appointment to the position was well - received , enjoying the unanimous support of all the NATO members . The press and public also responded favorably . " The Times " wrote : " of all the candidates whose names have been mentioned , Lord Ismay would seem to have the strongest qualifications for the post . " " The New York Times " applauded his " vast experience in military planning , strategy , and administration , " and " The Washington Post " wrote that Ismay would bring NATO " great authority , experience and energy and a personal charm that can dissolve difficulties . " As the first Secretary - General , Ismay was " assuming an entirely new role in the history of international organizations , " and as such he helped to define the position itself . While Ismay " deemed it wise not to step too boldly in a political role " in disputes among the members , he asserted himself strongly on issues relevant to the organisation of NATO . From the very beginning of his time in office , Ismay worked to empower the permanent representatives to NATO , and emphasised that they had the same legal authority to make decisions as the NATO foreign ministers . Ismay was also a proponent of NATO expansion , saying that NATO " must grow until the whole free world gets under one umbrella . " Anyway before Warsaw Pact was even put in place , he opposed the request to join NATO made by USSR in 1954 As Secretary General , Ismay also worked to encourage closer political coordination among the members of the alliance . During the Suez Crisis he offered his good offices to help resolve issues among members of the alliance . Ismay also offered to help mediate disputes over Cyprus . In December 1956 , Ismay decided to retire from NATO . He told the press that " he was not giving up his position for personal reasons , but because he felt it needed a fresh hand and a fresh brain . " Paul - Henri Spaak was immediately chosen as his successor , but Ismay remained in office until May 1957 , when he left with " the affection and respect " of all the NATO members . While Secretary General , Ismay is also credited as having been the first person to say that the purpose of the alliance was " to keep the Russians out , the Americans in , and the Germans down , " a saying that has since become a common way to quickly describe the alliance . Retirement . Immediately after leaving NATO , Ismay was honoured by Queen Elizabeth II with an appointment to the Order of the Garter . His youngest daughter Mary had married George Seymour , equerry to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother , and their daughter Katharine is a god - daughter of Princess Margaret . He was appointed to boards of several corporations including the Ashanti Goldfields Corporation . Ismay also began writing his memoirs , " The Memoirs of General Lord Ismay " , which were published in 1960 by Viking Press . In his memoirs , Ismay focussed principally on his Second World War service , and as such , one reviewer called them " a most significant addition to the literature of the Second World War . " In 1963 , Ismay was asked to again assist in a review of the organisation of the British military along with Sir Ian Jacob . Although Ismay was ill throughout most of the review and did relatively little of the work , " his influence was strong " , and the final product of the review largely reflected his opinions . In the end , the Ismay – Jacob Report recommended strengthening the central power of the Ministry of Defence substantially , and in 1964 , Parliament implemented its recommendations . Ismay died on 17 December 1965 at his home Wormington Grange , Gloucestershire at the age of 78 . As he had no male heir , his title became extinct . His Garter banner , which hung in St . George ' s Chapel in Windsor during his lifetime , is now on display in the nave of Tewkesbury Abbey . In Popular Culture . General Ismay was portrayed in the television drama " Churchill and the Generals " by Paul Hardwick .