 He spent three years in Kordofan, the two years in the secretariat in Khartoum, as private secretary to the Governor-General, Sir Stewart Symes.In 1935, the Italian invasion of Ethiopia prompted some soul-searching about the defence of the British territories in the vicinity.The Sudan was the missing 'bridge' between Italian East Africa and Italian North Africa, so the issue was taken very seriously in Khartoum.