 The division was situated in East Riding and was responsible for the defence of a large section of Yorkshire coast; as a result a number of anti-invasion exercises were conducted by the division, and there were also a number of invasion warnings.One such alert took place when Poett was in Woking, where his wife had just given birth to his son Simon.Upon his return from Woking, Poett was transferred to the War Office, and by early 1941 he had been promoted to lieutenant colonel and became the General Staff Officer Grade 1 in charge of the Staff Duties 2 branch of the War Office.