Whilst Montgomery judged "Tartan Tam" Wimberley as unsuitable for corps command, he recommended him to his mentor and friend, General Alan Brooke, the CIGS, for the position of Commandant at the Staff College, Camberley, a recommendation which was accepted. He assumed command in September, after a long leave, returning to the college nearly twenty years after he had attended it as a student, in turn succeeding Major-General Alan Cunningham. By now the course at the Staff College had been considerably reduced in length (down from just over two years in peacetime to a mere five months), due mainly to the needs of the wartime army, with its role being now to produce large numbers of competent staff officers in the shortest time possible, although the appointment itself was still seen as a very prestigious posting.