His tenure as Deputy Chief of the Imperial General Staff, subordinate to Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson, encompassed the Irish War of Independence and civil unrest in India, punctuated by the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of Indian demonstrators at Amritsar by troops under the command of Brigadier General Reginald Dyer. Supporters of Dyer, mostly imperialist conservative "diehards", army officers and Ulster Unionists, opposed any form of disciplinary action being taken against the brigadier, whom they considered a defender of the British Empire. Dyer continued to receive support from the highest echelons of the Army, most prominently Wilson, Harington and the Army Council. According to Nigel Collet, in his book "Butcher of Amritsar", Harington's schedule afforded him limited opportunity to comprehensively study Dyer's statement detailing his account while he did not "appear to have read any other document on the case". Harington's own judgement conflicted with that of the government and corresponded more closely with that of Dyer. Under pressure from the Secretary of State for War Winston Churchill, the Army Council recommended that Dyer not receive further employment or promotion but elected not to publicly endorse compulsory retirement.