and de Guingand was sent on six months' sick leave instead. He spent time recuperating but was still not recovered in July when Montgomery informed de Guingand that he had become aware that he was to succeed Brooke as Chief of the Imperial General Staff, and that he wanted de Guingand as his Vice Chief of the Imperial General Staff (VCIGS), provided that he was fit enough. De Guingand replied that he should be fine in three months' time, but Montgomery replied that it could not wait that long; Lord Alanbrooke wanted de Guingand to first gain some experience working at the War Office, which had changed greatly since de Guingand had last worked there in 1940. He wanted him to take over as DMI at the War Office, a post Montgomery had first recommended him for in 1942. Montgomery said he would talk to the doctors. De Guingand took up the appointment on 19 September 1945, but he was still suffering from insomnia and depression. He also had some personal problems: his wife Arlie was unimpressed with austere post-war Britain, and decided to pay a visit to her family in Australia. Although he had served as Director of Military Intelligence at Middle East Command, the job was quite different, as was the strategic environment. There was a considerable difference between dealing with threats that required immediate action, and the long-term issues and parsimonious government policies of the post-war world. His War Office colleagues were wary of him, fearing that he was the advance guard of another Montgomery "new broom" like the one that had swept through the Eighth Army in 1942, and the 21st Army Group in 1944. The position of VCIGS came up sooner than expected. In January 1946, the VCIGS, Lieutenant-General Sir Archibald Nye, was appointed Governor of Madras. Montgomery and Alanbrooke met to discuss Nye's successor. Montgomery wanted de Guingand, but de Guingand had failed to impress Alanbrooke as DMI, and Alanbrooke said he wanted to appoint Lieutenant-General Sir Richard McCreery instead. Montgomery baulked at this. Alanbrooke felt that the war had not been won by the Eighth Army and 21st Army Group alone, and that there were many fine officers who had served elsewhere who should be reassured that they still had a place in the British Army. Montgomery and Alanbrooke then compromised in Simpson. On 26 February 1946, Alanbrooke told de Guingand that his