Sir Denis Forman Kt OBE

	This page: general experience.
	Includes inventory and audio clip.

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Born in October 1917, Denis Forman began studying at Pembroke College, Cambridge before the outbreak of war, quickly becoming aware of its inevitability. He read avidly about military tactics and wanted to join the Army although it became apparent to him that Britain was preparing for the wrong type of war. From the Officer Cadet Training Unit at Dunbar, a posting was arranged to the 11^th Argylls. In 1940 a promotion to Captain was followed by an enthusiastically received transfer to the 47^th Division's Battle School at Barnard Castle, where Denis met his Chief Instructor, Lionel Wigram. This man proved an inspiration and his views coloured Forman's own during his time as Chief Instructor at the Battle School at Voxter on Shetland and as Commandant of the school when it moved to Bonar Bridge on the mainland.

By 1943 Forman had sought an overseas posting, as a Major in the 6^th Royal West Kents, travelling from a rear area in North Africa to Italy, where his active service began in November with the crossing of the River Trignio. During the advance to the River Sangro Forman and Wigram put their battle theories to the test and found that they worked to a large degree. In Italy Sir Denis was also involved in recruiting partisans to fight alongside the British Army, known as Wigforce, with mixed results. In a final action Lionel Wigram was killed. At Monte Cassino in March 1944, Forman's lower left leg was shattered and it was amputated. Returning to the UK, Sir Denis compiled a new Army Manual, embodying his own and Wigram's theories and passed his views on to the instructors at the Royal Military Academy at Dehra Dun during the hand-over to the Indian Army.

In 1947 Sir Denis was appointed Chief Production Officer at the Central Office of Information Films. He became Chairman of Granada Television in 1974 and from 1984 to 1990 was Deputy Chairman of the Granada Group. In 1990, To Reason Why, the second volume of Sir Denis' autobiography was published. The Centre is very fortunate to have the support of Sir Denis as a Patron and to hold his documents including maps, photographs and personal papers.

Inside the Method Office

Extracts from Some Scientific Facts Behind Instruction

Introduction
The object of this lecture is to demonstrate that in certain ways the regimental officer can be assisted in the planning and execution of training by the knowledge of a few simple scientific principles. Experienced training officers, either by intuition or by years of observation, will have reached long ago the conclusions illustrated in this lecture. These will, however, short-circuit the training of a new instructor and give him in a few hours a reliable basis on which to build his training programmes, a basis which he might not otherwise have discovered for many years. The following examples have been selected not because they are the most important, but because they are the most direct applications of scientific principles to instruction.

Slide 4: "Shows a curve of learning which marks progress until there was sudden insight. This is a common occurrence with men as well as with apes."

Slide 14: "Shows the decrease in mental efficiency in a spell of 12 hours without rest."

	This page: general experience.
	Includes inventory and audio clip.