[3] Although he negotiated a large loan to the sultan of Morocco, Albert Stern had no real flair as a merchant banker.

At the outbreak of the First World War he tried to join the armed forces but experienced difficulty doing so due to a weak ankle.

Stern believed in the application of business methods to war production with the minimum of interference from professional soldiers.

[2] Until the creation in 1939 of the Ministry of Supply, the War Office had issued specifications for weapons it required and then chose from the proposals submitted in response by manufacturers.

In the case of tank production there were only two manufacturers with the required skills: Vickers and the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich.

Leslie Burgin, the Minister of Supply, was worried about the ongoing expansion of the German armoured forces and realised that he needed the help of an expert in tank warfare who could understand the army's requirements.

However, Taylor's assistant, General Davidson, told Stern of his concerns about the lack of investment in tank production in a private meeting.

Stern then began selecting the members of the committee, including many people who had been part of the development of the tank during World War I, including former Director of Naval Construction, Eustace d'Eyncourt, Sir Ernest Swinton (now a director of Citroën), engine designer Harry Ricardo, and the gearbox and transmission expert Major W G Wilson.

Together they proposed the development of a "heavy tank" design, the TOG 1, an acronym for "The Old Gang", which was the Committee's nickname for themselves.

It was modified to include among other things a change from the unsprung tracks for a torsion bar suspension and as the TOG 2* was successfully trialled in May 1943.