ON Sunday, I was invited to take part in a ceremony to unveil a memorial plaque to a son of Bristol, Field Marshal Sir William Slim, Commander of the Fourteenth Army, which turned what looked like defeat into victory against the Japanese in Burma in the 1940s.

The ceremony was near the Cenotaph in the city centre.

The Fourteenth Army, which became known as The Forgotten Army, was on the far end of a long logistical pipeline and generally had the oldest equipment of any Allied army. So the fact that it turned defeat into victory was certainly not due to superior military equipment. It was due to the resilience, bravery and strength of Slim's soldiers, made up of Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus, Christians, Jews, Africans, West Indians, Chinese and other creeds and nationalities, too.

Crucially though, the more I read about Slim, the more it became obvious that he, unusually, had a very special relationship with his soldiers.

A commander's responsibility for his army should be very much like the responsibility borne by those running a city. In both circumstances, they have to be mindful of airports, food, making sure the infrastructure works (like the water and electricity supplies and transport) and the economy.

All of this is designed to support the greatest asset of either a city or an army – its people.

This was the strength of Field Marshal Sir William Slim when he was Commander of the Fourteenth Army. His army was not unique in the sense that it was so diverse; it was unique in the sense that, under Slim, they all were so united.

They were integrated, they respected each other, they worked together, they prayed together, they played together and they fought together. They stood united against oppression and sacrificed their lives for each other and for freedom.

Of all the tributes to Slim around the world, the one that he would perhaps have cherished most was the impact he made on those he commanded.

A half-century later, one of them recalled: "The Fourteenth Army trusted Slim and thought of him as one of themselves, and perhaps his real secret was that the feeling was mutual."

The leaders of Bristol can learn from people like Slim. Is our city integrated? Is our transport system appropriate for our city? Do the different communities feel an equal sense of belonging? Is everyone making an equal contribution to this city? Do we recognise that our greatest asset is our people? Do our leaders talk about being in power or about serving our people?

I have spoken about the qualities of a leader before in this column and, as I stated then, the one quality that I feel is most important in a leader is the ability to bring people with different ideas and from different backgrounds together.

The memorial plaque was long overdue, and was to a true son of Bristol and a genuine leader.