GB 0099 KCLMA Charteris - CHARTERIS, Brig Gen John (1877-1946)

Identity area

Reference code

GB 0099 KCLMA Charteris

Title

CHARTERIS, Brig Gen John (1877-1946)

Date(s)

  • 1895-[1920], 1925, 1928-1931, [1933]-1934, 1940, 1944-1946 (Creation)

Level of description

Extent and medium

4 reels, 1 file

Context area

Name of creator

Biographical history

Born in 1877; educated at Kelvinside Academy, Göttingen University and Royal Military Academy, Woolwich; 2nd Lt, Royal Engineers, 1896, and posted to India; served on North West Frontier with Military Works Services; transferred to Bengal Sappers and Miners, [1899]; Capt, 1905; Staff College, Quetta, 1907-1909; Staff Capt, HQ, India, 1909-1910; General Staff Officer Grade 2, Operations Section, General Staff, Simla, 1910-1912; unofficial war correspondent with Bulgarian Army, 1912; Assistant Military Secretary to General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Aldershot, 1912-1914; Maj, 1914; ADC to General Officer Commanding 1 Army Corps, BEF, 1914; General Staff Officer Grade 2, 1 Army Corps HQ, 1914-1916; Brig Gen (Head of Intelligence Service), BEF General HQ, 1916-1918; Deputy Director of Transportation, General HQ, France, 1918; Director of Movements and Quartering, India, 1920-1921; Col, 1921; Deputy Adjutant and Quartermaster General, Eastern Command, India, 1921-1922; retired, 1922; MP (Conservative) for Dumfriesshire, 1924-1929; publication of Field-Marshal Earl Haig (Cassell and Co, London, 1929), At GHQ (Cassell and Co, London, 1931) and Haig (Duckworth, London, 1933); died in 1946.

Archival history

GB 0099 KCLMA Charteris 1895-[1920], 1925, 1928-1931, [1933]-1934, 1940, 1944-1946 Collection (fonds) 4 reels, 1 file Charteris , John , 1877-1946 , Brigadier General
Born in 1877; educated at Kelvinside Academy, Göttingen University and Royal Military Academy, Woolwich; 2nd Lt, Royal Engineers, 1896, and posted to India; served on North West Frontier with Military Works Services; transferred to Bengal Sappers and Miners, [1899]; Capt, 1905; Staff College, Quetta, 1907-1909; Staff Capt, HQ, India, 1909-1910; General Staff Officer Grade 2, Operations Section, General Staff, Simla, 1910-1912; unofficial war correspondent with Bulgarian Army, 1912; Assistant Military Secretary to General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Aldershot, 1912-1914; Maj, 1914; ADC to General Officer Commanding 1 Army Corps, BEF, 1914; General Staff Officer Grade 2, 1 Army Corps HQ, 1914-1916; Brig Gen (Head of Intelligence Service), BEF General HQ, 1916-1918; Deputy Director of Transportation, General HQ, France, 1918; Director of Movements and Quartering, India, 1920-1921; Col, 1921; Deputy Adjutant and Quartermaster General, Eastern Command, India, 1921-1922; retired, 1922; MP (Conservative) for Dumfriesshire, 1924-1929; publication of Field-Marshal Earl Haig (Cassell and Co, London, 1929), At GHQ (Cassell and Co, London, 1931) and Haig (Duckworth, London, 1933); died in 1946.

Copies made by the Centre in 1990 from originals loaned by the family.

Microfilm copies of papers relating to his life and career, dated 1906, 1913, 1914-1918, 1925, 1928-1931, [1933]-1934, 1940, 1944-1946, principally comprising letters, telegrams and postcards to his wife Noel Charteris, 1914-1918, notably describing his intelligence work at 1 Army HQ and BEF General HQ, 1914-1918; letters from Brig Gen Sir James Edward Edmonds commenting on the proofs of At GHQ (Cassell and Co, London, 1931), 1929, 1931; correspondence relating to his writings on FM Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, 1928-1931; typescript text of lecture on the role of the Intelligence Service during World War One, dated 1925; notes and newspaper cutting concerning allegations about British use in World War One of a propaganda story about the German Army boiling down dead troops for fats, 1925; obituary reprinted from The Royal Engineers Journal, 1946. Copies of group and family photographs, [1895-1920], with photograph of railway bridge over the River Beas at Rohi, India, under construction by No 1 Company, 1 Prince of Wales' Own Sappers and Miners, 1910.

Arranged in the following sections: papers relating to early life and career; letters to his wife; other official and family papers, 1914-1922; notes, texts and other writings; photographs.

Open, subject to signature of reader's undertaking form.

Copies, subject to the condition of the original, may be supplied for research use only. Requests to publish original material should be submitted to the Trustees of the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, attention of the Director of Archive Services.
English

Summary guide available on-line at http://www.kcl.ac.uk/lhcma/top.htm, and in hard copy in the Centre's reading room.

The Intelligence Corps Museum holds books of newspaper cuttings, copies of letters to the press, 1920-1941, notes and commentaries on military subjects, photos and published material. The Public Record Office holds essays written by Charteris as a student in the Junior Division, Staff College, Quetta, 1907 (ref: WO 79/61), while the British Library Manuscripts Collection holds correspondence with Alfred Charles William Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe, 1916-1919 (ref: Add MS 621159). The family retains additional personal papers (see Centre's detailed catalogue for further information).

Charteris' letters to his wife formed the basis for his book At GHQ (Cassell and Co, London, 1931). Michael Occleshaw consulted Charteris' letters for his book Armour against fate, British military intelligence in the First World War (Columbus, London, 1989).

Decorations: CMG, DSO
Mar 1997 Armed forces Beas, River British Army Charteris , John , 1877-1946 , Brigadier General Charteris , Noel , fl 1914-1918 , wife of Brigadier General John Charteris Communication process Edmonds , Sir , James Edward , 1861-1956 , Knight , Brigadier General , military historian German Army Haig , Douglas , 1861-1928 , 1st Earl Haig , Field Marshal x Haig , 1st Earl India International conflicts International relations Military engineering Military intelligence Military organizations Organizations Persuasion Photographs Propaganda South Asia State security Visual materials War Warfare War propaganda World War One (1914-1918) World wars (events) Wars (events) Military science Social sciences

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Copies made by the Centre in 1990 from originals loaned by the family.

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Microfilm copies of papers relating to his life and career, dated 1906, 1913, 1914-1918, 1925, 1928-1931, [1933]-1934, 1940, 1944-1946, principally comprising letters, telegrams and postcards to his wife Noel Charteris, 1914-1918, notably describing his intelligence work at 1 Army HQ and BEF General HQ, 1914-1918; letters from Brig Gen Sir James Edward Edmonds commenting on the proofs of At GHQ (Cassell and Co, London, 1931), 1929, 1931; correspondence relating to his writings on FM Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, 1928-1931; typescript text of lecture on the role of the Intelligence Service during World War One, dated 1925; notes and newspaper cutting concerning allegations about British use in World War One of a propaganda story about the German Army boiling down dead troops for fats, 1925; obituary reprinted from The Royal Engineers Journal, 1946. Copies of group and family photographs, [1895-1920], with photograph of railway bridge over the River Beas at Rohi, India, under construction by No 1 Company, 1 Prince of Wales' Own Sappers and Miners, 1910.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

Arranged in the following sections: papers relating to early life and career; letters to his wife; other official and family papers, 1914-1922; notes, texts and other writings; photographs.

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Open, subject to signature of reader's undertaking form.

Conditions governing reproduction

Copies, subject to the condition of the original, may be supplied for research use only. Requests to publish original material should be submitted to the Trustees of the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, attention of the Director of Archive Services.

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

  • Latin

Language and script notes

English

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

The Intelligence Corps Museum holds books of newspaper cuttings, copies of letters to the press, 1920-1941, notes and commentaries on military subjects, photos and published material. The Public Record Office holds essays written by Charteris as a student in the Junior Division, Staff College, Quetta, 1907 (ref: WO 79/61), while the British Library Manuscripts Collection holds correspondence with Alfred Charles William Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe, 1916-1919 (ref: Add MS 621159). The family retains additional personal papers (see Centre's detailed catalogue for further information).

Finding aids

Summary guide available on-line at http://www.kcl.ac.uk/lhcma/top.htm, and in hard copy in the Centre's reading room.

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

Related descriptions

Publication note

Decorations: CMG, DSO

Notes area

Note

Decorations: CMG, DSO

Alternative identifier(s)

Access points

Place access points

Name access points

Genre access points

Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, King's College London

Rules and/or conventions used

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation revision deletion

Language(s)

  • English

Script(s)

    Sources

    Accession area