GB 0099 KCLMA Courtney - COURTNEY, Cdr Anthony Tosswill, RN (1908-1988)

Identity area

Reference code

GB 0099 KCLMA Courtney

Title

COURTNEY, Cdr Anthony Tosswill, RN (1908-1988)

Date(s)

  • 1922-1985, 1991 (Creation)

Level of description

Extent and medium

1 box or 0.01 cubic metres

Context area

Name of creator

Biographical history

Born 1908; educated at Royal Naval College, Dartmouth; Mid, HMS RAMILLIES, 1925; served on HMS RENOWN during world cruise of HRH Albert Frederick Arthur George, Duke of York, and HRH Elizabeth Angela Marguerite, Duchess of York, 1927; Sub Lt, HMS CORNWALL, China Station, 1930; Lt, 1930; served on HMS MALAYA, 2 Battle Sqn, Home Fleet, 1931-1933; qualified as Interpreter in Russian after language study in Bessarabia, 1934; qualified in Signals and Wireless Telegraphy, HM Signal School, Portsmouth, 1935; served at Admiralty and on the staff of V Adm Hon Sir Reginald Aylmer Ranfurly Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax, Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth, 1936; Flag Lt and subsequently Flag Lt Cdr to R Adm Lionel Victor Wells, Flag Officer commanding 3 Cruiser Sqn, Mediterranean Fleet, HMS ARETHUSA, 1937-1939; acting Sqn Signals and Wireless/Telegraphy Officer, 3 Cruiser Sqn, Mediterranean Fleet, 1937-1939; Lt Cdr, 1938; served in World War Two, 1939-1945; Staff of Adm commanding 3 Battle Sqn and North Atlantic Escort Force, Halifax, Nova Scotia, 1939-1941; Deputy Head of Naval Mission to USSR, 1941-1942; Flag Lt and Signals Officer to R Adm Sir Clement Moody, Flag Officer commanding Aircraft Carriers, Home Fleet, 1943; Signals Officer, Staff of V Adm Sir (William Eric) Campbell Tait, Flag Officer commanding South Atlantic Station, 1944; Signals Officer, Staff of R Adm Sir Harold Martin Burrough, Flag Officer, Gibraltar and Mediterranean Approaches, 1945; Naval and Marine Staff, Naval Intelligence Division, Admiralty, 1946-1948; acting Cdr, 1946-1953; awarded OBE, 1949; Chief Staff Officer (Intelligence), to R Adm Stephen Harry Tolson Arliss, Flag Officer Commanding British Naval Forces, Germany, and Chief British Naval Representative in the Allied Control Commission, HMS ROYAL ALBERT, Hamburg, Germany, 1949-1951; qualified as Interpreter in German; Intelligence Div, Naval Staff, Admiralty, 1952-1953; retired 1953; Export Consultant, ETG Consultancy Services, 1954-1965; contested Hayes and Harlington as Conservative Party candidate, UK General Election, 1955; Conservative MP for Harrow East, 1959-1966; Vice Chairman, Conservative Navy Committee, 1964; Chairman, Parliamentary Flying Club, 1965; Managing Director, New English Typewriting School Limited, 1969-1988; Chairman, Wiltshire Monday Club, 1977; Chairman of Governors, Urchfont School, 1982-1988; died 1988.Publications: Sailor in a Russian frame (Johnson, London, 1968).

Archival history

GB 0099 KCLMA Courtney 1922-1985, 1991 Collection (fonds) 1 box or 0.01 cubic metres Courtney , Anthony Tosswill , 1908-1988 , RN Commander

Born 1908; educated at Royal Naval College, Dartmouth; Mid, HMS RAMILLIES, 1925; served on HMS RENOWN during world cruise of HRH Albert Frederick Arthur George, Duke of York, and HRH Elizabeth Angela Marguerite, Duchess of York, 1927; Sub Lt, HMS CORNWALL, China Station, 1930; Lt, 1930; served on HMS MALAYA, 2 Battle Sqn, Home Fleet, 1931-1933; qualified as Interpreter in Russian after language study in Bessarabia, 1934; qualified in Signals and Wireless Telegraphy, HM Signal School, Portsmouth, 1935; served at Admiralty and on the staff of V Adm Hon Sir Reginald Aylmer Ranfurly Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax, Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth, 1936; Flag Lt and subsequently Flag Lt Cdr to R Adm Lionel Victor Wells, Flag Officer commanding 3 Cruiser Sqn, Mediterranean Fleet, HMS ARETHUSA, 1937-1939; acting Sqn Signals and Wireless/Telegraphy Officer, 3 Cruiser Sqn, Mediterranean Fleet, 1937-1939; Lt Cdr, 1938; served in World War Two, 1939-1945; Staff of Adm commanding 3 Battle Sqn and North Atlantic Escort Force, Halifax, Nova Scotia, 1939-1941; Deputy Head of Naval Mission to USSR, 1941-1942; Flag Lt and Signals Officer to R Adm Sir Clement Moody, Flag Officer commanding Aircraft Carriers, Home Fleet, 1943; Signals Officer, Staff of V Adm Sir (William Eric) Campbell Tait, Flag Officer commanding South Atlantic Station, 1944; Signals Officer, Staff of R Adm Sir Harold Martin Burrough, Flag Officer, Gibraltar and Mediterranean Approaches, 1945; Naval and Marine Staff, Naval Intelligence Division, Admiralty, 1946-1948; acting Cdr, 1946-1953; awarded OBE, 1949; Chief Staff Officer (Intelligence), to R Adm Stephen Harry Tolson Arliss, Flag Officer Commanding British Naval Forces, Germany, and Chief British Naval Representative in the Allied Control Commission, HMS ROYAL ALBERT, Hamburg, Germany, 1949-1951; qualified as Interpreter in German; Intelligence Div, Naval Staff, Admiralty, 1952-1953; retired 1953; Export Consultant, ETG Consultancy Services, 1954-1965; contested Hayes and Harlington as Conservative Party candidate, UK General Election, 1955; Conservative MP for Harrow East, 1959-1966; Vice Chairman, Conservative Navy Committee, 1964; Chairman, Parliamentary Flying Club, 1965; Managing Director, New English Typewriting School Limited, 1969-1988; Chairman, Wiltshire Monday Club, 1977; Chairman of Governors, Urchfont School, 1982-1988; died 1988.Publications: Sailor in a Russian frame (Johnson, London, 1968).

Presented to the Centre by Cdr Geoffrey Briscoe Penn in 1997.

Typescript intelligence report by Courtney entitled 'Remarks on a visit to Soviet Russia-August 1935', with notes, publications and related correspondence, 1922-1936; group photograph of Courtney and officers of the Naval Mission to the USSR [1942]; two notebooks with manuscript notes by Courtney on German and Allied ship movements, USSR [1942]; papers relating to the USSR, 1943-1978, including typescript notes by Courtney entitled 'Soviet Russia and the war', Feb 1943, article by William Laurence Burn entitled 'Anglo-Russian relations: an historical retrospect', from The nineteenth century, Jan 1946; edition of US restricted publication 'The Soviet Union', US Government Printing Office, 1947; manuscript notes on Soviet governmental personnel, 1953; typescript note on internal security in the USSR, 1978; correspondence with the Admiralty, 1949-1958, relating to pay and allowances, Courtney's civilian business matters, 1954-1958, and the Admiralty's refusal to grant permission for Courtney to travel in the USSR as a private businessman, 1953-1955; personal and business correspondence relating to the development of Windermere Island, Bahamas, 1963; correspondence, publications and texts of speeches relating to the Monday Club, 1978-1985, including typescript text of speech by Courtney entitled 'The Soviet fifth column', Jun 1978; correspondence between Cdr Geoffrey Briscoe Penn and the Ministry of Defence relating to the vetting and declassification of the Courtney papers, 1991.

5 files

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 papers of Capt Sir Basil Henry Liddell Hart include an article by Courtney entitled 'Ships of the Soviet' from The Listener, 15 Oct 1953 (Ref: LH 15/5/322). The papers of AVM Stewart William Blacker Menaul include a paper by Courtney, Chairman of the Wiltshire branch of the Monday Club, entitled 'Defence', Jun 1982 (Ref: Menaul 5/4/60).

Decorations: OBE
Jan 1999 Armed forces Bahamas Burn , William Laurence , 1904-1966 , Professor of History Caribbean Courtney , Anthony Tosswill , 1908-1988 , RN Commander Diplomacy Eastern Europe East West relations Foreign relations Government International conflicts International relations Law enforcement Military missions Military organizations Organizations Penn , Geoffrey Briscoe , fl 1991-1997 , RN Commander Photographs Political science Political theory Public administration RN , Royal Navy x Royal Navy State security USSR Visual materials War Windemere Island World wars (events) World War Two (1939-1945) Wars (events) Social control, formal Sociology

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Presented to the Centre by Cdr Geoffrey Briscoe Penn in 1997.

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Typescript intelligence report by Courtney entitled 'Remarks on a visit to Soviet Russia-August 1935', with notes, publications and related correspondence, 1922-1936; group photograph of Courtney and officers of the Naval Mission to the USSR [1942]; two notebooks with manuscript notes by Courtney on German and Allied ship movements, USSR [1942]; papers relating to the USSR, 1943-1978, including typescript notes by Courtney entitled 'Soviet Russia and the war', Feb 1943, article by William Laurence Burn entitled 'Anglo-Russian relations: an historical retrospect', from The nineteenth century, Jan 1946; edition of US restricted publication 'The Soviet Union', US Government Printing Office, 1947; manuscript notes on Soviet governmental personnel, 1953; typescript note on internal security in the USSR, 1978; correspondence with the Admiralty, 1949-1958, relating to pay and allowances, Courtney's civilian business matters, 1954-1958, and the Admiralty's refusal to grant permission for Courtney to travel in the USSR as a private businessman, 1953-1955; personal and business correspondence relating to the development of Windermere Island, Bahamas, 1963; correspondence, publications and texts of speeches relating to the Monday Club, 1978-1985, including typescript text of speech by Courtney entitled 'The Soviet fifth column', Jun 1978; correspondence between Cdr Geoffrey Briscoe Penn and the Ministry of Defence relating to the vetting and declassification of the Courtney papers, 1991.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

5 files

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 papers of Capt Sir Basil Henry Liddell Hart include an article by Courtney entitled 'Ships of the Soviet' from The Listener, 15 Oct 1953 (Ref: LH 15/5/322). The papers of AVM Stewart William Blacker Menaul include a paper by Courtney, Chairman of the Wiltshire branch of the Monday Club, entitled 'Defence', Jun 1982 (Ref: Menaul 5/4/60).

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: OBE

Notes area

Note

Decorations: OBE

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