Showing 1 results

This collection consists of papers relating to Gen Sir Walter Mervyn St. George Kirke's military career after World War One as Deputy Director of Military Operations, as Colonel on the Staff, General Staff Aldershot, Director-General of the Territorial Army and as Commander-in-Chief of Home Forces and his work during and after World War Two as a public speaker and broadcaster. The collection includes papers relating to the debate over the role of the recently created RAF (1921), officer training at Aldershot (1922-1924), Kirke's leadership of the British Military Mission to Finland (1924-1925) and the work of the committee set up to study the lessons of World War One (1932). The majority the papers in the collection relating to Kirke's service as Director General of the Territorial Army are texts of Kirke's speeches, which are mostly concerned with promoting recruitment (1936-1939). There are also texts of Kirke's morale boosting radio broadcasts during World War Two on the progress of the war and also his speeches at public events particularly those connected with the National Savings Movement. The collection also includes personal correspondence, press cuttings, photographs and autobiographical notes made by Kirke.