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Midshipman's journal, Sep 1917- Jan 1921, covering his service in the North Sea, 1917-1919, Baltic, 1919, and Mediterranean, Turkey and Black Sea, 1920, notably his experiences during the Allied occupation of Constantinople, 1920.

Papers relating to the North African landings (Operation TORCH), 1942, principally comprising signalinstructions, intelligence summaries and various maps and diagrams relating to wireless communication in North Africa, Oct 42; official note concerning project for the establishment of signal communications in Bizerta and Tunis (Operation DECIBEL), including maps andappendices on storage dumps and naval requirements, written by Metson as Commander, 11 Unit, Lines of Communications Signals for circulation to Chief Signal Officer and 11 Unit personnel, Apr 1943.

Papers relating to his service in World War Two, dated 1941-1946, 1941-1946, 1951, principally comprising semi-official and personal correspondence, 1941-1946, including letter to his wife describing events leading up to his dismissal from command of 7 Armoured Div, 1942; pamphlet on the Battle of Keren, Mar 1941, produced by Maj Gen Sir Nigel Trapp, HQEritrea District, for visit of Commander-in-Chief, Middle East Land Forces, to Keren battlefield, Eritrea, Mar 1947; Report to the Combined Chiefs of Staff by the Supreme Allied Commander South East Asia, 1943-1945 by AF Louis (Francis Albert Victor Nicholas) Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (London, HMSO, 1951); operational notes and training instructions for 7 and 9 Indian Divs during the Burma campaign, 1943-1945; 'Warfare in undeveloped countries. Part 1: desert warfare', War Office publication written by [Messervy] in 1954; printed histories by Messervy and others describing operations in Burma by 12 Army, 14 Army, 4 Corps, 15 Indian Corps, 23 Indian Corps, and 25 Indian Div; Ministry of Information publications, dated [1945], concerning campaigns in the Middle East and Far East, 1941-1945, the Merchant Navy, 1939-1944, Combined Operations, 1940-1942, Britain's anti-aircraft defences, 1939-1942, and civil defence in the UK, 1940-1941, and the war effort on the Home Front, 1942-1944; Government of India publications,dated [1944-1946], describing the service of various divisions of the Indian Army during World War Two.

Papers of Lt Vernon Merry. They demonstrate the social life that Admiral Bruce Fraser had to lead and they shed light on Anglo-American relations in the Pacific during the formation of the British Pacific Fleet and during the early post-war period following the surrender of Japan.

Papers collected or created by Menaul, 1950-1986, principally comprising journal articles, press cuttings, US and UK government and defence industry press releases and public relations pamphlets relating to nuclear weapons, 1962-1985, including the politics and doctrine of nuclear strategy and deterrence, Cruise, Pershing and Polaris missiles, and the research and development of nuclear delivery systems; to arms control, 1973-1985, including the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaties (SALT) 1 and 2; to ballistic missile defence, 1974-1986, including anti-satellite weapons and the High Frontier and High Frontier Europe organisations; to US, Soviet and European space programmes, 1976-1986; to land, sea and air weapons systems and warfare, 1973-1984; to defence budgets and arms procurement, the international arms industry, global strategy, collective security and NATO strategy, 1967-1986; to military technology, 1967-1986, including the comparative capabilities of Western and Soviet technology, chemical and biological warfare, electronic warfare, and the military uses of lasers and radar; to the study and history of warfare, 1970-1984, including the principles and morality of warfare and the history of the RAF; to national and international defence issues, multilateral agreements and military actions, 1969-1986; manuscript, proof, reviews and correspondence relating to Countdown: Britain's strategic nuclear forces (Hale, London, 1980), [1976-1981]; unpublished manuscripts by Menaul, 1969, [1972], [1978-1979], 1987; audiocassette recordings of radio interviews with Menaul, 1979-[1983]; copies of journals to which Menaul contributed, 1969-1985; papers relating to or generated by organisations and companies of which Menaul was a member or with which he was associated, 1966-1985, including Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies (formerly Royal United Service Institution), Centre for Policy Studies, Stanford Research Institute and Hughes Aircraft Company; correspondence and published papers relating to conferences on foreign policy and defence issues, 1970-1986; personal and business correspondence, 1956-1987, notably with Gen Sir Walter Walker, 1968-1987, Foreign Affairs Research Institute, 1976-1984, and Aims for Freedom and Enterprise, 1976-1986; personal papers, 1950-1959, 1971, 1973, [1978-1987], including newspaper cuttings relating to Menaul's RAF career, 1950-1959, notably his command of the British Atomic Trials Task Forces, Monte Bello and Maralinga, Australia, 1955-1956.

Letters written by Robert George Bruce, engineer in charge of fortifying Dominica, to General Robert Melville, responsible as Governor of the Ceded Islands for the defence of the island. The letters are endorsed in Melville's hand. The letters refer to battlements, the purchasing of estates, and potential granting of official appointments.

Papers relating to McNeill's career, 1942-1946, notably on Army-Air collaboration, 1942-1945, including typescript 'Eighth Army training memorandum No 1' by Lt Gen Bernard Law Montgomery, General Officer Commanding 8 Army, Middle East Forces [1942]; typescript memorandum by McNeill 'Recommendations for reorganisation of AASC (Army-Air Support Control)',1942; printed 'Middle East training pamphlet No 3B (Army and RAF). Direct air support', issued by General Headquarters, Middle East Forces and Headquarters, RAF, Middle East, 1943; typescript war diary of Detachment A, Air Support Control, 5 Corps, Italy, Mar-Jun 1944; typescript report produced by Headquarters 21 Army Group, British Liberation Army, North West Europe, entitled 'Notes on airsupport, June-October 1944', Nov 1944; typescript notes by McNeill entitled 'Offensive air support in the Burma campaign, 1944-1945'; two typescript draft chapters for a projected book entitled 'Air support in North Africa, Pantellaria, and Sicily, 1942-1943' and 'Air support in the Italian campaign, 1943-1945' [1946]; typescript account by Roy Smith entitled 'Air support in the desert: an account of the use of air forces in support of the Army from the Gazala battles in 1942 to the end in Tunisia', 1988.

Papers of Rhoderick Robert McGrigor, containing material relating to most aspects of Admiral McGrigor's naval career, often accompanied by several photographs. Present in the collection are orders, letters, newspaper cuttings, etc, relating to his early eduction at Osborne and Dartmouth naval colleges, his service during World War One, the non-intervention patrol during the Sapnish Civil War, his service in various theatres during World War Two, and his post-war service with the Admiralty.

Papers of Gen Sir Richard McCreery, 1928-1960; including notes relating to Staff College, 1928-1929; edition of The Cologne Post and Wiesbaden Times, 3 Nov 1929, relating to the final evacuation of British Forces from the Rhine; map of Aisne battlefield, 1914; notes relating to 12 Royal Lancers training exercises, chiefly on Salisbury Plain, 1937-1938; detailed narrative of 2 Armoured Brigade operations, France, May-Jun 1940, with brief diary of events, and official photograph with original caption, 'A conference at HQ during operations on the Somme Front'; map for 5 Corps training exercise, Salisbury Plain, Dec 1940; official correspondence as Commander, 8 Armoured Div, Home Forces, Dec 1940-Oct 1941, discussing topics including unit inspections, accommodation, recruitment and appointments; report on 'The supply of mobile forces by air', c 1942, regarding supply in the Western Desert; letter from Maj Gen Gerald Templer, Cdr 56 Div, Italy, 18 Mar 1944, commenting on recent operations; messages to all ranks as Commander, 8 Army, Italy, 12 October 1944-26 April 1945; pamphlet, Royal Canadian Armoured Corps, 1945, relating to the development of the Corps, 1940-1945; notes on the Tunisian campaign and notebook containing brief notes on operations in Italy and Austria, 1944-1946, possibly compiled retrospectively as lecture notes; detailed itinerary for British Troops in Austria battlefield tour of Italy, 5-11 May 1946; letter from V Adm Louis Mountbatten, South East Asia Command HQ, 8 Aug 1946, asking for any available polo ponies to be sold to the Malta Polo Club; booklet sent as Christmas card, 1946, with illustrations of Russian Army personnel; publications British Army of the Rhine battlefield tour: first day. 8 Corps operations east of Caen, 18-21 July 1944 (Operation GOODWOOD) (BAOR, Jun 1947) and British Army of the Rhine battlefield tour: fourth day. 43 (W) Division assault crossing of the River Seine, 25-28 August 1944 (BAOR, Jun 1947); brief notes relating to British Army of the Rhine organisation and administration, [1947]; letter from Geoffrey Fisher, Archbishop of Canterbury, 16 Dec 1947, relating a recent conversation with Emmanuel Shinwell, Minister of Defence, concerning the role of Christian teaching in Army education, particularly with regard to National Servicemen in Germany; routine official correspondence as Colonel Commandant, Royal Armoured Corps, 1947-1957; memorandum from FM Sir Bernard Law Montgomery as Chief of Imperial General Staff, 29 May 1948, relating to deployment of tanks by Royal Armoured Corps; notes on 'The Reserve Army, 1946-1949', by Brooke Claxton, Minister of National Defence, 1949; letter from Lynch Maydon, the Conservative MP for Wells, 7 Nov 1956, responding to the latter's criticism of the invasion of the Suez Canal Zone; correspondence, May-June 1957, relating to proposed mergers of army regiments; papers, chiefly training notes, relating to the Royal Armoured Corps, 1960.

Copies of papers collected or created by Maze, 1914-1975, principally comprising correspondence with his World War One colleagues, 1918-1972, mainly relating to the second Battle of the Somme, 21 Mar-5 Apr 1918, and including letters from Gen Sir Hubert (de la Poer) Gough, 1918-1919, 1935, 1939, 1951, 1954-1956, 1963, Lt Gen Sir (Arthur) Edward Grasett, 1965, 1970, and LtGen Sir Frederick Ivor Maxse, 1919; photographs of Maze, 1914-[1918] and Gough, 1915; correspondence with Rt Hon Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill concerning the Home Guard, 1943; photographs of ACM Sir Arthur Travers Harris, 1944; two typescript lists ofGerman towns attacked by British bombers, 1945.

Papers of Adml Thomas Leeke Massie, including copies of his official letterbooks, 1842 to 1861, logs, 1831, 1833 to 1836 and 1850 to 1854, and diaries, 1847 to 1849 and 1862 to 1880. There are also official service documents and twenty-one letters written to his family, 1826 to 1828 and 1840 to 1841.

Letters from Marshall to his brother, John Eden Marshall (1864-1937), the Hon Mr Justice Marshall, Judge in Egyptian Court of Appeal, written throughout World War One, including chatty, if brief, descriptions of his service in Gallipoli, Salonika and Mesopotamia, where he became Commander in Chief of the Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force in Nov 1917, 1915-1919. The greatbulk of the letters are therefore written from Mesopotamia, 1916-1919, and include Marshall's descriptions of the second Battle of Kut el Amara, Dec 1916; the advance to and the fall of Baghdad, Mar 1917, with impressions of the city; the Battle of Band-i-Adhaim, 30 Apr1917; the building of railways and improvement of communications along the British front line; commentary on the progress of the war on the Western, Eastern and Southern fronts; commentary on the progress of the British forces under Gen Sir Edmund Henry HynmanAllenby on the Palestine front, 1917-1919; the clearance of Jebel Hamrin and the River Diyala, Mesopotamia, Oct 1917; the 'Dunsterforce' operation in Persia, 1918; the advance up the Euphrates and the taking of Hit and Khan Baghdadi, Mar-May 1918; the final offensive onthe Tigris, Oct-Nov 1918, culminating in the signing of an armistice with the Turks on 30 Oct, 1918.

Papers of Lt Col John Horace Marriott, 1941-2007, comprising memoir of life and service, 1916-1944, covering: early life in Hove, 1916-1922; Switzerland, 1922-1926, including detailed account of skiing in the 1920s; education, including at Sandhurst, 1929-1935 and military service including Lt, 2 Bn, Leicestershire Regt, 1936; service in Londonderry, 1936; Aldershot, 1936-1938; Palestine, 1938-1940, including night patrols in the Nablus region; Battalion Intelligence Officer, Acre, 1939; Western Desert, 1940-1941, including Sollum and Bardia, Dec 1940 - Jan 1941; battle of Crete, May 1941; Syria, Jun-Sep 1941; Tobruk, Sep-Dec 1941; India, 1942-Aug 1943 and 70 Div (subsequently renamed 3 Indian Div) Long Range Penetration (LRP) operations under Bernard Fergusson, Burma, 1943-1944. The memoir includes sketches of a barrack room, Londonderry; latrines, Sandhurst (Commanding Officer's one-man tent, and six seater 'thunderbox', in use) and a mule carrying radio equipment, Burma.

Transcripts of Marriott's letters home, 19 Feb-9 Jun 1941, including on successful treatment of casualties and edition of The Green Tiger, newsletter of the Royal Leicestershire Regiment, for Spring 2007, with obituary for Marriott and a photocopy from the letters page of a subsequent edition, with an appreciation by John Penlington, former driver to Marriott.

Papers relating to his service in the Middle East, principally comprising account of his work at No 62 General Hospital, Tobruk, Libya, Oct 1941-Feb 1942; cutting of newspaper article based on this account, written by Patrick Marnham (his son) in 1991; text of his lecture on surgery in the Middle East, 1940-1943, [1943]; photocopy of his printed article 'The Tobruk Plaster', 1945;diary of Col H V Leigh, Commander, No 62 General Hospital, Oct 1941-Jan 1942; Leigh's official report on No 62 General Hospital for the period Oct-Dec 1941, written in Jan 1942.

Papers, 1881-1891, of Donald James Mackay, 11th Baron Reay, as Governor of Bombay, comprising correspondence, memoranda, petitions and other papers, 1884-1889 and undated, on A'bkari administration (a system of licences for the distillation and sale of spirits in Bombay); correspondence, memoranda, minutes, reports and other papers, 1881-1891 and undated, relating to military and naval subjects; correspondence, memoranda, minutes and reports, 1885-1890 and undated, on education; correspondence and other papers, 1881-1891 and undated, on agriculture; correspondence and other papers, 1884-1889 and undated, on sanitation and water works; correspondence and papers, 1884-1891 and undated, on various other subjects including administration, hospitals, irrigation, railways and finance; addresses of welcome to Lord Reay, 1886-1890 and undated; a drawing of Bombay harbour and accompanying manuscript plan, undated; manuscript map of Karachi Harbour Board, 1887.

Publications by Lt Col Charles MacFetridge: A Memoir of Greece in 1948: A Year of Crisis, privately published, 1987, detailing experiences as British Liaison Officer, XL Greek Infantry Brigade, British Military Mission to Greece, operating in the Pindhos, Grammos and Vitsi mountains, Apr-Oct 1948; Mules in the British Army', a tribute published on the website of the British Mule Society (article no longer available online), [1995]; and British Mule Society booklet The Military Mule in the British Army and Indian Army: An Anthology. Part III: The Mountain Artillery Mule, 2000. Also copy of articleTales from the bushy-topped tree: a brief survey of military sketching', PJ Gough, Imperial War Museum Review No 10, Nov 1995, including mention of MacFetridge.

Royal Naval Air Service/RAF pilot's flying log book, 1918-1924; three RAF pilot's flying log books, 1924-1926, 1934-1936 and 1937-1946. Four photograph albums, with many captioned photographs of Lynch's service in Turkey and southern Russia, 1919, and Iraq, 1931-1934, also 51 photographic negatives, mostly of southern Russia, 1919. Personal papers and photographs,1917-1946, including printed RAF certificate for the completion of a course in 'Aerial gunnery and bombing, Eastchurch, Kent, 1924, congratulatory letter to Lynch, concerning a successful air display, from AVM Cyril Louis Norton Newall, Air Officer Commanding Wessex Bombing Area, 1931, and printed service history, compiled by Lynch's son, 1994.

Papers of Thomas Louis, 1796-1806, comprising thirty-eight items relating to the official honours Louis received for his services.

Papers of John Louis, 1811-1848, comprising personal letters and official appointments.

The archive consists of correspondence and papers relating to 'Copenhagen' a play by Michael Frayn concerning the Danish physicists and Nobel prize winners Niels Bohr and his son Aaye; biographical material relating to Valentina Tereshkova and Margaret Gowring, including photocopies.

Papers relating to service as Quartermaster General of the BEF (British Expeditionary Force) in France and Belgium during World War Two, including narratives, war diaries, reports and memoranda, 1939-1941; papers relating to service as Lt Gen in charge of Administration in the Middle East, including narratives, a volume compiled by the Q Staff entitled Maintenance of the Eighth Army...from El Alamein to Tunisia, 1943, and memoranda and newscuttings on the Middle East Base in Egypt, 1943-1948; papers relating to service as Principal Administrative Officer to the Indian Command, comprising texts of speeches and articles on Indian economy and the India Base, 1943-1945; papers relating to post-war life and career, mainly texts of lectures and articles and newspaper cuttings on international relations in the Middle East, especially the Suez Crisis of 1956.

Papers relating to his service in North West Europe, 1944-1945, dated [1945], comprising 'OperationOVERLORD plus', bound typescript account of his service with the Irish Guards in North West Europe, 1944-1945, written in [1945]; 'The occupation of German airfields in Schleswig Holstein area, May 1945', typescript account by Lindsay of RAF Regt operations in Schleswig Holstein, Germany, May 1945, written in [1945]; typescript account of operations carried out by 1 Commando Bde and 7 Armoured Div, Holland, Jan-Feb 1945, written by [Brig Derek Mills-Roberts in 1945].

Papers, 1916-1948, mainly relating to the life and career of Maj Gen George Mackintosh Lindsay, notably his service as Chief Instructor, Royal Tank Corps Central Schools, Bovington, Dorset, 1923- 1925, Inspector, Royal Tank Corps, War Office, 1925-1929, and Commander of 7 (Mechanised Experimental) Infantry Bde, Southern Command, 1932-1934. From the 1920s and 1930s there is a rich series of correspondence with Col Charles Noel Frank Broad, Lt Col Frederick Elliot Hotblack, Brig Percy Cleghorn Stanley Hobart and Capt Basil Henry Liddell Hart, all of whom were leading figures in the development of British armoured forces, the mechanisation of the Army, tank design and improvements to military training. The series includes original notes and memoranda by both Lindsay and his correspondents. Lindsay's correspondence with Gen Sir Archibald Percival Wavell, 1935-1944, covers armoured tactics, the mechanisation of cavalry and Wavell's visit to the USSR to observe Red Army manoeuvres, Sep 1936. Papers on Lindsay's appointment as Brigadier General Staff, Egypt Command, 1929-1932, include memoranda by Gen Sir George Francis Milne, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, and Maj Gen Sydney Capel Peck on the future organisation of mechanised units in Egypt. Notable photographs in the collection include a series on Lt Col Giffard Le Quesne Martel's 'mechanical coffin' one man armoured carrier, 1934.

Papers of Sir Arthur Henry Limpus, including official service documents; logs, 1878 to 1879, 1880 to 1882, 1884 to 1885; notes, photographs and diaries for the Boer War period; an official out-letterbook, 1912 to 1913; a diary kept by Limpus's wife during their stay in Turkey and letters from Limpus to his wife, 1912 to 1916. There are also letters concerning the Dardanelles Campaign from Admirals de Roebeck (1862-1928) and Wemyss (1864-1933) and Field-Marshal Methuen (1845-1932), Governor of Malta.

Capt Sir Basil Liddell Hart's papers reflect his position as the foremost military theorist in Britain between World Wars One and Two, as an influential military correspondent and as a prolific author of books on military theory and history. As such he sustained throughout his life an extensive correspondence with a wide variety of prominent individuals, including those in the armed forces, politicians, playwrights, journalists, military historians, embassy officials and clergymen.The collection includes Liddell Hart's files containing correspondence with several thousand individuals, as well as with government departments and military establishments, and clubs and political parties; his own military writings, including diary notes, memoranda, books, articles, letters to the press and texts of lectures; and an extensive collection of reference material, mainly comprising newspaper cuttings and pamphlets, covering a wide range of topics including military history, politics and society. The collection includes a small quantity of correspondence with Lady Liddell Hart, particularly after 1970.Correspondence with individuals, 1916-1970, with related papers, 1/1-780; general correspondence, 1904-1976, including with Embassy staff, Israeli military personnel, and researchers, 2/1-3241; correspondence with British and overseas publishers, military and non-military journals, news agencies, literary and legal advisers, 1919-1970, 3/1-196; correspondence with officialinstitutions, 1927-1970, including government departments, military establishments and museums, with correspondence relating to official histories of World Wars One and Two, 4/1-39; correspondence with political parties, clubs and organisations, 1922-1970, 5/1-35; letters to newspapers and journals, 1927-1968, 6/1927/1-6/1968/2; writings relating to military matters, 1910-1925, including diaries and notebooks, 7/1910/1-7/1925/13; papers relating to early life and career, 1895-1925, including service in World War One, 8/1-355; manuscripts, typescripts, proofs and reviews of books written or edited by Liddell Hart, with related papers, 1925-1970, 9/1-32, which includes notes on talks with T E Lawrence, 9/13, papers relating to German generals of World War Two, 9/24, and correspondence and papers relating to tanks, 9/28; published articles, including book reviews, with related papers, 1925-1969, 10/1925/1-10/1969/19 plus miscellaneous and supplementary papers; unpublished papers, 1925-1970, including appointment diaries, records of conversations and papers on military matters, and papers relating to Leslie Hore-Belisha, 1937-1957, 11/1925/1-11/1970/1 plus undated memoranda; notes for lectures, speeches, broadcasts and interviews, 1926-1969, with related correspondence, 12/1926/1-12/1969/4 plus miscellaneous papers; papers including presscuttings and copy letters relating to life and career, 1925-1970, 13/1-112; non-military material, including papers relating to religion, philosophy, sport, aviation, science, psychology and fashion, 1913-1969, 14/1-93; reference material, including original and published papers and proofs of publications, relating to military history, politics and society, 15/1-7, 16; military manualsand pamphlets, 1870-1961, 15/8. See below for those individuals who passed their own private papers to Liddell Hart.

Report, dated 1946, prepared by the Civil Defence Department, Home Office, on a flying bomb incident at Lewisham, 28 Jul 1944; and draft report, apparently prepared for Deptford Borough Council, on rocket incidents in the borough, 1944-1945.

Papers of Lord Terence Lewin. The bulk of the collection relates to the period following Lewin's retirement from the Navy. There are substantial numbers of lecture notes, together with correspondence concerning Defence policy and organisation, the Falklands conflict, the George Cross Island Association, the Siege of Malta anniversary and memorial and various maritime societies. Also featured are a small amount of naval documents, including midshipman's journals from HMS VALIANT, Order books for HMS CORUNNA, URCHIN and HERMES, Lewin's paybook from 1949 and his 'metioned in dispatches' certificates. Also included are a folder concerning the loss of HMS SOMALI, (a destroyer that was torpedoed and then broke in two whilst being towed by HMS ASHANTI), photo albums of the aircraft carrier, HMS HERMES, and a notebook kept by Lewin as Chief of Defence Staff during the Falklands campaign. The 'Personal Papers' section includes school reports and certificates, together with honours such as his Barony, Grant of Arms and Warrant of Appointment. The collection is also well served with photos of Lewin at varying stages of his career.

The fifty-four letterbooks which have been acquired individually are predominantly naval, dating from the seventeenth to the twentieth century. The Napoleonic war period and the nineteenth century are most fully represented. Unless stated otherwise, it can be assumed that the items are copy letterbooks and not bound volumes of original letters. Of the six seventeenth-century letterboooks the largest is that of official correspondence of Samuel Pepys (1633-1703), 1662 to 1679, which also contains some shorthand in his own hand. (Some of these letters are reproduced in Helen Truesdell Heath, ed., The letters of Samuel Pepys and his family circle (Oxford), 1955)) There is a bound volume of 15 original letters and legal documents written by Sir Anthony Deane ([1638]-1721), shipbuilder and member of the Navy Board; the letters, dated from 1662 to 1679, are to a merchant, Sir Robert Clayton (1651-1704). For the same period there is a letterbook of George Monck, Duke of Albemarle (1608-1670), with some shorthand, written between 1665 and 1666 while he was joint Commander-in-Chief. Additionally, a small volume containing two letters by Monck, 1652 and 1663, includes some contemporary pamphlets and prints. A slim letterbook of Sir John Narbrough (1640-1688), when in command of the FORESIGHT, 1687 to 1688, consists of letters and reports written by him when recovering treasure from a Spanish wreck off Hispaniola. There is also an early eighteenth-century volume of copies of over a hundred letters written by James II to George Legge, Lord Dartmouth (q.v.) between 1679 and 1688. The earliest letterbook of the eighteenth century is that of Vice-Admiral John Baker (1660-1716), aboard the STIRLING CASTLE commanding in home waters and the Mediterranean, 1708 to 1709. A private letterbook of an officer who cannot be positively identified, kept between 1727 and 1731, includes a list of men killed and wounded at the siege of Gibraltar, 1727. It gives detailed dimensions of the ROSE at the same period, a description of travels in Italy, 1731, and of St John's, Newfoundland, 1732. Six letterbooks (some of which also contain orders) of Admiral Sir Piercy Brett (1709-1781) all relate to the Channel when Brett was in the LION, 1745 to 1746, the NORFOLK, 1757 to 1758, DEPTFORD, 1760, ST GEORGE, 1760 and the NEWARK, 1761. There is a small volume of in- and out-letters and orders to and from Prince William Henry (1765-1837). These date between 1786 and 1788 when the Prince was in command of the PEGASUS in home waters, 1786, in the West Indies from 1786 to 1787, and in Canada in 1787. Finally for this period is a letterbook of John Pearse, commander of H.E.I.C.S. EDGECOTE, 1747 to 1750. Thirty-one volumes relate to the Napoleonic Wars, the first of which is a bound volume of eighteen original letters, 1793 to 1804, from Admiral Collingwood (q.v.) to Sir Edward Blackett (d.1804). There follows a book of seven private original letters from Lord Mulgrave (1755-1831) to Collingwood , 1807 to 1809; a letterbook of Admiral George Berkeley (1753-1818) when in command on the coast of Portugal, 1809 to 1810; original letters from Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren (1753-1852) to Lord Melville (1771-1851), First Lord of the Admiralty, written mainly between 1812 and 1814 from Halifax, Nova Scotia, when he was Commander-in-Chief, North America ; a letterbook of John Jervis, Lord St Vincent for 1806 and 1807, when Commander-in-Chief of the Channel Fleet, and a letterbook of Admiral Sir Charles Penrose (1759-1830), 1813 to 1814, when commanding the PORCUPINE. At this time the ship was off the coast of France, collaborating with the army under the Duke of Wellington (1769-1852), to whom a large number of the letters are addressed. Examples of volumes belonging to officers of lesser rank include that of Lieutenant (later Captain) Robert Ramsay (fl 1779-1815), in the EURYDICE, home waters and North America, 1807 to 1808, and in the MISTLETOE.

Papers chiefly related to Lethbridge's service in the Second World War, 1943-1948 and the Control Commission, 1945-1948. Typescript report, photographs, glass photographic slides and correspondence relating to 220 Lethbridge Mission, to the USA, India, South West Pacific and Australia to study tactics and equipment required to defeat Japan in the Far East, 1943-1944. Photographs, including album of Australian troops in action with Japanese, Papua New Guinea, 1943, with related publications, notably War in New Guinea (Department of Information, Australia, 1943) and The Australasians [27 Nov 1943], with profile of Lethbridge. Papers relating to Lethbridge's service as Chief of Staff, 14 Army, Burma, 1944-1945, including printed chart of the planned phases of the Burma campaign, 1944; letters home, Aug 1944-Jun 1945; personal letter from Gen Sir William Joseph Slim, Commander in Chief, Allied Land Forces, South East Asia, to Lethbridge, 26 Sep 1945; typescript operational and administrative notes on the Burma campaign, 1945; portrait photographs, including Gen Slim [1945]; typescript administrative memoranda, 1945; edition of Campaign in Burma (Central Office of Information, London, 1946). Papers relating to Control Commission for Germany, 1945-1948, including photocopies of Hitler's last will and testament, with copies of translations, 1945; Lethbridge's notes on evidence for Hitler's death, 1945; Hitler's signed Christmas card [1944]; press cuttings relating to defeat of plot by former SS officers, 1947; two UK Government papers relating to Germany (HMSO, London, 1939); photograph album of pre-war Berlin, with notes on post war condition [1946]. Photographs and press cuttings relating to the opening of the Civil Defence College, Sunningdale, Berkshire, 1950; photographs relating to Civil Defence exercise, Bristol, 1956. Obituary for Lethbridge, reprinted from The Royal Engineers Journal [1961].

Papers relating to his life and career, 1915-1991, dated 1963, 1969 and [1991], principally comprising 'Nine lives, a soldier's story', a typescript memoir covering the period 1915-1991, including his service in North Africa and the Western Desert, 1939-1942 and 1943, the Middle East, 1942-1943 and 1954-1956, Normandy, 1944, and France, Belgium and Germany, 1945-1947, and hiswork as Director General of Fighting Vehicles, 1964-1966, and General Officer Commanding, Malta and Libya, 1967-1968, written in [1991].

Personal and military papers of Major General Sir Robert Edward Laycock, 1923-1968, chiefly relating to service with Special Service Brigade and as Chief of Combined Operations, 1940-1946. Includes papers on volunteering for Special Service Brigade, including completed application forms for volunteer Commando officers, 1940. Papers on Special Service Brigade training 1940-1941, including gas, bayonet and signalling training. Memoranda, reports, instructions and other papers, 1940-1942, relating to LAYFORCE (commanded by Laycock in the Middle East), including papers on the Folbot Section (later to become Special Boat Service). Papers on Special Service Brigade, [1941-1946], including memoranda, reports, minutes, papers on their reorganisation, disbandment and the future of Combined Operations, also including papers belonging to Lord George Jellicoe relating to Special Service Brigade in the Middle East; reports and other papers on Special Service Brigade operations, notably Operation TORCH, (the invasion of North West Africa, Nov 1942) and Operation HUSKY, (the invasion of Sicily, Jun 1943). Laycock's official and personal correspondence,1923-1968, chiefly relating to Special Service Brigade. Lectures and speeches to and on Special Service Brigade, chiefly by Laycock. Draft publications, scripts and press cuttings relating to Laycock and Special Service Brigade. Memoirs and accounts of Commando action, including parts of Robert Edward Laycock's memoirs and memoirs of members of 'G' Troop, 7 Commando. Papers on Laycock standing as Conservative parliamentary candidate for Bassetlaw in the 1945 general collection and on his refusal to stand for the 1947 bye-election. Papers relating to Laycock's time as Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Malta. Poems by Laycock.

Notebook containing telegrams transmitted from and received by HMS RAJAH, 1944, and notes on transmitting equipment and mechanical supplies, [1944].

Papers relating to his army career, 1906-1927, notably including Naval and military despatches relating to operations in the war covering the period Sep-Nov 1914, issued by HMSO, 1914; 'Peace celebrations, 1919, victory march through London, 19th July. Orders by Field Marshal Douglas Haig', issued by HMSO, 1919.

Papers of Joseph Langland, undated, comprise copies of his poems about Buchenwald and Hiroshima entitled 'Buchenwald near Weimar'; 'The Lotus Song'; 'A Hiroshima Lullaby' and a copy of an entry from Who's Who in America.

Photocopy of typescript draft of 'Naval reminiscences, 1941-1944' covering his service in the Mediterranean, 1941 and 1943, notably the Battle of Crete, May 1941, and in the Arctic Ocean, 1942-1943, and his role in the construction of the Mulberry harbours, Normandy, 1944, written in [1978].

Photocopies of papers relating the Battle of the Falkland Islands, 8 Dec 1914, comprising letter from Laborde to his father describing the action, written on 13 Dec 1914; account of the battle written by 1 and 2 Gunnery Officers of the German armoured cruiser GNEISENAU, 1914.

Typescript official correspondence relating to Allied operations in Italy, 1944-1945, between Kirkman, General Officer Commanding 13 Corps, and Lt Gen Sir Oliver (William Hargreaves) Leese, 3rd Bt, General Officer Commanding 8 Army, Mar-Oct 1944, Lt Gen Sir John Harding, Chief of Staff, Allied Armies in Italy, Aug 1944-Jan 1945, and Lt Gen Sir Richard (Loudon) McCreery,General Officer Commanding 10 Corps, and subsequently General Officer Commanding 8 Army, Sep 1944-Jan 1945. Typescript 13 Corps operational instructions and orders, Apr 1944-Jan 1945, with typescript planning notes, dated Apr 1944, for Operation HONKER, the attack to secure the Liri valley for the advance on Rome, Italy, May 1944. Four volumes of narrative diaries, covering Kirkman's career in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, North West Europe and as Deputy Chief of the Imperial General Staff, War Office, Apr 1943-Sep 1945. Printed booklet entitled 'Proceedings of the Royal Artillery Historical Society, 19 Apr 1968, 5 Nov 1968', containing information provided byKirkman on the planning of the Third and Fourth Battles of Cassino, Italy, 1944.

Papers, dated 1945-1963, relating to the attempt to remove Lt Gen Sir William Joseph Slim from command of 14 Army, Burma, May 1945, including typescript background notes; typescript copies of telegrams between Lt Gen Sir Oliver William Hargreaves Leese, 3rd Bt, Commander-in-Chief, Allied Land Forces South East Asia, FM Sir Alan Francis Brooke, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, and acting Adm Lord Louis (Francis Albert Victor Nicholas) Mountbatten, Supreme Allied Commander South East Asia, May-Jun 1945; typescript extract of unpublished chapter of Defeat into victory (Cassell, London, 1956) by Slim; letters from Gen Sir (Alexander Frank) Philip Christison, 4th Bt, (former General Officer Commanding 15 Indian Corps, Burma), FM Sir Claude John Eyre Auchinleck (former Commander-in-Chief, India), ACM Sir (William) Alec Coryton (former Air Commander, 3 Tactical Air Force, Burma), Maj Gen George Peregrine Walsh (former Chief of Staff, Allied Land Forces, South East Asia), Lt Gen Sir Frederick Arthur Montague Browning (former Chief of Staff, South East Asia Command), Leese and Mountbatten, 1960-1963.

Photocopy of report entitled 'The enemy side of the hill: the 1945 background on interrogation of German commanders' by Maj Kenneth William Hechler, Historical Section, US Army, including accounts of interrogations of captured senior German officers including Col Gen Johannes Blaskowitz, Grand Adm Karl Dönitz, Reichsmarschall Hermann William Göring, Gen ofArtillery Alfred Josef Jodl, FM Wilhelm Keitel, FM Albert von Kesselring and Gen of Artillery Walter Warlimont, Jul 1945.

Bound editions of the K-H News-Letter, 1936-1941, the National News-Letter, 1941-1957, and the King-Hall News-Letter, 1958-1959. Bound editions of Personal letters, 1946-1954. Editions of seven books and pamphlets by King-Hall, World history. An outline from the earliest times to the present day for the young of all ages (K-H Services, London, 1948), North Americandiary (K-H Services, London, 1949), Men of destiny or the moment of no return (K-H Services, London, 1960), Moment of no return (Ballantine Books, New York, 1961), Power politics in the nuclear age (Victor Gollancz, London, 1962), Common sense in defence (K-H Services, London, 1962) and Parliament viewing hall: a look-listen room. A scheme to enable more people to see and hear the proceedings of Parliament, with Gerald F Sheard (K-H Services, London, 1963). Editions of seven books and pamphlets published by King-Hall, United Europe. A short history of the idea by Sydney D Bailey (National News-Letter, London, 1948), The state of Britishindustry by S E Davson (National News-Letter, London, 1948), India, Pakistan in world politics by Jossleyn Hennessy (National News-Letter, London, 1949), What is Communism? by John Plamervatz (National News-Letter, London, 1949), Snorky, a stanley crane by Kay King-Hall (K-H Services, London, 1961), The peace race by Seymour Melman (Ballantine Books, New York, 1961) and National incomes policy, a democratic plan by Elliott Jaques (K-H Services, London, 1963).

Letters dated 1909-1914 from FM Earl Haig, Chief of General Staff in India and Commander-in-Chief at Aldershot, including potential candidates for appointments and Indian Army policy including reorganisation and recruitment; letters dated 1914-1918 from Haig, General Officer Commanding 1 Corps and Commander-in-Chief, British Armies, France, referring to operations including Dardanelles, Verdun; letters dated 1914-1918 from FM Sir Henry Wilson, British military representative at SupremeWar Council, Versailles, including French war effort; correspondence dated 1915-1921 with FM Sir William Robertson, General HQ British Armies in the Field including shortage of supplies and troops; Kiggell's demi-official correspondence when Chief of General Staff, 1916-1919, with various commanders on subjects including administration, planned operations, supply of guns and ammunition to Belgium, France and Russia and staff appointments; recollections dated 1919 of Chantilly conference, Nov 1916, to consider planned operations in 1917.

Scrapbook of his service in France and Belgium, 1914-1917 and Italy, 1917-1918, compiled in 1923 and 1927, including a detailed account of the period Oct 1914-May 1915, notably the first Battle of Ypres, Oct-Nov 1914, written up from letters to his wife, 1914-1915; typescript copies of notes on the operations of 7 Div, Oct-Nov 1914, compiled by the General Staff, 7 Div in [1917-1918]; typescript copies of orders of 231 Field Company, 1916, and 528 Field Company, 1917; account of his service in Italy, 1918, written in 1923; copies of divisional and brigade orders for attack at Ypres, Oct 1917; various maps, 1914-1918; reproductions of photographs, 1918; 'The crossing of the Piave in 1918', article by Kerrich cut from The Royal Engineers Journal, Dec 1927.

Papers of Augustus Keppel, consisting of two groups. The first, deposited on permanent loan in 1944, is a collection of letters, 1778, from the Admiralty and Keppel's replies. There are also court martial resolutions on Admiral Byng, 1757. The second, purchased in 1946, is a series of order books, 1748 to 1778, and two Quarter Deck order books, 1761 to 1762, 1778.

Papers relating to Kennedy's career, 1911-1972, notably narrative diaries of his service on the Western Front during World War One, narrative diaries of his service with the British Military Mission to South Russia, 1919-1920; narrative diaries and papers relating to his senior planning role at the War Office during World War Two; typescript of, and papers relating to, an unpublished memoir of his period as Governor of Southern Rhodesia, 1969. A collection of official photographs relating largely to Kennedy's service at the War Office between 1939 and 1945, has been included at the end of the collection, as has a group of unpublished memoirs written by Col Roderick (Rory) Macleod, presented by the author to Kennedy in 1966.

Papers relating to Kennedy's service as Capt of the battlecruiser HMS INDOMITABLE during World War One, including brief diary of the war training of the British Mediterranean Fleet, 1913-1914; narratives describing the shadowing, chase and escape of the German battlecruiser GOEBEN and its companion ship BRESLAU from the British Mediterranean Fleet, Aug 1914; apersonal description of the first bombardment of the Dardanelles, Nov 1914; intelligence reports of the positions of the warships of various nations, 1915; summary of information received from survivors of the German battlecruiser BLUCHER sunk during the Battle of Dogger Bank, Jan 1915; a brief personal memoir of the Battle of Jutland, May 1916.

Papers of Sir John Donald Kelly, consisting of reports on the unsuccessful attack on the Goeben; on the Dardanelles, February to May 1915, and on a German raider in West Indian and South American waters, December 1916 to March 1917. There are orders relating to the Dardanelles, 1915, to the surrender of the German High Seas Fleet, 1918, to the Chanak incident of 1922, to the Invergordon mutiny in 1931 and to Kelly's final commands. The letters are mainly official but the private correspondents include Prince Louis of Battenburg (1854-1921), 1903, Earl Beatty (1871-1936), 1918 and 1932, Lord Louis Mountbatten (1900- ), 1929, Sir Roger Keyes (1872-1945), 1930 to 1931, and Lord Chatfield, 1932 to 1936. In addition, a small collection of fifteen letters, 1831 to 1847, relate to Captain, later Vice-Admiral, William Kelly (c 1795-1874), and are mostly concerned with the attack on the forts of Tamatave, Madagascar, in 1845. William Kelly is believed to have been a relative of Sir John Kelly.

Papers of Sir William Archibald Howard Kelly, consisting of a draft of his memoirs which is very detailed until 1933; after this period it has only a few notes and observations on Turkey. The diaries for 1899, 1901, 1903, 1905 to 1907, 1910, 1914 to 1916, 1919 to 1921, 1923 to 1929 and 1931 to 1933 are also detailed. The correspondence forms two groups; the first, 1914 to 1917, includes letters from Earl Beatty (1871-1936), Admiral Tyrwhitt (1870-195T) and Lord Jellicoe (1859-1935); the second group, 194G to 1944, includes those from Admirals Cunningham (q.v.), Harwood (1888-1950) and Willis (1889-1976). Some notebooks, news cuttings and articles complete the collection.

Papers relating to his service in Hedjaz (Hejaz), 1916-1919, dated 1916-1919, 1936, 1963, 1939, 1941, 1963, 1965, principally comprising official correspondence relating to operations against the Turks in Hedjaz, 1916-1918, and supplies and stores for bases at Rabegh, Wedj, Yenbo, Akaba and Abu Lissal, 1916-1918, and including letters to and from Thomas Edward Lawrence (laterShaw), Col Cyril Edward Wilson, Gen Sir Gilbert Falkingham Clayton, and Lt Col Alan Geoffrey Charles; correspondence and notes concerning the meeting between Emir Feisal (later Feisal I, King of Iraq) and Dr Chaim Weizmann on 4 Jun 1918, dated [1918] and 1963;typescript text on the history and future of the Arab movement, [1919]; scripts concerning his service with Lawrence in Hedjaz, 1916-1918, written for television broadcasts in 1939 and 1941; official reports on bomb attacks on the Hedjaz railway by X Flight and No14 Sqn personnel, 1917-1918; official reports of reconnaissance flights by X Flight and No 14 Sqn, 1917-1918; diary by Capt H S Hornby describing raids on the Hedjaz railway, May 1917 and May 1918; account by Lt Col Frederick Gerard Peake of Turkish attack on Tafas,Sep 1918, dated 1965.

My long journey: a true story of World War II as seen through the eyes of a former commando soldier, typescript memoir by Colour Sergeant George The Joker' Jowett, including descriptions of training with King's Own Royal Border Regiment in Armagh, Northern Ireland and Liverpool, England; selection for Special Service as a Commando; training at the Commando Basic Training Centre, Achnacarry, 1942; D-Day preparations with 6 Commando, May 1944; D-Day landings and subsequent action, Normandy, June 1944; evacuation after being wounded and recovery in Glasgow Royal Infirmary and Gloret Auxiliary hospital, June-July 1944; return to service in Ostend, Jan 1945; serious injury while on patrol, Feb 14 1945; treatment and physical therapy in Lille, France; posting in Veroa, Greece, Famagusta, Cyprus and Tobruk with the King's Own Royal Border Regiment after the disbanding of the Commandos, 1946-1947; demobilisation, 1947. Also typescript memoirD Day: before and after', account of the Normandy landings June 1944 excerpted from `My Long Journey'.

Papers of William Henry Jones-Byrom. They contain one log, 1844 to 1848, letters to his mother, 1859, appointments, 1844 to 1860, and Captain Osborn's report on the mission of the FURIOUS in China.

Papers primarily relating to his service in the Royal Marines during the period 1942-1945, written in [1942], 1945, 1962, 1976 and 1987, principally comprising typescript copy of Johnston's account of Force Viper operations in the Burma Campaign, 1942, written in [1942] and copied in 1987, photocopy of 'The Red Vipers', an article on Force Viper operations in Burma in 1942, by Cecil Hampshire, from The Navy, 1962; photocopy of Johnston's obituary from The Times, 24 Apr 1945.

Papers of Peter Johnson, 1885-1973, documenting his life until the immediate post-war period. It includes school reports, family correspondence, documents relating to naturalisation, papers relating to his service in military intelligence, and papers relating to the former Jewish population in Hildesheim, where he was stationed at the end of the war.