Correspondence between Nicholas Piers Eadon and US, British, French and German military and naval figures of the twentieth century, mainly relating to great moments of their lives, with many signed portrait photographs, [1968]-1980, including US Gen Omar Nelson Bradley; US Gen Mark Wayne Clark; US Gen Alfred Maximilian Gruenther; US Gen Anthony Clement McAuliffe; US Gen Carl A Spaatz; US Gen Maxwell Davenport Taylor; US Gen Albert Coady Wedemeyer. Correspondence with British military figures, including FM Harold Rupert Leofric George Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis; FM Sir Claude (John Eyre) Auchinleck; Gp Capt Sir Douglas (Robert Steuart) Bader; Maj Gen Sir Francis Wilfred De Guingand; Gen Sir Miles Christopher Dempsey; MRAF Sir (William) Sholto Douglas, 1st Baron Douglas of Kirtleside; ACM Hugh Caswall Tremenheere Dowding, 1st Baron Dowding of Bentley Priory; FM Sir Francis Wogan Festing; Gen Sir Richard Nelson Gale; Maj Gen Sir Miles (William Arthur Peel) Graham; FM (Allan Francis) John Harding, 1st Baron Harding of Petherton; Lt Gen Sir Brian Gwynne Horrocks; FM Sir Richard (Amyatt) Hull; Gen Hastings Lionel Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay of Wormington; Lt Gen Sir Oliver William Hargreaves Leese; Capt Sir Basil Henry Liddell Hart; FM Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein; AF Louis (Francis Albert Victor Nicholas) Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma; Lt Gen (Charles) Willoughby (Moke) Norrie, 1st Baron Norrie of Wellington, New Zealand, and of Upton, Gloucestershire; MRAF Charles Frederick Algernon Portal, 1st Viscount Portal of Hungerford; FM William Joseph Slim, 1st Viscount Slim of Burma; Wg Cdr Robert Roland Stanford-Tuck; FM Sir Gerald (Walter Robert) Templer. Correspondence with French military figures, including Gen Pierre Billotte; Gen Jean Charbonneau; Adm Gensoul; Gen Gribius. Correspondence with German military figures, including Grand Adm Karl Doenitz; Gen Adolf Galland; Lt Gen Reinhard Gehlen; Col Gen Franz Halder; Gen Adolf Heusinger; Col Gen Karl Hollidt; R Adm Otto Kretschmer; FM (Fritz) Erich von Manstein; Gen Hasso von Manteuffel; Adm Wilhelm Marschall; FM Erhard Milch; Gen Enno von Rintelen; FM Ferdinand Schorner; Gen Joachim Schwatlo-Gesterding; Gen Baron Geyr von Schweppenburg; Gen Walther von Seydlitz; Albert Speer; Gen Dr Hans Spiedel; Lt Gen Helmut Staedke; Gen of Infantry Karl Strecker; V Adm August Thiele; Gen Walter Warlimont; Gen of Panzertruppe Walther Wenck, Luftwaffe Maj Gen Alwin Wolz; V Adm Karl Adolf Zenker.
Sans titreBound copy of typescript memoir entitled 'Rejoining the Navy', giving a brief summary of his life and career, 1933-1955, and a detailed account of his role as Staff Officer (Trade) to the Commander-in-Chief, Eastern Atlantic Area during Exercise LIFELINE, a NATO exercise in naval control of shipping, 1955.
Sans titreComplete transcripts of 38 filmed interviews concerning events leading up to the 9 Nov 1989 when the border between the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) and the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) was opened, and the demolition of the Berlin Wall began. The interviews were recorded for the production of the television documentary Fall of the Wall, which was broadcast in 1994. The collection also includes programme scripts and press releases for each of the hour long documentary episodes titled 'A Hole in the Wall' and 'The Fatal Error'.
Interviewees were either present or involved in the decisions and events which led up to the final destruction of the wall and include government leaders in Czechoslovakia, Hungary, German Democratic Republic (GDR), Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), and the Soviet Union, government officials and Politburo members, organisers of the Pan European Picnic, 19 Aug 1989, East German and Czechoslovakian civilians, border guards and security forces, a Foreign Ambassador, and an East German dissident. Most notable are Mikhail Gorbachev, Soviet leader 1985 - 1991, Hans Dietrich Genscher, West German Foreign Minister during 1989, Miklós Németh, Hungarian Prime Minister 1988 - 1990, Milos Jakes (First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia 1987 - 1989, and Egon Krenz, East German General Secretary of the Socialist Unity (Communist) Party and Chairman of Council of State Oct - Dec 1989.
Subjects discussed include the significance of Soviet policies under Mikhail Gorbachev and Eduard Scheverdnadze such as perestroika and glasnost, the demise of the Breshnev doctrine on Soviet intervention and the Warsaw Pact; reforming influences in government in Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia; tacit support of West Germany and the USA for soviet reformers and later agreements for provision of economic aid; Hungary's signing of the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees of 28 July 1951, Mar 1989; Hungary's announcement that is will cease to maintain its electronic border fence, 2 May 1989; the visit of Gyula Horn, Hungarian Foreign Minister, and Alois Mock, Austrian Foreign Minister, to Sopron, Hungary to view the dismantling of the fence, 28 Jun 1989; visit of George Bush, US President, to Budapest, 11-13 Jul 1989; origin and development of plan to hold a Pan European Picnic at Sopron on 19 Aug 1989, an event promoted by the Democratic Forum under the patronage of Otto Von Habsburg and Imre Poszgay, to mark the dismantling of the fence; meetings between Hungarian and West German leaders concerning the Hungarian border opening; West Germany's principle of accepting all East Germans refugees; arrangements for a ceremonial crossing of the border by an official party during the Pan European Picnic which were upstaged by a group of East German refugees forcing the gates to cross into Austria; peaceful response of the Hungarian border guards; East German 'tourists' in Czechoslovakia seeking refuge in the West German Embassy in Prague, Czechoslovakia; the Fortieth anniversary celebrations of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) on 7 Oct 1989 and visit of Mikhail Gorbachev and other soviet state leaders; the East German government agreement to issue allow these refugees to legally cross to West Germany; special transport trains were passing through East Germany to the west; rioting occurring in Dresden as trains passed through; popular demonstrations in Leipzig during Sep and Oct 1989; influx of troops and police brought in to quell the demonstration in Leipzig planned for 9 Oct 1989 and diffusion of this situation; the resignation of Erich Honecker as East German head of state and party leader, 19 Oct 1989; succession of Egon Krenz as East German leader; East German television announcement of general issue of exit visas for East Germans citizens; and the forcing of the border between East and West Berlin on the evening of 9 Nov 1989.
Papers relating to his service in the BEF during 1940, dated 1940 and 1980, notably including a text comprising a description of his role as Deputy Assistant Quartermaster General, General HQ, BEF, France, 1940, written in 1980, an account of his work relating to ammunitions supply, May 1940, including an expedition to Dunkirk to unload an ammunitions ship, written in Jun 1940,an account of a reconnaissance expedition to assess the area around La Rochelle and La Pallice as a possible site for a new base for UK forces, Jun 1940, written in 1980, and a conclusion giving Fernyhough's views on the success of the Dunkirk evacuations, May-Jun 1940, written in 1980.
Sans titreMaterial relating to military career of Lt Col Col Reginald Horace Fielding-Mould, 1917-1945, comprising audio cassette recordings of his reminiscences about his service in France and Belgium, 1918, Turkey, 1922-1923, Hong Kong, 1930, India, 1935, 1942-1945, including 5th Afghan War, 1935, and France, 1940, including the evacuation of Allied troops from Dunkirk, May-Jun 1940, and his experiences in the Territorial Army, 1936-1940, ND; four photographs relating to Chanak Crisis, 1922; two manuscript obituaries of Fielding-Mould, written by Henry Thoresby, Fielding-Mould's nephew, for [regimental and school magazines], 1987.
Sans titreBound typescript histories of Tank Corps battalions, brigades and groups during World War One, 1914-1918, written by Tank Corps personnel in [1918-1919]. Bound volumes of official correspondence, reports, memoranda, notes, maps, photographs, operation orders, summaries of information and other papers concerning tank strategy and tactics, 1916-1918, the Battle ofCambrai, 1917, and Tanks Corps operations, 1914-1918, dated 1917-1919. Correspondence between Fuller, M Mitzakis and various military personnel relating to the use of Canal Defence Light (CDL) tanks during World War Two, 1939-1945, dated 1946. Other papers relating to his life and military career, [1889]-1965, including letters to his parents, 1897-1921, notably covering his service in SouthAfrica, 1899-1902, and in World War One, 1914-1918; narrative diaries covering his service in South Africa, 1901-1902, and World War One, 1914-1915; book agreements, 1919, 1956-1965; correspondence with publishers, 1956, 1961-1965; newspaper cuttings, 1945, 1952, 1965-1966, including obituaries of Fuller, 1966; papers relating to the occult, notably including letters from Aleister Crowley, 1905-[1924], and manuscript and typescript texts by Fuller and others, 1910, 1926, [1930] and 1966. Bound typescript text on Gen (William) Edmund Ironside, mainly consisting of extracts from Ironside's letters to Col Roderick MacLeod, 1927-1958, compiled by MacLeod in [1959], and 'A secret service agent in South-West Africa', a bound typescript text on Ironside's service as a British agent among the Boers in German South West Africa, 1902-1904, written by MacLeod in [1965] using Ironside's notes.
Sans titrePapers of Sir Geoffrey Warren Furlonge relating to the Middle East, [1932-1983] including typescript memorandum by Furlonge entitled 'Memorandum on slavery in Saudi Arabia' [1932]; typescript account by Furlonge entitled 'The mission to Taif', Hejaz, Arabia, with eleven photographs, Jul 1934. Four letters home from Furlonge to his mother relating to Syria and the Lebanon, 1941-1944. Typescript articles by Furlonge, 1959-1977, including 'Mount Kenya', 1959; 'Anglo-Jordanian relations today', 1966; 'Palestinian diaspora', 1969; 'Algeria ten years after', 1972; 'Mauritania', 1974; 'Traditional Islamic society' [1974]; 'Notes on visit to the West Bank and Jordan', 1975; 'The future of the Spanish Sahara', 1975; 'Algeria: the next step forward' [1977]; 'The Arabia that was', 1977. Papers relating to an English Speaking Union lecture tour of North America by Furlonge, Sep-Nov 1964, including bound typescript volume listing speaking engagements, Sep-Nov 1964; typescript account entitled 'North American tour, 1964', written by Furlong, Dec 1964. Printed text of lecture by Furlonge entitled 'Jordan today', given to the Royal Central Asian Society, 8 Jun 1966, and published in the Royal Central Asian Journal, Oct 1966. Typescript draft chapters from an unpublished book on the Middle East, including chapters entitled 'Morocco', 'Spanish Sahara', 'The Nile valley', 'An antique land [Libya]', 'The Maghrib' and 'Algeria' [1965]. Four typescript draft chapters and typescript notes on the French mandated territories of Syria and the Lebanon, for an unpublished book entitled 'The liberation of the Levant', 1971. Correspondence 1971-1974, including with Sir Alec Seath Kirkbride, 1971-1972; the British Embassy, Rabat, Saudi Arabia, 1974; The Times, 1974. Typescript draft obituaries by Furlonge relating to individuals connected to the Middle East [1976-1983], including Maj Gen Seyyid Mudar Badran, Prime Minister of Jordan, 1976-1979; Sir Alec Seath Kirkbride, Diplomat, 1922-1954; Muhammad Anwar Sadat, President of Egypt, 1970-1981; Khalid ibn Abd al-Aziz, King of Saudi Arabia, 1975-1982; Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini, Islamic leader of Iran, 1979-1989; Muhammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, 1941-1979, with related correspondence with the Obituary Department, The Times, 1981.
Sans titrePapers of Lt Col Leonard George Gage, on service with Army Postal Service, 1939-1945; principally comprising correspondence on the introduction and operation of the airgraph service to the Middle East; letters of congratulation on mention in despatches, 1941, and award of MBE, 1944; photographs of army postal services in France, 1939-1940 and the Middle East, 1942-1945; copy of Parade No.124, 26 Dec 1942, containing illustrated article 'Mail Up for Christmas'
Sans titrePapers, 1942-1945, of Lt Gen Sir Humfrey Myddleton Gale dating from his time at Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF), comprising typescript diaries about his work containing narrative entries on daily events and activities, 1942-1945; office files as Chief Administrative Officer, 1944-1945, including correspondence; five printed volumes, 'History of the Allied Forces Headquarters, Parts I-II', Aug 1942-Dec 1943.
Sans titrePapers, 1940-1983, of Lt Col Kenneth Garside, comprising papers relating to his work in Intelligence in Germany at the end of World War Two, comprising German papers taken by Intelligence, including maps and descriptions of parts of England prepared by the Germans for invasion and xeroxes of carbon copies of Adolf Hitler's will and other papers; British Intelligence papers on Germany, including a gazetteer; file, 29 Mar 1945-24 Jul 1947, relating to Garside's work from Nov 1945 to May 1946 at Herford Library, Germany, the Intelligence Library of the Control Commission for Germany, including a draft article on the library; papers relating to EPCOM (Enemy Publications (Requirements) Committee, established in 1945 to ensure that German learned publications of the war years could be made available to British university and other research libraries), 1945-1948; a personal file containing a curriculum vitae drawn up by his widow, Dec 1983, and administrative papers, 14 May 1940-20 Apr 1964, relating to his service in, and retirement from, the Army.
Sans titreThirty eight audiotapes of interviews, conducted by Gelb between 1983 and 1984, with veterans of the Battle of Britain, 1940, used as research material for Gelb's book Scramble: a narrative history of the Battle of Britain (Michael Joseph, London, 1986), including interviews with ACM Sir Christopher (Neil) Foxley-Norris, AM Sir Denis Crowley-Milling, AVM Harold Arthur CooperBird-Wilson, AVM George Philip Chamberlain, Maj Gen Basil Perronet Hughes, AVM Alexander Vallance Riddell Johnstone, Air Cdre Edward Mortlock Donaldson, Air Cdre John Lawrence Wemyss Ellacombe, Gp Capt Sir Hugh (Spencer Lisle) Dundas, Wg Cdr Robert Roland Stanford-Tuck, 1983-1984; two paperback editions of Scramble: a narrative history of the Battle of Britain (Pan, London, 1986).
Sans titrePhotocopy of memoir 'Wartime Escapes' includes account of escape from OFLAG VIIB, May 1944, twelve days on the run, recapture, and three months of solitary confinement in a Gestapo prison
Sans titrePapers relating to bombardment of Hartlepool by three German battle cruisers, 16 Dec 1914, dated 1914, 1920, 1922, [1930-1940], 1934, 1938, notably including Trechmann's official report to Lt Col L Robson, Officer Commanding, Durham Royal Garrison Artillery, dated 16 Dec 1914; Robson's official report to the Fortress Commander, West Hartlepool, dated 16 Dec 1914; 'The bombardment of the Hartlepools' by Capt W A Murley, an offprint from the [Royal Regiment of Artillery] journal, [1930-1940]; The Great War: I was there! part 7 (1938), including an anonymous article on 'British pluck and luck at the Hartlepools'. Typescript text on his military service, 1914-1917, notably his experiences with the Heugh Battery, Hartlepool, 1914-1915, and with 41 Siege Battery at the Battle of the Somme, 1916, and Battle of Vimy Ridge, 1917.
Sans titreUnpublished typescript memoir 'Naval Career of Vice-Admiral Sir Allan Trewby', including descriptions of training as a cadet and at the Royal Naval Engineering College, Keyham, 1931-1939; service during World War Two, including mine sweeping in Scotland, training at the Royal Naval College in Greenwich, transporting Prime Minister Winston Churchill to Norfolk, Virginia, USA, for meetings, and service on a cruiser patrolling the Mediterranean; work in the Gas Turbine section, Admiralty, and as Assistant Director of Marine Engineering, Amiralty 1951-1962; service as Captain of HMS SULTAN, 1963-1964; work as Assistant Controller, Polaris, 1968-1971, and work as Chief of Fleet Support, 1971-1974. Papers relating to his work with naval gas turbines, dated 1954-1955, 1962-1963, notably including Transactions of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, vol 77 no 4, May 1955, Transactions of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Series A: Journal of Engineering for Power, vol 85 no1, Jan 1963, and Transactions of the Institute of Marine Engineers, vol 66 no 6, Jun 1954, all including articles by Trewby on British naval gas turbines; 'Marine gas turbines in the Royal Navy', printed text of lecture given by Trewby at the Institute of Marine Engineers International Conference, May 1962.
Sans titrePapers relating to Tull's service with Air Command, South East Asia, 1943-1944; official correspondence and situation reports and relating to his command of Number 5 RAPWI (Recovered Allied Prisoners of War and Internees) Contact Team based at Ambarawa, Java, 1945-1946, including papers relating to the Japanese Army in Java, Sep-Nov 1945, and papers concerning Indonesian nationalist organisations; papers relating to Tull's memoir entitled 'Mission to Java', written during 1980-1981 and covering his service 1938-1946, edited by his sister in 1983.
Sans titreTypescript memoir, written in 1992, as Commanding Officer, 1 Bn, Herefordshire Regt, 11 Armoured Div, 21 Army Group, North West Europe, 1944-1945, entitled '1st Bn The Herefordshire Regiment route and battles from the Normandy bridgehead to the R Elbe in Germany, June 1944 to April 1945, including route maps and CO's pocket maps for specific incidents', with seven printed maps of France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, annotated with routes taken and unit dispositions. Papers relating to Turner Cain's tenure as Chief Instructor, Tactical Wing, School of Infantry, British Army of the Rhine, Sennelager, Germany, 1946-1947, including typescript training notes on exercises, tactics of armoured forces and river crossing techniques, with manuscript explanatory notes written by Turner Cain in 1992.
Sans titrePapers relating to his military service, 1938-[1943], 1948-1951, principally comprising papers relating to anti-aircraft searchlight training, 1938-[1943], including 'The training of the anti-aircraft searchlight spotter' by Capt Lancelot Edgar Conhop Mervyn Perowne, reprinted from The Royal Engineers Journal, Sep 1938, and School of Anti-Aircraft Artillery and School of Anti-Aircraft Defence course notes and papers, [1939-1943]; military and War Office editions of Ordnance Survey maps of North Midlands, Lincolnshire and East Anglia, 1939, 1941, 1948-1949; 'The officer and fighting efficiency', pamphlet issued by War Office, 1941; notes relating to Company and Battery Commanders' Course No 5, Army School of Chemical Warfare, 1944; 5 Anti-Aircraft Group training directives and operational orders, 1949; orders, instructions and other papers relating to 58 Anti-Aircraft Bde, Royal Artillery (Territorial Army) Exercises DERWENT and CORGI, 1950.
Sans titrePapers relating to the proceedings of the trial of von Manstein for war crimes by a British Military Court, Curio House, Hamburg, Germany, Aug-Dec 1949, including typescript 'Index of the proceedings upon the trial of Fritz Erich von Lewinski, called von Manstein', 1949; typescript index of the summing-up by Judge Advocate Hon Charles Arthur Collingwood, Dec 1949; typescript charge sheet listing the seventeen charges of war crimes against von Manstein, amended as served, 14 Jul 1949; typescript opening speech for the prosecution by Sir Arthur Strettell Comyns-Carr, KC, 24 Aug 1949; typescript proceedings for the sixty one days of von Manstein's trial for war crimes (two days proceedings excluded as they were held in camera), 23 Aug-16 Dec 1949; twelve bound indexed volumes of typescript documents referred to by counsel and used as evidence in von Manstein's trial, 1949; typescript bound transcript of Commission Hearing, Landsberg Prison, Landsberg, Germany, by Special Commissioner Lt Col W St John C Tayleur, Barrister at Law, Office of the Deputy Judge Advocate General, Headquarters BAOR (British Army of the Rhine), appointed by Lt Gen Sir Charles Keightley, Commander-in-Chief, BAOR (British Army of the Rhine), to take evidence on commission relating to von Manstein, 10 Jan 1949; forty four printed maps relating to Wehrmacht operations on the Eastern Front against the USSR, Jun 1941-Mar 1944; typescript 'Synopsis of the retreat of the German Army (Army Group South) from southern Russia with regard to operations of Field Marshal von Manstein', with copies of fourteen printed maps relating to the Eastern Front, USSR, 1941-1944; typescript copy of letter from B Acht, Polish Military Mission, Berlin, Germany, to Lt Gen Sir Frank (Ernest Wallace) Simpson, President of the Court, relating to his withdrawal as Polish official observer to von Manstein's trial due to his perception of the defence counsel's positive portrayal of von Manstein's character, Nov 1949; typescript copies of papers relating to evidence taken and presented at the trial, 1949; four copies of sketches of the court and of von Manstein in court, 1949; article by Cyril Bentham Falls, Chichele Professor of the History of War, Oxford, entitled 'The trial of Field Marshal von Manstein' from The Illustrated London News, 13 Aug 1949; newspaper cuttings relating to the trial, 1949; obituary for von Manstein from The Times, 13 Jun 1973.
Sans titreCopy of memoir covering the period 1914-1921, including his service in World War One in the Mediterranean, 1914-1915 and 1917-1918, and the North Sea, 1916-1917, notably the Battle of Jutland, 1916, in the Baltic during the Russian Civil War, 1918, and on fishery duties in the English Channel, 1920, written in [1920-1921].
Sans titrePapers relating to Watts' RN career, training of RN Engineers and meteorology, 1945-1990, including three telegrams relating to the German and Japanese surrenders, May and Aug 1945, and to the signing of the Japanese surrender, Tokyo Bay, Japan, Sep 1945; lectures and talks by Watts relating to RN Engineer training, 1960-1962; typescript lecture notes entitled 'The Instructor Branch' [1961]; typescript address to Royal Naval Reserve Instructor Officers, [1964]; correspondence with R Adm Sir William (Alfred) Bishop, R Adm Christopher John Howard, Capt John Athol Burnett, RN, Capt Arthur Ernest Johnston, RN, Capt Alexander Malcolm Morrice, RN, Cdr William Nimmo Bowman, RN, and Richard J Ogden, Apr-Nov 1988, relating to research for a lecture by Watts on 'Meteorology in the Royal Navy in World War Two' to the History Group of the Royal Meteorological Society, Oct 1988, with edition of Meteorology and World War II. Second conference, October 1988, edited by Brian Douglas Giles (Royal Meteorological Society, School of Geography, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, 1989); typescript account of German bombing of HMS ILLUSTRIOUS off Pantelleria, Mediterranean, 10 Jan 1941, entitled 'A day to remember', with two sketch maps of the operation [1990]; typescript lecture notes on the organisation of the RN Meteorological Service in World War Two [1990].
Sans titre'Drama in Malta, a personal flashback', Weldon's account of his service in Malta, 1939-1943, based on notes made in 1939-1943, printed by Printing and Stationery Service, British Army of the Rhine, [1945]. 'A collection of Field Marshal Montgomery's personal messages to 21 Army Group, Normandy to the Baltic, 1944-1945', printed by Printing and Stationery Services, 21 Army Group, [1945].
Sans titreCinefilm of preparations for atomic bomb tests, Christmas Island, 1958.
Sans titreAccount of his service with Middlesex Regt during the Battle of the Somme, 1916.
Sans titreNewspaper cuttings from The Daily Telegraph and The Financial Times, 1982-1991, relating to the Middle East, 1982-1991, and modern Germany, particularly with reference to World War Two 1939-1945, and reparations for Holocaust victims, 1987-1997.
Sans titreCopy of unpublished memoir, 'The Life of Engineer Rear Admiral Sir Henry Wildish aka The Rogue Elephant, 1884-1973', by his son, V Adm Sir Denis Bryan Harvey Wildish, covering his Naval career, 1901-1945, including chapters on his early life and training; sea service aboard HMSs NILE, HERMES, DUNCAN, 1905-1914; service in World War One as Senior Engineer of the heavy cruiser, HMS SUTLEJ, attached to 11th Cruiser Squadron based at Queenstown 1914-1915, as Senior Engineer of the heavy cruiser HMS KING ALFRED, Flagship of the 6th Cruiser Squadron, mainly engaged in patrol duties off the African coast, and as Chief Engineer of the destroyer HMS SPRINGBOK, attached to the Harwich Light Forces, 1916-1919; inter-war sea service as Engineer Officer of HMSs DILIGENCE, 1925, WEYMOUTH, 1925-1926, and FURIOUS, 1928-1931, and shore appointments particularly as Engineer Officer in Charge. Admiralty Fuel Experimental Station. Haslar, 1926-1928; service in World War Two as Engineer Admiral on the Staff of Staff of Commander-in-Chief, Nore Command, 1937-1941and as Command Engineer Officer on the Staff of Commander-in-Chief, Western Approaches, Adm Sir Max Kennedy Horton, 1941-1945; Appendices include copies of his Confidential Reports (flimsies), 1904-1945; correspondence on Wildish's concept of a petrol fuelled internal combustion engine for torpedoes and submarines when submerged; details of the Stefco-Wildish Patent Two Stage Steam Dryer and the Wildish firebrick and bolt.
Sans titrePapers relating to training in the RN, 1935-1937, principally comprising unsigned text on 'The training of seamen', [1936]; copies of Willis' letters to the Training Commander, RN Barracks, Chatham, concerning the training of new entries, 1935-1936.
Sans titrePapers and photographs relating to Wilson's career, 1928-1990, especially his service as test pilot for British and captured German aircraft, 1937-1945, setting the world air speed record, 1945, and his role as Commandant, Empire Test Pilots' School, 1945-1947, including three flying log books, 1928-1944; typescript copy of unpublished memoir entitled 'Icy calm. Recollections of a wartime test pilot', written in [1972]. One hundred and seventy four official and personal photographs relating to Wilson's career, 1930-[1950], including damaged Bristol Bulldog fighter, crash landed by Wilson, UK, 1931; captured German aircraft Heinkel He111, Junkers Ju88, Messerschmitt Me109, Messerschmitt Me110 and Italian Fiat CR42 [1941-1945]; testing of CAM (Catapult Assisted Merchantman) aircraft launch apparatus and tests on Fairey Fulmar, Blackburn Shark and General Aircraft Hotspur gliders with RATOG (Rocket Assisted Take-Off Gear), 1941-1942; Empire Test Pilots' School students under instruction and in flight, 1945-1947; photographs of De Havilland Mosquito, Avro Lancaster, Hawker Tempest, Supermarine Spitfire, Gloster Meteor and De Havilland Vampire, 1945-1947; prototype of Planet Aircraft Satellite, 1948-1949. Contemporary reports, memoranda and official and personal correspondence, 1937-1990, including typescript memorandum by Wilson entitled 'Pilot's impressions of the [Blackburn] Botha', 1940; typescript report by Wilson entitled 'Observations of fighter requirements', 1940; typescript report by Wilson entitled 'Tactical trials and other observations on the De Havilland E6/41 (known as the DH100 Spider-Crab, later renamed Vampire) with Halford H1 engine', 1944, and Empire Test Pilots' School student's confidential report for Sqn Ldr J G Mann, RAF, Course No 3, 1946; typescript report by Cyril Francis Caunter entitled 'A historical summary of the Royal Aircraft Establishment 1918-1948', 1949; correspondence with potential publishers for Wilson's memoir, 1972-1990. Publications, 1946-1972, including two editions of The Times, 1946 and 1947, edition of The Aeroplane with article on the Empire Test Pilots' School, 1946, and booklet entitled 'Empire Test Pilots' School Personnel Supplement. List of graduates 1943-1972 and present staff' [1972].
Sans titrePhotograph album entitled 'Ellichpur, Berar, India, September 1893', containing 136 captioned photographs, Sep 1889-Jul 1894, including visit to Brussels and Ostend, Belgium, 1889; Mandalay and Rangoon, Burma, Dec 1889; Bombay, India, 1892; the arrival, mounting and testing of 10 inch breech loading gun, Colabra South Battery, Bombay, Mar-Sep 1892; photograph of Lt Gen Hon Sir James Charlemagne Dormer, Commander-in-Chief, Madras, India, examining large calibre gun, Beder Fort, Beder, India, Dec 1892. Photograph album containing 150 captioned photographs, Jun 1894-Mar 1908, including Simla, India, 1894; the Bhori Ghaut Railway, and the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, India, 1896-1898; Burma, 1906-1907, with printed article by Woods entitled 'A motor car in the Southern Shan hills of Burmah' from Indian Motor News, Aug 1908. Photograph album containing 84 photographs on expedition in Mongolia, Apr-May 1902, with typescript report by Woods to the Deputy Quartermaster General for Intelligence, China Force, Tientsin, North China, entitled 'General report on tour to Lama Miao and back via the Wei Chang (Imperial hunting grounds)', Aug 1902; also, printed report entitled 'China Expedition - Despatches', 24 Sep 1902, by Maj Gen O'Moore Creagh, General Officer Commanding China Force, published in The Royal Engineers Journal, 1 Jan 1903. Photograph album containing 129 captioned photographs, many colour tinted, of Japan and the USA, 1904, and the UK and Switzerland, 1905. Two photograph albums containing 72 captioned photographs including Tientsin and the Yangtse river, China, 1904, and Kilkeel, Ireland, 1905.
Sans titreTypescript thesis for MD (Doctor of Medicine), Dublin University, entitled 'The prevention of malaria in a military cantonment in northern India' [1933]. Correspondence, 1935-1954, mostly personal letters of thanks and congratulations, including letter from Edwina Cynthia Annette Mountbatten, Countess Mountbatten of Burma, following a visit to military hospitals in West Germany, 1950. Typescript 'An account of the first two years with the East African Groundnut Scheme' [1948]. Correspondence, pamphlets and certificates, relating to retirement from the Royal Army Medical Corps, 1961-1962, awards and appointments, 1950-1977, and the Royal Army Medical Corps centenary celebrations, 1960. Typescript minutes of meetings of the Council of Col Commandants, Royal Army Medical Corps, 1964-1969. Correspondence and papers relating to Royal Army Medical Corps Regimental ties, uniform and dress regulations, orders, decorations and medals, 1966-1968. Correspondence relating to visits to military establishments as Col Commandant, Royal Army Medical Corps, Jan-Dec 1967. Correspondence with the War Office, 1961, and the Ministry of Defence, 1969-1970, relating to pay and conditions of retirement as President of the Command Standing Medical Board, Military Hospital, Tidworth, Hampshire.
Sans titreMemoir by Captain Stanley Brian , de Courcy-Ireland, A Naval Life (Englang Publishing, Poulton, Gloucestershire, second edition, 2002), written in 1990, detailing his life and career, 1900-1951, including the scuttling of the captured German Fleet at Scapa Flow, 1919, and his service at Combined Operations Headquarters, 1944-1945, under Maj Gen Robert Edward Laycock. Also, further notes on the scuttling of the German fleet, 1919, written as a review of Dan Van Der Vant's THE GRAND SCUTTLE (Hodder & Stoughton, London, 1982); notes on the visit, 25 Dec 1944, to HMS AJAX in port at Piraeus, Greece, by Archbishop Damaskinos Papandreou, Archibishop of Athens, for talks with Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
Sans titrePapers of Sir Laurence Kirwan, relating chiefly to his military service in World War Two, including Kirwan's call up notice as a reserve officer, 1939; papers relating to the travel, administrative and accommodation arrangements for the QUADRANT Conference, Quebec, Canada, Aug 1943; programme for 'The Army Show: Canada's all-soldier stage show', c 1943; paper, 'Operation Overboard appreciation' parodying arrangements for Operation OVERLORD, c 1944; copy of The Evening News, 7 May 1945, concerning the surrender of Germany; copy of The Stars and Stripes: daily newspaper of US Armed Forces in the European Theater, Germany edition, 15 Aug 1945, concerning the surrender of Japan; printed report, 'Germany's war effort and its failure', by the Joint Intelligence Sub-Committee, chaired by Kirwan, of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, Oct 1945; essay, 'Seeds of trouble in Europe' concerning potential areas for future conflict, by Mrs B C Horton, produced as a discussion document for the Civil Defence Welfare Fund, c 1945; official programme for Victory celebration parade, Jun 1946; motor fuel ration book, 1947-1948; authorisation card, Control Commission Germany, 1948; programme for royal review of the Brigade of Gurkhas by HM the Queen and the King of Nepal, London, Oct 1960.
Sans titrePresident Harry S Truman's Office Files, 1945-1953: Korea is a themed microfilm collection relating to US foreign policy decision making with respect to Korea, 1945-1953. Included in the collection are copies of Presidential memoranda and eeting minutes, 1945-1953; US foreign policy analyses relating to the Japanese occupation of Korea, 1945; US Department of State reports relating to the social, economic, political, and military situation in Korea, 1945- 1953; US military and political intelligence assessments, 1945-1953; US military projections, 1946-1950; US analyses of the United Nations sponsored intervention in Korea, 1950; Presidential reports concerning the conduct of US operations in the Korean War, 1950-1953.
Sans titreMicrofilm collection containing copies of meeting minutes of the major conferences of the Combined Chiefs of Staff, 1941-1945. Meeting minutes include those for the conference held at Washington, DC, codenamed ARCADIA, at which Anglo-American planners first formed a combined strategy for the prosecution of the war, 22 Dec 1941-14 Jan 1942; the conference at Casablanca, Morocco, codenamed SYMBOL, during which the Anglo-American Combined Chiefs of Staff (CCS) first discussed the policies of German unconditional surrender, the Combined Bomber Offensive from Great Britain against Germany and the establishment of the French National Committee for Liberation, 14-24 Jan 1943; the Allied conference held at Washington, DC, codenamed TRIDENT, at which President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Prime Minister Rt Hon Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, and the Combined Chiefs of Staff (CCS)discussed the decision to delay the invasion of France until May 1944, the Italian surrender, and the Battle of the Atlantic, 11-25 May 1943; the Allied conference at Quebec City, Canada, codenamed QUADRANT, at which the Allies endorsed a plan for the invasion of the Normandy coast in France, formed a new theatre of war, South-East Asia Command, with Acting Adm Lord Louis (Francis Albert Victor Nicholas) Mountbatten as Supreme Allied Commander, and regulated the procedures for co-operation between Great Britain and the US regarding the development and production of the atomic bomb, 12-24 Aug 1943; the Allied conferences at Cairo, Egypt, codenamed SEXTANT, at which the Allies discussed combined operations in South-East Asia with Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek's Chinese forces, 22-26 Nov and 2-7 Dec 1943; the Allied conference at Teheran, Iran, codenamed EUREKA, during which the Allies first co-ordinated future strategy with Soviet Prime Minister Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin, including plans to coincide military operations against Germany in France and the Soviet Union in May 1944, 28-30 Nov 1943; the conference at Quebec City, Canada, codenamed OCTAGON, at which the Allies discussed the post-war division of Germany and a plan for its de-industrialisation, 12-16 Sep 1944; the conferences at Malta and Yalta, Soviet Union, codenamed ARGONAUT, at which the Allies discussed the division of post-war Germany, the occupation of Germany and Austria, Soviet involvement in the war against Japan, and the future government and frontiers of Poland, 30 Jan-9 Feb 1945; the conference at Potsdam, Germany, codenamed TERMINAL, during which surrender terms for Japan were discussed, the boundaries and peace terms for Europe were determined and Poland's government and frontiers were debated, 16 Jul-2 Aug 1945. Conference minutes include references to Allied production and assignment of war materials; British and US merchant vessel losses; US policy concerning assignments of Lend-Lease military aircraft, naval vessels and munitions to Great Britain; Allied petroleum supplies; propaganda and unconventional warfare; war crimes and prisoners of war; operational reports concerning the planning and conduct of Allied offensive operations in Europe, including the invasion of North Africa, codenamed Operation TORCH, Nov 1942; the invasion of Sicily, Italy, codenamed Operation HUSKY, Jul 1943; the US preparation for the invasion of Europe, codenamed Operation BOLERO; and the Allied invasion of Europe, codenamed Operation OVERLORD, Jun 1944; operational reports concerning the Japanese war economy; Japanese Imperial Army logistical capabilities; locations and strengths of Japanese forces in the Pacific; British participation in long range bombing of Japan; Allied operational efforts in Burma, India, Malaya, and the Philippines; Soviet claims on the Sakhalin and Kuril islands; the co-ordination of Allied strategic plans for the defeat and occupation of Japan, 1943-1944; Soviet military action to facilitate Operation OVERLORD; liaison between Allied theatre commanders and the Soviet Army; Soviet capabilities with reference to the Far East; US Lend-Lease requirements for the Soviet Union; and estimates of Soviet post-war capabilities and intentions, 1943-1945.
Sans titrePapers of Sqn Ldr Cyril Edward Roberts comprising his memoirs [1988] covering the period 1909-1987, including his service as confidential clerk under Gen Sir Richard O'Connor, 1937-1941 in Palestine and Egypt, annotated with notes by Roberts, and personal letters from O'Connor to Roberts, 1963-1981.
Sans titreCopy of memoirs of Lt Col John Burden Sanderson, including description of deployment with Territorial Army, 1938-1940; and brief recollections of service in India and Burma, 1941-1946, including liberation of POWs from Japanese internment camps, transcribed by Sanderson's son. Also transcript of interview with John Sanderson's father Maj Alexander Sanderson, 3 Australian Tunnelling Company, recorded 14 Apr 1967, relating to his life and career as an engineer working in Australia, 1896-1914; brief description of the work of Maj Alexander Sanderson and the 3 Australian Tunnelling Company, France, during World War One; and designs by Alexander Sanderson for a vertical take off plane, 1942.
Sans titrePapers of Lt Col John Stent, 1943, 1961 and 1991, comprising Tanganyika (Tanzania) driving licence, 1943; discharge letter from War Office, 1961; typescript letter containing vivid reminiscences of his service with the Royal Corps of Signals in Africa, [1990].
Sans titrePapers of Maj Gen Sir John Acland, 1979-1990, relating to his role as Commander of the Commonwealth Monitoring Force monitoring the ceasefire during elections in Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), Operation AGILA. Papers include general correspondence; situation reports; operational, planning and logistical instructions; maps; minutes; speeches; schedules; correspondence relating to award of operation medal and photographs and slides showing troops on deployment during the operation; Nov 1979 - Mar 1980. Papers evaluating the operation include reports on lessons learned; notes for talks and lectures on Operation AGILA; a detailed chronology of the events between May 1979 and Apr 1980; article, 'The Rhodesia Operation' by Acland, Apr 1980; article, 'Reflections from Rhodesia' by Brig John Hartley Learmont, Deputy Commander Monitoring Force; account of events by Capt Jonathan Bernard Appleton Bailey of the Monitoring Force, Jul 1980. Also copy of recording of Acland discussing the operation, Dec 1990, held at the Imperial War Museum (Ref 11753/3).
Sans titreThirty one captioned photographs of RAF Tebrau, Malaya, 1945; two typescript essays, written by Allwood in 1950, on improving bombing accuracy, and the advantages and disadvantages of the New Trade Structure from the airman's point of view.
Sans titrePapers of Lt Col Victor Dennistoun Winstanley Anderson, 1929-1946, relating to service with the Indian Army, comprising group photograph including Anderson and published material including History of the 1st Battalion 14th Punjab Regiment, Sherdil Li Paltan. [by Lt Col G H Thompson], 1946; Passing it on: short talks on tribal fighting on the North West Frontier of India by Gen Sir Andrew Skeen (Gale & Polden, 1932) and the Manual of Military Law, 1929.
Sans titreBrief account of his life and career, 1908-1947, written in [1978].
Sans titreTwo reports on ordnance engineering services in Malaya during the period 1941-1942, written by Ashton following the destruction of all records at Malaya Command in 1942, [1946]; papers relating to the above reports, principally comprising Ashton's report to Air Cdre Modin on RAF Senior Training Corps mechanics attached to the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, Malaya, [1942-1943], an account of ordnance engineering services in Malaya during 1941-1942 by the Assistant Director of Ordnance Services (Engineering), 3 Indian Corps, [1942-1946], reports on ordnance services in Malaya during the period 1941-1942, written for Ashton by Capt E J Coulthard, H J Howland and Lt G A Neale, [1946].
Sans titrePapers, photographs, publications and maps relating to Aston's service as General Staff Officer 2 (Intelligence), 121 Force in Operation IRONCLAD, the British capture, from the Vichy French, of Diego Suarez, Madagascar, May 1942, including typescript intelligence report entitled 'Special report on specified parts of Madagascar', prepared by the Inter Services Topographical Department, 24 Feb 1942, with printed street map of Antsirann, Diego Suarez, and 18 photographs of the topography and infrastructure of Madagascar, 1942; typescript 'Intelligence notes: Madagascar', War Office, 15 Mar 1942; typescript 'Operation IRONCLAD 121 Force operation order No 1', relating to the planned capture, by 121 Force, of Vichy French naval and air base at Thurso Bay, Madagascar, with typescript security instructions, 19 Mar 1942; typescript orders and instructions, landing tables and lists of French military and civilian personnel in Diego Suarez, Apr 1942; typescript memorandum on the interrogation of German prisoners and typescript interrogation reports on Germans and Italians, captured on Madagascar, Jun 1942; printed map of Majunga, Madagascar, annotated with positions of Vichy French defences, Jun 1942; one hundred and eighty eight photographs, some captioned, relating to Madagascar, 1942, notably Maj Gen Robert Grice Sturges, commanding Royal Marines Force, and Brig Francis Wogan Festing, commanding 29 Infantry Bde, Diego Suarez, 12 May 1942; R Adm (Edward) Neville Syfret, Flag Officer commanding Force H, in discussion with French officer, Diego Suarez, May 1942; the British amphibious landings at Tamatave, Sep 1942. Three photograph albums and two autograph books, originally belonging to Aston's stepmother, Sister L A Rowson, Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service (Reserve), containing numerous autographs, poems and illustrations, and 335 photographs relating to Rowson's service in Salonika and Millbank Military Hospital, London, 1915-1919. Publications, photographs and maps relating to World War One, 1914-1918, originally the property of Lt A V Kidman, 513 Field Company, Royal Engineers, including one hundred captioned stereoscopic photographs of World War One, mostly relating to the Western Front, 1914-1918, with stereoscope photograph viewer [1918]; edition of Cavalry training 1912 (HMSO, London, 1916), Field Service Regulations. Part II, Organisation and Administration (HMSO, London, 1916), and Engineer Field Manual (US Government Printing Office, Washington DC, USA, 1917); one printed trench map of Neuville Vitasse, France, May 1918, and one printed map of Belgium and France, Nov 1918. Seventeen, mostly official, publications produced in the UK and France, 1938-1944, notably restricted pamphlets 1-4 of the 'Manual of Military Intelligence in the field', War Office, 1938-1939; four editions of La France Libre, Feb-Jun 1942; The Royal Marines. The Admiralty account of their achievement 1939-1943 (HMSO, London, 1944).
Sans titrePhotographs relating to his service in the UK, Middle East and Singapore, including photographs of civil and military aircraft, notably flying boats, 1928-1936.
Sans titrePapers of Wing Commander Thomas Baker comprising: photocopy of POW log, 1942-1945, including `The Diary of a Ranker', 1929-1945, detailing Baker's career in the RAF and movements as a POW; copy of letter of complaint at conditions in Stalag Luft III, photographs, sketches and cartoons, isometric diagram of cell; newspaper article showing his crashed plane, and farewell messages from fellow inmates; photocopy of flying log-books, Oct 1940-Nov 1941 and May 1945-Jan 1958. Also copy of obituary.
Sans titrePapers relating to the Japanese and British capture of the German possession of Tsingtao, North China, during World War One, and a subsequent visit to Japan, 1914; papers created during command of 39 Div, 1915-1916; papers relating to post as Chief of British Military Mission to Portugal, including personal diaries, and correspondence relating to discussions held by Barnardiston on Belgian neutrality in 1906, 1916-1919.
Sans titre'The medical services in an armoured division', a reprint of an article from the Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps, Jul 1950; 'The unexpected', an article on the surrender of the German Medical Base of the Army Group, South East in Austria in 1945, [1950]; medical instructions for the initial treatment of radiation injury,1958; a text of a speech on the current situation and plans for future development in the Royal Army Medical Corps, [1961].
Sans titrePapers relating to operations of 20 Corps in Palestine, 1917-1918, including third Battle of Gaza; correspondence including with Gen Sir Kenneth Wigram, 1935, and FM Sir Philip Chetwode, 1926-1936, with related papers, 1911-1950; Bartholomew Committee, Jun 1940 including operations in Flanders, organisation and training of troops; Northern Command and civil defence, 1940-1945.
Sans titrePapers relating to Beaufoy Brown's life and RN career, 1925-1979, including scrapbook with newspaper cuttings and fifty five photographs, Aug 1927-Jul 1929, including Atlantic Fleet exercises, 1927, the loss of HM Submarine H47, off St David's Head, Pembrokeshire, following collision with HM Submarine L12, 9 Jul 1929, and photographs of HMS REVENGE, HMS FORRES, HMS RODNEY, HMS HOOD, HMS NELSON and HMS ADVENTURE, 1927-1929. Two Midshipman's journals, 26 Aug 1927-12 Jul 1930, relating to service on HM Ships REVENGE, RODNEY and WALKER, including manuscript sketches and maps, two photographs of the main armament of HMS RODNEY, and photograph of HMS CENTURION, RN radio-controlled target ship, Portland, Dorset, Nov 1928, with twelve loose photographs, 1925-1929, including HMS RODNEY, HMS STURGEON and group of Cadets, Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, Devon, 1925. Typescript report by Beaufoy Brown on the visit to Malta of the Yugoslav training ship JADRAN, 9-11 Jul 1934. Papers and photographs relating to the development and deployment of X craft midget submarines and Chariot manned torpedoes, 1943-[1950], including sixty seven photographs relating to the training of crews for X craft midget submarine operations, 1943-1945, notably six aerial photographs, taken by 544 Sqn, RAF, of Bergen harbour, Norway, before and after Operation GUIDANCE, the sinking by X Craft of German merchant ship BARENFELS, Apr 1944, and Operation HECKLE, the destruction of a floating dock, Laksvaag, Bergen, Norway, Sep 1944; edition of The Illustrated London News, 15 Dec 1945, with article on X Craft operation against Japanese cruiser TAKAO, Singapore, Jul 1945; edition of The Dittybox, the Navy's own magazine, containing article by G V Galwey entitled 'Life in a midget submarine', Feb 1948; typescript text of lecture by Beaufoy Brown on World War Two midget submarine operations [1950]. Photograph album containing 111 photographs relating to Beaufoy Brown's service as Executive Officer, HMS GAMBIA, Mediterranean and East Indies, 1951-1952, including peace keeping patrols, Port Said, Egypt, 1951, and inspection of ship by acting Adm Louis (Francis Albert Victor Nicholas) Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, Commnder-in-Chief Mediterranean, Malta, 1952. Typescript Curriculum Vitae for Beaufoy Brown [1965], and obituary, 1979.
Sans titreTypescript extract from unpublished memoir relating to Beaumont's RAF service in World War Two, 1939-1945, including Operation DYNAMO, the evacuation of the BEF (British Expeditionary Force) from Dunkirk, France, May-Jun 1940, visits to France by Prime Minister Rt Hon Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, Jun 1940, the Battle of Britain, 1940, and Beaumont's involvement as Deputy Air Officer, Administration, No 84 Group, 2 Tactical Air Force, in the preparations for Operation OVERLORD, the Allied invasion of occupied Europe, 1944, and the North West Europe campaign, 1944-1945.
Sans titreTranscripts of 45 interviews recorded for The Berlin Airlift, a television documentary produced by 3BM Television for Channel 4's Secret History series and broadcast on 29 June 1998. Those interviewed include individuals and or relatives of individuals connected with the airlift operation which took place in response to the Berlin blockade, 24 June 1948 - October 1949, notably members of the armed forces of UK and USA including the RAF, RN and WAAF, a representative of the Foreign Office, journalists and authors, German interpreters, German civilians and children, members of Soviet administration and relatives of servicemen.
Attention is given to direct roles and experience of the airlift but also seeks views of its historical significance to them personally and to the wider world. Topics covered in the interviews relate to causes of the blockade, Stalin's aims for Germany after 1945, the potential threat of war in 1948, British and US responses to the blockade, Soviet intelligence gathering and espionage in the UK Foreign Office, attitudes of British servicemen to American servicemen in Germany and vice versa, German experience of the Soviet conquest of Berlin in 1945 and ensuing occupation, living conditions at the air bases in West Germany and in Berlin, food and fuel shortages, rationing, operation of the black market, prostitution, relations between conquered and occupying forces, 'no fraternisation' rule, the logistics of the airlift operation - aircraft maintenance, loading and unloading of supplies, Soviet harassment, experience of pilots and crew, incidents such as air crashes, evacuation of Berliners including children, and Operation Little Vittles. The role of significant individuals such as Ernest Bevin (1884-1951), British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs at the time, and Gen. Lucius D. Clay (1897-1978), Military Governor of Germany 1947 - 1949, are also discussed.
Notable participants include Sir Frank Kenyon Roberts (1907-1998) diplomat and Principal Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs during 1948 - 1949, Mrs Jessamy Waite, widow of Air Cdre Reginald Newnham Waite (1901-1975), who devised and organised the airlift operation, and Col Gail S Halverson who became known as the 'Candy Bomber' for his drops of packages of candy attached to miniature parachutes to the children of Berlin.
Transcripts include questions and answers, and the tape counter numbering has been logged. The interviewer is not identified. Where interviews were translated this has been noted. Some names, places or phrases have been guessed at, or spelled phonetically by the transcriber. No information is given about the date or identity of the transcriber.