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Papers relating to the defence of Calais, May 1940, dated 1940-1971, notably including copy letter from Wright to Kathleen Howard (later Mrs L W Wright), 28 May 1940, detailing the events of his escape from Calais; typescript extracts of messages from the log kept by Control Wireless Station of No 12 Wireless Section at Vice Admiralty, Dover, 1940, copied in [1960-1970]; 'Personal experience in the defence of Calais', manuscript text compiled by Wright in 1946 from a report written for the War Office in 1940; press cuttings and copies of press cuttings, 1940-1962; correspondence relating to the rescue of a group of soldiers (including Wright) from Calais harbour by HMS GULZAR, May 1940, dated 1940 and 1968; 'Calais 1940 remembered', article by Lt J A Evitts reprinted from the Journal of the Royal Signals Institution vol 10 no 3, 1971. Other papers relating to Wright and his family, 1916, [1975], 1986, notably including newspaper cutting concerning the rescue from under enemy fire of Wright's father, 2nd Lt Leonard Wright, by Pte William Hall, 1916.

Papers relating to his naval service, 1945-1950, principally comprising photographs of British Pacific Fleet ships and personnel, 1945.

Papers relating to his service with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, 1943-1945, principally comprising official report by [Woods] on waterproofing technology, 1945; official reports on the waterproofing of 'A' and 'B' vehicles and equipment, 1943-1945, by Brig Hugh Roberts Howard, Deputy Director Mechanical Engineering (Wading), War Office, 1944-1945; 'Waterproofing of army equipment for amphibious operations', official report by Woods, [1943-1945]; photographs of wading tests on army vehicles, 1944; Combined Operations pamphlets on the responsibilities of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, 1944, and the waterproofing of vehicles and equipment, 1944; 'The Army waded ashore', a typescript account of the role of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers in the preparations for D Day, 6 Jun 1944, written by Woods in [1944-1945].

Copies of pages from Sir Albert Stern's Tanks, 1914-1918: the log book of a pioneer (1919), with annotations by Wilson, 1920.

Papers of Louis Edward Wilson, 1914-1959, relating to World War One Fundraising Tank Campaign and to the waterproofing of tanks during World War Two, including: booklet, The German Raid on the Hartlepools, December 16th 1914, with photographs of bomb damage and list of the dead, 1914; correspondence, photographs, brochures, programmes, invitations and publicity material relating to the National Tour around the UK of the Tank Campaign of the National War Savings Committee, 8 Jan 1917-19 Dec 1919; letters from Maj Gen Sir Ernest Swinton, contributor to the invention of the tank and first commander of the Tank Corps, 18 Aug 1922-18 Jul 1945; correspondence concerning Wilson's career and the process of tank waterproofing, 14 Sept 1939-28 Jun 1946 and 3 Jan 1959; papers relating to tank waterproofing, 1940-1945, including: notes on supplies for the Dieppe raid, Aug 1942; notes taken from minutes of Tank Committee meetings, Aug 1942-Jun 1943; lists of companies manufacturing tanks, 1945; summary of the uses of Bostik in tank wading, Aug 1940-Jan 1945; `A Tank Goes for a Swim', illustrated article from Picture Post, 21 Oct 1944; German aerial photograph of Coventry, showing Armstrong Siddeley aircraft engine works, Oct 1940; photographs of tank landings on manoeuvres in the UK, 1943, in Sicily and Italy, 1943, and in Normandy, 1944; booklets containing waterproofing and wading instructions, 1943-1944, for tanks including the Churchill Mk I, II, III, and IV; Light Tank M5, M5A1 and Howitzer motor carriage with radio equipment; Sherman Mk III and Mk V; Stuart Mk III and Mk V; Car, Scout and Humber Mk I and II; Armoured Car and Humber Mk I, II, III and IV; Valentine Bridgelayer; Armoured Car, Staghound; Churchill AVRE; Churchill ARV; Centaur Mk IV; 3in gun motor carriage M10; Carriers; Crusader, Gun Tractor Mk I; Cromwell Mk I, II, IV, V, VI and Centaur Mk I, III, IV. Also copy of We Planned the Second Front by Maj John Dalgleish (Gollancz, 1945) with mention of the waterproofing efforts.

Papers of ACM Sir Neil Wheeler including training account, report, press cuttings and photographs, 1939-1991, notably a comprehensive report on the Royal Air Force Operations in Malaya, June 1948-March 1949, produced by Air Headquarters, Royal Air Force Malaya, May 1949; text for talk by Wheeler on early aerial photographic reconnaissance, delivered at a Royal Air Force Historical Society seminar, 1991; undated detailed account of training for, planning and leading wing strikes against shipping convoys, 1942-1943. Cutting of article 'Cameramen of the Air: Photographing bomb damage - vital work of RAF PRU'S (Photographic Reconnaissance Units)', from The Times, 1 Sept 1943. Printed maps of Norwegian, English, French and German coastlines, [1942], with handwritten annotations. Album of Photographic Reconnaissance Unit photographs, 1940-1941, many with captions, showing locations in France, the Netherlands, Germany and Norway including: Brest harbour; anti-aircraft fire over Cherbourg; Morlaix; Brest; Chateau Bougon Aerodrome, Nantes; Nantes; St Nazaire; La Rochelle; La Pallice; Rochefort; Bordeaux; Dunkirk, showing wrecks on beaches; Le Havre; Zeebrugge; Boulogne; railway yards near Calais; Vlissingen Aerodrome; Antwerp; Ter Neuzen; Flushing; St Inglevert Aerodrome; Knickerbein W/T beam stations; Amsterdam; Ijmuiden; Gravelines; the Nordzee Canal; Caen; Schipol aerodrome; Stavanger; Bergen; Egersund Port; convoys in the Skaggerak area; Herlö-Herdla Aerodrome; Lista aerodrome; Kiel; Bremerhaven; Brunsbuttel; Wilhelmshaven; The Hague; Dieppe; Rotterdam; Poix Aerodrome; Ostend; also photograph of shelling damage in Guernica, Spain, 2 Jun 1941; photograph of office showing maps and operations board for 8 Apr 1941; printed map with drawn annotations showing the ranges in nautical miles of medium range, long range, super long range and extra super long range Spitfires from Wick, St Eval and Heston. Loose photographs, 1939-1943, many with captions, showing: aircraft including a Maryland, a Swordfish, a Hawker Fury and a Heyford; Wheeler and colleagues at airfields in Wick, Scotland and St Eual, Cornwall, 1941; Wheeler and aircrew of 236 Squadron, 1943. Also painting of the insignia of 236 Squadron.

Papers relating to Weston's career, 1916- 1945, including manuscript notes by Weston entitled 'Some notes on the discipline of Imperial troops in convoy on HM Transport LLANSTEPHAN CASTLE from Durban to Suez', 1941; notebook containing manuscript 'Standing orders for POWs', 1943; typescript report on the sinking of the EMPRESS OF CANADA, 1943; typescript instructions and duties of Draft Conducting Officers on board troopships [1943]; typescript memorandum by Weston on the co-ordination of Movement Control in South Africa, 1944, with typescript reports on officers attached to Imperial Movement Control, South Africa (IMPCON), 1944; printed material including memorandum on the German attack near Givenchy, Western Front, 1918, with printed map annotated with dispositions of German 4 Ersatz Div during attack north of Cuinchy, France, 9 Apr 1918, scale 1: 10, 000; trench map entitled France. Sheet 57D SE. Edition 3A, scale 1:20,000 (GSGS 2742, 1916), annotated with features near La Boisselle, Pozieres and Courcelette, Battle of the Somme, 1916, Field Service Pocket Book, Orders and intercommunication (HMSO, London, 1939), Rifle Drill illustrated (Gale and Polden, Aldershot, 1940), Restricted War Office booklet 'Standing instructions for Officers Commanding units and drafts ordered overseas', 1943.

Two manuscript narrative diaries by Webb-Bowen, detailing the voyage of HMS IRON DUKE to the Crimea, Russia, via Gibraltar, Malta, Suda Bay, Crete, and Constantinople, Turkey, and subsequent operations in the Black Sea and Turkey, 21 Mar 1919-30 Nov 1920; typescript orders by Adm Sir John Michael de Robeck, 1st Bt, Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet, for officers and men of HM Ships IRON DUKE, MARLBOROUGH, BENBOW, MONTROSE, SPEEDY and SPORTIVE, relating to landing operations against Nationalist Turkish forces, Gemlik and Yeni Keui, Turkey, Jul 1920.

Papers 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].

Copy 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].

Typescript text of talk by Tyrrell to Wimbledon Literary and Scientific Society [1985], entitled 'Some recollections of a prisoner of war of the Japanese', relating to his experiences as a POW in Zentsuji Camp, Shikoko Island, Japan, 1942-1945. Copies of eight certifications on Tyrrell by Commanding Officers of RN ships and establishments, 1933-1955, with copy of Tyrrell's Mention in Despatches citation for service on HMS ENCOUNTER, Mar 1942, copy of letter relating to the award of the Dutch Order of Orange Nassau, Aug 1948, and copy of newspaper cutting relating to Tyrrell's wedding, Dec 1947. Typescript address by R Adm William Terence Colborne Ridley at Tyrrell's memorial service, Jan 1995.

Papers relating to his service as Third Sea Lord, 1915-1916, principally comprising 'History of armoured cars, juggernauts, land battleships, tanks', a memorandum on the development of an armoured car force, 1914-1916, written [for Tudor and other Sea Lords] by Murray F Sueter, Sep 1916; 'Report on the design and construction of first land ship (tank)', written for Tudor by E H Tennyson D'Eyncourt, Director of Naval Construction, Sep 1916. Biographical notes on Tudor, compiled for members of the family by his great nephew, A B T Davey, with covering letter, 1976.

Cross country (Hothersall and Travers, Sittinbourne, 1990), a biography of James Lindsay Travers, 1883-1924, Herbert Gardner Travers, 1891-1958, Charles Tindal Travers, 1898-1969, notably including details of James Lindsay Travers' experiments with seaplanes and flying boats, 1909-1914, and of the brothers' service in World War One with the Royal Naval Air Service, Royal Flying Corps and RAF, written by E Travers, the daughter of Herbert Gardner Travers, and privately published in 1990. Includes extracts from the brothers' letters and from Herbert Gardner Travers' flying log-books.

Papers of Ralph Thrale, 1916-1984, mainly relating to the Royal Observer Corps, including: memoir 'Seaborne', co-authored by Thrale, detailing experiences of Thrale and a colleague while Royal Observer Corps 'Seaborne' volunteers posted to merchant shipping as aircraft identifiers, 1944; Thrale's Royal Navy certificate of service, 1944, and Royal Observer Corps certificate of war service, 1946.

The collection also includes publications collected by Thrale on related topics, including books: Aircraft of the fighting powers by H J Cooper and O G Thetford (Harborough Publishing Company, Leicester, 1941); Britain's wonderful Air Force edited by Air Cdre Peregrine Forbes Morant Fellowes (Odhams Press, London, 1942); Forewarned is forearmed: the authorized history of the Royal Observer Corps by T E Winslow (William Hodge & Co, London, 1948) and Observers' tale: the story of Group 17 of the ROC edited by H Ramsden Whitty, Commandant, 17 Group, Royal Observer Corps (London, 1950). Journals: The Journal of the Royal Observer Corps Club, Oct 1941-Nov 1942 and an incomplete run of Aircraft recognition Sep 1942-Sep 1984. Ministry of Information publications: The Battle of Britain, August-October 1940 (HMSO, 1941); Coastal Command (HMSO, 1943) and Combined Operations, 1940-1942 (HMSO, 1943). Also The Bystander's Fragments from France, volumes of cartoons by Bruce Bairnsfather detailing life in the trenches (numbers 1-6, c 1916-1918) and article, 'The reply to English propaganda' by Joseph Paul Goebbels, translated from German and reprinted from Völkischer Beobachter, 14 Jul 1939.

Papers and correspondence relating to Swinton's libel action brought against Herbert George (H G) Wells on the origin of the tank, 1941, including letters to Swinton from R Adm Sir Murray Fraser Sueter, H G Wells, B A Levinson and Sir Richard (Roy) Maconachie, 1940-1941. Typescript letter from Col Sir Maurice Paschal Alers Hankey, Secretary of the Committee of Imperial Defence, dated 5 May 1932, on the manuscript of Swinton's book Eyewitness. Being personal reminiscences of certain phases of the Great War, including the genesis of the tank (Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1932). Two scrapbooks containing cuttings, photographs and memorabilia, 1915-1970, mostly relating to Swinton's military career. Edition of The supply of munitions. Part III. Tanks [1920], Royal Commission on awards to inventors. First Report (HMSO, London, 1921), The defence of Duffer's Drift by Swinton, (George Ronald, Oxford, 1949), and War commentary. Broadcasts delivered between October, 1939 and March, 1940 (Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1940).

Typescript transcripts of letters home from Street, 1932, May-Sep 1938 and 1941-1944, including accounts of Allied evacuation from Greece, 1941, and Street's escape from an Italian submarine as a POW, 1943. Two narrative diaries relating to service in Palestine, Aug-Oct 1939, and Kenya, Jun-Dec 1940. Volume entitled 'Long ago and far away', typescript memoir by Annette Street, widow of Maj Gen Vivian Wakefield Street, foreword by Sir Fitzroy Hew Maclean, 1st Bt, with seven photographs, 1938-1945. Sixty one photographs relating to Street's career, 1938-1960, including rebellion in Palestine, 1938-1939, and Middle East, 1940-1943. Edition of Blackwood's Magazine, Mar 1947, with article by Street entitled 'Some men have nine lives', an account of the escape from the Italian submarine, 1943. Printed programme of official visit to Aden by Julian Amery MP, Under Secretary of State for War, and Gen Sir Geoffrey Kemp Bourne, Commander-in-Chief, Middle East Land Forces, Sep-Oct 1957, with typescript itineraries of visit and four photographs. Newspaper cuttings and related papers on the award of the MC to Street, Palestine, 1938, the evacuation from Greece, 1941, and the escape from the Italian submarine, 1943.

Papers relating to his role in the development and production of armoured fighting vehicles, dated 1914-1959, 1964, 1994, principally comprising correspondence, memoranda and minutes relating to the Landships Committee, 1915-1916, and the Tank Supply Committee, Tank Supply Department (later Mechanical Warfare Supply Department) and Mechanical Warfare (Overseas and Allies) Department, 1916-1918; progress reports and memoranda on design and construction of landships, 1915; plans, drawings and blueprints for landships and tanks, 1915-1916; 'Notes on the employment of tanks' by Col Ernest Dunlop Swinton, printed at the Foreign Office, 1916; 'Mechanical warfare, a summary of British tank development, 1914-1918', typescript text by Stern, [1925]; papers relating to the establishment of the Allied Tank Factory at Neuvy Pailloux, Chateauroux, France, dated 1917-1918; notes and reports by Lt J Rackham and George Watson relating to the use of tanks on the Western Front, 1917; 'The tactical employment of tanks in 1918', unofficial report by Col John Frederick Charles Fuller, 1917; correspondence and memoranda relating to Ministry of Supply Special Vehicle Development Committee and the Tank Board, 1939-1943, and the design and development of TOG heavy tanks, 1939-1944, including correspondence with Rt Hon Edward Leslie Burgin, Minister of Supply, 1939-1940, Rt Hon Herbert Stanley Morrison, Minister of Supply, 1940, Rt Hon Sir Andrew Rae Duncan, Minister of Supply, 1940-1941 and 1942, Rt Hon William Maxwell Aitken Beaverbrook, 1st Baron Beaverbrook, Minister of Supply, 1941-1942, Sir James Lithgow, Chairman of the Tank Board, 1941, and Rt Hon Winston (Leonard Spencer) Churchill 1940-1942, Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury and Minister of Defence, Sir William Tritton of Tritton, Foster and Co, and Cdr R H Stokes-Rees, 1943-1944; official reports by Lt Col Gordon Hall on British and Italian use of tanks in the Middle East, 1940-1941, dated 1941; specifications and technical reports relating to tanks, 1939-1944; minutes of Special Vehicle Development Committee, 1939-1942; papers relating to investigation of Stern's position in the Ministry of Supply, 1942, dated 1939-1942, including transcriptions of interviews with Stern, 1942; correspondence and memoranda relating to Stern's evidence before the Sub-Committee on National Production and Supply of the House of Commons Select Committee on National Expenditure; publications and printed material relating to tanks, 1915-1919, 1939-1946, 1959; photographs, 1915-1918, 1939-1945, principally comprising British, French and Canadian photographs of tanks, 1915-1918; photographs of TOG tanks, 1939-1942; films concerning the development of the tank, 1918, 1941-1942, 1957. Other papers relating to his life and career, notably including photographs relating to his service with the Royal Naval Air Service, 1914-1915; copies of personal correspondence, 1918-1919.

Papers of MRAF Sir John Slessor, 1965-1968, including: correspondence regarding the Defence Review on Naval Airpower with Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Elworthy; W M Mills, Ministry of Defence; Edward Shackleton, Ministry of Defence; Hawker Siddeley Aviation Ltd; Air Marshal Sir Kenneth Cross, Transport Command; and others, 1965-1968, particularly debating the use of aircraft carriers. Correspondence regarding the Battle of the Atlantic with Vice Admiral Sir Peter Gretton; Capt Stephen Roskill, historian; the Air Historical Branch; the Naval Historical Branch; and others, 1966-67, including statistical analysis of efficacy of RAF and information and statistics from Air History Branch regarding U-Boat destruction, 1955. Correspondence with Capt B H Liddell Hart, 1965; with Rear Admiral Samuel Morison, USNR, 1968; with Professor Arthur Marder, 1966. Articles by Slessor relating to the Defence Review on Naval Airpower, including: An Integral part of the Fleet', 1964;The Capital Ship Complex', 1965; Air Power - Seabourne or Shore-based', 1965;Naval Air Power - Is it Worth It?', 1965; The Story of Jutland: Some reflections on Vol. 3 of "From the Dreadnought to Scapa Flow" - Arthur J Marder', 1966;Air Power and the Defence Review', 1966; Air Power East of Suez', 1966;The Purchase of the F111', 1966; Meeting Today's Defence Needs: Virtues of Shore-Based Planes', letter to The Times, 1968; andThe Air League's Memorandum on Defence - January 1967', 1967. Also articles by others including: The case for the Aircraft Carrier' by Fletcher Pratt, and responseThe Case for Land-Based Air Power' by Francis V Drake, The Reader's Digest, 1949; German, Italian and Japanese U-Boat Casualties during the War: Particulars of Destruction, (HMSO, 1946); A memorandum on Defence, The Air League, 1967; and `Merchant Aircraft Carriers' by Kenneth Poolman, Air Pictorial, Oct 1968.

Two pilot's flying log books, 1933-1937 and 1937-1960. Typescript 'Report on GAF (German Air Force) night fighting from the interrogation of prisoners' by Wing Cdr W K Davison, Officer Commanding 88 Sqn, RAF [1944]; typescript report by James Lansdale Hodson entitled 'Night fighters' [1944]; typescript memorandum by Slade, 'Notes for new crews' [1944]; typescript 'Report on GAF night fighter system. A post mortem' [1945]. Photograph album with uncaptioned photographs of Slade's RAF service in Egypt and Iraq, 1933-1937. Fifteen photographic negatives and 185 photographs, 1933-1960, including aerial photographs of terrain, Iraq, 1934-1937, group photographs, 1942-1945, and Fairey Aviation Limited aircraft in flight [1960], notably the Gannet and the Rotodyne.

Microfilm copies of papers relating to his naval career, 1942-1946, principally comprising 'Africa Navy blues', an illustrated account of his experiences in the RN, 1942-1946, written in 1946, covering his service on HMS BIRMINGHAM in a convoy from Egypt to Malta (Operation VIGOROUS), June 1942, and on anti-submarine trawlers in the Bay of Bengal, 1942, during the Allied invasion of Madagascar, 1942, and in South Africa, 1942-1945; diary, 1943-1945. 'War time trawler', a transcript of a broadcast by James McClurg of the South African Broadcasting Corporation concerning his experiences on board an anti-submarine trawler during World War Two, written in [1940-1945].

Presentation photograph album of HMS GLORY's tour of duty in the Mediterranean, 1949-1950.

Papers relating to his life and RN career, 1902-1956, dated 1956, [1968-1977], 1983, 1987, 1989 and 1994, principally comprising photographs relating to the mining of the HMS SAUMAREZ, Corfu Channel, 1946; 'Memoires (sic) of a salthorse', an illustrated account of his life and career, 1902-1956, notably covering his service on HMS MASHONA, North Sea, Norway and Atlantic, 1940-1941, and HMS ONSLAUGHT, Russian convoys, 1942-1944, as Chief of Staff, Londonderry, 1944-1945, on HMS SAUMAREZ, Mediterranean, 1946-1947, and in South Africa, 1950-1952, and Greece, 1953-1955, written in 1989 for private circulation.

Typescript and manuscript notes, calculations and sketches made by Sainty during the designing of sand eliminators for tanks and the filtration of atmospheric air, which was extensively used in tanks for the war in North Africa, 1943-1945; leaflets and pamphlets relating to the work of Carrier Engineering Co Ltd in designing and installing filters for gas protection prior to and during World War Two, including a summary by Lt Col John Arthur Edward Heard.

Papers relating to his naval career, [1920-1959], dated [1920-1959], 1985, principally comprising photographs, [1919-1933], notably of the evacuation of [White] Russian refugees, Black Sea, 1919-1920, and of HMS NELSON, West Indies and Panama, 1929-1931, and HMS GANGES, 1931-1933.

Copies of papers and photographs relating to his military career, 1915-[1921], dated 1915-[1921], [1970-1980] and 1983, principally comprising letters to his father, 1915-1916; his flying log book, 1915-1917, covering his service with 1 Reserve Aeroplane Sqn, Royal Flying Corps, UK and with 8 and 12 Sqns, BEF, France; notes and texts of lectures relating to aerial combat tactics, produced by instructors at the Royal Flying Corps School of Aerial Gunnery, 1916; his diary, 1918, including details of his work [as an experimental pilot with the Aircraft Directorate and the Air Board]; notebook containing notes on the performance of various aircraft, [1918-1921]; 'Memoir of service with the Royal Flying Corps, 1915 and 1916', written in [1970-1980].

Papers of Wg Cdr James Redman, 1930-1943, comprise copy photographs relating to the career of Wg Cdr James Redman: aircraft including Vickers Victoria V, Bristol Type 105 Bulldog, Handley Page Heyford, Hawker Hart, Hawker Hind, and various crashed aircraft, 1930s; HMS GLORIOUS after refit as an aircraft carrier, [1935]; and group personnel photograph with an Avro Lancaster, [1943].

Papers relating to service in HMS GLOUCESTER, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, World War Two, including photocopy of diary, 1939-1940, naval messages, 1940-1943, and photographs; official service records, 1941-1958; and papers relating to naval career, 1949-1964, including article dated 1965, 'A Perspective View of Naval Engineering', on the Electrical Branch of the Royal Navy.

The collection covers Pyman's career from 1937 until 1963 when he suffered a severe stroke which forced his retirement in 1964. The earliest papers date from Pyman's work with the Royal Tank Cadre in converting the 17/21 Lancers from a cavalry to an armoured regiment. There are also papers from Pyman's period as an instructor at the Staff College in Quetta, India, 1939-1941. Pyman was involved in the World War Two campaigns by the 8 Army in the Western Desert, in 1941 as General Staff Officer with 7 Armoured Div, 30 Corps and in 1942-1943 as Commander of the 3 Royal Tank Regiment, 10 Armoured Div, 30 Corps. The papers consist mostly of Pyman's assessments of lessons learned from the ongoing campaigns particularly with regard to tanks and armoured units. In 1944-1945 Pyman was Brigidier General Staff, 30 Corps, 2 Army in the Normandy landings and the invasion of Northern Europe, with particular responsibility for organisation and planning of the Rhine crossing and advance to the Baltic. This is reflected in the papers which largely consist of planning studies and reports for the operations involved, this section also contains maps used in the campaign. Pyman's next appointment was as Chief of General Staff, Allied Land Forces, South East Asia, 1945-1946 which is documented by a series of diaries which reflect the tasks faced by Pyman in this command including dealing with the build up of tension between newly liberated former colonies keen to assert their right for independence and the former colonial powers such as France and Netherlands. Pyman spent 1946-1949 as Chief of Staff, Middle East Land Forces and kept monthly diaries which form the bulk of this section of the collection. The diary entries and additional papers reflect the debate over policy in the Middle East in the British Government and Military command, they include detail on the British withdrawal from Greece, the problem of illegal Jewish immigrants and their internment in Cyprus, the end of the British mandate in Palestine and the the effect of this on relations between Britain with Egypt and the other Arab states and the subsequent Arab Israeli conflict. This section of the collection also contains correspondence between Pyman and Maj Gen Sir Miles Christopher Dempsey on personal matters and on the Middle East. There are also papers from Pyman's work at the Ministry of Supply as Director General of Fighting Vehicles, 1951-1953, Director of Weapons Development, War Office, 1955-1956 mostly brief diary entries and lecture texts. Pyman was also General Officer Commanding, British Army on the Rhine, 1953-1955 and General Officer Commanding, 1 British Corps, 1956-1958 and the papers relating to these commands consist mostly of lectures, reports and directives reflecting his interest in armoured divisions and training. There are some papers, mostly personal correspondence and press cuttings, from Pyman's final command as Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces Northern Europe in North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). The collection also contains correspondence relating to Pyman's role as Colonel Commandant of the Royal Tank Regiment and The Royal Armoured Corps and a series of letters covering the reorganisation of the Berks and Westminster Dragoons, of which he was Honorary Colonel. The rest of the collection consists of diaries, correspondence, speeches, writings including the draft copy and papers relating to his autobiography, some preparatory work on a history of the 2 Army and reference works. The collection also includes the Boer War diaries and other papers of Col James Redmond Patrick Gordon who commanded the 1 Cavalry Bde of the South African Field Force 1900-1901 which were given to Pyman by a friend.

Papers and maps chiefly concerning the Fife and Forfar Yeomanry, [1918]-1959, including typescript copy of war diary, 1 Armoured Reconnaissance Bde, British Expeditionary Force (BEF), Belgium and France, 30 Mar-30 May 1940, with typescript recommendations for awards, 1940; typescript account, dated Jun 1942, of dispositions and operations of B Sqn, 1 Fife and Forfar Yeomanry, Belgium and France, 14 May-1 Jun 1940; typescript list entitled '1 Fife and Forfar Yeomanry, nominal roll of casualties sustained in France, 1940'; article by Maj Otho Munton Bullivant, Adjutant, 1 Fife and Forfar Yeomanry, entitled 'With the BEF [British Expeditionary Force] in Flanders', from The Tank [1941]; typescript 'Precis of activities of 1st Fife and Forfar Yeomanry', British Liberation Army, North West Europe, Oct 1944-Feb 1945, and 'Details of activities of 1st Fife and Forfar Yeomanry', 1-31 Mar 1945; correspondence with various officers concerning Regimental affairs, 1943-1945, including Col James Younger, 2nd Viscount Younger of Leckie, Honorary Col, Fife and Forfar Yeomanry, 1945; correspondence, dated 1944-1945, relating to the return of the Regimental band instruments, abandoned by the Fife and Forfar Yeomanry during the retreat to Dunkirk, 1940, and kept by the local townspeople, France, 1940-1944; official correspondence concerning Prain's Army pension and war disablement compensation, 1946-1956; correspondence, dated 1947-1959, relating to the writing and publication of The Fife and Forfar Yeomanry, 1919-1956 by Robert James Batchen Sellar (William Blackwood, Edinburgh and London, 1960). Twenty five photographs relating to the Fife and Forfar Yeomanry, 1923-1945, including group photograph of Armoured Car Company, Fife and Forfar Yeomanry, Annesmuir camp, Scotland, Jul 1923; five photographs of Fife and Forfar Yeomanry Vickers Light Tanks Mark VIB and Universal carriers, France, 1940; official photograph of Infantry Tank Mark IV Churchill Crocodile flame-throwing tank, storming of the Senio river, Italy, Apr 1945.

Papers relating to his career with the Royal Naval Reserve, 1926-1950, dated 1926-1950, 1985-1986, 1989, 1994 and 1995, notably including commands, reports, correspondence and notes concerning his service on HMS GLOXINIA, North Atlantic and Mediterranean, 1940-1942, on the staff of Flag Officer, Liverpool, HMS EAGLET, 1942-1943, on HMS DELHI, Mediterranean, 1943-1945, and on the staff of Cdr in Chief, Mediterranean Fleet, 1945-1946. Text on Gen Sir Bernard Law Montgomery's role in the North Africa campaign, 1942-1943, by Peter Solly-Flood, 1986.

Papers relating to Piggott's service in World War Two, 1939-1945, notably the sinking of HMS VAN MEERLANT, 4 Jun 1941, including typescript list of the ship's company, annotated to show survivors of the sinking, with manuscript notes by an unknown survivor relating to Piggott's exemplary conduct during the sinking, Jun 1941; manuscript letter to Piggott from Hugh G Collins, HMS WILDFIRE, relating to Piggott's injuries, the loss of HMS VAN MEERLANT, and to the writing of sympathy letters to the crew's next of kin, Jul 1941; letter to Piggott from Cdr Humphry Gilbert Boys-Smith, Royal Naval Reserve, relating to accomodation for Naval officers, Mar 1945; typescript notes on Piggott's career [1996].

Copies of papers relating to his naval career, 1886, 1890 and 1916, some dated 1930, principally comprising an undated account of the role of HMS WARSPITE in the Battle of Jutland, 31 May-1 Jun 1916, written by Cdr Humphrey Walwyn.

Papers of Lt Col Robert Malcolm Parker, 1945-1946, relating to his career in the Royal Engineers, comprising account of the operations of 8 Corps in North West Europe, Mar-May 1945, entitled 'The River Rhine to the Baltic Sea: a narrative account of the pursuit and final defeat of the German Armed Forces, March-May 1945', with a foreword by Lt Gen Evelyn Hugh Barker, as Commanding Officer, 8 Corps; account of the Finkenwärder U Boat pen, Hamburg, Germany, with site plan, and description of the intended method of demolition, by 224 Field Coy, Royal Engineers, and 8 Corps Troops, Royal Engineers, [1945]; papers relating to Exercise SWANSONG, Germany, Mar 1946, including Royal Engineer commands and staff planning for the assault crossing of wide rivers, accounts of exercise operations, situation reports, printed maps and sketch maps; uncaptioned official Army photograph of the construction of a large bridge, [Germany, 1945]; telegram announcing German surrender, 4 May 1945 and chart of Allied formation badges, in colour, 8 May 1945.

Typescript unpublished memoir of Squadron Leader Harry 'Wacker' Pain, 1937-1978, including descriptions of: training as an Aircraft Apprentice, RAF Halton, 1937; wireless operator training in Wallace and Wapiti biplanes; airborne wireless operator training, RAF Driffield, 1939; working for Special Duties Flight, Coastal Command, as a gunner in long range Sunderland flying boats, 1939-1942, including survivor searches after submarine attacks, escorting convoys, account of destruction of flying boats Cabot and Caribou, Bodo, Norway, Apr 1940, training messenger pigeons, serious injury in crash and subsequent reposting as Signals Instructor, 1942, and retraining as an Air Traffic Control Officer, 1943. Also anecdotes from various postings including Nutts Corner, Northern Ireland, 1944-1946; opening a new Area Control Centre in Gibraltar, 1946; RAF Mingaladon, Burma, 1947, and RAF Negombo, Ceylon, 1948; Area Control Centre, RAF Watnall, UK, 1949; RAF Gutersloh, Germany, 1954-1957; Air Traffic Controller at RAF Coningsby, 1957-1959; assisting with the introduction of radar guided systems and the formation of Border Radar in RAF Bishops Court, County Down, Northern Ireland, 1959-1962 and RAF Boulmer, Alnwick, 1962-1964; RAF Paya Lebar, Singapore, 1964-1967; as controller, Northern Radar, RAF Lindholme, 1967-1970; RAF Patrington, Withernsea, 1970-1971; Senior Operations Officer, Border Radar, RAF Boulmer, 1971-1973.

Papers relating to his service on HMAS SHROPSHIRE in the Pacific Ocean, 1944-1945, dated [1984-1985], principally comprising ''Shropshire' in the Philippines', a pamphlet on the service of HMAS SHROPSHIRE in the Philippines, 1944-1945, including the Battle of Leyte, Oct 1944, and the landings at Lingayen Gulf, Luzon, Jan 1945, written by Frank Hoolahan and published for New South Wales Branch of the Canberra-Shropshire Association, [1984-1985]; Shropshire Times, 25 Oct 1984, special edition commemorating the service of the HMAS SHROPSHIRE in the Philippines, 1944-1945; printed texts of lectures by John C Date to the Naval Historical Society of Australia, 1984-1985, notably on the Battle of Savo Island, Solomon Islands, 9 Aug 1942, and the Battle of Leyte, Philippines, 22-26 Oct 1944.

Papers of Colonel Sir Stuart (Richard) Newman, 1916-1994, including call up and telegram, Aug 1939; letters home, [1940-1945]; two portrait photographs, [1940] and [1944]; photograph album, 1941-1942; letter to Newman, Mar 1948, from three former Luxembourg cadets, requesting confirmation of their Officer Cadet Training Unit training under Newman, 1945-1946; White Paper, 'Re-organisation of the army reserves' (HMSO, Dec 1965), and related press statement, Dec 1965, by the Council of Territorial and Auxiliary Forces Associations; correspondence, Mar 1993 - Mar 1994, relating to the future of the Territorial Army; photograph album of Newman's father, Capt Thomas Pacey Newman, 1916-[1924], and photocopy letter from Mrs Newman (wife of Thomas, mother of Stuart), to her son Roland, 9 Jun 1944, with eye witness description of planes and gliders leaving for France, evening of 6 Jun, with transcript.

Copies of detailed narrative diaries and transcripts of Naval signal messages on RN operations, 1939-1945, including service at RN Gunnery School, Chatham, Kent, 1939, on HMS JERVIS in the North Sea, 1940, with the Mediterranean Fleet, 1940-1941, with Combined Operations Command, Dieppe and Normandy, 1942-1944, and the British Pacific Fleet, 1945-1946. Also, typescript copies of operational orders for Operation NEPTUNE, Normandy, 1944.

Group photograph of Taiping Signals Troop, [Singapore], 1957; thirteen photographs of 22 Signals Regt, Royal Corps of Signals, winter warfare training exercise WHITETHRUST, Norway, 1966, with edition of The wire, the Royal Corps of Signals magazine, with article on the exercise by Morrison, Apr-May 1966; edition of The wire, with obituary for Morrison, Oct-Nov 1972.Sixteen photographs relating to the military career of Lt Frank Morrison, Intelligence Corps (father of Lt Col Stanley Paton Morrison), including thirteen photographs of bomb damage in Kiel, Germany, including scuttled German heavy cruiser ADMIRAL HIPPER, and damage to armoured cruiser ('pocket battleship') ADMIRAL SCHEER, Apr 1945. Papers and photographs relating to Lt Robert Harley Nowland, Morrison's brother in law, who served with Gull Force, Australian Imperial Forces, 1941-1942, and was taken prisoner by the Japanese on Ambon, Dutch East Indies, Feb 1942, including copy of letter home by Nowland from HMAS LATROBE, and relating to hisrelease from Amboina prison camp, Ambon, Dutch East Indies, and to his health, Sep 1945; printed article by Nowland, from unknown publication, entitled 'Return to Ambon', relating to the formation of Gull Force, the capture of Ambon by Japanese forces, his time as a POW, and his return to Ambon for an Anzac Day memorial service [1980]; newspaper cuttings from the Brisbane Telegraph relating toreports of Japanese atrocities in POW camps, Sep 1945, and the Anzac Day parade, Brisbane, Australia, Apr 1949; six photographs including artillery exercise and group of Australian officers [1915]; 27 Australian Infantry Bde on parade, Bathurst, Australia, May 1941; Anzac Day parades, Brisbane, Australia, 1936 and 1949.

German armed forces maps, gazetteers, and geographic charts of the United Kingdom, 1939-1944. Includes detailed study produced by the Commander in Chief of the German Air Force concerning the organisation of the RAF, the strengths and locations of British aircraft production facilities, the location of RAF flight schools, airfields and anti-aircraft facilities, the location and strengths of RN facilities in Britain and the North Sea, and British aircraft carrier strengths, 1939; German harbour atlas and gazetteer produced and distributed by the Commander in Chief of the German Air Force, entitled Seehafensatlas Großbritannien, detailing in 1:50,000 maps and aerial photographs, naval harbours and ports in Britain, 1940; German Navy High Command map books of naval ports and harbours in the United Kingdom, their associated agricultural and heavy industries production rates, defence facilities, and geographical locations, 1940; map books issued by the Commander in Chief of the German Air Force, entitled Luftgeographisches Einzelheft Großbritannien, detailing the location of British heavy industry, gas works, water works, aircraft and naval production facilities in Britain, including 1:21,120 maps, 1940; German Army High Command book, entitled Militärgeographie Angaben über Irland, and detailing in photographs the towns, cities and countryside of Ireland and Northern Ireland; German Army Command gazetteer of Ireland and Northern Ireland, entitled Militärgeographie Angaben über Irland, listing county sizes, numbers of inhabitants, population densities, industries, and harbour and port facilities in Ireland and Northern Ireland, 1940; German Army High Command gazetteers of Britain, listing alphabetically towns and cities, their longitude and latitude co-ordinates, their respective counties, numbers of inhabitants, industrial and agricultural production rates, and trains station facilities, 1941; map book distributed by the Commander in Chief of the German Air Force, entitled Britische Flugrüstungsindustrie, detailing the location, size, and production rate of ship-building and aircraft production centres in Great Britain, 1941; map books distributed by the Commander in Chief of the German Air Force including detailed photographs, 1:100,000 and 1:250,000 maps, longitude and latitude co-ordinates, population density statistics, and points of reference notes for town and cities in Britain, 1943-1944

US Strategic Bombing Survey, Civil Defense Division, report entitled Target Report of Civilian Defense Division Field Team No 82, covering air-raid protection facilities and allied subjects in the city of Hamburg, Germany, 1945. The report is in two volumes. The first volume contains the field report of the US Strategic Bombing Survey, Civil Defense Division, and includes information on the organisation and operation of German civil defence, including fire control and incident control precautions; German passive defence installations and precautions, including gas protection and camouflage; information on German evacuation techniques and civil defence training measures. The second volume contains photographic, manuscript, and typescript exhibits for the first volume. Included in the second volume are population figures of Hamburg, 1940-1945; damage statistics for dwellings, cultural buildings, and industrial buildings, 1940-1945; statistics on those killed during the bombing of Hamburg, 1940-1945; organisation of German anti-aircraft divisions; organisational chart of German air raid personnel; photographs of oil refinery and storage fires caused during Allied bombing raids in Jul 1943; photographs of civilians killed during Allied bombing raid in Jul 1943; translation of German instructional regulations on how to handle the dead; report on the activities of German medical and emergency personnel; statistics on the heavy raids on Hamburg, 24 Jul-3 Aug 1943; reports of interviews with German civil servants, police and fire personnel, and air defence personnel.

Edition of US Naval Experience in the North Pacific during World War II: Selected Documents (Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy, Washington, DC, 1987), a collection of reprinted US Navy documents relating to naval operations against the Imperial Japanese Navy in the Bering Sea generally and the Aleutian Islands, the Kurile Islands, and Alaska specifically, 1943-1945

Edition of The British Way and Purpose, 3: The Growth of Empire, the Dominions, India, the Colonial Empire (The Director of Army Education, London, 1943); photocopy of manuscript note from Rt Hon William Maxwell Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook of Beaverbrook, Minister of Aircraft Production, relating to aircraft production and storage, [1943].

Printed programme of the review of the British and Commonwealth naval and merchant fleet by HM Queen Elizabeth II at Spithead, 15 Jun 1953, including map of the review published by the Admiralty, 1953

Publications relating to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and western European defensive strategy, procurement, and technology, 1948-1988, most notably editions of NATO's Fifteen Nations, a journal devoted to NATO alliance politics, force structure, integration, combined training, and procurement, May 1958-Jun 1988; an edition of Laboratory of the Air (HMSO, Ministry of Supply, 1948), detailing the history and function of the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough, Hampshire; seven aerial photographs of the Royal Aircraft Establishment; an edition of Facts about NATO (NATO Information Service, Paris, 1959), detailing NATO history, organisation, and force structure; edition of NATO: Facts about the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Bosh: Utrecht, 1962)

Edition of Profile 207: Messerschmitt BF 110 Night Fighters magazine (Profile Publications, Windsor, [1976]) with article by Alfred Price

Official illustrated edition of RAF Middle East: The Official Story of Air Operations in the Middle East, from February 1942 to January 1943 (His Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1945); official illustrated edition of Atlantic Bridge: The Official Account of RAF Transport Command's Ocean Ferry (His Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1945)

Copy of typescript letter sent by Sir John Gerald Lang, Permanent Secretary of the Admiralty, to V Adm Sir William Gerrard Andrewes, Commander in Chief, America and West Indies Station, regarding the efficiency of the cryptographic staffs of HMS SUPERB and HMS SNIPE during naval operations in the Antarctic, 13 Apr 1953

Edition of History of British Aviation, 1908-1914 by R Dallas Brett (Aviation Book Club, London, 1933), with foreword by Rt Hon Sir Philip Alfred Gustave David Sassoon, 3rd Bt, Under Secretary of State for Air.

Photocopies of typescripts and manuscripts relating to the conversion of the Essex Yeomanry, Territorial Army, to Armoured Car Companies, 1920-1921, including copy of typescript memorandum from the Maj Gen Sir Charles Harington Harington, Deputy Chief of the Imperial General Staff, to Lt Col Francis Henry Douglas Charlton Whitmore, Military Member, Territorial Army Association, relating to the conversion of all Yeomanry regiments to armoured car companies and the training of personnel in the Territorial Army, 4 Feb 1920

Photocopy of manuscript diary, in Spanish, written by Antonio Jorge Felipe Petane, leader of Argentinean scrap metal expedition to South Georgia Island, south Atlantic, 11 Mar 1982-14 Apr 1982. Passages detail events leading to the outbreak of the Falklands War, 2 Apr-12 Jul 1982, including the sailing of Argentinean expedition merchant ship ARS Bahia to South Georgia, 12 Mar 1982; the early sense of optimism and patriotism experienced by members of the Argentinean expedition; the raising of the Argentinean flag in South Georgia, 2 Apr 1982; impressions of British, French, and German reactions to the Argentinean occupation of South Georgia; reactions to the dispatch of British troops to the Falkland Islands; reactions to Argentinean government support to the expedition and its occupation of South Georgia; the occupation of the Falkland Islands by the Argentinean Fleet, 2 Apr 1982; Argentinean claims to the Falkland Islands, Tierra del Fuego, and the islands of the South Atlantic; crew reaction to the fighting at the Port of Grytviken, during which three Argentinean soldiers were killed, 3 Apr 1982; the author's arrest by members of the Royal Marines from HMS ENDURANCE, 24 Apr 1982. Includes typescript English translation.