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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Papers relating to his life and career, 1917-1963, principally comprising official correspondence with Lt Gen M Brocas Burrows, British Military Mission, Moscow, 1944-1945, Gen Mark Wayne Clark, US Army, 1943-1944, 1951-1952, Maj Gen Richard Henry Dewing, UK Army and RAF Liaison Staff, Australia, 1943-1944, Maj Gen Gordon Edward Grimsdale, Military Attaché andhead of Military Mission to Chungking, China, 1942-1943, AF Sir Roger John Brownlow Keyes, Bt, Director of Combined Operations, War Office, 1940-1942, Lt Gen Sir Henry Pownall, South East Asia Command HQ, 1944-1945, Lt Gen Sir Harold Redman, British Joint Staff Mission, Washington DC, 1943-1944, AF Sir James Somerville, Commander-in-Chief Eastern Fleet, 1943-1947, and Maj Gen Sir Edward Spears, Minister to the Lebanon, 1940-1944, and Lt Gen Albert C Wedemeyer, US Army, Deputy Chief of Staff; South East Asia Command, 1944; personal correspondence with and about FM Lord Alanbrooke, 1946-1947, 1957-1963, FM Sir Claude John Eyre Auchinleck, 1941-1961, and FM Archibald Percival Wavell, Viscount Wavell of Cyrenaica and of Winchester, 1943-1946; official andpersonal correspondence with Dwight David Eisenhower, 1942-1965, and AF Louis (Francis Albert Victor Nicholas) Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, 1943-1954, 1960-1964; correspondence with publishers and colleagues, including Gen Sir Richard Nugent O'Connor; papers relating to India, 1947-1951, including his correspondence as Chief of Staff to Mountbatten, 1947, notes on interviews with Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahomed Ali Jinnah, 1947, letters describing the political situation in India, 1947-1948, and correspondence concerning compensation for Indian Government servants, 1948-1951; correspondence concerning the proposed defence reorganisation, 1955-1963; papers relating to his service as Secretary General, NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), 1952-1957, including his official progress reports, 1952-1956; newspaper cuttings, statements to the press and texts of speeches and broadcasts, 1952-1957; papers relating to his memoirs, [1940-1960] including correspondence with publishers, 1960-1961, and colleagues, 1957-1960, notebooks, 1940-1960, and drafts and proofs, [1960]. newspaper cuttings, 1943, 1948, 1951-1952, 1957; texts of speeches, 1943-1958; correspondence relating to operations in Somaliland, 1917-1920; notes and papers relating to his studies at Staff College, Quetta and RAF Staff College, 1922-1924. Papers relating to Rt Hon Sir Winston (Leonard Spencer) Churchill, 1940-1965, including personal correspondence with Churchill, 1940, 1943-1945, 1947-1964; correspondence relating to Churchill's memoir The Second World War (Cassell, London, 1948-1954), 1946-1956, including correspondence relating to Dieppe Raid, Aug 1942, dated 1950, and galley proofs, [1948-1954]. Printed material, 1941-1945, 1947, 1951, notably including copies of telegrams sent by Winston Churchill as Prime Minister, 1941-1942; minutes of Chiefs of Staff meetings, 1943-1944; minutes of Combined Chiefs of Staff meetings, 1943, 1945.

Papers, photographs and publications of Gp Capt James Henry Iremonger, relating to his career, 1936-1959, including: orders for 1 Airborne Allied Army for Operation MARKET, Netherlands, 17 Sep 1944; Second Army intelligence summaries, 2-4 May 1945; 83 Group intelligence summaries, 34 May 1945; stereoscopic slides of aerial photographs showing results of RAF bombing raids over France and Germany, 1943-1944; copy pages from Iremonger's flying log book, 1936-1958; Bag the Hun! (Air Ministry, Apr 1943), a booklet of mathematical exercises for fighter pilots.

Papers dated 1914-1919 relating to service on Western Front, World War One including typescript memoir. Papers and correspondence relating to first Burma campaign and fall of Rangoon, Jan 1939-Jan 1944, including plan dated 1942 for possible offensive against the Japanese, cooperation between British and Chinese troops and reports on operations; copy correspondence of Gen Sir Archibald Wavell, Commander-in-Chief of India, used to compile the official history of the campaign inBurma, 1941-1955; published articles on the Burma campaign by British officers, 1942-1944; correspondence and unpublished manuscripts relating to histories of the Burma campaign, 1942-1978, including narrative of evacuation of Burma by Col J S Vorley dated 1953 and Hutton's memoir 'Rangoon 1941-1942' dated 1974; transcript of interview for Imperial War Museum relating to mechanisation of the British Army, 1919-1939.

Copy of typescript memoir of his RN career, 1914-1918 and 1939-1943, covering his service with the Harwich force in the North Sea, 1914-1917, notably the Battle of Dogger Bank, Jan 1915, at Nore Command, 1918-1919, in the Atlantic convoys, 1939-1940, Norway, 1940, the evacuation of Dunkirk, 1940, as Staff Officer, HQ Western Approaches, 1940-1941, in the Mediterranean,1941-1942, Madagascar, 1942, Malta convoys, 1942, and the landings in North Africa, 1942, Sicily, 1943, and Italy, 1943. Includes copies of naval signals, 1915-1916.

The papers cover the period, 1879-1916, and include papers on Howell's service as a correspondent for The Times in the Balkans, including photographs and newspaper cuttings, 1903; papers on Howell's training at Staff College, Quetta, India, and Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, including notes on Cavalry organization and tactics and on the establishment of FrontierIntelligence organization in India, 1904-1914; papers on service as Officer Commanding 4 Hussars, including Operational orders, accounts of Allied operations on Western Front, personal diaries and manuscript maps of Western Front trenches, 1914-1915; Operational orders from service as Brig Gen, General Staff Cavalry Corps, Western Front, 1915; official and semi-official correspondencefrom service as Chief of Staff, Salonika, including personal diaries, correspondence relating to attempts to secure Bulgarian entry in World War One on the Allied side, and correspondence relating to allegations of Howell leaking memoranda to a Suffragete newspaper called Britannia, 1915-1916. The collection also includes Howell family correspondence, 1879-1889, mostly between Howell's father and grandfather, and from 1909-16 between Howell and his wife Mrs Rosalind 'Linnett' Howell [nee Buxton]. The papers of Howell's wife, Mrs Rosalind 'Linnett' Howell [nee Buxton], 1910-1966, include an account of Howell's life entitled, Philip Howell. A Memoir By His Wife(1942, London, George Allen & Unwin Ltd) and letters from Capt (Edward) Hugh Buxton and Maj (Abbot) Redmond Buxton [Rosalind 'Linnett' Howell's brothers], concerning Allied withdrawal from Anzac Cove and Sulva Bay, Gallipoli, Turkey, 1915-1916.

Papers of Adml Robert Stewart Phipps Hornby, comprising official letterbooks, memoranda and other papers 1900-1913. There are a diary, a rough journal and papers for his second command from 1914 to 1915. Finally, there are papers relating to his work on torpedoes and reports from the various Admiralty committees on which he served,

Papers of Sir Phipps Hornby. There is a copy of a letter written in the VOLAGE and a letterbook, 1812 to 1816. Most of the papers are from the Pacific Command and include an admiral's journal, 1847 to 1849, and three official letter and order books, 1847 to 1851, together with correspondence on particular aspects of the Squadron's duties. There are also some probate documents concerning members of the Hornby family.

Papers of Capt Alexander Hood consisting of a log, January to September 1772, and some signal books for the BARFLEUR and the AIMABLE. There are also a number of private letters, 1772 and 1793 to 1794, a muster book for the AUDACIOUS, 1794, official correspondence, 1793 to 1797, and three signal books for the HEBE. In addition, there are some official service documents and a small collection of documents relating to the mutinies of 1797.

The collection contains material dating from 1689 to 1936, although the bulk of it is eighteenth century. There are fifty-eight printed and manuscript volumes and four documents; the majority are English, but some are French and Dutch. They consist of signal books, fighting instructions, convoy instructions, books on the theory of signalling and sheets of private signals. There are also three mid-nineteenth-century merchant shipping volumes. There are a number of French, English and Dutch sailing and fighting instructions, 1689 to 1693; the majority of these are French and were issued by the Comte de Tourville (1642-1701). Also in French are sheets of additional signals, orders of battle, some printed and some manuscript, for this period. The eighteenth-century volumes include sailing and fighting instructions and signal books for the Seven Years War; among them are printed instructions issued in 1760 by Admiral Charles Saunders (1713?-1775), and signals issued in 1759 by the Marquis de Conflans. Examples from the American Revolutionary War include signals issued by Lord Howe, 1776, 1782; by Rear-Admiral Richard Kempenfelt (1718-1782), 1782; a signal book by Lieutenant (later Admiral) Sir Charles Henry Knowles (1754-1831), printed in 1778; and a manuscript signal book used by the fleet under the command of Le Comte de Guichen (1712-1790) in 1781; this uses a tabular system with thirteen flags to each side of the table.

Papers relating to service on the Western Front during World War One, 1915-1918, including maps of Thiepval, Pozieres and Flers areas, 1915-1916; papers relating to service during World War One, including printed leaflets, 1915-1918.

Papers relating to Maj Gen Sir Percy Hobart's life and career, 1926-1953, including typescript texts of five lectures by Hobart on tank warfare, Staff College, Quetta, India, 1926. Papers relating to Hobart's command of 1 Tank Bde, Southern Command, 1934-1937, including typescript memoranda on training and development of armoured forces, 1935-1936; letter from Gen Sir (William) Edmund Ironside, Commander-in-Chief, Eastern Command, on Royal Tank Corps recruitment, 1936. Papers relating to Hobart's service as Deputy Director of Staff Duties (Armoured Fighting Vehicles), War Office, 1937, including typescript notes and memoranda on the organisation and deployment of armoured units and on mechanisation in the British Army, with notes on tactics by Gen Sir John (Theodosius) Burnett-Stuart, General Officer Commanding in Chief, Southern Command, 1937. Papers relating to the Armoured Div, Egypt (later renamed 7 Armoured Div), Western Desert, 1939-1942, including typescript training report by Hobart entitled 'The Armoured Division, Egypt', May 1939; typescript and manuscript reports, accounts and correspondence relating to Operation BATTLEAXE, Libya, Jun 1941, including letter to Hobart from Brig Charles (Frederic) Keightley, commanding 30 Armoured Bde, on the necessity for a 6 pounder gun, Dec 1941; typescript account of 7 Armoured Div operations in Libya by Maj Gen William Henry Ewart Gott, General Officer Commanding, 1942. Papers relating to Hobart's command of 79 (Specialised) Armoured Div, North West Europe, 1944-1945, including typescript 79 Armoured Div operational bulletins on Operation OVERLORD, the Allied invasion of German occupied France, and the Normandy campaign, Jun-Aug 1944; bound printed edition of 'Final Report, 79 Armoured Division', published by 21 Army Group, with accounts on Operation OVERLORD, the Allied invasion of German occupied Europe, Jun 1944; Operations VITALITY and INFATUATE, the battle for the Scheldt Estuary, Sep-Nov 1944 and Operation PLUNDER, the Rhine Crossing, Mar 1945. Correspondence with Capt Sir Basil Henry Liddell Hart, 1942-1944.

Papers relating to HMS Dryad consisting mainly of manuscripts relating to the education of naval officers in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It includes a 'Plan of Learning' executed by a student at the Royal Academy, Portsmouth, in 1754; the order book of the Royal Naval College at Portsmouth containing Admiralty and internal orders, 1839 to 1855; the regulations of the College, 1869, also with officers' signatures; and papers including a report on the sanitary conditions in the College, 1889 to 1890. There are also five notebooks, 1763, c 1770, 1812 and c 1850, kept by naval officers under training, containing navigational notes and calculations; and a small volume containing in question-and-answer form the information required for the Master's examination for the Channel, 1780. Other volumes and documents include: the illustrated log of the BOMBAY, 1864 to 1865, NARCISSUS, 1865 to 1868, BEACON, 1868 to 1869, and GREYHOUND, 1869, kept by Midshipman G E Morrison (fl 1864-76); the record of the BOMBAY includes an account of the loss of the ship by fire. The journal of the SYLVIA, 1876 to 1878, was kept by Sub-Lieutenant Edward Helby (fl 1869-1899) while the ship was surveying in the Korean archipelago and includes descriptions of the area. In addition there are some letters of Lord Kelvin (1824-1907) with reports on a device for taking soundings through a ship's hull, 1905 to 1908; and towing time tables for the sections of Mulberry harbours, 1944.

Copy of typescript extract from letter, dated 16 Dec 1940, by Hingston, General Staff Officer 3 (Intelligence), Headquarters, 4 Indian Div, Western Desert, to his wife at General Headquarters, Delhi, India, with detailed uncensored account of British success in Operation COMPASS, 1st Western Desert campaign, 6-16 Dec 1940. Typescript notes by Mrs Hingston on Hingston's health and pre-war service in India [1997].

Letters of Edwin Thomas Hinde. The letters are divided into two groups: those written to his family from the ATHOLL, BLACK JOKE, FAIR ROSAMOND and DRYAD between 1829 and 1832 during service on the West Coast of Africa; and those written from the SERPENT from the West Indies between 1833 and 1836.

Papers of Lieutenant John Dennis Hickley containing several papers relating to J.D. Hickley's education and training; a few short letters written just before his death; his naval records from 1876 to 1886; as well as a short pamphlet entitled 'An Account of the Operations on the Benin River in August and September, 1894', written by Hickley and printed by Royal United Service Institution. However, the majority of material on Lt. Hickley deals with the circumstances of his death and burial, apparently a reflection of a Victorian obsession with tragic heroes.

Papers of Admiral Henry Dennis Hickley, consisting of two short diaries and a watch bill from HMS DIADEM; appointment papers detailing the rise of Henry Dennis Hickley from Ordinary Seaman in 1857 to Admiral of Her Majesty's Fleet by 1892; Navy pay records and statements of service; letters and telegraphs between Hickley and the Admiralty from 1869 to 1890; and a small number of documents relating to the domestic life of the Hickleys between 1842 and 1888. The address book of his wife, Mrs H D Hickley, also features in the collection.

Papers of Lieutenant John Dennis Hickley containing several papers relating to J D Hickley's education and training; a few short letters written just before his death; his naval records from 1876 to 1886; as well as a short pamphlet entitled 'An Account of the Operations on the Benin River in August and September, 1894', written by Hickley and printed by Royal United Service Institution. However, the majority of material on Lt. Hickley deals with the circumstances of his death and burial, apparently a reflection of a Victorian obsession with tragic heroes.

Papers, mostly photocopies, relating to Operation FRESHMAN, an abortive British-Norwegian assault on a heavy water plant at Vemork, Norway, Nov 1942, written in 1942-1945 and [1983], notably operation orders, Nov 1942; letter to Maj Pardon, dated Jul 1945, giving extracts from Henniker's report on the operation, written in [1942]; summary of information received about the movements of personnel from the crashed gliders, Jun 1945.

Copy of 'Tim', a typescript account of Hely's life and career, 1902-1990, notably his service with 60 Field Regt in the Western Desert, including action around Sidi Rezegh, Nov 1941, and with 7 Indian Div in India, 1942 and Burma, 1943-1945, including the Japanese attack on 15 Indian Corps' administrative base at Sinzweya, Burma, Feb 1944, written in 1991 by 'L R L', Hely's Bde Maj, Royal Artillery, 7 Div, 1942-1944. Includes extracts from Hely's descriptions of actions at Sidi Rezegh and Sinzweya written for The Royal Artillery Commemoration Book, 1939-1945 (G Bell and Sons, London, 1950).

Photocopies of papers relating to his service in World War Two, 1943-1944, dated 1944, 1947 and 1980, principally comprising notes for a lecture to the Royal Engineers Officer Cadet Training Unit on the role of 3 Infantry Div during the Normandy landings (Operation OVERLORD), Jun 1944, written in [Oct] 1944.

Papers of Adml Edward Hawke. They contain a virtually unbroken series of letter and order books relating to Hawke's career afloat from June 1743 onwards. The only gap appears in the in-letters between November 1759 and April 1762; otherwise chronological omissions correspond with Hawke's periods ashore. There is nothing relating to his service as First Lord of the Admiralty.

Papers of Sir Thomas Harvey consisting of a journal, 1805 to 1807, loose papers containing letters and orders, 1807 to 1809, and a few miscellaneous memoranda.

Liber in vinculis or the Mock Turtle's adventure, a meditation on his life and career, with particular reference to the Battle of Crete, 1941, written as a POW in Germany, 1941-1945, and including a short essay on the Battle of Crete, 1941, by Dr Mark Mazower, privately published by Trinity College, Cambridge in 1989.

Papers of Commander Cyril Beaumont Hampshire, including two logs, 1890 to 1894, but no papers survive for Hampshire's subsequent peacetime service. The loose papers and charts relate to the Aegean, 1915 to 1919.

Papers, 1814-1971, relating to Hamilton's life, military career and activities. The collection specifically includes correspondence, 1852-1899; diaries and notebooks, 1870-1899; printed correspondence and speeches of FM Frederick Sleigh Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts of Kandahar, Waterford and Pretoria, 1878-1893; diaries kept during the siege of Ladysmith, South Africa, 1899-1900; personal and official correspondence during the Second Boer War, 1899-1902, including Hamilton's letters to FM Frederick Sleigh Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts of Kandahar, Waterford and Pretoria, 1901-1902, and operational correspondence of 10 Div and Hamilton's Force, 1900; Hamilton's diaries of the Russo-Japanese War, 1904-1905 and related correspondence, 1902-1905; publications of the Royal Commissions on the war in South Africa and on the Militia and Volunteers, 1903-1904; correspondence as General Officer Commanding Southern Command, 1905-1909, and related official papers; correspondence as General Officer Commanding Mediterranean Command and Inspector General of Overseas Forces, 1910-1914, including papers relating to compulsory and voluntary military service, official reports on overseas forces, and correspondence relating to Hamilton's tours of the West Indies, South Africa, the Far East, Canada, Australia and New Zealand; correspondence as Commander-in-Chief Central Force, Home Defence, 1914-1915; papers as General Officer Commanding Mediterranean Expeditionary Force on Gallipoli, 1915, including correspondence with FM Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener of Khartoum and Broome, and the War Office, Rt Hon Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill MP, Lt Gen Sir John Grenfell Maxwell and Lt Gen Sir William Riddell Birdwood; papers relating to Ellis Ashmead Bartlett and Keith Arthur Murdoch, war correspondents on Gallipoli; papers relating to operations at Suvla Bay and Sari Bair, Aug-Sep 1915, and to the efficiency of commanding officers; papers relating to Hamilton's despatches from Gallipoli, and to recommendations for decorations; officialdespatches, 1914-1919; force orders, intelligence bulletins and other papers of General Headquarters, Mediterranean Expeditionary Force; papers relating to Hamilton's Gallipoli diary; maps and official photographs of the Gallipoli Campaign; depositions of witnesses given to the Dardanelles Commission, with related correspondence, 1916-1919; correspondence with the War Office, 1917-1938;correspondence as Colonel of the Gordon Highlanders, 1912-1949; correspondence relating to ex-servicemen, the British Legion, and to war memorials, 1916-1949; correspondence and papers as Lord Rector of Edinburgh University, 1932-1936; correspondence with major military, political and literary acquaintances, including Rt Hon Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill MP, Rt Hon Richard Burdon Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane of Cloan, Capt Sir Basil Henry Liddell Hart, John Masefield, FM Sir William Robert Robertson, and senior officers associated with the Gallipoli Campaign, 1916-1949; correspondence relating to the Anglo-German Association and to Anglo-German relations, 1928-1947; correspondence with members of the public and relatives, 1908-1948; business and financial correspondence, 1913-1947; correspondence relating to Hamilton's estate and his literary executors, 1948-1969; papers relating to Hamilton's publications, 1872-1948; speeches, articles and letters to the press, 1918-1947; scrapbooks and press cuttings, 1883-1971; photographs, 1855-1947;publications and other printed material, 1814-1966; diaries, correspondence and publications of Hamilton's wife, Jean Miller Hamilton, Lady Hamilton, 1869-1940; correspondence of Eleanor Charlotte Sellar, 1896-1934, including correspondence with Hamilton, FM Sir George Stuart White and FM Sir Neville Bowles Chamberlain.

Manuscript account 'From bombardment to island kingdom' by Admiral Sir John Hamilton, 1985, detailing his service, 1943-1946, including work as Commander, Gunnery Division, Admiralty, 1943-1945, planning naval fire support for Normandy landings (Operation OVERLORD), and subsequently compiling analysis of operations; Commander, Naval Bombardment, Force 'W', planning and training for planned invasion of Malaya (Operation ZIPPER), 1945; Senior Naval Officer, port of Sabang, Sumatra, 1945-1946.

Papers of Captain Henry George Hamilton, consisting of official service documents, letters to his family, 1822 to 1830, and from Australia, 1839 to 1843.

Papers of Adml Sir Frederick Tower Hamilton, consisting of logs, 1870 to 1872, 1877 to 1881, 1885 and 1915 to 1916, and semi-official letters received, 1914 to 1917, including some from Admirals Lord Fisher (1841-1920), Jellicoe (1859-1935), Beatty (1871-1936), Sir Charles Madden and Prince Louis of Battenburg (1854-1921). In addition, there is detailed material on the resignation of Lord Fisher in 1915. There are also a large number of private papers and letters received, 1889 to 1917, letters to his son Louis Henry Keppel Hamilton, 1906 to 1915, scrap and photograph albums, official service documents, notes on manoeuvering the HOOD, 1893 to 1894, and reports and memoranda, 1917.

Papers of Sir Louis Henry Keppel Hamiltom. The diaries cover most of his career and all periods afloat from 1908 to 1928. There are also diaries for journeys in the merchant ships Lagos, 1915, and in the Usaramo to Lisbon in 1924. In addition there are official reports and signals for the time when Hamilton commanded the First Cruiser Squadron and a very full collection of letters written by him to his family, 1906 to 1956. There are also photograph albums of Osborne and Dartmouth, 1903 to1907 of the Durbar, 1911, and of other periods in Hamilton's life. Finally, there are lecture notes and memoranda from Dartmouth, 1922 to 1924, and papers relating to Australia, 1947.

Papers of Sir Henry Keppel, consisting of logs, 1824 to 1825, 1830 to 1831, 1834 to 1835, 1842 to 1845, 1847 to 1851, 1853 to 1857, 1860 to 1861; private journals, 1867 to 1869; annual diaries, 1834 to 1838, 1842 to 1844, 1855 to 1857, 1867 to 1869; private letterbooks, 1867 to 1869, 1874 to 1875 and loose papers. These are mainly letters received, 1841 to 1900, the bulk of which date from 1870. Of the two groups of Keppel's letters to his family, one covers the Crimean War and the other his tour of the Far East, 1897 to 1900.

Papers, [1944]-1997, accumulated by Gen Sir John Winthrop Hackett. The bulk of the material (125 boxes) comprises Hackett's papers, 1958-1997, including official and personal correspondence, texts of lectures, press cuttings and published material. The papers range over Hackett's career and interests, the subjects including his official posts as Commandant, Royal Military College of Science, Shrivenham, 1958-1961, Deputy Chief of the General Staff, 1963-1964, and Commander in Chief, British Army of the Rhine, 1965-1966; King's College London and other academic institutions; his lecture 'The profession of arms' and other conferences, lectures and speeches, including Kermit Roosevelt lecture tour, 1967; publications including I was a stranger (1977) and Third World War (1978); UK and overseas military associations and institutions, including the Queen's Royal Irish Hussars and Queen's Royal Hussars, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Royal United Services Institution, Institute of Strategic Studies; annual memorial visits to Arnhem. A smaller accession (5 boxes) comprises papers and correspondence, largely typescripts and printed material, accumulated by Hackett on military matters, largely but not wholly pertaining to the 1980s and including, for example, news cuttings, correspondence and conference papers on nuclear proliferation and debate on the issues; some material relates to Hackett's Warfare in the ancient world, published in 1989. Another accession (1 box) comprises typescript essays with related papers, photographs and plans concerning the Battle of Arnhem collected by Lt Col Theodore A Boeree, including extracts from the diary of Miss Riek van der Vlist, [1944], kept at Hotel Schoonard, the temporary British hospital during the Battle of Arnhem; a file of press cuttings on various military matters, 1968-1970; press article by Gen Hackett on Arnhem, 1974; two letters between Hackett and Dr Hedwig Delekat of Mainz, Germany, Jul-Aug 1968, concerning the fact that Hackett had no connection with Gen Halket, who served under Wellington. The collection also includes various military periodicals (27 boxes).

Photocopy of typescript account of his work with Future Operations Planning Section of the Joint Planning Staff, War Office, 1940-1941, [1941].

Papers of Vice-Admiral Harold Baillie Grohman. The collection can be divided into two groups of files of official papers The larger relates to the Naval Mission to China, 1931 to 1933, and the second is concerned with the preparations for the Dieppe Raid, 1942. There are restrictions on access to the second section. In addition, there is a small number of personal letters.

Copy of his account of Battle of Jutland, 31 May 1916, written on 4 Jun 1916. Copy of text of his despatch from HMS SCYLLA on the Normandy landings, 6-7 Jun 1944, broadcast on the [Forces Programme], 7 Jun 1944, with covering letter, 24 Jun 1944. Copies of extracts from his diary covering his discussion with Adm Hon Sir Alexander Robert Maule Ramsay about the planningof the Normandy landings, Dec [1944], and his visit to Germany, Jun 1945, including his observations on German scientific and technical developments and his interviews with British and German naval officers. Two letters to Grenfell's wife from Baron von Müllenheim-Rechberg, a survivor of the sinking of the Bismarck, May 1941, dated 1978, concerning Grenfell's book The Bismarckepisode (Faber and Faber, London, 1948).

Papers of Greive, William Samuel, containing logs, 1845 to 1847, and 1851 to 1855; a letterbook, 1871 to 1874; commissions, 1851 to 1884, and a few single documents.

Papers of Adml Thomas Graves including logs, 1742 to 1744, 1746 to 1748 and 1779 to 1782; a letterbook, 1793 to 1794; order books, 1788 to 1793; a book of sailing directions with some orders, 1755 to 1756; letters and a volume on courts martial, 1771 to 1780 and 1786 to 1787. There are some loose papers which relate to Graves' court martial and to his Governorship of Newfoundland. The latter contain some documents on hydrographic surveys, among which is a letter of 1764 to Graves from Captain James Cook (1728-1779). There are also some commissions, official letters and drafts, 1764 to 1767, 1777 to 1782, a few private letters, 1782 to 1797 and a biography of Graves up to 1790. Some papers of Admiral Sir Thomas Graves (c 1747-1814), another cousin of Lord Graves, are also in the collection. They are orders received as Captain of the Savage, North American Station, 1779 to 1781, and official letters received, 1800 to 1804.

Papers of Rear-Admiral Thomas Graves. They consist of logs, 1738 to 1744, an official letterbook, 1711 to 1738, a private letterbook, 1721 to 1740, and two order books, 1711 to 1728 and 1739 to 1741. There are some commissions and an abstract of orders received, 1739 to 1743.