GB 0099 KCLMA Spooner - SPOONER, Megan (1898-1987)

Identity area

Reference code

GB 0099 KCLMA Spooner

Title

SPOONER, Megan (1898-1987)

Date(s)

  • Created 1941-[1959] (Creation)

Level of description

Extent and medium

0.5 box or 0.005 cubic metres

Context area

Name of creator

Biographical history

Born Megan Foster in 1898; noted soprano; married Cdr Ernest John Spooner, 1926; accompanied him to his final posting in Singapore as R Adm, Malaya, 1941-1942; evacuated immediately prior to the fall of Singapore, 1942; died in 1987.

Archival history

GB 0099 KCLMA Spooner Created 1941-[1959] Collection (fonds) 0.5 box or 0.005 cubic metres

Born Megan Foster in 1898; noted soprano; married Cdr Ernest John Spooner, 1926; accompanied him to his final posting in Singapore as R Adm, Malaya, 1941-1942; evacuated immediately prior to the fall of Singapore, 1942; died in 1987.

Placed in the Centre by the family in 1989, 1991 and 2001.

Papers relating to her life in Singapore, 1941-1942, dated 1941-[1959], principally comprising diaries and personal letters describing her voyage to Malaya, 1941, and life in Singapore, 1941-1942; press cuttings, 1942, 1945-1946, relating to R Adm Ernest John Spooner's appointment as R Adm Malaya, 1942, and to his death on the island of Chibia (Tjibia, Tjebia) following his escape from Singapore, 1942; photographs, 1940, 1946, notably of Capt Sir David Bone and his search party on Chibia during their search for R Adm Spooner, 1946; correspondence relating to Megan Spooner's claim for war damages, 1945-1947. Also an account, 'Fall of Singapore and the Dutch East Indies and defence of Ceylon' by Capt Andrew Nichol Grey, RN, detailing his experiences on the staff of the Commander-in-Chief, Far East, ACM Sir (Henry) Robert (Moore) Brooke-Popham and subsequently Gen Sir Henry Royds Pownall, from early 1941 to Feb 1942, written [1946].

The papers are arranged in the following sections: diaries and narrative accounts; correspondence; photographs; press cuttings; other papers.

Open, subject to signature of reader's undertaking form.

Copies, subject to the condition of the original, may be provided for research use only. Requests to publish original material should be submitted to the Trustees of the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, attention of the Director of Archive Services.
English

Detailed catalogue available in hard copy in the Centre's reading room.

Royal Naval Museum, HM Naval Base, Portsmouth, holds two journals kept by Midshipman Ernest John Spooner during his service on HMS GOLIATH and HMS HIBERNIA.

Apr 1997 Wars (events) Asia Bone , Sir , David William , 1874-1959 , Knight , RN Captain Chibia Island Diaries Documents Grey , Andrew Nichol , fl 1042-1946 , RN Captain Information sources International conflicts Literary forms and genres Literature Malaysia Nonfiction Popham , Sir , Henry Robert Moore , Brooke- , 1878-1953 , Knight , Air Chief Marshal x Brooke-Popham , Sir , Henry Robert Moore Primary documents Prose Singapore South East Asia Spooner , Ernest John , d 1946 , Rear Admiral Tjebia Tjibia Island War World wars (events) World War Two (1939-1945)

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Placed in the Centre by the family in 1989, 1991 and 2001.

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Papers relating to her life in Singapore, 1941-1942, dated 1941-[1959], principally comprising diaries and personal letters describing her voyage to Malaya, 1941, and life in Singapore, 1941-1942; press cuttings, 1942, 1945-1946, relating to R Adm Ernest John Spooner's appointment as R Adm Malaya, 1942, and to his death on the island of Chibia (Tjibia, Tjebia) following his escape from Singapore, 1942; photographs, 1940, 1946, notably of Capt Sir David Bone and his search party on Chibia during their search for R Adm Spooner, 1946; correspondence relating to Megan Spooner's claim for war damages, 1945-1947. Also an account, 'Fall of Singapore and the Dutch East Indies and defence of Ceylon' by Capt Andrew Nichol Grey, RN, detailing his experiences on the staff of the Commander-in-Chief, Far East, ACM Sir (Henry) Robert (Moore) Brooke-Popham and subsequently Gen Sir Henry Royds Pownall, from early 1941 to Feb 1942, written [1946].

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

The papers are arranged in the following sections: diaries and narrative accounts; correspondence; photographs; press cuttings; other papers.

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Open, subject to signature of reader's undertaking form.

Conditions governing reproduction

Copies, subject to the condition of the original, may be provided for research use only. Requests to publish original material should be submitted to the Trustees of the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, attention of the Director of Archive Services.

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

  • Latin

Language and script notes

English

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

Royal Naval Museum, HM Naval Base, Portsmouth, holds two journals kept by Midshipman Ernest John Spooner during his service on HMS GOLIATH and HMS HIBERNIA.

Finding aids

Detailed catalogue available in hard copy in the Centre's reading room.

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

Related descriptions

Publication note

Notes area

Note

Alternative identifier(s)

Access points

Place access points

Name access points

Genre access points

Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, King's College London

Rules and/or conventions used

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation revision deletion

Language(s)

  • English

Script(s)

    Sources

    Accession area