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; and 'The Air League's Memorandum on Defence - January 1967', 1967. Also articles by others including: 'The case for the Aircraft Carrier' by Fletcher Pratt, and response 'The 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.

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].

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 relating to Roberts' life and career, 1940-1992, including twenty four detailed letters home to his father, Col William Bradley Roberts, from North Africa and North West Europe, 1940-1944; papers relating to operations in North Africa, 1941-1943, including memoranda, typescript intelligence summaries and typescript and manuscript notes, notably on operations of 22 Guards Bde and 7 Armoured Div, North Africa, Jun 1941; brief notes and correspondence on tank deployment, tactics and specifications, 1943-1944, including typescript copy of letter from Gen Sir Bernard Law Montgomery to Lt Gen Sir Ronald Weeks, Deputy Chief of the Imperial General Staff, on tank specifications, Apr 1944; correspondence, accounts and notes relating to 11 Armoured Div operations in North West Europe, 1944-1945, notably planning notes and reports on Operation GOODWOOD, the 2 Army offensive south east of Caen, France, Jul 1944; typescript and manuscript accounts by personnel of 11 Armoured Div, dated 1982-1993, relating to operations in North West Europe, 1944-1945; correspondence, 1948-1992, including letters from Lt Gen Sir Henry Royds Pownall, Sep 1948, Lt Gen Sir Giffard Le Quesne Martel, 1951, Maj Gen Raymond Briggs, Feb 1951, Maj Gen Sir Percy Cleghorn Stanley Hobart, Sep 1952, and Maj Gen Ronald Frederick King 'David' Belchem, Nov 1978; correspondence between Roberts and the Daily Mail relating to articles written by Roberts on the possibility of a future war with the USSR, 1950-1951; press cuttings relating to service in World War Two, 1939-1945; correspondence between Roberts and The Guardian, Aug-Nov 1969, concerning the liberation of Antwerp, Belgium, 1944; newspaper cuttings, dated 1942-1967, relating to Roberts' service in World War Two, 1939-1945; one group photograph including Roberts [1945]; audiotape of BBC radio broadcast by Roberts, 1944, and after dinner speech, 1990.

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.

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)

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].

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.