Item GODLEY 1/5-29 - Correspondence, 1915-1918, with Colonel Clive Wigram, Private Secretary to King George V

Correspondence between Godley and Col Clive Wigram, Assistant Private Secretary to HM King George V, relating to operations by the troops under Godley's command during World War One, notably a description of the composition of the New Zealand force under Godley's command in Egypt, and the calibre of its officers, Feb 1915; detailed descriptions of operations in Gallipoli, including the Allied landings at Anzac Cove, Gallipoli, May 1915, the Turkish attack on Quinn's Post, Jul 1915, the Battle of Sari Bair, Aug 1915, and the evacuation of Allied troops, Dec 1915, as well as descriptions of the system of reinforcement and supply, weapons and living conditions; detailed descriptions of operations on the Western Front, including the Battle of Messines, Jun 1917, various actions during the Third Battle of Ypres, notably the First Battle of Passchendaele, Sep 1917, and actions in the Ardre Valley during the Second Battle of the Marne, Jul 1918. Wigram's replies include detailed notes on political and social events in Britain during World War One, including opposition against general conscription, led by Alfred Charles William Harmsworth, Viscount Northcliffe; problems surrounding the production of munitions, 1915, notably negotiations with trades unions, a miners' strike and the new Munitions Ministry under the control of the Rt Hon David Lloyd George; opinions on the diplomatic negotiations of the government with the Balkan states; the Easter Rising in Ireland, 1916; the Maurice Affair, in which Maj Gen Sir Frederick (Barton) Maurice wrote a letter to The Times accusing the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon David Lloyd George, of false statements regarding the strength of the British army on the Western Front, May 1918.