Showing 21 results

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].

Undated typescript account of his military service, 1940-1944, principally comprising a diary of his work as Landing Officer, 3 Canadian Div, Normandy, on and around D-Day, 5 Jun-5 Sep 1944.

Papers relating to role of 6 Guards Tank Brigade in Operation BLUECOAT, Normandy, Jul 1944; operations of 7 Armoured Division, Aug-Nov 1944, including capture of Ghent; 1 Guards Brigade, Feb 1944-May 1945, including Battle of River Po and situation reports, Northern Italy and Southern Austria; pamphlets, 1943-1946 including 21 Army Group reports; campaign maps, including Turkey, 1922-1923; France, Belgium, Holland and Germany, 1944 and Italy and Austria, 1945; working papers for unpublished typescript 'Airborne Forces'. Notes and draft papers of Maj Peter V Verney for Anzio 1944 An Unexpected Fury (Batsford, 1978) and planned publications on Marlborough's wars and 'The Gaiety and the Glory: the Irishman at War'.

This microfilm collection contains copied official documents relating to US naval operations in Europe and US naval liaison duties in Britain, 1941-1946. Many of the microfilmed documents are official reports sent to the Historical Section, US Navy, in 1946, for the purposes of compiling an official history. The collection includes material relating to the US naval administration, 1940-1946; the US Navy Special Observer missions in London, 1940-1946; the decision to post Adm Harold Raynsford Stark as Commander, [US] Naval Forces in Europe (COMNAVEU); COMNAVEU organisation and personnel, 1940- 1946; operational reports concerning [US] Naval Forces in Europe (COMNAVEU) and associated commands of COMNAVEU, including US 12 Fleet, 1941-1946; US naval intelligence and naval attaché duties; units under the command of COMNAVEU, including task forces and amphibious forces; supply and logistical activities, 1940- 1946; the history of Lend-Lease and Reciprocal Aid in Britain; the history of US naval bases in Britain; logistical planning for US Naval Forces in Europe for cross- channel operations; COMNAVEU's role in the planning and execution of Operation OVERLORD, the Allied invasion of France, 6 Jun 1944, and Operation NEPTUNE, the air and land assault on France, Jun 1944, including the naval bombardment of Axis forces and the use of US Navy amphibious forces to assault the beaches at Normandy, France assaults; a history of US Naval Task Forces in France, Germany, the Azores, the Mediterranean, and Italy, 1945-1946; relations with US Navy Pacific Command, 1941-1946.

Typescript memoir, written in 1992, as Commanding Officer, 1 Bn, Herefordshire Regt, 11 Armoured Div, 21 Army Group, North West Europe, 1944-1945, entitled '1st Bn The Herefordshire Regiment route and battles from the Normandy bridgehead to the R Elbe in Germany, June 1944 to April 1945, including route maps and CO's pocket maps for specific incidents', with seven printed maps of France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, annotated with routes taken and unit dispositions. Papers relating to Turner Cain's tenure as Chief Instructor, Tactical Wing, School of Infantry, British Army of the Rhine, Sennelager, Germany, 1946-1947, including typescript training notes on exercises, tactics of armoured forces and river crossing techniques, with manuscript explanatory notes written by Turner Cain in 1992.

Copies of papers relating to Stone's career, 1939-1982, including typescript account entitled 'Duck shooting in the upper Jordan valley, 1938-1939', a shoot organised by Maj Gen Bernard Law Montgomery, General Officer Commanding 8 Div, northern Palestine, 1939; typescript extracts from letters by Stone to his wife whilst serving in Palestine, 1938, and extracts from letters to his wife whilst serving as Chief Engineer, Berlin, Germany, 1945-1946; letter from Lt Col Desmond Harrison, Royal Engineers, dated 26 Jun 1940, relating to the campaign in France and the evacuation of the BEF (British Expeditionary Force) from Dunkirk, 26 May-Jun 1940; typescript 'Chief Engineer's diary', 16 Apr 1942-5 Nov 1945, with an account by an unknown English woman who spent the war in Germany, entitled 'Notes on Berlin in April 1945'; typescript account by Stone of the Normandy invasion and advance of 2 Army to the Netherlands, Jul-Oct 1944; typescript extracts from letters by Stone to his wife, Greece, Feb-Oct 1946, and letters from Mount Zion College, Jerusalem, Palestine, Jul 1946; typescript autobiography, 1895-1950; typescript notes on Atomic Research Centre, Aldermaston, Berkshire, 1950-1958; printed booklet in French and English entitled Keep in mind. La Batisse aux Anglais (1977) by Philippe Bauduin, with related correspondence, 1976; typescript draft obituary, 1983.

Booklet of memorial addresses giving details of his service with Section B1A, MI5, [1939-1945], dated 1994.

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.

The Air Observation Post in Normandy, June 1944', a typescript article on his service with B Flight, No 652 Air Observation Post Sqn, RAF, Jun-Jul 1944, and a copy of The Army Air Corps Journal, 1994, including a cut and illustrated version of the article.

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.

Papers relating to his service with the Commandos, 1942-1945, dated [1942-1981]comprising:

papers on service with No.4 Commando, May-Dec 1942, principally on the Dieppe Raid, Aug 1942, including report by Mills-Roberts on training exercise on the Isle of Arran, 25-26 Jun 1942; reports on Orange Beach landing; report on destruction of 6 inch gun battery at Varangeville; detailed report 'Lessons Learned on Combined Operations'; and letters of congratulation on award of MC;

papers on service with No.6 Commando, Apr-May 1943, North Africa, including letters from General Dwight D Eisenhower and Maj-Gen Robert Laycock and letters of congratulation on award of DSO;

papers on service with 1st Special Service (Commando) Bde, Jun 1944 - May 1945 including: account of part taken by No 1 Special Service Brigade in Operation OVERLORD, 6 Jun - 26 Aug 1944; narrative by Mills Roberts on action from 16-21 Aug 1944; report of No 1 Special Service Bde operations around Dozule and L'Epine, 19-21 Aug 1944; report of operations by 1st Commando Bde east of the River Maas, 19 Jan - 1 Feb 1945; 'Five Rivers' - account of 1st Commando Bde in Germany, 1945, on the advance from the Meuse to the Baltic, crossing the Meuse, Rhine, Weser, Aller and Elbe; 'United We Stand' diary of L Cpl Cliff Morris, No 3 Troop, 6 Commando, detailed personal account of action from 6 Jun 1944 - 7 May 1945; papers relating to the arrest of FM Erhard Milch in 1945, dated 1946, 1969; maps of Ouistreham, St Aubin, Caen, Dozule;

papers on commando training, 1942-1950 including account of 6 Commando training by Mills-Roberts, 1943-1944;

manuscript of Clash by Night (William Kimber, London, 1956) and notes to Simon Christopher Joseph Fraser Lovat, 17th Lord Lovat, concerning Lovat's book March Past (Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1978), dated 1977-1981;

photographs, 1942, 1944-1945, 1947, including German propaganda photographs of Dieppe Raid, 1942, and photographs relating to Commando service in World War Two, 1944-1945, dated 1944-1945, 1947, including Normandy, Jun 1944, and Germany, 1945.

Papers relating to Macleod's career, [1965-1984] notably two copies of an unpublished memoir by Macleod, entitled 'An Artillery Officer in the First World War'; accounts by Macleod of the political and military background to the Battle of Passchendaele (Third Ypres), 1917, and of his command during World War Two of a deception operation by the fictional 4 Army to distract attention from the Normandy landings of 1944, [1966-1984]. Papers relating to the life and career of FM Sir (William) Edmund Ironside, 1st Baron Ironside of Archangel and Ironside, notably the unpublished volumes 'A secret service agent in South West Africa', detailing his service as a British agent in German South-West Africa, 1902-1904, and 'Ironside's letters to Col R Macleod', 1931-1959, with enclosures, [1965]; an account by Macleod of significant episodes of Ironside's career, and a review of Laurence Thompson's 1940 - Year of Legend, Year of History (Collins, London, 1960).

Papers relating to his life and career, 1915-1991, dated 1963, 1969 and [1991], principally comprising 'Nine lives, a soldier's story', a typescript memoir covering the period 1915-1991, including his service in North Africa and the Western Desert, 1939-1942 and 1943, the Middle East, 1942-1943 and 1954-1956, Normandy, 1944, and France, Belgium and Germany, 1945-1947, and hiswork as Director General of Fighting Vehicles, 1964-1966, and General Officer Commanding, Malta and Libya, 1967-1968, written in [1991].

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].

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 memoir 'D Day: before and after', account of the Normandy landings June 1944 excerpted from 'My Long Journey'.

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.

The peace divided', an account of his life and career, 1905-1948, notably his service in India with the Queen's Royal Regt, in Africa with King's African Rifles, and in UK, 1938-1940, 1941-1944, Gibraltar, 1940-1941, South East Asia, 1945, East Africa, 1946-1947 and Berlin, 1948, compiled in 1970 by Ben Lockwood, Hart Dyke's stepson, from notes left by Hart Dyke and printed in1995. 'Normandy to Arnhem, a story of the infantry', an account of his service with 4 Bn, (Hallamshire Bn), York and Lancaster Regt in the UK, 1943-1944, and North West Europe, 1944-1945, written using regimental war diaries in 1946 and originally printed in 1966, reprinted by 4 Bn, Yorkshire Volunteers in 1991.

Typescript account, in French, by Leonce Dussarrat, President, Société d'Entre'aide des Membres de la Légion d'Honneur, Section des Landes, concerning French Resistance operations in Normandy and Brittany, 1944; reprint of captured German photograph of sabotaged electrical pylon on the Hendaye-Paris railway line, 1944.

Photocopy of account of the planning and execution of the invasion of Normandy in 1944 from the point of view of the Deputy Provost Marshal, 2 Army, covering the period 1943-1944, with particular reference to the role of the military police.