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Copies of papers, 1914-1939, including account of service with York Troop, East Riding of Yorkshire Yeomanry, 1914, and 12 (Service) Bn (3 Hull), East Yorkshire Regiment, UK and Suez Canal, Egypt, 1914- 1916; narrative diary of voyage to India, 1939; diaries of Burch's father, Maj Frederick Burch, 1 Royal Dragoons, containing brief descriptive entries relating to service in the Second Boer War, South Africa, 1899-1902; letter from and notification of the death of Burch's brother, Lt Sydney Gaskin Burch, South Nottinghamshire Hussars, Territorial Force, attached to 16 (Service) Bn (Chatsworth Rifles), Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire) Regt, 117 Bde, 39 Div, killed in action in attack on St Pierre Divion, Battle of the Somme, 1916.

Manuscript extracts from Regimental diary, Second Boer War, South Africa, 23 Dec 1900-4 Mar 1901; six letters relating to operations against Boer forces in the Transvaal, South Africa, 1899-1901, with manuscript sketch map of a Boer night attack, Lake Chrissie (Chrissiesmeer), 6 Feb 1901, approximate scale 1: 10, 660. Photograph album with 106 photographs, mostly relating to service in South Africa, 1900-1904, Ireland, 1904-1905, and the UK, 1906-1907; photograph album with 485 photographs relating to service in Scutari, Albania, 1913, with German map entitled Scutari (Militärgeographisches Institut, Berlin, Germany, 1912), scale 1: 200, 000, and typescript copy of article from the Yorkshire Post entitled 'The West Yorkshires in Scutari. Incidents of International Control', 28 Aug 1913; photograph album with 283 photographs, mostly relating to service in India, Aden, Egypt and the Sudan, 1925-1928.

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, 1881-1926; notably war diaries of the 3 Hussars during World War One, 1914-1919; private diary of Willcox, 1914; intelligence summaries with translated extracts from German documents, 1917-1918; typescript account of the 3 Hussars at Warneton, Belgium, Oct 1914; typescript account of the action of the 3 Hussars at Liez, France, March 1918 and near Hourges, France, Apr 1918; aerial photographs showing trench network, Beaucamp, France, 1916; copy of a diary by Willcox compiled during the siege of Ladysmith, South Africa, with two popular printed commemorative volumes describing the siege, 1899-1900; diary by Willcox of a visit by him as an observer of German army manoeuvres, Berlin area, with photographs, 1909; letters sent by Willcox to his parents and other relatives, 1881-1900; photographs of India, South Africa during the Boer War, in 1910 and the Western Front during World War One, showing groups of soldiers, equipment, the interiors and exteriors of buildings, including in Pretoria, of military exercises, parades, preparation for possible gas attack and of French chateaux, [1889-1919]; various papers compiled by Willcox during the compilation of his history of the 3 Hussars including operational summaries, biographical information and drawings and photographs, with reviews of Willcox's publications, 1908-1926; watercolours of the French landscape during World War One; manuscript hunting journal including detailed diaries and records of pig-sticking, tiger shooting and other hunts in Africa, Scotland and India, 1894-1932; colour illustrations of soldiers in various antique constumes.

Photocopies of memoir covering military service, 1860-1918; published account of Tochi Valley expedition, Afghanistan, 1897-1898; complaint relating to conditions in trenches, Western Front, World War One, 1915.