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Microfilm collection containing copies of meeting minutes of the major conferences of the Combined Chiefs of Staff, 1941-1945. Meeting minutes include those for the conference held at Washington, DC, codenamed ARCADIA, at which Anglo-American planners first formed a combined strategy for the prosecution of the war, 22 Dec 1941-14 Jan 1942; the conference at Casablanca, Morocco, codenamed SYMBOL, during which the Anglo-American Combined Chiefs of Staff (CCS) first discussed the policies of German unconditional surrender, the Combined Bomber Offensive from Great Britain against Germany and the establishment of the French National Committee for Liberation, 14-24 Jan 1943; the Allied conference held at Washington, DC, codenamed TRIDENT, at which President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Prime Minister Rt Hon Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, and the Combined Chiefs of Staff (CCS)discussed the decision to delay the invasion of France until May 1944, the Italian surrender, and the Battle of the Atlantic, 11-25 May 1943; the Allied conference at Quebec City, Canada, codenamed QUADRANT, at which the Allies endorsed a plan for the invasion of the Normandy coast in France, formed a new theatre of war, South-East Asia Command, with Acting Adm Lord Louis (Francis Albert Victor Nicholas) Mountbatten as Supreme Allied Commander, and regulated the procedures for co-operation between Great Britain and the US regarding the development and production of the atomic bomb, 12-24 Aug 1943; the Allied conferences at Cairo, Egypt, codenamed SEXTANT, at which the Allies discussed combined operations in South-East Asia with Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek's Chinese forces, 22-26 Nov and 2-7 Dec 1943; the Allied conference at Teheran, Iran, codenamed EUREKA, during which the Allies first co-ordinated future strategy with Soviet Prime Minister Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin, including plans to coincide military operations against Germany in France and the Soviet Union in May 1944, 28-30 Nov 1943; the conference at Quebec City, Canada, codenamed OCTAGON, at which the Allies discussed the post-war division of Germany and a plan for its de-industrialisation, 12-16 Sep 1944; the conferences at Malta and Yalta, Soviet Union, codenamed ARGONAUT, at which the Allies discussed the division of post-war Germany, the occupation of Germany and Austria, Soviet involvement in the war against Japan, and the future government and frontiers of Poland, 30 Jan-9 Feb 1945; the conference at Potsdam, Germany, codenamed TERMINAL, during which surrender terms for Japan were discussed, the boundaries and peace terms for Europe were determined and Poland's government and frontiers were debated, 16 Jul-2 Aug 1945. Conference minutes include references to Allied production and assignment of war materials; British and US merchant vessel losses; US policy concerning assignments of Lend-Lease military aircraft, naval vessels and munitions to Great Britain; Allied petroleum supplies; propaganda and unconventional warfare; war crimes and prisoners of war; operational reports concerning the planning and conduct of Allied offensive operations in Europe, including the invasion of North Africa, codenamed Operation TORCH, Nov 1942; the invasion of Sicily, Italy, codenamed Operation HUSKY, Jul 1943; the US preparation for the invasion of Europe, codenamed Operation BOLERO; and the Allied invasion of Europe, codenamed Operation OVERLORD, Jun 1944; operational reports concerning the Japanese war economy; Japanese Imperial Army logistical capabilities; locations and strengths of Japanese forces in the Pacific; British participation in long range bombing of Japan; Allied operational efforts in Burma, India, Malaya, and the Philippines; Soviet claims on the Sakhalin and Kuril islands; the co-ordination of Allied strategic plans for the defeat and occupation of Japan, 1943-1944; Soviet military action to facilitate Operation OVERLORD; liaison between Allied theatre commanders and the Soviet Army; Soviet capabilities with reference to the Far East; US Lend-Lease requirements for the Soviet Union; and estimates of Soviet post-war capabilities and intentions, 1943-1945.

The Cold War television documentary archive consists of transcripts of 531 interviews concerning events of the Cold War - the political, ideological tension between the United States and the United Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR), 1946-1989, following the end of World War Two, which while falling short of actual war between these two nations, was evident in their foreign and defence policies, and those of their allies.

Interviews were conducted with eyewitnesses from the US, USSR, Germany, Poland, Britain, Czechoslovakia, Italy, France, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Spain, Vietnam, Korea, China, Israel Egypt, South Africa, Angola, Cuba, Chile, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Afghanistan and Pakistan, and including politicians, policy makers and advisors, diplomats, journalists, academics, members of armed forces, dissidents, peasants, factory workers and civilians.

Events described include the Berlin blockade, 1948-1949, the Berlin Crisis, 1961, the Cuban Missile Crisis, Oct 1962, the Vietnam War, 1965-1975, the Korean War, 1950-1953, the Hungarian uprising, 1956, the Prague Spring, 1968, the nuclear arms race, 1945-1991, and Chinese communism, 1949-1972.

The collections also contains transcripts of a series of seminars on the Cold War, Oct 1995, as well as an incomplete series of files relating to individual episodes of the documentary series including annotated extracts of interview transcripts and other production information. (Transcripts in this section of the collection are mainly duplicates, however there are a small number which are not found in the main transcript series).

Papers relating to Alexander's service as Chief of Defence Staff, Ghana, 1960-1961, including correspondence from AVM Henry Algernon Vickers Hogan, Headquarters Flying Training Command, RAF, on the training of Ghanaian pilots, Aug 1960; correspondence, reports and notes on the creation of an African High Command, following a decision taken in Casablanca, Morocco to form a Charter of African States, signed by Algeria, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Morocco, Tunisia and the United Arab Republic, 1960, including typescript 'Brief for President on situation in the Congo and the role of an African High Command'. Dec 1960; correspondence with Air Cdre John Nicholas Haworth Whitworth, Air Chief of Staff, Ghana Air Force, Jan-Aug 1961; typescript 'Russian report on Ghana armed services', 1961; typescript memoranda by Alexander and by Air Cdre Whitworth, on the Soviet report on the Ghana armed forces, May-Jun 1961; typescript memorandum by Alexander to Dr Kwame Nkrumah, President of the Republic of Ghana, expressing concern on the plan to send Ghanaian cadets to the USSR for military training, Sep 1961. Papers relating to the Ghanaian Army's involvement in UN peacekeeping duties in the Congo, 1960-1961, including typescript 'Notes on non-military briefing for senior officers of the UN force in the Congo' by Ralph Johnson Bunche, Special Representative of the Secretary General of the UN, Jul 1960; typescript press releases on the crisis in the Congo, Jul 1960, typescript correspondence with Brig Joseph E Michel, commanding UN Ghanaian Bde, Congo, Aug 1960-Feb 1961; typescript 'Report on disturbances at Tshikapa on 18/19 Jan 1961' by Brig Joseph E Michel, commanding Ghana Bde, Congo, relating to the mutiny of troops of 3 Bn, The Ghana Regt; typescript 'Report of the evacuation of the Hon Mr Welbeck from the Congo' (Hon Nathanial Welbeck, Ghanaian diplomat), Nov 1960; typescript 'Report on visit to the Congo', by Alexander, Feb 1961. Papers relating to Alexander's dismissal as Chief of Defence Staff, Ghana, and to the removal of British personnel from the Ghana armed forces, 1961, including typescript memorandum by Alexander 'Withdrawal of British officers and other ranks from active units of the Ghana Army', Sep 1961; typescript report by Alexander to the Ministry of Defence 'Background to the sudden dismissal of British officers from the Ghana armed forces' [1961]. Papers relating to Alexander's role as a British Observer, International Observer Team on Genocide, Nigeria, 1968-1970, including typescript report by Alexander 'The war in Nigeria', 1968; printed map of Nigeria, with annotations showing territories controlled by Federal and Biafran forces, 1968; typescript 'Report and findings of the representatives of Canada, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom for the period 1 October 1969 to 31 January 1970', Feb 1970. Edition of African tightrope. My two years as Nkrumah's Chief of Staff (Pall Mall Press, London, 1965).