Key Information
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1888-1971 (Creation)
- [1806]-1812 (Creation)
Level of description
Collection
Extent
6.5 boxes (0.065 cubic metres)
Scope and content
Papers of Major General Sir Frederick Barton Maurice, relating to his letter to the press concerning the government's statements about the strength of the British Army, May 1918, dated 1917-1971, principally comprising Maurice's diary, Jan-May 1918; printed and typescript texts by Maurice, 1918-1919, 1922, notably including 'The story of the crisis of May 1918', dated 1918; correspondence with family and colleagues, 1918-1922, 1925, 1934, 1936; newspaper cuttings, 1918, 1936, 1939; copies of Parliamentary and War Cabinet papers, 1918; correspondence relating to The Maurice Case (Leo Cooper, London, 1972) by Nancy Maurice (Nancy Spears, wife of Maj Gen Sir Edward (Louis) Spears, 1st Bt), 1967-1971. Papers collected by Maurice during the writing of The life of General Lord Rawlinson of Trent (Cassell and Co, London, 1928) and Haldane (Faber and Faber, London, 1937, 1939), comprising letters received by Rt Hon Richard Burdon Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane, 1894, 1898, 1902, 1915-1916, 1919, 1928; letters received by Henry Seymour Rawlinson, 1st Baron Rawlinson of Trent, 1888, 1914-1916, 1918, 1921, notably including letters from Maj Gen Henry Hughes Wilson and Gen Sir Alexander John Godley concerning the Battle of the Aisne, Sep 1914 and operations at Gallipoli, 1915.
Other papers relating to his life and career, 1888-1951, dated 1888-1971, principally comprising letters to his wife describing his service in South Africa, 1899-1900, and as General Staff Officer, 3 Div, France, 1914-1915, and Director of Military Operations, Imperial General Staff, 1915; correspondence, 1915-1919, relating to his service as Director of Military Operations, 1915-1918, notably including letters from Maj Gen Archibald Armar Montgomery-Massingberd, Maj Gen John Humphrey Davidson, Lt Gen Sir George (Norton) Cory, Lt Gen Sir William Raine Marshall, Maj Gen Sir Arthur Lynden Lynden-Bell concerning operations on the Western Front, 1916-1917, and in the Balkans, 1916-1917, Mesopotamia, 1917-1918, and Palestine, 1917; correspondence with Gen Sir Charles Harington Harington, [1923], 1925, 1932, 1934; printed and typescript articles, lectures and other writings, 1913-1943, notably including text of 'On the uses of the study of war', his inaugural lecture as Professor of Military Studies, London University, 1927, text of Maurice's Lee Knowles lecture 'Public opinion in war', and articles on arms limitation, 1921, 1926, the Graeco-Turkish War, 1922, the Corfu Incident, [1923], and the possibility of war between the USA and Japan, 1925; newspaper cuttings, 1912-1919, 1924-1927, 1938, 1945, 1951, principally comprising reviews of his books. Family papers, [1806-1812], principally comprising papers relating to Maurice's grandfather, Frederick Denison Maurice, [1833-1869], 1927; papers relating to his wife's family, [1806-1812], 1874-1879, 1896, 1909-[1915], 1921, notably including personal letters written by her great-grandfather, Spencer Perceval, [1806-1812], and an account of a day during the Paris Commune, written in [1871] by [Norman Spencer].
System of arrangement
The papers form sections 1, 3 and 4 of the Maurice family collection. Section 2 of the collection consists of the papers of Maurice's father, Maj Gen Sir (John) Frederick Maurice.
General Information
Name of creator
Biographical history
Born in 1871; gazetted to Derbyshire Regt (later the Sherwood Foresters), 1892; served in Tirah Expeditions, India, 1897-1898; Capt, 1899; Special Service Officer, South Africa, 1899-1900; entered Staff College, 1902; General Staff Officer Grade 2, War Office, 1902; General Staff Officer Grade 2, 1908; Maj, 1911; Instructor, Staff College, 1913; Lt Col 1913; General Staff Officer Grade 2, later Grade 1, 3 Div, France, 1914-1915; Director of Military Operations, Imperial General Staff, 1915-1918; Maj Gen, 1916; wrote letter to the press accusing David Lloyd George's government of making misleading statements about the strength of British Army on the Western Front, May 1918; retired from Army and became military correspondent for The Daily Chronicle, May 1918; helped to found British Legion, 1920; Principal, Working Men's College, London, 1922-1933; Professor of Military Studies, London University, 1927; President of the British Legion, 1932-1947; Principal of Queen Mary College, University of London, 1933-1944; died in 1951.
The Russo-Turkish War, 1877-1878 (Special Campaign Series, 1905); Sir Frederick Maurice: a record of his work and opinions (Edward Arnold, London, 1913); Forty days in 1914 (Constable and Co, London, 1919); The last four months (Cassell and Co, London, 1919); The life of Lord Wolseley (with Sir George Compton Archibald Arthur) (William Heinemann, London, 1924); Robert E Lee, the soldier (Constable and Co, London, 1925); Governments and war (William Heinemann, London, 1926); An aide-de-camp of Lee (Little, Brown and Co, London, 1927); The life of General Lord Rawlinson of Trent (Cassell and Co, London, 1928); British strategy (Constable and Co, London, 1929); The 16th Foot (Constable and Co, London, 1931); The history of the Scots Guards (Chatto and Windus, London, 1934); Haldane (Faber and Faber, London, 1937, 1939); The armistices of 1918 (Oxford University Press, London, 1943); The adventures of Edward Wogan (G Routledge and Sons, London, 1945). Also contributed to John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, Baron Acton's Cambridge modern history planned by (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1902-1911).
Name of creator
Biographical history
Born in 1841; educated Addiscombe College and Royal Military Academy, Woolwich; commissioned into Royal Artillery 1861; passed through Staff College, 1870; Private Secretary to FM Sir Garnet Joseph Wolseley in Ashanti Campaign, 1873-1874; served in South Africa, 1879-1880, Egypt, 1882, and the Sudan, 1884-1885; also served in Intelligence Department, War Office; Professor of Military History, Staff College, 1885-1892; Aldershot, 1892-1893; commanding Royal Artillery, Eastern District, 1893-1895; Maj Gen, 1895; commanded Woolwich District, 1895-1902; died in 1912.
Repository
Custodial history
Presented to the Centre by the family in 1972 and 1973.
Conditions governing access
Open, subject to signature of Reader's undertaking form, and appropriate provision of two forms of identification, to include one photographic ID.
Conditions governing reproduction
Copies, subject to the condition of the original, may be supplied from open material for research purposes only.
Requests to publish original material should be submitted to the Trustees of the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, via the Archives.
Language of material
- English
- French
Script of material
Language and script notes
Mainly English, some French
Finding aids
This collection level description. Further finding aids may be available in the Reading Room.
Existence and location of copies
Churchill Archives Centre, Cambridge (GB 0014) holds a copy of 'The story of the crisis of May 1918', along with a small collection of related papers.
Related materials
Publication note
Some of the material relating to the events of May 1918 has been published in The Maurice Case (Leo Cooper, London, 1972) by Nancy Maurice (Nancy Spears, wife of Maj Gen Sir Edward (Louis) Spears,
Alternative identifier(s)
People and Organisations
- Godley, Sir Alexander John, 1867-1957, Knight, General (Subject)
- Haldane, Richard Burdon, 1856-1928, 1st Viscount Haldane of Cloan, politician, lawyer and philosopher (Subject)
- Harington, Sir Charles Harington, 1872-1940, Knight, General (Subject)
- Marshall, Sir William Raine, 1865-1939, Knight, Lieutenant General (Subject)
- Massingberd, Sir Archibald Armar Montgomery-, 1871-1947, Knight, Field Marshal (Subject)
- Maurice, John Frederick Denison, 1805-1872, theologian and Christian Socialist (Subject)
- Perceval, Spencer, 1795-1859, politician (Subject)
- Rawlinson, Henry Seymour, 1864-1925, 1st Baron Rawlinson of Trent, General (Subject)
- Spencer, Norman, fl 1871, author (Subject)
- Wilson, Sir Henry Hughes, 1864-1922, Knight, Field Marshal and politician (Subject)
- British Army (Subject)
Genre access points
Rules and/or conventions used
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000.
Script(s)
Archivist's note
Compiled Mar 1997