Papers of Sir Frank Cooper, 1953-1999, primarily relating to his service as Permanent Under Secretary of State, Northern Ireland Office, 1973-1976, as Permanent Under Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence, 1976-1982, and post retirement, 1983-1999. The papers include correspondence, articles, press cuttings, press releases, reports, speeches, interviews and conference papers on a variety of topics including: the Air Ministry in the 1950s and 1960s, including the Suez War and Operation MUSKETEER, 1956; the political situation in Northern Ireland, 1973-1976; the Falklands War, 1981-1982, particularly the reaction of the Ministry of Defence and of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and the sinking of the Argentinean cruiser BELGRANO; the Civil Service, including relationships with the Government, structural reorganisations, Parliamentary Committees and policy making; the Ministry of Defence, including the Defence budget, management policy and accountability, the civilian contribution to the MoD, the relationships between defence procurement, industry and the economy; wider defence issues including the relationships between Britain, Europe, America and NATO, the importance of research and development collaboration, arms sales, the Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI), the European aerospace industry, American protectionism and technology transfer; British nuclear weapons policy, nuclear deterrence and disarmament, ATBM (anti tactical ballistic missile) defences and the management of the Trident, Polaris and Chevaline projects; British and French maritime forces; and Westland Helicopters PLC, including correspondence from Cooper's time as Director (1982-1985) and parliamentary reports relating to the sale of the company. Also papers relating to projects and study groups including the Joint Study of European Cooperative Measures for Aeronautical Research and Technology (EUROMART), 1978-1991; the EUREKA research and development programme, 1985-1986; EUROGROUP, 1982; the Foundation for International Security, 1984-1990; the British Rocketry Oral History Project, 1997-1998; the Defence Study Group of the Institute for European Defence and Strategic Studies, 1988-1990; and the Institute for Defence Procurement Studies, 1989-1990. Photographs of the Chiefs of Staff Committee in session, 1965-1977 and the Falklands War, 1982, including Royal Marines progressing through Port Stanley, surrendering Argentinean soldiers and piles of surrendered Argentinean weapons. Prints Ulster Impressions by Joan Wanklyn, 1974, RAF Aldergrove by Ken Howard, 1975 and The Great White Whale by Ronald Dean, depicting the SS CANBERRA, 1982.

Official and personal correspondence and typescript and manuscript texts of speeches of Lt Gen Sir Napier Crookenden relating to service as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Command, 1969-1972; correspondence relating to service as Col Commandant, Prince of Wales Div, 1970-1974;photographic slides, film, audiotape and related papers relating to Crookenden's Kermit Roosevelt Lecture Tour of the USA, 1971, relating to the Army's role in Internal Security, with specific reference to operations in Northern Ireland, 1969-1971; research notes and correspondence relating to Dropzone Normandy: the story of the American and British airborne assault on D Day, 1944 (Allan, London, 1976), Airborne at war (Allan, London, 1978) and Battle of the Bulge, 1944 (Allan, London, 1980).

Papers of AM Tim Garden, 1982-2006, including transcripts of lectures by Garden, 1982-2002; articles by Garden, 1984-2005 and papers reflecting his research on the Falklands War; Kosovo; Iraq; Iran; Afghanistan; nuclear weapons; Northern Ireland; military capabilities in Europe; NATO and the European Union. Papers include press cuttings, articles, correspondence, draft papers pamphlets and other published material.

Printed manuals including Military History Burma 1943-1945 and Guide to new arrivals: the British Army in Cyprus , nd. Pamphlet histories of the Queen Mary's Auxiliary Corps, University of St Andrews Officer Training Corps, The Womens' Royal Army Corps, Royal College of Defence Studies and the Imperial Defence College. Official publications including 'Report on the staff/promotion examination 1967' and 'The Armed Forces Pension Scheme' [1991]; Womens' Royal Army Corps (WRAC) items including WRAC: Corps Memorandum, 1978; WRAC Liaison Notes, 1987; Corps Day programme, 15 Jun 1996 and WRAC concert programme, 21 Mar 1992. Biographies for the 1987 course at Royal College of Defence Studies and obituaries and portrait photograph of Meechie.

Publications, 1943-2000, chiefly on women in the Armed Forces including Lioness (journal of the Womens' Royal Army Corps Association), issues 1963-2000; Women in Khaki , Roy Terry (1988); Marlborough's Campaigns , Maycock (1956); Je Maintiendrai: a concise history of the Dutch Army , Amersfoort /Kamphuis (1985); Service with the Army , Dame Helen Gwynne-Vaughan (1941); The Chilwell Story: VC factory and Ordnance Depot , Haslam (1982); Pig in the Middle: The Army in Northern Ireland , 1969-1984, Hamill (1985); The New Groundwork of British History , Warner, Marten & Muir (1943); F.A.N.Y. The Story of the Women's Transport Service , Hugh Popham (1985) and The Auxiliary Territorial Service , The War Office (1949).

Papers of Sir David Ramsbotham, including reports, correspondence, photographs, lecture texts, press cuttings and ephemera, relating to his career, 1974-1995.Papers relating to Northern Ireland including Northern Ireland intelligence summaries, 22 Mar-11 Aug 1978; reports including report on 2nd Bn, Royal Green Jackets, Northern Ireland operations, Nov 1974-Feb 1975 and related correspondence; report on the organisation and operation of Bn search teams, 8 Aug 1974; report to Brigadier Ramsbotham from J.H. Dunlop on the subject of education in Belfast, 7 Jan 1980; 'Report on the situation in Belfast as at 14 July 1980'; report by Ramsbotham while commanding 39th Infantry Brigade to Major General Glover Commander Land Forces Northern Ireland, 15 Jul 1980 and situation report 39th Infantry Bde, Belfast, July 1980; training notes and reports; operation statistics, 6 Dec 1978-5 Dec 1979; papers relating to riot and crowd control in Northern Ireland, 19 Sep 1978; correspondence, 1971-1993, including two letters from Dervla Murphy Oct and Dec 1987; transcripts and notes for lectures on 2nd Bn, The Royal Green Jackets' time in Ireland between 1 Nov 1974 and 28 Feb 1975 and press cuttings and articles on Northern Ireland, 1971-1990.Papers relating to the Falkland Islands including detailed account of Ramsbotham's tour, 23 Jun-1 Jul 1982; photographs; related press cuttings and notes on a 1989 visit.Transcripts of speeches by Ramsbotham on defence and peacekeeping, 1982-1995; transcripts of speeches on military subjects by various speakers, 1982-1995; articles relating to defence 1959-1989; articles and talks by FM Lord Carver 1971-1996; papers relating to HRH Silver Jubilee review of the Army 1977; papers relating to official visits; papers relating to the United Nations, 1993-1997; booklets on military subjects, 1962-1995 and memoranda and copies of articles on defence and the media, 1982-1985.Photographs including of the Falkland Islands visit; the opening of the Adjutant General Information Centre; Ramsbotham's early career; presentation of the Imperial Service medal to June Small; visit to the Guides Infantry; visit to the USA; visit to the UNISYS International management centre; visiting troops during winter training; visits by Col Gen Omelichev to Winchester and Winchester Cathedral; meeting soldiers on patrol; official visits in Germany; on exercise Lone Star; visiting commonwealth troops in India and Africa and a visit to Gibraltar.

Photograph albums relating to his military career, [1914-1942], notably his service in Northern Ireland, 1920, Hong Kong and Shanghai, 1930, North Africa and India, [1930-1940], and Kenya, 1940-1942, with associated papers, [1914-1942], notably a diary of C and D Companies, 1 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regt, Belfast, 28 Jul-30 Jul 1920.

German armed forces maps, gazetteers, and geographic charts of the United Kingdom, 1939-1944. Includes detailed study produced by the Commander in Chief of the German Air Force concerning the organisation of the RAF, the strengths and locations of British aircraft production facilities, the location of RAF flight schools, airfields and anti-aircraft facilities, the location and strengths of RN facilities in Britain and the North Sea, and British aircraft carrier strengths, 1939; German harbour atlas and gazetteer produced and distributed by the Commander in Chief of the German Air Force, entitled Seehafensatlas Großbritannien, detailing in 1:50,000 maps and aerial photographs, naval harbours and ports in Britain, 1940; German Navy High Command map books of naval ports and harbours in the United Kingdom, their associated agricultural and heavy industries production rates, defence facilities, and geographical locations, 1940; map books issued by the Commander in Chief of the German Air Force, entitled Luftgeographisches Einzelheft Großbritannien, detailing the location of British heavy industry, gas works, water works, aircraft and naval production facilities in Britain, including 1:21,120 maps, 1940; German Army High Command book, entitled Militärgeographie Angaben über Irland, and detailing in photographs the towns, cities and countryside of Ireland and Northern Ireland; German Army Command gazetteer of Ireland and Northern Ireland, entitled Militärgeographie Angaben über Irland, listing county sizes, numbers of inhabitants, population densities, industries, and harbour and port facilities in Ireland and Northern Ireland, 1940; German Army High Command gazetteers of Britain, listing alphabetically towns and cities, their longitude and latitude co-ordinates, their respective counties, numbers of inhabitants, industrial and agricultural production rates, and trains station facilities, 1941; map book distributed by the Commander in Chief of the German Air Force, entitled Britische Flugrüstungsindustrie, detailing the location, size, and production rate of ship-building and aircraft production centres in Great Britain, 1941; map books distributed by the Commander in Chief of the German Air Force including detailed photographs, 1:100,000 and 1:250,000 maps, longitude and latitude co-ordinates, population density statistics, and points of reference notes for town and cities in Britain, 1943-1944