Press cuttings relating to First Boer War, 1881, and the Second Boer War, 1899-1902, notably concerning the death of Gen Sir George Pomeroy Colley at the Battle of Majuba Hill, 1881; the Transvaal Crisis, 1896; the Siege of Ladysmith, Natal, 1899; British rule in South Africa, 1899; the controversy over the publication of official despatches from the campaign at Spion Kop, Natal, 1900. Press cuttings relating to the Balkans, 1908-1913, concern most notably the rise of the 'Young Turks' movement in Turkey and the restoration of the Turkish Constitution, 1908; the first anniversary of the annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina by Austria-Hungary, 1909; the general mobilisation of Bulgarian troops along the Turkish frontier, in the prelude to the First Balkan War, 1912; the mobilisation of Turkish, Serbian, and Greek troops, 1912; the comparative strengths of the Turkish and Greek navies in the prelude to the First Balkan War, 1912; the demands of the Balkan states of Bulgaria, Montenegro, Serbia, and Greece to Austria-Hungary and Russia, 1912; the formal declaration of war issued by the Balkan States of Bulgaria, Montenegro, Serbia, and Greece to Turkey, 1912; the first battles of the First Balkan War at Lule Burgas, Bulgaria, 1912; the fall of Adrianople, Turkey, 1913; the establishment of the new border between Bulgaria and Turkey, following the defeat of Turkish forces during the First Balkan War, 1913. Press cuttings relating to Irish Home rule concern the issue of the Government of Ireland Bill, Apr 1912; the establishment of a Provisional Government for Ulster, Sep 1913; the Government of Ireland Bill, 1920; the Conference on Ireland and the formation of the Irish Free State, Oct-Dec 1921. Press cuttings relating to the British Army in Ulster primarily concern the resignation of Lt Col Rt Hon John Edward Bernard Seely MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary, and subsequently Secretary of State for War, and the Curragh Incident, Dublin, 1914

Two albums of black and white photographs relating to service in Iraq with No 1 Armoured Car Company, 1936, including images of sailing aboard the HMS DORSETSHIRE, Mar 1936; Port Said and the Suez Canal, Egypt, Apr 1936; No 1 Armoured Car Company on deployment in the desert near Salman Pak, Iraq; reconnaissance trip to Kurdistan, Aug 1936; landscapes and snapshots of local life, Iraq; the streets of Baghdad, Iraq; armoured vehicles and aeroplanes at headquarters; biplanes in flight; snapshots of Blackton and colleagues at headquarters and at an athletics event; accommodation and recreation facilities at headquarters. Also loose photographs of the battleship HMS RODNEY and of seaplanes being tested, including the Saro Windhover, [1933].

Texts of lectures and related letters on military government in Tripolitania, Eritrea and Ethiopia, given at the School of Military Government, University of Virginia, 1943; papers relating to the 50th Annual and 2nd War Conference, International Association of Chiefs of Police, Detroit, 9-11 Aug 1943, including lecture notes on military government in Tripolitania; lecture notes dated 1943 relating to pre-World War Two administration in Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. Copy out-letter book kept by Blackley as Area Intelligence Officer, 5 Indian Division, Ethiopia, 1941.

Look back with pleasure', typescript memoirs covering his life and career, 1897-1965, notably his service in Mesopotamia and Palestine, 1915-1918, India, 1919-1925 and 1957-1962, Africa, 1939-1944, Germany, 1945-1950, and Cyprus, 1964-1965, written in 1971.

Papers relating to his military career, 1937-1972, principally comprising recruitment poster for North Staffordshire Regt, 1937; unsigned account of operations of 2 Bn North Staffs Regt, France, 12 May-1 Jun 1940, written in [1940]; unsigned account of operations of 6 Bn North Staffordshire Regt, France, 1 Jul-31 Aug 1944, written in [1944]; The Battle of Flanders by Kenneth Adam (Hutchinson and Co, London, 1940); papers relating to his service with North Staffordshire Regt in Trieste, 1951-1953, principally comprising press cuttings concerning protests against the Allied Military Government in Trieste, 1953, and official photographs of visit by Adm Louis (Francis Albert Victor Nicholas) Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet, [1952-1953]; copies of letters written to his family during his service in Korea, 1953-1954; press cuttings relating to evacuation of Allied troops from Dunkirk, France, 1940. Papers relating to Bird's grandfather Gen James Lewis Bird, 1857- 1938, notably including copy of a letter from Gen James Lewis Bird to his sister Pamela, 2 Jun 1857, describing the outbreak of the Indian Mutiny at Meerut, India, May-Jun 1857.

Copies of papers of Col Alexander Dumaresq Bennett, including photographs, papers and press cuttings relating to his service with Mohmand Field Force, North West Frontier Province, India, 1935-1936, including a report on a night ambush 28-29 Sep [1935] and Bennett's record of service.Papers of Edward Claude Pine-Coffin including portrait photograph; group photograph [of the 14 Punjabi Regiment] and souvenir booklet relating to the Shanghai Defence Forces, May 1927.Copies of papers of John Trenchard Pine-Coffin including papers relating to his OBE, 1963; photograph of John Pine-Coffin, 1974 and recommendation for Joint Services Staff College, 1955.

Collection includes manuscript memorandum by Amlot to 6 Sqn RAF Headquarters relating to the suppression of terrorist activities in Palestine, 15 Sep 1938; and press cuttings relating to the Royal Pakistan Air Force, 1948-1950, including mention of Pakistan's procurement of Dakota aircraft, Nov 1949; Amlot's inauguration of the first University Air Sqn at Dacca, East Pakistan, Nov 1949; articles written by Amlot relating to Royal Pakistan Air Force training, strategy, and force strengths, Aug-Sep 1950.

Papers, 1851-1919, relating to the military career of Sir Archibald Alison, including: detailed sketch map of Lucknow Garrison, India, 1851; memoranda to Alison from Lt Gen Sir Colin Campbell, Commander of British expedition to suppress Indian Mutiny, concerning troop movements, India, and operations at Lucknow for the relief of Lucknow Garrison, India, 1857; correspondence relating to British military operations in India, 1858-1862; records of service and correspondence relating to Alison's appointments, 1858-1892, with correspondents including Sir Henry Thurston Holland, 1st Lord Knutsford, Secretary of State for the Colonies, George William Frederick Charles, 2nd Duke of Cambridge, Commander in Chief of the British Army, and Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, Secretary of State for War; press cuttings relating to Alison's career, 1863-1907, including article, 'The brains of the Army', The Word, 17 Nov 1880, detailing the work of the Intelligence Department under Alison; official correspondence, 1868-1892; lithograph map of the battle of Amoaful (Amoafo), Ghana, printed by the Topographical Department of the War Office, 1874; letter from Alison's cousin, Gen Sir Montagu Gilbert Gerard, with detailed account of the capture of Kabul, Afghanistan, 1880; official correspondence relating to the campaign in Egypt, 1882-1883, chiefly concerning appointments, the state of the troops, organisation, and the necessity of retaining a permanent force in Egypt; memoranda by Alison, 1885-1886, on subjects including the Government of India proposals for a permanent increase in British troops in India, demobilisation in Egypt, Colonel Sir Charles Wilson's failure to reach Khartoum in time to relieve General Charles Gordon, and the importance of mounted infantry; notes [1889], by Alison on his career, 1845-1881; correspondence and press cuttings relating to Alison's death and funeral, 1907; correspondence between the Alison family and Blackwoods publishers, 1914-1918, concerning a possible biography of Alison; article, 'The European Brigade under Brigadier General Sir Archibald Alison in the Ashanti War, 1873-1874' by Major General Sir Charles Walker Robinson, Alison's son-in-law, [1919].

Official Conversations and Meetings of Dean Acheson, 1949-1953 are microfilmed copies of the minutes of conversations and meetings of Dean Acheson during his tenure as Secretary of State during the Truman administration, 1949-1953. Material includes minutes for meetings and conversations with Senator Arthur Hendrick Vandenberg concerning the Rhodes negotiations on the future of Palestine, 1949; Foreign Service employee George Frost Kennan relating to US-Soviet relations, 1949-1950; Rt Hon Sir Oliver Franks, British Ambassador to the US, concerning the former Italian colonies, the western mark for Berlin and the North Atlantic Pact, 1949; the US National Security Council relating to the re-training of the Austrian Army, Palestine, and the appointment of a military commander in Germany, 1949; President Harry S Truman concerning the Military Assistance Program, atomic energy, Palestine, British finances and the revolutionary situation in the Caribbean, 1949; Muhammad Riza Pahlevi, Shah-an-Shah of Iran, relating to financial assistance to Iran, 1949; Professor Hans Joachim Morgenthau concerning Cold War international relations; President Truman concerning the Korean crisis, 1950; US Department of Defense representatives concerning the Treaty of Peace with Japan, 1950, and the war in Korea, 1951-1953; US Gen George Catlett Marshall relating to the Economic Recovery Program (Marshall Plan).