War Cabinet Minutes (HMSO), 1939-1945 is a themed microfiche collection containing copies of the minutes of the War Cabinet Meetings, Sep 1939-Jul 1945, and Cabinet Conclusions and Confidential Annexes, 1941-1945. Meeting minutes include British plans to create discord amongst the German High Command, Nov 1939; criticism of the military campaign in Norway, May 1940; First Lord of the Admiralty Winston (Leonard Spencer) Churchill's criticism of the Allied propaganda campaign in France, May 1940; speculation on the ability of the German population to sustain prolonged war, May 1940; reaction to the Allied withdrawals in France and Belgium, May 1940; the debate over the possible compromise peace with Germany, 26-28 May 1940; the decision to intern all enemy aliens in the United Kingdom; May 1940; Churchill's reaction to American isolationism, May 1940; the seizing of French warships in British and Egyptian harbours and the sinking of French warships at Mers-el-Kebir, Egypt, 23 Jun 1940; straining Anglo-French relations, Jul 1940; the Anglo-American 'destroyers for bases' agreement, Aug 1940; Churchill's attempt to take to court the Sunday Pictorial and the Daily Mirror over the newspapers' alleged anti-Government editorials, Oct 1940; preparations for the possible German invasion of the Britain, 1940; civil defence precautions in Britain, 1940; the British intervention in Greece, 1941; speculation on Soviet military collapses following the invasion of the Soviet Union by German armed forces, Jun 1941; Churchill's appeals to US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt for American intervention in the war, 1941; reaction over the fall of Singapore and Malaya to Japanese armed forces, Feb 1942; Anglo-American preparations for the invasion of North Africa, 1942; naval and air operations against France, 1943; the 'Beveridge Report' on social security in Britain, 1943; reports on Allied conferences at Casablanca, Jan 1943, and Washington, May 1943; the Allied decision to invade France made at the QUADRANT Conference, Quebec, Canada, Aug 1943; the planning and conduct of Operation OVERLORD, the Allied invasion of France, Jun 1944; the effect of the bombardment of London by German V1 pilotless aircraft and possible RAF reprisals against German civilian targets, Jun 1944; post-war reconstruction and rehabilitation in Europe, Jul 1944; plans for the Allied occupation of Germany and Austria, Nov 1944; British intervention in Greece in order to prevent a Communist take-over of the peninsula, Nov 1944; the establishment of the United Nations, 1945; arrangements for celebrating the end of the war in Europe, May 1945; the British General Election, Jul 1945.

Papers relating to his life and career, 1911-1942, dated 1911, 1938, [1960-1965], 1967, principally comprising bound typescript entitled 'Disaster in the Far East, 1941-1942', an account of his work as Secretary for Defence, Malaya, 1938-1941, and his assessment of the events leading up to the fall of Singapore, 1942, written in [1960-1965], including a copy of his unofficial report on the defence of Malaya, 1940, and a census map of Malaya, 1931, with covering letter to the Centre and cutting of his article on 'Singapore: the legend and the facts' from the The Daily Telegraph, 1967.

Papers, maps, publications, photographs and newspaper cuttings relating to Maj Gen Dennis Edmund Blaquière Talbot's life and career, 1929-1992, Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regt, India, 1929-1930. Papers relating to Talbot's service as Bde Maj, 30 Infantry Bde, British Expeditionary Force (BEF), France, Apr-Jun 1940, the defence and fall of Calais, and Talbot's escape from German captivity and return to the UK, 1940, including five printed maps of France and Belgium, 1937-1942; photograph of HMS VESPER, the destroyer that picked up the escape party, 17 Jun 1940; typescript report for MI9, War Office, by Talbot, Capt Edgar Alexander Wilmot Williams, 2 Bn, 60 Rifles, and Lt W Millett, Royal Corps of Signals and Bde signal Officer, 30 Infantry Bde, entitled 'Report compiled by three officers of the 30th Infantry Brigade who were captured at Calais on the evening of the 26th May 1940, escaped on the 30th May and finally arrived in England on the night of 17th June 1940', dated 22 Jun 1940 manuscript text of lecture by Talbot on the defence of Calais, 1940, with two large wall charts, sketch maps of the campaign in France, 1940, and of the defence of Calais, May-Jun 1940; correspondence, dated 1940-1941, with relatives of men captured or killed at Calais, 1940, including typescript list of killed, wounded, missing and captured, 1 Bn, The Rifle Brigade, 1940; three editions of The defence of Calais by Eric Robert Russell Linklater (HMSO, London, 1941); typescript letter, dated 13 Jul 1971, to Talbot from Airey Middleton Sheffield Neave MP requesting information and recollections on the defence of Calais in 1940 to be used in a book later published as The flames of Calais: a soldier's battle (Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1972).

Papers relating to Talbot's service in the North West Europe campaign, 1944-1945, including typescript copies of monthly War Diary, 7 Bn, Hampshire Regt, Jun 1944-May 1945, with typescript citations for gallantry awards, 1944-1945; typescript account '7th Bn The Hampshire Regiment in the North West European campaign during the period 13th July 1944 to 17th June 1945', with list of honours and awards and order of battle, 43 (Wessex) Div, 1945; five photographs, 1944-1945, notably officers of 7 Bn, Hampshire Regt, 1944, and victory parade, Bremerhaven, Germany, 1945; edition of The story of the 5th Battalion The Dorsetshire Regiment in North West Europe, 23rd June, 1944 to 5th May, 1945 by Maj G R Hartwell, Maj G R Pack and Maj M A Edwards (Henry Ling, Dorchester, Dorset, [1946]); correspondence relating to the North West Europe campaign, 1944-1945, mostly with veterans of 7 Bn, Hampshire Regt, 1951-1959 and 1983-1991.

Talbot's course notes, RN Staff College, Greenwich, 1946; copies of Talbot's confidential annual reports, 1946-1955. Typescript text of radio broadcast by FM Sir William Joseph Slim entitled 'Our Army', 2 Nov 1952. Papers relating to the Malayan Emergency, 1949-1955, including printed leaflet entitled 'Security hints', Malaya, 1952; typescript 'Appreciation of the situation in Malaya' by Lt Gen Sir Hugh Charles Stockwell, General Officer Commanding Malaya, 15 Oct 1953; Flying Log Book, Malaya, Oct 1953-Oct 1955, with group photograph of 1911 Light Liaison Flight RAF, Royal Naval Air Station Sembawang, Singapore, Aug 1955; twenty seven uncaptioned photographs relating to Talbot's service in Malaya, 1953-1955; eight printed maps of Malaya, 1953-1955; typescript copy of memorandum by Lt Col John Hamilton Allford, 2 Bn, 7 Duke of Edinburgh's Own Gurkha Rifles, entitled 'The location and attack on CT (Communist Terrorist) camps and cultivations in jungle', Jan 1954; typescript report entitled 'Malaya Command. Demonstration of field defences in atomic warfare', Dec 1954; typescript Operational Instructions, Malaya, 1954-1955, including Operation MOHICAN, Nov 1953-Mar 1954, and Operation LATIMER NORTH, South Pahang, Malaya, Sep 1954-Apr 1955; typescript copy of translated statement by Ng Heng, Representative of the Supreme Command Headquarters of the Malayan Racial Liberation Army, on negotiating a settlement to the Malayan Emergency, 1 May 1955; typescript memorandum by Talbot, commanding 99 Gurkha Infantry Bde, entitled 'Psychological warfare', May 1955; typescript 'Handing over notes' from Talbot to Brig Edward Philip Townsend on relinquishing command of 99 Gurkha Infantry Bde, Jun 1955, with related correspondence, May-Sep 1955; typescript situation reports from Maj John Eric Heelis, Headquarters, 99 Gurkha Infantry Bde, Malaya, Oct 1955-Oct 1956;.

Also, printed leaflet 'Edward VIII. His Coronation route', 1936; printed leaflet 'Code of battle signals' [1940]; three printed pamphlets entitled Notes from France,, Nos 1-3 (War Office, London, Jan 1940); printed pamphlet entitled Summary of events. Flanders campaign, 10th May-3rd June 1940 (War Office, London, Jul 1940); edition of The Regimental Officer's Handbook of the German Army (War Office, London, Aug 1943); edition of The history of the Hampshire Regiment (37th and 67th Foot) (Gale and Polden, Aldershot, Hampshire, 1944).

Two typescript drafts of 'Failure in Malaya', an account of the Malayan campaign and the fall of Singapore, 1941-1942, written in [1963] and later published as Singapore, too little, too late (Leo Cooper, London, 1970).

Papers relating to his medical career with the RN, 1939-1952, dated 1908, [1943]-1950, principally comprising typescript texts written as Chief Malariologist with the British Pacific Fleet, [1943-1946], including accounts of his work in Singapore, Hong Kong and Pacific Islands; typescript texts by Mockler and others on malaria and its treatment, [1943-1946]; official annual reportsas Naval Medical Officer of Health, Hong Kong, 1951-1952; lecture notes circulated at the RN Medical School, Alverstoke, to accompany a course on radiological defence, [1947]; British, Australian and US military publications on health and medical issues, 1942-1950, mainly malaria and tropical diseases.

Papers of Captain Frank Edward Weatherstone Lammert on service in Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) in Far East and Mediterranean, 1943-1964, including photocopies from The National Archives (formerly Public Record Office) (Ref PRO ADM 199) of Lammert's reports on his command of Netherlands East Indies motor patrol vessel P-10 and the events of his escape from Singapore to Australia, Feb-Mar 1942; magazine, The Sun Life War Front , 20 Mar 1943, including Lammert's account of his escape (see also PRO copy); certificates of mentions in dispatches, Jan 1944 and Feb 1945; three copies of The Navolteer , magazine of the Singapore Division, Malayan Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Vol. 1 Numbers 2-4, Dec 1956, June 1957 and Dec 1959; Vietnamese and Singaporean press cuttings relating to goodwill visit by HMS PANGLIMA, under Lammert's command, to the Vietnamese Navy at Saigon, Apr 1957; order of ceremony for unveiling of war memorial to Malayan RNVR, Singapore, Jul 1957; letters of congratulation, 1957-1958, on relinquishing post as Officer Commanding Singapore Division, Malayan RNVR, and on award of CBE; programme for ceremonial transfer of Malayan RNVR to the Federation of Malay, Sep 1963; correspondence re Lammert's transfer to RNR retired list, 1964, and 1994-1995; exchange of letters, 7 and 14 Feb 1989, concerning Lammert's war service , 1939-1945, and other Malayan RNVR personnel; copy correspondence, Nov 1994, re the placing of an annual in memoriam notice in the _Times and Telegraph _, for members of the Malayan RNVR who died serving in HMS LABURNUM; correspondence with Audrey Holmes McCormick, 1994 and 1996, re her research for proposed book on volunteer forces in the Far East, 1930s - 1940s including detailed 15pp letter from Lammert relating to his naval service and to his early life in Hong Kong and China (including a meeting, aged 4, with the Chinese Emperor); photocopy map of Malaysia and Sumatra, [1964]; photographs (uncaptioned), chiefly of Malayan RNVR official events. Also letter and notes to Lammert from his brother, Robert T Oswald Lammert (1902-1981), Jun 1979, describing his experiences as a Prisoner of War, in Changi POW Camp, Singapore, 1942-1945, with photocopies of drawings by Ronald Searle, done in Changi camp, and a Union Flag picked up by Robert Lammert on the march from central Singapore to Changi camp, 1942, which he occasionally surreptitiously hoisted in camp.

Anti-British propaganda leaflet, in Arabic, Hindi, and Urdu; anti-British propaganda leaflet calling for the Indian Independence League in East Asia to assist the Japanese in ridding Asia of all British influences; anti-French propaganda leaflet distributed in Indo- China announcing the fall of Singapore to the Japanese, 1942

Typescript account of his experiences during the Japanese attack on Singapore and his subsequent escape to Sumatra, Jan-Feb 1942, written in [1948].

Copies of papers and photographs relating to Hobbs' career, 1888-1912, including eighteen manuscript letters home from Singapore, 1892, and from the Sudan, 1897-1900. Correspondence, newspaper cuttings, obituaries and records of service, 1888-1912, including newspaper cuttings relating to the campaign in the Sudan, 1897-1898, notably the Battle of Omdurman, Sep 1898, and manuscript letter to Hobbs from Col Sir (Francis) Reginald Wingate, Sirdar of the Egyptian Army, on Hobbs' resignation from the Egyptian Army, 5 Nov 1901. Thirty photographs, [1888]-1908, notably the officers of HMS MERCURY, 1893, and soldiers of 11 Sudanese Bn, Sudan, 1902.

Copy of personal account by Colonel Philip Roland Gold of his escape from Singapore, 13 Feb - 8 April 1942, including vivid descriptions of: street fighting; the chaos of evacuation and lack of boats; the commandeering of a Chinese fishing boat by Gold and subsequent difficulties steering the vessel, ensuring provisions lasted and keeping up morale; crossing the Sumatran jungle, Indonesia, in canoe and on foot; negotiations with villagers for assistance; evacuation to Padang, Indonesia; journey from Padang to India on Royal Navy Cruiser HOBART.

Photocopy of manuscript account by Lt Col Oliver Brian Masters North, 3 Bn, 17 Dogra Regt, 8 Indian Bde, Indian Army, relating to the landing of Japanese forces at Khota Bahru, Malaya, 7 Dec 1941; photocopy of unpublished transcript account of the British counter-attack during Japanese attacks at Khota Bharu, Badang, and Kuala Krai by 3 Bn, 17 Dogra Regt, Dec 1941; photocopies of articles relating to 3 Bn, 17 Dogra Regt, during the invasion occupation of Malaya, 1941-1945, including most notably lecture given by Lt Gen Sir Lewis Macclesfield Heath, General Officer Commanding 3 Indian Corps, relating to the fall of Singapore and his experiences as a prisoner of war, [1946]; photocopy of transcript account of the Japanese landings at Kota Bharu for inclusion into the 1947 edition of The Dogra Quarterly; photocopy of transcript account, 'A History of 21st Mountain Battery, Indian Artillery during the Campaign in Malaya', detailing action with 3 Bn, 17 Dogra Regt, at Khota Bahru, Dec 1941; photocopy of typescript obituary of North for inclusion into the Dogra Regimental Association newsletter, detailing North's career in Malaya during World War Two, May 1991