The papers cover the period 1915-1978, and include papers on his service in World War One, in particular extracts from diary on Galliopoli offensive May 1915 and Allied raid on Zeebrugge, Apr 1918; correspondence, narratives of operations and photographs from service as Officer Commanding Sudan Camel Corps, 1927-1930; reports on defence of British Somaliland and accounts of Italian invasion of Somaliland from service as Officer Commanding Somaliland Camel Corps, 1937-1940; papers on service as Military Governor and Officer Commaning, British Somaliland, 1941-1943; papers on service as Officer Commanding Portsmouth Div Royal Marines, including narrative of Operation OVERLORD, 1943-1944; papers on service as Director of Combined Operations, India and South-East Asia, including notes on Operation LIGHTNING, 1944-1945; papers on service as Commander Chatham Group Royal Marines, including lecture notes1946-1948; unpublished manuscripts on aspects of Allied war effort in British Somaliland; papers on service as Honorary Colonel Somaliland Scouts, 1948-1958, and membership of Anglo-Somali-Society, 1960-1978.

Papers of Colonel Stevenson Lyle Cummins comprising memoirs of service in Africa and France, 1898-1918, and war diaries and other papers, 1914-1916. Copy memoir, 1873-1904, detailing service with Medical Service Corps in Egypt and the Sudan, including accounts of medical work handling wounds and cases of typhoid, diarrhoea, malaria, fevers, dehydration and scorpion stings at locations including: Genetti Fort, Sudan, Darmali Camp, Sudan; Omdurman Camp, Sudan; Waw Garrison, Sudan and the Kassala District, Sudan; also accounts of Battle of Omdurman, 1898; an expedition to recapture the town of Gallabat, Sudan, from Abyssinian forces; expeditions in the Bar el Ghazal region, Sudan, to capture cattle and burn huts in Dinka villages and visit friendly Dinka chieftains; and an attack on Ibrahim Wad Mahmud, slaver, at Jerok, Sudan. Includes detail of hunting expeditions and daily life for troops. Copy memoir of World War One service, 1914-1918. War diary kept by Cummins as Deputy Assistant Director General, Medical Services, British Expeditionary Force, France, 1 Jan - 31 Dec 1915, with appendiced reports, memoranda and correspondence on: treatment of cerebro-spinal meningitis, trench foot (described as 'chilled feet' or frost-bite) and the supply of waterproof paper stockings, gum boots and whale oil as preventatives, anti gas precautions; logistical reports concerning personnel, evacuations, ambulance trains and barges; reports of an enquiry into an enemy chlorine and bromine gas attack to the south of "Shell Trap Farm" (village of St Julien, near Ypres), 24 May, 1915; report on captured German trenches, 16 June 1915; copy letter from General Sir Cecil Frederick Nevil Macready to the War Office regarding the establishment of a Central Laboratory for experimental work on prevention of gas asphyxiation; copy letter from Sir Arthur Sloggett to Sir Alfred Keogh, 9 Dec 1915, on the possibility of researching improved personal armour at Imperial College London. War diary for Report Centre GHQ, Hazebrouck, 10-17 March 1915, detailing logistics of transportation of wounded from Clearing Stations. War diary for Advanced GHQ, 8-23 May 1915, including casualty figures at Gas Clearing Stations; routine orders issued by General Sir Cecil Frederick Nevil Macready, Adjutant General, British Expeditionary Force, 18 Aug 1914, concerning procedures if taken prisoner, if a white flag should be hoisted by the enemy, the speed at which to drive motor-cars, and the correct procedure for saluting; report on the provision and stocking of ambulance trains, 9 March 1916; report on provision of extra personnel for Casualty Clearing Stations during heavy fighting, 9 March 1916; undated casualty figures at Casualty Clearing Stations for the 1 Army, 2 Army and 3 Army.

Copy of typescript memoir covering the period 1914-1918, including his service with 3 Bn, London Regt in Sudan, 1915, Gallipoli, 1915, and France and Belgium, 1916-1918, notably the Battle of the Somme, 1916, dated 1935. Includes transcript of an extract from the diary of Private W Law covering his service with 3 Bn, London Regt in Gallipoli, Nov-Dec 1915.

Photocopies of memoir covering military service, 1860-1918; published account of Tochi Valley expedition, Afghanistan, 1897-1898; complaint relating to conditions in trenches, Western Front, World War One, 1915.