World War Two (1939-1945)

WAR CABINET MINUTES (HMSO), 1939-1945

MFF1
Collection
1939-1945

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.

US OFFICE OF STRATEGIC SERVICES OPERATIONS IN WESTERN EUROPE, 1942-1945

MF204-MF211
Collection
1942-1945

OSS/London: Special Operations Branch and Secret Intelligence Branch War Diaries is a themed microfilm collection relating to US Office of Strategic Services (OSS)intelligence analyses and special operations in Western Europe, Jun 1942-Jun 1945. The collection includes Special Operations Branch organisation charts and directives, orders and summaries, Jun 1942-Jul 1944; Special Operations (SO) Branch and OSS training schedules; papers relating to Special Operations Branch liaison with Scandinavian Special Operations Executive (SOE) Section; reports on military and strategic objectives relating to Operation OVERLORD, the Allied invasion of France, Jan-Sep 1944; estimates of Special Operations personnel strength, Apr-Jun 1944; reports on resistance movements in Norway, Denmark, and Poland; summaries of Secret Intelligence Branch Operations, Apr-Sep 1944; list of decorations, commendations, and payments to families of the Special Operations and Secret Intelligence Branch casualties; biographies of Secret Intelligence personnel; reports from Secret Intelligence Branch operations in the Netherlands, France, Poland, Czechoslovakia; Germany; Secret Intelligence Branch liaison with the OSS; photographs of American and British Special Operations Branch officers; photographs of Maquis, French resistance, operatives; report from the Special Mission on German Methods of Demolition and Sabotage, Sep-Dec 1944; reports on Polish resistance fighters in France, 1944; lists of code names and code words used by the Special Operations Branch; reports from military, demolition, intelligence gathering, and espionage missions in Western Europe, 1944; after action summaries from the OSS Reports and Registry Division, London, and the OSS Reports Board, Paris, France, 1 Jan-15 Jun 1945.

STOCKWELL, Gen Sir Hugh Charles (1903-1986)

STOCKWELL
Collection
1923-1987

Papers relating to early career including memoirs covering 1903-1935 and Army Record of Service, 1923-1952; campaign in Norway, World War Two, including War Diary, May 1940, operational orders and diary covering preparation of 2 Independent Company for service in Norway; papers including lecture notes and schedules for courses at Special Training Centre, Inverailort Castle, Loch Ailort, 1940-1941; Madagascar, 1942-1943, including photograph album on service with 2 Company Royal Welch Fusiliers and order of battle for Battle of Majunga, Sep 1942; Burma, 1943-1945, including memoir and photograph album, 29 Brigade, 36 Division, official reports and printed histories including the Arakan campaign; Palestine, 1947-1948 including Operation BROADSIDE, 1946, reports and correspondence; transfer of 6 Airborne Division to British Army of the Rhine, 1947-1948; Malaya, including operational papers, photographs and texts of speeches; Suez Crisis, 1956, including reports, maps, photographs and correspondence; Deputy Supreme Allied Commander, 1960-1964 including photographs; and miscellaneous papers relating to postwar career, including memorial address, 1987.

Stockwell, Sir Hugh Charles, 1903-1986, Knight, General

SELBY, R Adm William Halford (1902-1994)

SELBY
Collection
1946

Papers relating to his life and RN career, 1902-1956, dated 1956, [1968-1977], 1983, 1987, 1989 and 1994, principally comprising photographs relating to the mining of the HMS SAUMAREZ, Corfu Channel, 1946; 'Memoires (sic) of a salthorse', an illustrated account of his life and career, 1902-1956, notably covering his service on HMS MASHONA, North Sea, Norway and Atlantic, 1940-1941, and HMS ONSLAUGHT, Russian convoys, 1942-1944, as Chief of Staff, Londonderry, 1944-1945, on HMS SAUMAREZ, Mediterranean, 1946-1947, and in South Africa, 1950-1952, and Greece, 1953-1955, written in 1989 for private circulation.

Selby, William Halford, 1902-1994, Rear Admiral

RILEY, Lt Cdr Quintin Theodore Petroc Molesworth (1905-1980)

RILEY
Collection
1940-1946

Papers relating to Riley's service in World War Two, 1939-1945, with a recent biography, 1989, mostly concerning the training of Commando forces, 1940-1943, including letter from acting Col Colin McVean Gubbins, War Office, dated 8 Jul 1940, thanking Riley for his work in Norway, 1940; correspondence, memoranda, directives and reports relating to the training of Independent Companies in seamanship for raiding purposes, UK, Aug-Oct 1940; correspondence, 1940-1945, including letter, dated Feb 1941, from Capt Kermit Roosevelt, son of former US President Theodore Roosevelt, serving with The Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regt), relating to his service in the Western Desert, 1940. Papers relating to the Winter Warfare School, Iceland, 1941-1942, including typescript training notes and exercise memoranda, 1941-1942; typescript text of lecture by Riley entitled 'Arctic warfare', given at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House, London, 13 Oct 1942. Papers relating to Commando training and Combined Operations Command, 1942-1943, including typescript memorandum entitled 'Outline of rations and equipment required for GUNHOUSE' (Operation GUNHOUSE, a small scale Commando raid on Banak airfield, northern Norway, Feb 1943); typescript 'Administrative instructions for special ration trials', relating to the testing of Arctic warfare ration packs, May 1943; typescript memorandum entitled 'The possibilities of wireless communication in small scale raiding' [1943]. Papers relating to 30 RN Commando and 30 Assault Unit, 1943-1945, including typescript memorandum by Riley entitled '30 Assault Unit. Visit to forward areas, Intelligence organisations and GHQ (General Headquarters)', Assam, India, 29 Aug 1944; typescript memorandum entitled 'History of 30 A U (Assault Unit)' [1945]; letter to Riley from Len Whittaker asking for information on 30 RN Commando and 30 Assault Unit for a proposed book on British Special Forces of World War Two, Jul 1973. Edition of The bulldozer. The magazine of Combined Operations, Oct 1942; printed pamphlet by Public Relations Section, International Military Tribunal, entitled 'International Military Tribunal, Nurnberg, Germany, 1945-1946', with brief biographies of defendants and offences committed [1946]. J P Riley: From Pole to Pole: the life of Quintin Riley, 1905-1980 (Anthony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham, 1989, 2nd edition 1998), typescript of book, photographs and sketch maps used as illustrations in book, and obituaries of individuals mentioned in the volume.

Riley, Quinton Theodore Petroc Molesworth, 1905-1980, Lieutenant Commander RN and polar explorer

JOB, Cdr Patrick Dalzel (1913-2003)

JOB
Collection
[1960-1970]

Special service', typescript memoir covering his life and naval career, 1913-1945, notably his service in Norway, 1940 and 1942, his involvement in Motor Torpedo Boat operations in Norway, 1942-1943, his service with 12 (Special Service) Submarine Flotilla, 1943-1944, and his reconnaissance work with 30 Assault Unit in France, Belgium and Germany, 1944-1945, written in [1960-1970],with photographs, [1943-1946].

Job, Patrick Dalzel, 1913-2003, Commander

HOWSON, Capt John, RN (1871-1948)

HOWSON
Collection
[1943]

Copy of typescript memoir of his RN career, 1914-1918 and 1939-1943, covering his service with the Harwich force in the North Sea, 1914-1917, notably the Battle of Dogger Bank, Jan 1915, at Nore Command, 1918-1919, in the Atlantic convoys, 1939-1940, Norway, 1940, the evacuation of Dunkirk, 1940, as Staff Officer, HQ Western Approaches, 1940-1941, in the Mediterranean,1941-1942, Madagascar, 1942, Malta convoys, 1942, and the landings in North Africa, 1942, Sicily, 1943, and Italy, 1943. Includes copies of naval signals, 1915-1916.

Howson, John, 1871-1948, Captain RN

ANSTRUTHER-GOUGH-CALTHORPE, Brig Sir Richard (1908-1985)

ANSTRUTHER-GOUGH-CALTHORPE
Collection
[1978]

Brief account of his life and career, 1908-1947, written in [1978].

Calthorpe, Sir Richard Hamilton Anstruther-Gough-, 1908-1985, 2nd Baronet, Brigadier

ALANBROOKE, FM Alan Francis (1883-1963)

ALANBROOKE
Collection
1906-1968

Manuscript diaries, 1939-1946, notably covering his command of 2 Corps, BEF, France and Belgium, 1939-1940, his service as Commander-in-Chief, Home Forces, 1940-1941, and as Chief of the Imperial General Staff, 1941-1946, with detailed accounts of meetings and conversations, and comments on personalities. Detailed unpublished memoirs, 1883-1946, written in [1946-1960]. Personal files, 1940-1946, principally comprising copies of official and semi-official correspondence with FM Sir Bernard Law Montgomery, 1942-1945, relating to his commands of 8 Army, Middle East, 1942-1943, and 21 Army Group, North West Europe, 1944-1945; with FM Archibald Percival Wavell, 1st Viscount of Cyrenaica and of Winchester, 1940-1945, relating to his commands in the Middle East, 1940-1941, and India, 1941-1945; with FM Sir (Henry) Maitland Wilson, 1943-1945, relating to his commands in the Middle East, 1943-1944, and as head of British Joint Staff Mission, Washington, 1944-1945; with FM Hon Sir Harold Rupert Leofric George Alexander, 1942-1945, relating to his commands in the Middle East, 1942-1943, and Italy, 1943-1944, and the Mediterranean, 1944-1945; with Lt Gen Sir Kenneth Arthur Noel Anderson, 1942-1945, relating to his commands in North Africa, 1942-1944, and East Africa, 1945; with Adm Lord Louis (Francis Arthur Victor Nicholas) Mountbatten, Supreme Allied Commander, South East Asia, 1943-1945; with FM Sir John Greer Dill, head of British Joint Staff Mission, Washington, 1941-1944; with Lt Gen Frederick Arthur Montagu Browning, Chief of Staff, South East Asia Command, 1944-1945; with Lt Gen Herbert Lumsden, South West Pacific Area, 1944; with Lt Gen Sir Frank Noel Mason-Macfarlane, Governor and Commander-in-Chief, Gibraltar, 1942; and with Gen Wladyslaw Sikorski, Polish Forces, 1941-1943. Papers relating to his role as Chief of the Imperial General Staff, 1941-1946, dated 1940-1951, notably including conference papers for Combined Chiefs of Staff meetings, 1943-1945; semi-official correspondence with Lt Gen Sir Claude John Eyre Auchinleck, 1940-1945, relating to Auchinleck's commands in Norway, India and the Middle East, 1940-1945. Other papers relating to his life and career, 1897-1963, dated 1897-1966, 1992-1993, including letters to his mother, 1906-1920, notably covering his service in India, 1906-1914 and France and Belgium, 1914-1918; texts of his lectures on artillery given at Staff College, Camberley, 1923-[1926]; papers relating to his post-war activities, notably his role as Chancellor of Queen's University, Belfast, 1949-1963, dated 1949-1968; papers relating to ornithology, 1950-1963; published and unpublished articles collected by Alanbrooke and his wife, 1929-1967; texts of his speeches and broadcasts, 1944-1962; photographs, [1902-1963], 1978, 1992, mainly official photographs of Alanbrooke as Chief of Imperial General Staff, 1941-1942. Papers collected by Mrs M C Long in preparation for the writing of Alanbrooke's biography, dated 1954-1958, notably including texts of interviews with friends and colleagues, 1954-1958. Correspondence relating to Alanbrooke's papers and Sir Arthur Wynne Morgan Bryant's books Turn of the tide (Collins, London, 1957) and Triumph in the West (Collins, London, 1959) (both based on Alanbrooke's diaries), dated 1951-1968. Correspondence of FM (Richard) Michael (Power) Carver, Baron Carver, relating to erection of Alanbrooke statue in Whitehall in 1993, dated 1991-1993

Brooke, Alan Francis, 1883-1963, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke of Brookeborough, Field Marshal

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