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Royal Air Force

 Organization

Found in 305 Collections and/or Records:

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(Untitled), 17 May 1945

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Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHAR 20/229C/327
Scope and Contents

Telegram from the Air Ministry to the 2nd Tactical Air Force passing on a message from WSC to Air[-Vice] Marshal [Sir Arthur] Coningham [Commander] paying tribute to the part played by the 2nd TAF in the defeat of Germany.

Dates: 17 May 1945
Conditions Governing Access: Open
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(Untitled), 16 May 1945

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Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHAR 20/229C/328
Scope and Contents

Telegram from HQ Bomber Command to the Air Ministry passing on a message from Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris [Commander in Chief Bomber Command] thanking WSC for his message on behalf of HM Government and praising his "unfailing encouragement", stating: "you were foremost of the pathfinders". [annotated by WSC's Private Office].

Dates: 16 May 1945
Conditions Governing Access: Open
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(Untitled), 15 May 1945

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Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHAR 20/229C/329
Scope and Contents

Telegram from the Air Ministry to Bomber Command passing on a message from WSC to [Commander in Chief] Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris praising the "decisive contribution" of Bomber Command in the victory over Germany.

Dates: 15 May 1945
Conditions Governing Access: Open
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(Untitled), 05 May 1945

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Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHAR 20/230/50
Scope and Contents Letter from [Stewart] Crawford [Private Secretary to Chief of Air Staff] (Air Ministry, King Charles Street, Whitehall) to [John] Martin [Prime Minister's Principal Private Secretary] stating that the Chief of Air Staff [Air Marshal Sir Charles Portal] hopes that the various Air Force Commanders are remembered when WSC sends out congratulatory messages to the Anglo-American Forces in North-West Europe on VE Day and supplying notes and a table indicating the chain of command [CHAR 20/230/51]....
Dates: 05 May 1945
Conditions Governing Access: Open
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(Untitled), 01 May 1944 - 31 May 1944

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Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHAR 20/152/5
Scope and Contents Prime Minister's printed personal minutes, May 1944.Includes texts of minutes from WSC (annotated with additional printed information) to: the Chiefs of Staff; members of the Cabinet and other government ministers, particularly Foreign Secretary [Anthony Eden, later 1st Lord Avon]; Major-General Leslie Hollis [Military Assistant Secretary to the War Cabinet]; senior civil servants, including Sir Edward Bridges [Secretary to the War Cabinet]; General Sir Hastings Ismay [Chief of Staff to the...
Dates: 01 May 1944 - 31 May 1944
Conditions Governing Access: Open
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(Untitled), 01 Apr 1942

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Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHAR 20/73/13-14
Scope and Contents

Telegram from WSC to the President of the United States [Franklin Roosevelt] commenting on the heavy enemy air attack against Malta and British difficulties in providing adequate Spitfire reinforcements; asks that the United States aircraft carrier Wasp be used to take Spitfires from the Clyde [Scotland] to Malta and suggests the third week of April.

Dates: 01 Apr 1942
Conditions Governing Access: From the File: Open
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(Untitled), 13 Apr 1942

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Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHAR 20/73/89-90
Scope and Contents

Telegram from Sir Stafford Cripps [Lord Privy Seal] (Karachi [India, later Pakistan]) to WSC regarding the defence situation in India, particularly the air and naval situation and commenting on the need for heavy bombers and reconnaissance aircraft.

Dates: 13 Apr 1942
Conditions Governing Access: From the File: Open
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(Untitled), 14 Apr 1942

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Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHAR 20/73/96
Scope and Contents

Telegram from WSC to the Lord Privy Seal [Sir Stafford Cripps] (Cairo [Egypt]) concerning the position of the Air Ministry with regard to supplying bombers to India.

Dates: 14 Apr 1942
Conditions Governing Access: From the File: Open
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(Untitled), 19 Apr 1942

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Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHAR 20/73/128-130
Scope and Contents Telegram from WSC to General Sir Archibald Wavell, Commander-in-Chief, India: comments on fighter and bomber strengths in India and Ceylon [later Sri Lanka] and details reinforcements; comments on plans to build up a powerful naval force in the Indian Ocean under Admiral Sir James Somerville [Commander-in-Chief, Eastern Fleet]; comments on the strategic importance of holding Colombo [Ceylon] and preserving the link with China; states that he is sending Wavell extracts of a telegram from...
Dates: 19 Apr 1942
Conditions Governing Access: From the File: Open
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(Untitled), 19 Apr 1942

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Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHAR 20/73/135-136
Scope and Contents Telegram from WSC to the President of the United States [Franklin Roosevelt] reciting a note drafted by Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal [Chief of the Air Staff] regarding air reinforcements for Burma [later Myanmar], India and Ceylon [later Sri Lanka]: agrees with proposals to bring United States bombardment squadrons in India up to full strength and to transfer 34 heavy and medium bomber aircraft from British allocations; comments on the need to retain Kittyhawk aircraft for use in...
Dates: 19 Apr 1942
Conditions Governing Access: From the File: Open
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(Untitled), 23 Apr 1942

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Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHAR 20/74/11
Scope and Contents

Telegram from the Governor of Malta [Lieutenant- General Sir William Dobbie] regarding the need for "most drastic action" to gain and maintain air superiority if Malta is to be held; comments on recent Spitfire losses and the urgent need for supplies.

Dates: 23 Apr 1942
Conditions Governing Access: From the File: Open
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(Untitled), 29 Apr 1942

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Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHAR 20/74/70-72
Scope and Contents Telegram from WSC to the President of the United States [Franklin Roosevelt]: thanks Roosevelt for his telegram about "Ironclad" [codename for operation against Diego Suarez, Madagascar] and for the use of USS Wasp; comments on the arrival of General Henri Giraud at Vichy [France]; comments on "desperate attacks" on the Tirpitz at Trondheim [Norway] and German retaliation against British towns near the coast; gives details of recent German aircraft losses over Norwich [Norfolk] and York;...
Dates: 29 Apr 1942
Conditions Governing Access: From the File: Open
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(Untitled), 02 May 1942

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Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHAR 20/74/101-104
Scope and Contents

Telegram from Admiral Geoffrey Layton [Commander-in- Chief, Ceylon] reporting on progress in Ceylon [later Sri Lanka] since 5 April 1942: outlines reinforcements and withdrawals; describes defensive works and reports on the RDF [Radio Direction Finder] situation; comments on aerodrome facilities and the likely zone of the main enemy landing; reports present airforce and army dispositions.

Dates: 02 May 1942
Conditions Governing Access: From the File: Open
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(Untitled), 04 May 1942

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Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHAR 20/74/112-113
Scope and Contents

Telegram marked "Hush - Most Secret" from Richard Casey [Minister of State in the Middle East] (Malta) to WSC regarding the supply of reinforcements and provisions to Malta and outlining the importance of achieving air superiority.

Dates: 04 May 1942
Conditions Governing Access: From the File: Open
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(Untitled), 12 May 1942

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Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHAR 20/75/17-19
Scope and Contents Telegram from WSC to the President of the United States [Franklin Roosevelt] marked "personal and secret" requesting supplies of aircraft: asks for help in securing a loan of 200 Martlets (fighter aircraft) to help meet the threat posed by Japanese aircraft carriers equipped with fighter dive-bombers; asks for an early supply of transport aircraft for use by British airborne forces during the summer; suggests that American airborne units should be sent to train alongside their British...
Dates: 12 May 1942
Conditions Governing Access: From the File: Open
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(Untitled), 20 Jun 1942

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Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHAR 20/76/138
Scope and Contents

Telegram from General Sir Claude Auchinleck [Commander- in-Chief, Middle East] to WSC marked "private and most secret" complaining about the campaign in the British press attributing the deteriorating situation in Libya to the failure of the RAF to support the Army and the Malta convoys.

Dates: 20 Jun 1942
Conditions Governing Access: From the File: Open
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(Untitled), 28 Jun 1942

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Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHAR 20/77/34-36
Scope and Contents Telegram from the Minister of State in the Middle East [Richard Casey] to WSC marked "personal and most secret" reporting on the battle in North Africa: States that General Claude Auchinleck [Commander in Chief Middle East] is telegraphing him directly and regularly from Eighth Army Headquarters; comments on Auchinleck's plan of campaign ; states that the battle will be a mobile one fought between Matruh [Egypt] and El Alamein [Egypt] and southwards to the Qattara depression [Egypt];...
Dates: 28 Jun 1942
Conditions Governing Access: From the Fonds: The Churchill Papers are made available to researchers using Churchill Archives Centre and worldwide in digital format. The digital edition of the Churchill Papers is published by Bloomsbury Academic and is available online to subscribing institutions at churchillarchive.com. The Churchill archive is freely available in our reading rooms and onsite at Churchill College (via the Churchill College wireless network). Researchers can download images of documents directly from churchillarchive.com and so are encouraged to consider bringing a laptop or other device for this purpose. For conservation reasons, the fragile originals are no longer issued to researchers. This digital edition is open to researchers unless otherwise marked in the catalogue. Some material has been closed by the Cabinet Office or by Churchill Archives Centre in accordance with data protection legislation.
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(Untitled), 30 Jun 1942

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Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHAR 20/77/47
Scope and Contents

Telegram from Minister of State in the Middle East [Richard Casey] to WSC marked "personal and most secret" reporting on the latest situation in Egypt and commenting on RAF mobilisation, arrangements for the defence of the Delta, and the plans of Admiral Henry Harwood [Commander in Chief Mediterranean] for supporting the Eighth Army and evacuating merchant shipping from Alexandria [Egypt].

Dates: 30 Jun 1942
Conditions Governing Access: From the Fonds: The Churchill Papers are made available to researchers using Churchill Archives Centre and worldwide in digital format. The digital edition of the Churchill Papers is published by Bloomsbury Academic and is available online to subscribing institutions at churchillarchive.com. The Churchill archive is freely available in our reading rooms and onsite at Churchill College (via the Churchill College wireless network). Researchers can download images of documents directly from churchillarchive.com and so are encouraged to consider bringing a laptop or other device for this purpose. For conservation reasons, the fragile originals are no longer issued to researchers. This digital edition is open to researchers unless otherwise marked in the catalogue. Some material has been closed by the Cabinet Office or by Churchill Archives Centre in accordance with data protection legislation.
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(Untitled), 30 Jun 1942 - 01 Jul 1942

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Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHAR 20/77/49
Scope and Contents

Telegram from General Jan Smuts [Prime Minister of South Africa] to WSC suggesting that the Royal Air Force concentrate its maximum bombing force against the German army and ports in North Africa instead of bombing towns in Germany.

Dates: 30 Jun 1942 - 01 Jul 1942
Conditions Governing Access: From the Fonds: The Churchill Papers are made available to researchers using Churchill Archives Centre and worldwide in digital format. The digital edition of the Churchill Papers is published by Bloomsbury Academic and is available online to subscribing institutions at churchillarchive.com. The Churchill archive is freely available in our reading rooms and onsite at Churchill College (via the Churchill College wireless network). Researchers can download images of documents directly from churchillarchive.com and so are encouraged to consider bringing a laptop or other device for this purpose. For conservation reasons, the fragile originals are no longer issued to researchers. This digital edition is open to researchers unless otherwise marked in the catalogue. Some material has been closed by the Cabinet Office or by Churchill Archives Centre in accordance with data protection legislation.
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(Untitled), 04 Jul 1942

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Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHAR 20/77/67
Scope and Contents

Telegram from WSC to Air Chief Marshal Arthur Tedder [Air Officer Commander in Chief Mediterranean] praising the role of the Royal Air Force in the battle for Egypt: "The days of the Battle of Britain are being repeated far from home.".

Dates: 04 Jul 1942
Conditions Governing Access: From the Fonds: The Churchill Papers are made available to researchers using Churchill Archives Centre and worldwide in digital format. The digital edition of the Churchill Papers is published by Bloomsbury Academic and is available online to subscribing institutions at churchillarchive.com. The Churchill archive is freely available in our reading rooms and onsite at Churchill College (via the Churchill College wireless network). Researchers can download images of documents directly from churchillarchive.com and so are encouraged to consider bringing a laptop or other device for this purpose. For conservation reasons, the fragile originals are no longer issued to researchers. This digital edition is open to researchers unless otherwise marked in the catalogue. Some material has been closed by the Cabinet Office or by Churchill Archives Centre in accordance with data protection legislation.
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(Untitled), 05 Jul 1942

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Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHAR 20/77/71
Scope and Contents

Telegram from Air Marshal Arthur Tedder [Air Officer Commander in Chief Mediterranean] to WSC marked "personal" thanking him for his inspiring message: "All of us are determined to do our utmost and more to help the Army to clear the enemy out of Africa.".

Dates: 05 Jul 1942
Conditions Governing Access: From the Fonds: The Churchill Papers are made available to researchers using Churchill Archives Centre and worldwide in digital format. The digital edition of the Churchill Papers is published by Bloomsbury Academic and is available online to subscribing institutions at churchillarchive.com. The Churchill archive is freely available in our reading rooms and onsite at Churchill College (via the Churchill College wireless network). Researchers can download images of documents directly from churchillarchive.com and so are encouraged to consider bringing a laptop or other device for this purpose. For conservation reasons, the fragile originals are no longer issued to researchers. This digital edition is open to researchers unless otherwise marked in the catalogue. Some material has been closed by the Cabinet Office or by Churchill Archives Centre in accordance with data protection legislation.
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(Untitled), Mar 1943

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Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHAR 20/95B/217-221
Scope and Contents Memorandum entitled "The Attitude of Members of the RAF Serving in South Africa" by John Colville stating how disappointed he was by the attitude of the RAF towards South Africa and the South Africans which he blames on ignorance, home sickness and boredom and suggesting that careful and intelligent preparation is given to all those drafted to South Africa. He adds that he has met a South African officer Captain Lennox Short, a former Information Officer, who is very keen to be consulted if...
Dates: Mar 1943
Conditions Governing Access: From the File: Open
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(Untitled), 04 Oct 1942

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Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHAR 20/80/118
Scope and Contents Telegram from WSC to Minister Resident in West Africa [Lord Swinton, earlierPhilip Cunliffe-Lister] marked "personal and most secret": expressing pleasure that he has been able to reach agreement locally on the policy for defence of aerodromes; commenting on the training of local RAF station personnel by British army personnel; referring to the need to give a high priority to the passage of RAF personnel required for the depots and staging points on the Takoradi route [Gold Coast, later...
Dates: 04 Oct 1942
Conditions Governing Access: From the Fonds: The Churchill Papers are made available to researchers using Churchill Archives Centre and worldwide in digital format. The digital edition of the Churchill Papers is published by Bloomsbury Academic and is available online to subscribing institutions at churchillarchive.com. The Churchill archive is freely available in our reading rooms and onsite at Churchill College (via the Churchill College wireless network). Researchers can download images of documents directly from churchillarchive.com and so are encouraged to consider bringing a laptop or other device for this purpose. For conservation reasons, the fragile originals are no longer issued to researchers. This digital edition is open to researchers unless otherwise marked in the catalogue. Some material has been closed by the Cabinet Office or by Churchill Archives Centre in accordance with data protection legislation.
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(Untitled), 09 Oct 1942

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Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHAR 20/81/37
Scope and Contents

Telegram from Minister Resident in west Africa [Lord Swinton, earlier Philip Lloyd Greame and Philip Cunliffe Lister] to WSC marked "most secret" regarding the use of the Royal Air Force Regiment: states that the RAF Regiment personnel already here should be sufficient to train station personnel providing they are themselves sufficiently trained to act as instructors; comments on importance of supervisory personnel for air route construction.

Dates: 09 Oct 1942
Conditions Governing Access: From the Fonds: The Churchill Papers are made available to researchers using Churchill Archives Centre and worldwide in digital format. The digital edition of the Churchill Papers is published by Bloomsbury Academic and is available online to subscribing institutions at churchillarchive.com. The Churchill archive is freely available in our reading rooms and onsite at Churchill College (via the Churchill College wireless network). Researchers can download images of documents directly from churchillarchive.com and so are encouraged to consider bringing a laptop or other device for this purpose. For conservation reasons, the fragile originals are no longer issued to researchers. This digital edition is open to researchers unless otherwise marked in the catalogue. Some material has been closed by the Cabinet Office or by Churchill Archives Centre in accordance with data protection legislation.
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(Untitled), 22 Oct 1942

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Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHAR 20/81/86
Scope and Contents

Telegram from Air Marshal Arthur Tedder [Air Officer Commanding in Chief Middle East] to WSC marked "important most secret" thanking him for his message: "Have just visited my squadrons whose battle of course has already begun. They are fighting fit and determined to clean up this affair.".

Dates: 22 Oct 1942
Conditions Governing Access: From the Fonds: The Churchill Papers are made available to researchers using Churchill Archives Centre and worldwide in digital format. The digital edition of the Churchill Papers is published by Bloomsbury Academic and is available online to subscribing institutions at churchillarchive.com. The Churchill archive is freely available in our reading rooms and onsite at Churchill College (via the Churchill College wireless network). Researchers can download images of documents directly from churchillarchive.com and so are encouraged to consider bringing a laptop or other device for this purpose. For conservation reasons, the fragile originals are no longer issued to researchers. This digital edition is open to researchers unless otherwise marked in the catalogue. Some material has been closed by the Cabinet Office or by Churchill Archives Centre in accordance with data protection legislation.