Royal Navy
Organization
Found in 34 Collections and/or Records:
File
Cabinet Papers on naval and general First World War subjects, 1910-10 - 1915-05
File
Reference Code: GBR/0014/MCKN 4/7
Scope and Contents
Includes: memorandum by the First Lord of the Admiralty [Winston Churchill] on the formation of a naval War Staff; diary of a visit to Berlin by 1st Lord Haldane [Secretary of State for War] and his discussions with the German Chancellor [Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg], Kaiser Wilhelm II, Grand-Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz [Head of the German Admiralty] and with J Cambon [? French Ambassador to Germany] on the balance of power in Europe, the increase in the British and German fleets,...
Dates:
1910-10 - 1915-05
Conditions Governing Access:
From the Fonds:
The collection is open for consultation by researchers using Churchill Archives Centre, Churchill College, Cambridge.
File
Literary: Collier's magazine articles: correspondence., 03 Feb 1938 - 30 Dec 1938
File
Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHAR 8/604
Scope and Contents
Correspondents include: Representatives of Collier's including the Editor, William Chenery (16); representatives of Curtis Brown Limited, New York [United States] Office (28) on subjects including WSC's US taxes and the scope for syndicating his articles in the US, and the London Office on publication rights for WSC's US articles in the United Kingdom (2); Brendan Bracken suggesting subjects for US articles; Adam Marshall Diston and Richard Clarke on preparing articles for WSC; Admiral Sir...
Dates:
03 Feb 1938 - 30 Dec 1938
Conditions Governing Access:
Open
File
Literary: Daily Mirror articles by WSC., Jul 1939 - Aug 1939
File
Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHAR 8/650
Scope and Contents
Includes annotated proofs, galley proofs and cuttings from the Mirror, the Irish Daily Telegraph and the Belfast Telegraph for: "The Hush in Europe" or "Churchill Writes for Us Now" on Hitler's role in preventing war, rejecting the need for German "living space", and his displeasure at the failure to conclude an alliance between Britain, France and the [Soviet Union]; "Hitler Sells the Pass" deriding German reassurances about their intentions, commenting on the agreement between Germany and...
Dates:
Jul 1939 - Aug 1939
Conditions Governing Access:
Open.
File
Literary: Daily Telegraph articles by WSC: 1., Jan 1939 - Mar 1939
File
Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHAR 8/645
Scope and Contents
Includes annotated proofs, galley proofs and cuttings from the Telegraph (and the Belfast Telegraph) for: "Anglo-German Naval Agreement", criticising the 1935 Agreement, the attitude of the Admiralty at that time, German superiority in submarines, and the effect of the Agreement on air parity; "Counting the Cost of Italy's Policies Abroad" on the Anglo-Italian Agreement of 1938, Italian intervention in Spain, and possible Italian conflict with France; "Light and Shade in Europe since Herr...
Dates:
Jan 1939 - Mar 1939
Conditions Governing Access:
Open.
File
Literary: Evening Standard articles by WSC., Jan 1938 - Sep 1938
File
Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHAR 8/610
Scope and Contents
Includes annotated proofs and cuttings from the Standard (and regional newspapers carrying the article) for: "Britain Rearms" on British naval, army and air strength; "What Japan Thinks of Us" on the Japanese racial attitude to the British and Americans, Japan's naval strength and US policy concerning the Sino-Japanese War; "The League [of Nations] is not Dead Yet" on the power of the dictatorships in Europe, a defence of the League, and asserting the need for Britain and France to show...
Dates:
Jan 1938 - Sep 1938
Conditions Governing Access:
Open.
File
Literary: Picture Post articles., Mar 1939 - Aug 1939
File
Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHAR 8/655
Scope and Contents
Includes annotated proofs, galley proofs and cuttings from Picture Post for: "What Britain's Policy Should Be", an interview with WSC in which he gives his views on British foreign policy over the preceding years and at that time, advocates co-operation with France, the United States and the Soviet Union against Germany, comments on the Spanish Civil War, the need to form a broader British government and civil defence; "How the War Began" on the build up to World War I, the assassination of...
Dates:
Mar 1939 - Aug 1939
Conditions Governing Access:
Open.
File
Literary: "The Second World War", Volume 1 "The Gathering Storm": Book 1: Master copy proofs., 30 Jan 1948
File
Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHUR 4/119
Scope and Contents
Includes galley proofs of: Chapter 1 "The Follies of the Victors, 1919 - 1929"; Chapter 2 "Peace at its Zenith, 1922 - 1931"; Chapter 3 "Lurking Dangers"; Chapter 4 "Adolf Hitler"; Chapter 5 "The Locust Years, 1931 - 1935"; Chapter 6 "The Darkening Scene, 1934"; Chapter 7 "Air Parity Lost, 1934 - 1935"; Chapter 8 "Challenge and Response, 1935"; Chapter 9 "Problems of Air and Sea, 1935 - 1939"; Chapter 10 "Sanctions Against Italy, 1935"; Chapter 11 "Hitler Strikes, 1936"; Chapter 12 "The...
Dates:
30 Jan 1948
Conditions Governing Access:
Open
File
Literary: "The Second World War", Volume 1, "The Gathering Storm": chapter 17 "The Tragedy of Munich [Germany]": copy and provisional proofs., [Jan] 1947 - Oct 1947
File
Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHUR 4/91
Scope and Contents
Includes typescript, manuscript, and galley proofs annotated with suggested corrections and amendments from various people including: WSC, [William] Deakin [literary assistant], "E R" [Emery Reves, earlier Imre Revesz], "E M" [Sir Edward Marsh], [Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Pownall], [Isaiah] Berlin, "Van" [1st Lord Vansittart], and "O S" [Sir Orme Sargent, Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs].Also includes: sections provisionally intended to feature in chapters entitled...
Dates:
[Jan] 1947 - Oct 1947
Conditions Governing Access:
Open
File
Literary: "The Second World War", Volume 1 "The Gathering Storm": Chapters 1 - 10: 'Returned empties'., 24 Dec 1947 - 27 Apr 1948
File
Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHUR 4/113A-J
Scope and Contents
Includes galley proofs of: Chapter 1 "The Follies of the Victors, 1919 - 1929" (provisionally entitled "Germany Disarmed"; Chapter 2 "Peace at its Zenith, 1922 - 1931" (provisionally entitled "Domestic Interlude - Mr [Stanley] Baldwin" and "Locarno: the Economic Blizzard, 1925 - 1931"); Chapter 3 "Lurking Dangers"; Chapter 4 "Adolf Hitler"; Chapter 5 "The Locust Years, 1931 - 1935"; Chapter 6 "The Darkening Scene, 1934"; Chapter 7 "Air Parity Lost, 1934 - 1935"; Chapter 8 "Challenge and...
Dates:
24 Dec 1947 - 27 Apr 1948
Conditions Governing Access:
Open
File
Literary: "The Second World War", Volume 1 "The Gathering Storm": Various comments., 31 Jan 1935 - 20 Feb 1949
File
Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHUR 4/141A-B
Scope and Contents
Includes notes and correspondence on corrections to be made to Volume 1 of "The Second World War" from individuals including: Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Pownall on subjects including leading German generals and German air strength (13); Sir Norman Brook [later 1st Lord Normanbrook, Secretary to the Cabinet] on subjects including the use of Cabinet papers (7); Emery Reves [earlier Imre Revesz] (2); George [Gordon] Allen on subjects including the Irish Treaty and the Chiefs of Staff (8);...
Dates:
31 Jan 1935 - 20 Feb 1949
Conditions Governing Access:
Open
Unknown
"Navy Estimates", 18 Mar 1912
Unknown
Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHAR 9/42/1-22
Scope and Contents
Typescript speaking notes for WSC's speech (House of Commons) on subjects including: naval armaments; detailed explanation of the naval estimates and predictions; increase of German naval power; the importance of maintaining the fleet at the minimum level "consistent with full security"; plans for construction of ships which will be modified to follow German naval construction; docks; oil; aviation and shipbuilding capacity; the importance of a strong fleet to Great Britain; plans for the...
Dates:
18 Mar 1912
Conditions Governing Access:
Open
File
Official: Cabinet: Conclusions 48 - 58., 29 Oct 1928 - 19 Dec 1928
File
Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHAR 22/213
Scope and Contents
Includes minutes of Cabinet meetings recording decisions on various subjects including: the illness of King George V and speeches by the King; reparations and Allied debts; foreign affairs including China, the Persian Gulf, the Soviet Union, Iraq and Germany; measures to combat unemployment including emigration; rating reforms; Indian contributions to the home effective charges of the British army; issues in the Irish Free State [later Ireland]; relations with the United States; the naval...
Dates:
29 Oct 1928 - 19 Dec 1928
Conditions Governing Access:
Open
File
Official: Cabinet: correspondence., 13 Feb 1911 - 01 Nov 1911
File
Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHAR 21/25
Scope and Contents
Correspondents include: David Lloyd George, Chancellor of the Exchequer, on subjects including unemployment insurance, foreign policy and the likelihood of war with Germany (4); Sir Charles Ottley (Secretary of the Committee of Imperial Defence) on military forces in Ireland; Lord Crewe [earlier Lord Houghton, also Robert Milnes] on discussion of naval estimates; Oliver Locker-Lampson; Sydney Buxton [President of the Board of Trade] on dealings with Portugal; and Sir Edward Grey [Foreign...
Dates:
13 Feb 1911 - 01 Nov 1911
Conditions Governing Access:
Open
File
Official: Cabinet: Naval programme: notes., 04 Feb 1909 - 05 Nov 1909
File
Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHAR 21/15
Scope and Contents
Includes printed notes by WSC for the Cabinet on the financial position of Germany and its impact on naval building in Germany; on the naval estimates 1909-1910 and the need for protection against German naval armaments. Also includes a paper by Reginald McKenna [First Lord of the Admiralty] arguing for naval expansion and a paper on the Imperial Conference for Defence.
Dates:
04 Feb 1909 - 05 Nov 1909
Conditions Governing Access:
Open
File
Official: Cabinet: Naval programme: printed papers., 01 Dec 1909 - 01 Nov 1911
File
Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHAR 21/20
Scope and Contents
Printed Cabinet papers including: a memorandum by Sir Edward Grey [Foreign Secretary] on naval building in Germany; memoranda by WSC on naval expenditure and the Mediterranean fleet; a memorandum by [Rear-Admiral Alexander] Bethell, [Director of Naval Intelligence] on the Mediterranean Fleet and papers on the establishment of a naval war staff.Also includes printed letters from Sir Edward Grey (4) on negotiations with Germany relating to the exchange of information about naval building and...
Dates:
01 Dec 1909 - 01 Nov 1911
Conditions Governing Access:
Open
File
Official: War and Air: correspondence, mainly on demobilisation and the reorganisation of the Air Ministry., 01 Feb 1919 - 28 Feb 1919
File
Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHAR 16/4
Scope and Contents
Correspondents include: King Manuel II on the "future of Portugal"; General Sir William Robertson [General Officer Commanding-in-Chief the Forces in Great Britain] (3); 1st Lord Milner [Secretary of State for the Colonies] on appointing neither Major-General Sir Hugh Trenchard or General Sir John Cowans as Governor of Nigeria (2); Andrew Bonar Law [Lord Privy Seal] passing on a copy of a letter from Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Lawson on a decline in his pay and position; Philip Kerr [later...
Dates:
01 Feb 1919 - 28 Feb 1919
Conditions Governing Access:
Open
File
Official: War and Air: correspondence, much on the Russian campaign., 01 Apr 1919 - 30 Apr 1919
File
Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHAR 16/6
Scope and Contents
Correspondents include: General Sir Ian Hamilton refuting press allegations; Walter Roch on the Dardanelles [Turkey] Inquiry; Field-Marshal Sir Douglas Haig [Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Forces in France and Flanders] (2); General Sir Henry Wilson [Chief of Imperial General Staff] on matters discussed at the Paris [France] Peace Conference (7); 1st Lord Milner [Secretary of State for the Colonies]; Colonel James Blair [Chief, British Military Mission in Siberia]; 1st Lord Haldane...
Dates:
01 Apr 1919 - 30 Apr 1919
Conditions Governing Access:
Open
File
Public and Political: General: Correspondence., 01 May 1939 - 30 Jun 1939
File
Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHAR 2/359
Scope and Contents
Correspondents include: "Harold R" [1st Lord Rothermere, earlier Sir Harold Harmsworth] on the German submarine programme (2); Oliver Locker-Lampson; Sir Hubert Gough; Evelyn Walkden; Lieutenant-Colonel Anthony Muirhead [63rd (Oxfordshire Yeomanry) Anti-Tank Regiment] on finding positions in the Yeomanry for William Deakin and WSC's nephews [John G Churchill and Peregrine Churchill]; Thomas Horabin on public feeling about the Government's proposals for conscription (2); A P Herbert [Alan...
Dates:
01 May 1939 - 30 Jun 1939
Conditions Governing Access:
Open
File
Public and Political: General: Political: Correspondence A-C., Jun 1947 - Dec 1949
File
Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHUR 2/67A-B
Scope and Contents
Correspondents include: Vyvyan Adams (4); Reginald Maudling; 1st Lord Woolton [earlier Frederick Marquis, Chairman, Conservative and Unionist Central Office] (3); Ralph Assheton [later 1st Lord Clitheroe] (3); James Thomas [later 1st Lord Cilcennin, Vice-Chairman of Conservative and Unionist Party] (7); Garry Allighan; Leo Amery (6); John Andrews; Michael Astor; Henry Hopkinson [later 1st Lord Colyton, Head of Conservative Parliamentary Secretariat and Joint Director, Conservative Research...
Dates:
Jun 1947 - Dec 1949
Conditions Governing Access:
Open, except for folios 166-7 which have been removed on grounds of data protection due to presence of sensitive personal information about living individuals until 1 January 2024.
File
Public and Political: General: Political: Defence: miscellaneous correspondence and papers., Feb 1947 - Sep 1951
File
Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHUR 2/36
Scope and Contents
Correspondents include: A V Alexander [later Lord Alexander of Hillsborough], Minister of Defence [until February 1950] (3); George Ward; Antony Head (3); Arthur Henderson [later Lord Rowley, Secretary of State for Air]; 1st Lord Cherwell [earlier F A Lindemann] (2); Anthony Eden [later 1st Lord Avon]; David Hunt [Private Secretary to Prime Minister Clement Attlee] (2); Captain Alan Hillgarth [earlier Alan Evans] on Soviet forces in Europe and Soviet affairs (7); James Thomas [later 1st Lord...
Dates:
Feb 1947 - Sep 1951
Conditions Governing Access:
Open
File
Public and Political: General: Various Papers., Jul 1937 - May 1939
File
Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHAR 2/335
Scope and Contents
Papers and memoranda on various subjects, including: timetable of the Munich Crisis by Randolph Churchill; a note on the Anglo-Italian Agreement on Abyssinia [later Ethiopia]; printed extracts of speeches by Neville Chamberlain on British relations with Italy, 1935 - 9; pamphlet published by the Abyssinia Association, "Italy's Failure in Abyssinia"; extract from a speech by WSC on relations with Italy (5 November 1936, House of Commons); pamphlet by Arnold Wienholt, former member of the...
Dates:
Jul 1937 - May 1939
Conditions Governing Access:
Open
File
Speeches: House of Commons: speech notes., 01 Jun 1937 - 21 Dec 1937
File
Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHAR 9/124
Scope and Contents
Notes for WSC's speech (1 June) on the finance bill, taxation, and objecting to the method of raising the proposed National Defence Contribution. Published: Complete Speeches VI pp 5857-67.Notes for WSC's speech (15 July) supporting the government and objecting to the opposition motion of censure on non-intervention in Spain. Published: Complete Speeches VI pp 5870-4.Notes for WSC's speech (19 July) expressing his concern about the mounting of heavy howitzer cannons near Gibraltar,...
Dates:
01 Jun 1937 - 21 Dec 1937
Conditions Governing Access:
Open
File
Speeches: House of Commons: speech notes and other material., 21 Feb 1939 - 27 Apr 1939
File
Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHAR 9/134A-B
Scope and Contents
Notes for WSC's speech (21 February) on the defence loan, aircraft production, delays in rearmament, creating a Ministry of Supply, co-operation with France, and mobilisation in the event of a war. Also includes relevant extract from Hansard. Published: Complete Speeches VI pp 6064-71.Notes for WSC's speech (14 March) on the army estimates, German war preparedness, arming the territorial army, and numbers assigned for possible overseas service. Also includes relevant extract from Hansard....
Dates:
21 Feb 1939 - 27 Apr 1939
Conditions Governing Access:
Open
File
Speeches: House of Commons: speech notes and source material., 27 Jan 1937 - 24 May 1937
File
Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHAR 9/123
Scope and Contents
Rough notes for WSC's speech (27 January) on air defence, comparing British and German air strength. Source material includes copy of Hansard for 12 November 1936 containing WSC's speech ["The locust years"]. Published: Complete Speeches VI pp 5825-7.Notes for WSC's speech (4 March) on the defence loan bill, praising its long term nature, but expressing concern over Britain's defences in the immediate future. Published: Complete Speeches VI pp 5830-5.Notes for WSC's speech (11 March)...
Dates:
27 Jan 1937 - 24 May 1937
Conditions Governing Access:
Open
File
Speeches: House of Commons: speech notes and source material., 22 Feb 1938 - 24 Mar 1938
File
Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHAR 9/128
Scope and Contents
Notes for WSC's speech (22 February) on [Anthony] Eden's [later 1st Lord Avon] resignation as Foreign Secretary, Eden's achievements, relations with Italy, and past foreign policy mistakes, which includes the phrase "This has been a good week for Dictators". Source material includes text from the Daily Telegraph on the Italian view of Eden, and a cutting on German reaction to international press criticism. Published: Complete Speeches VI pp 5911-7.Rough notes for WSC's speech (28 February)...
Dates:
22 Feb 1938 - 24 Mar 1938
Conditions Governing Access:
Open