Letter from Field Marshal 1st Lord Roberts (Englemere, Ascot, Berkshire) to WSC, First Lord of the Admiralty, on the Army's preparedness for war, stating that in the Summer of 1911, when Britain "stood on the edge of war", it was an open secret that the Regular Army was not ready, that the men were ill armed, and there were serious shortages in officers, horses and ammunition, and that the Territorial Force was quite unsuited to the task assigned to it. Praising WSC's for behaving "like a Statesman", and realising the gravity of the situation, and his changes on the Board of Admiralty, also stating that he could not forget that he was writing to the son of the man responsible for his selection as C. in C. in India [Lord Randolph Churchill], and for that reason, "if for no other, I would like to see you take the lead in serving our country".