Literary: correspondence with consultants and others on WSC's war memoirs ("The Second World War", mainly volumes 1 to 4), J-Pownall., Jan 1946 - Apr 1950
Scope and Contents
Correspondents include: R V Jones on bombing science (4); Lieutenant-General Wladyslaw Anders [former Commander, Polish forces in Iran and Palestine] on the Katyn [Soviet Union] massacre; Denis Kelly [WSC's literary assistant] (7); William Deakin (10); Daniel Longwell [editor of Life Magazine]; Frank Rye on the Westminster by-election [1924]; "Bill", 1st Lord Camrose [earlier Sir William Berry, Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Telegraph]; 1st Lord Portal [of Hungerford, earlier Sir Charles Portal]; Sir Alan Lascelles [Private Secretary to King George VI]; King George VI on wartime correspondence with WSC; Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Pownall (34) including (1) on the death of his wife Lucy and (1) on the theft of his suitcase containing proofs; Sir Edward Marsh (9); Sir Stewart Menzies [Head of Secret Intelligence Service] on the degree of information available to WSC on Pearl Harbor [United States] (4); Herbert Morrison on WSC's coverage of the Blitz, the death of one of WSC's black swans, and Down Street Station [London] (3); 1st Lord Montgomery of Alamein on the timing of the Normandy [France] landings; Sir Norman Brook [later 1st Lord Normanbrook, Secretary of the Cabinet from 1947] (2); Admiral Sir Dudley North on the attempted landings at Dakar [Senegal] (4); [George Gordon] Allen (2); Virginia Cowles [Mrs Aidan Crawley] on Lord Randolph Churchill and Aneurin Bevan; Philip Argenti of the Royal Greek Embassy, London, on a book from General Alexander Papagos; 1st Lord Alanbrooke [earlier Sir Alan Brooke]. Also includes notes and copies of correspondence from secretaries Jo Sturdee ("N S") [later Lady Onslow], Lettice Marston [later Lettice Shillingford], Elizabeth Gilliatt, Jane Portal [later Lady Williams of Elvel], Chips Gemmell, and Anne Hipwell; and from WSC to some of those mentioned above and to General 1st Lord Ismay and Duncan Sandys.Other subjects include: matters concerning the production of the memoirs including comments on the proofs, books consulted, maps and diagrams, spelling, and permission to quote from WSC's correspondence with Mackenzie King [Prime Minister of Canada]; other matters covered in the memoirs including the role of King Leopold of Belgium, WSC's flight from Bermuda in 1942, Benito Mussolini, the lead-up to the war, meeting President Roosevelt, the Norwegian campaign, Polish issues, the war in north Africa, the Italian campaign, the Russian front, "Anvil" [codename for Allied invasion of the South of France], pre-war comparative aircraft strengths, the British Expeditionary Force and the fall of France; suggested amendments; payments to Kelly, Marsh and Pownall; [Joseph] Kennedy's comments on the memoirs; various pieces of news from Marsh; an offer to publish WSC's correspondence with Roosevelt; WSC providing signed copies of the memoirs.Also includes: comments by Jones; a statement by Anders; extract from a Rudyard Kipling poem; corrections by Deakin; various drafts and proofs; copies of 1941 letters from WSC to the King; copy of New Times; cutting and Polish newspaper; list of errors from Pownall; Martin Gilbert's [official biographer of WSC] photocopying slips.
Dates
- Creation: Jan 1946 - Apr 1950
Conditions Governing Access
Open
Extent
2 file(s) (2 files (436 loose folios))
Language of Materials
English
External Documents
Geographic
Topical
Repository Details
Part of the Churchill Archives Centre Repository
Churchill Archives Centre
Churchill College
Cambridge Cambridgeshire CB3 0DS United Kingdom
+44 (0)1223 336087
archives@chu.cam.ac.uk