The first deposit of 8 boxes, HURD 1, is extremely interesting because Hurd corresponded with many of the leading figures of his time, particularly in the maritime world. Amongst his correspondence are preserved 142 letters from Admiral of the Fleet, Lord Fisher of Kilverstone, dating from 1905 to 1920; 52 letters from Admiral Sir Reginald Bacon, dating from 1918 to 1939 and 91 letters to Hurd from Admiral Lord Jellicoe, as well as details of the agreement between Hurd, Jellicoe and the publishers for the writing of Jellicoe's book on the Great War and portions of the annotated typescript of this work.

Hurd's twenty-nine years on the editorial staff of The Daily Telegraph are reflected in the inclusion in this collection of two scrapbooks of cuttings taken from that paper from 1900 to 1912 (HURD 2/2-3), and his joint editorship of Brassey's Naval and Shipping Annual is acknowledged in an album of cuttings about the Annual made in 1924 (HURD 2/1).

The second deposit (HURD 4 and 5) is made up largely of books and pamphlets by Sir Archibald Hurd together with books by a number of distinguished Admirals, including Fisher and Jellicoe, and other naval writers. There is also a small collection of letters to Hurd from Winston Churchill, Lord Haldane, Walter Long, Reginald McKenna and Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch amongst others relating to Hurd's journalistic career, naval matters and his personal life.