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Letter from Field Marshal 1st Lord Roberts, (Englemere, Ascot, Berkshire) to WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty] objecting to the proposed transfer of airships from the Royal Flying Corps to the Royal Navy, and the resulting loss of aviation training and experience in peacetime.

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Letter from [WSC, First Lord of the Admiralty], to [Field Marshal 1st Lord Roberts] on the proposed transfer of airships from the Royal Flying Corps to the Royal Navy. [Carbon].

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Letter from Colonel Sir [Edouard] Percy Girouard, (Brooks's Club, St James's Street [London]) to WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty] on naval aviation.

Scope and Contents Letter from Field Marshal Sir John French [Commander-in- Chief, British Expeditionary Force, later 1st Lord Ypres] to WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty] on naval aircraft, recommending that they be sent back to Britain for refitting, as attempting to refit in France or Belgium would cause congestion. French states that the Royal Flying Corps would attack Zeppelin sheds as soon as the Zeppelins arrived, and that the help of the Royal Naval Air Service would be very desirable. He adds that the...

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Letter from WSC, First Lord of the Admiralty, to Field Marshal Sir John French [Commander-in-Chief, British Expeditionary Force, later 1st Lord Ypres] expressing disappointment at the treatment of the Naval Air Service in France and Belgium. [Hand-written copy, unsigned, annotated "Not sent"].

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Telegram from WSC, First Lord of the Admiralty, to Field Marshal Sir John French [Commander-in-Chief, British Expeditionary Force, later 1st Lord Ypres] on air attacks on German Zeppelin bases. WSC states that all naval aircraft and armoured cars would be withdrawn to Dunkirk [France], "so as to keep quite clear of the British Army and its communications", but would remain there for the present. [Hand-written copy, unsigned].

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Letter from Lord Northcliffe [earlier Alfred Harmsworth], (Hotel Majestic, Paris [France]) to WSC, enclosing a note of his conversation with Orville Wright, on airships and aircraft, stating that the effect of bombing from airships had been exaggerated, and that Britain might have more to fear from German aircraft.

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Letter from John Seely [Secretary of State for War, later 1st Lord Mottistone), (War Office), to WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty] agreeing to the proposal for the establishment of an Aeronautical Research Office under the joint control of the War Office and the Admiralty.

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Minute from WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty] to the Prime Minister [Herbert Asquith, later 1st Lord Oxford and Asquith] on his concern over delays in reaching a decision on the new Air Programme. WSC stresses Britain's lack of progress compared to other countries, and recommends beginning the construction of at least two Zeppelin airships "so that the art of making them is not wholly unknown to us". [Carbon copy].

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Letter from WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty] to an unidentified correspondent on Air Expenditure. [Carbon copy].

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Minute from WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty] to the 2nd Sea Lord [Vice-Admiral Sir John Jellicoe], the Secretary of the Admiralty [Sir (William) Graham Greene] and the Private Office, on a paper by [Jellicoe] on the need for urgent action on naval aviation. [Carbon copy].

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Minute from WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty] to the Naval Secretary, Admiralty [Rear-Admiral Dudley de Chair] on his intention to mark the development of the Naval Air Service by further promotion of flying officers. WSC suggests that all Lieutenants commanding squadrons be given the seniority to wear the half-stripe of an 8-year Lieutenant, and that two of the more senior flying officers should be promoted to Commander. [Carbon copy].

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Minute by WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty] on provision in the new building programme to construct four airships. [Carbon copy].

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Minute by [? James Masterton Smith, Private Secretary to WSC] on inaccurate statements by Captain Gerald Vivian, commander of the Naval Flying Base ship Hermes, during discussions to decide types of aeroplanes to be bought by the Admiralty.

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Admiralty memorandum on military and naval aviation, including a summary of the situation in France, Italy, Russia and Germany, uses of airships and aeroplanes in naval warfare, airship design and construction and costs of new aircraft. [Printed, and circulated to the cabinet].

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Report by Lieutenant-Colonel Alick Russell, Military Attache at the British Embassy, Berlin [Germany] on the development of the German Airship Fleet; includes covering note by WSC. [Printed, and circulated to the Cabinet].

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Telegram from Admiralty to 'Commodore T' [Reginald Tyrwhitt], on air operations off the Belgian coast. [Carbon].

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Telegram from Admiralty to the Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet [Admiral Sir John Jellicoe] on providing naval support for air operations off the Belgian coast. [Carbon].

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Telegram from Admiralty to the Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet [Admiral Sir John Jellicoe], on the desirability of a sweep southward by the Grand Fleet in conjunction with a seaplane operation, as the German fleet was concentrated at Wilhelmshaven [Germany] and their cruisers and battle cruisers were active. [Carbon].

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Telegram from the Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet [Admiral Sir John Jellicoe], to Admiralty, on the proposed southward sweep by the Grand Fleet, stating that it would be unwise to move the Fleet in conjunction with a seaplane operation. [Carbon].

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Telegram from Admiralty to the French Ministry of Marine, Bordeaux, asking them to arrange for four naval aircraft and vehicles to be transported from Le Havre to Dijon [France] by rail, so that they could attack the German airship sheds at Friederichshafen. [Carbon].

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Telegram from Admiralty to the Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet, [Admiral Sir John Jellicoe], reporting a concentration of heavy German ships in the Weser and the Elbe, and a dispersal of their submarines to hunt in the Shetlands and the English Channel. The Admiralty suggests that the time was right for an aerial attack on the Zeppelin sheds at Cuxhaven [Germany]. Initialled by Vice-Admiral Henry Oliver [Chief of Staff]. [Carbon].

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Telegram from the Admiralty to the French Ministry of Marine, Bordeaux [France], on plans to maintain aerial command of the area around Dunkirk. [Carbon].

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Telegram from Admiralty to Commander Charles Samson, [Naval Air Service] with orders to continue to assert aerial control within a 100 mile radius of Dunkirk [France], detailing his support and urging the importance of destroying airships and airship sheds, particularly at Dusseldorf and Cologne [Germany]. Initialled by Vice-Admiral Sir [Frederick] Doveton Sturdee [Chief of Staff] and WSC. [Carbon].

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Telegram from Admiralty to Commander Charles Samson [Naval Air Service], approving his proposals for the establishment of advanced moveable bases for aggressive action against Zeppelins, and warning him not to drawn into serious fighting against enemy troops, as his objectives are airships and airship sheds. [Carbon].