Scope and Contents Letter from WSC to Lieutenant-Colonel Oswald Fitzgerald [Personal Military Secretary to Field Marshal 1st Lord Kitchener, Secretary of State for War], hoping that Kitchener would not keep General Sir Ian Hamilton [commander of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force] too short of men. WSC states that he felt that there should be another 20,000 men in [the Dardanelles] and urges Fitzgerald not to lose two or three precious days. [Hand-written copy, signed by WSC, with envelope and covering note...

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Letter from WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty] to Field Marshal 1st Lord Kitchener [Secretary of State for War], hoping that he would not keep General Sir Ian Hamilton [commander of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force], too short of men, adding that a loyal man like Hamilton would go on with what he had and never say a word until he cracked up. WSC suggests that another 20,000 men be sent to the Dardanelles. [2 Hand-written copies signed by WSC].

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Draft note from WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty] to [Vice-Admiral Sackville Carden, in command of naval operations at the Dardanelles], on the Dardanelles campaign, stating that the results to be gained by attacking were great enough to justify the loss of ships and men which success could not be obtained without. [Hand-written drafts, initialled by WSC. See also CHAR 13/45/120-122.].

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Letter from WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty] to Field Marshal 1st Lord Kitchener [Secretary of State for War], on the naval attack on the Dardanelles. WSC states that it would be desirable for an attack on Alexandretta [Iskenderun, Turkey] to be simultaneous, so that if the attack on the Dardanelles was a failure it could be presented as a mere demonstration to cover the seizure of Alexandretta. [Hand-written copy].

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Letter from WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty] to Field Marshal 1st Lord Kitchener [Secretary of State for War], on sending an advance party of troops from Egypt to the Dardanelles. WSC also asks if a "good General" could be sent there to cut off the enemy retreat, and suggests Major-General Aylmer Hunter-Weston.

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Letter from Field Marshal 1st Lord Kitchener, Secretary of State or War, to WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty], on the transport of troops to the Dardanelles, including orders for the 29th Division, and whether to send a French division to Lemnos.

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Letter from WSC, First Lord of the Admiralty, to Sir Edward Grey [Foreign Secretary], sending a message to be forwarded to the Grand Duke Nicholas [Russian Minister of War], on the progress of the attack on the Dardanelles. WSC suggests that the Russian Black Sea Fleet should prepare to come to the entrance of the Bosphorus, with any troops that could be spared. [Hand-written copy].

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Letter from WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty] to Field Marshal 1st Lord Kitchener [Secretary of State for War], on fixing a date for the military attack on the Dardanelles, and approving the choice of General Sir Ian Hamilton as Commander-in-Chief. [Typescript copy; further copy at CHAR 13/48/30-32].

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Letter from WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty] to Field Marshal 1st Lord Kitchener [Secretary of State for War], on fixing a date for the attack on the Dardanelles, and also approving the choice of General Sir Ian Hamilton as Commander-in-Chief. Includes forwarding note from WSC to the Prime Minister [Herbert Asquith, later 1st Lord Oxford and Asquith] and Sir Edward Grey [Foreign Secretary]. [Typescript copy; further copy at CHAR 13/48/24-25].

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Minute from WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty] to Sir Edward Grey [Foreign Secretary], stating that Eleutherios Venizelos [Prime Minister of Greece] should be told that the Royal Navy intended to force the Dardanelles without military assistance. If so, the Turks on the Gallipoli peninsula would be cut off and could be reduced at leisure, and Greek military movements should be decided in relation to these facts. [Hand-written, initialled by WSC, annotated "not sent"].

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Letter from WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty] to Field Marshal 1st Lord Kitchener [Secretary of State for War], on the transport of troops from Egypt to the Dardanelles, and the results for reinforcements for India and Iraq. WSC also mentions the claims of Russia on Constantinople [later Istanbul, Turkey] and progress in attacks on forts in the Dardanelles. [2 copies].

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Telegram from Grand Duke Nicholas [Russian Minister of War] to WSC, First Lord of the Admiralty, on the actions of the Russian Black Sea Fleet against a Turkish port, and the Fleet's readiness to work with the Allies at the Dardanelles; includes covering note. [Typescript copy. See CHAR 13/48/77 for covering letter].

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Letter from Frederick Butler [Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for the Colonies] to James Masterton-Smith [Private Secretary to WSC], on the concerns of the Australian Government at the detention of Australian transports for special service at the Dardanelles.

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Letter from WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty] to the Prime Minister [Herbert Asquith] on the importance of General Sir Ian Hamilton [Commander, Mediterranean Expeditionary Force] getting to Lemnos [Greece] at the earliest possible moment, as naval operations [at the Dardanelles] might depend on military assistance at any time. [Hand-written copy].

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Letter from Field Marshal 1st Lord Kitchener, Secretary of State for War, to WSC, sending on a copy of a telegram from the Grand Duke Nicholas [Russian War Minister] on the Dardanelles [see CHAR 13/48/67-68], and stating that he wished that the Russian Army would "play up a bit", as they seemed to do nothing but complain about the number of Germans in front of them.

Scope and Contents Telegram from WSC, First Lord of the Admiralty to Grand Duke Nicholas [Russian Minister of War], on the progress of naval operations in the Dardanelles. WSC also expresses satisfaction that the Russian Fleet would be watching the mouth of the Bosphorus to prevent the escape of Turkish and German ships, and would be ready to attack Turkish forts. [Hand-written copy, initialled by WSC; typescript copy at CHAR 13/48/87. Includes covering note from Edward Marsh [Private Secretary to WSC] to the...

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Letter from Field Marshal 1st Lord Kitchener, Secretary of State for War, to WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty], reporting that General Sir Ian Hamilton [Commander, Mediterranean Expeditionary Force] would not be able to leave for the Dardanelles, until they had "studied the situation with which he may be confronted".

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Telegram from WSC, First Lord of the Admiralty to Grand Duke Nicholas [Russian Minister of War], on the progress of naval operations in the Dardanelles. WSC also expresses satisfaction that the Russian Fleet would be watching the mouth of the Bosphorus to prevent the escape of Turkish and German ships, and would be ready to attack Turkish forts. [Typescript copy of CHAR 13/48/78-79].

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Letter from WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty] to Field Marshal 1st Lord Kitchener [Secretary of State for War], forwarding a letter [not present] from Vice Admiral Sackville Carden [Commander of naval operations at the Dardanelles], on the transport of troops from Egypt to the Dardanelles. [Hand-written copy, with typed transcript].

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Telegram from WSC, First Lord of the Admiralty to Grand Duke Nicholas [Russian Minister of War] on arrangements proposed for the Russian Fleet in the Dardanelles and Bosphorus, the shortage of Allied destroyers and small craft and the need for assistance from the Greek Fleet. [Hand-written copy].

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Telegram from Field Marshal 1st Lord Kitchener [Secretary of State for War] to WSC, First Lord of the Admiralty, advising that no large scale operations should be attempted in the Dardanelles until the 29th Division had arrived. [Typescript copy].

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Telegram from WSC, First Lord of the Admiralty to the Grand Duke Nicholas [Russian Minister of War], reporting on the Allied naval attack on the Dardanelles on 18 March, particularly the establishment of fire predominance over the fortresses, and the loss of three battleships to drifting mines, resulting in the attack being broken off until the mines could be dealt with. [Hand-written copy].

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Letter from Field Marshal 1st Lord Kitchener, Secretary of State for War, to WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty], on the Dardanelles, explaining that the land operations were being prepared, and asking the Navy to carry on attacking the forts, so that the Turks would use up their ammunition.

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Minute from Rear-Admiral Sir Douglas Brownrigg, Chief Naval Censor, to WSC, First Lord of the Admiralty, on censorship of press telegrams from the Dardanelles, annotated by WSC, stating that he was stronly opposed to the transmission of "misleading messages" by wireless, asking that the Censor's decision be upheld.

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Letter from Edward Marsh, Admiralty to Eric Drummond (later Lord Perth), Foreign Office, on censorship of press telegrams from the Dardanelles [carbon].