Scope and Contents

Letter from WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty] to Field Marshal Sir John French [Commander-in-Chief, British Expeditionary Force, later 1st Lord Ypres], on the military situation on the Western Front, offering to come over to see him to discuss the matter. [Hand-written copy].

Scope and Contents

Letter from WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty] to Field Marshal Sir John French [Commander-in-Chief, British Expeditionary Force, later 1st Lord Ypres] on a naval bombardment to support the advance of the Army on Ostende [Belgium]. WSC suggests that the Navy attack Zeebrugge, the base of the German submarines, at the same time. [Hand-written draft, unsigned].

Scope and Contents

Letter from Lieutenant-Colonel [George] Tom Bridges [Head of Military Mission with the Belgian Field Army] to WSC, First Lord of the Admiralty, on the work of the Naval Division in Belgium.

Scope and Contents

Telegram from WSC, First Lord of the Admiralty to Field Marshal Sir John French [Commander-in-Chief, British Expeditionary Force, later 1st Lord Ypres], regretting that the Royal Navy could not provide artillery support on the Belgian coast. WSC explains that small ships were not powerful enough, and it was not justifiable to expose battleships to risk of attack by submarines, except to support a land attack of primary importance. [Hand-written draft, unsigned].

Scope and Contents

Letter from WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty] to Field Marshal 1st Lord Kitchener [Secretary of State for War] on the treatment of naval units serving with the Army in France. WSC argues that they should continue to be subject to the Naval Discipline Act, not given the choice to "become a soldier or be sent home"; he lists the five units concerned: armoured trains, motor omnibuses, aircraft, armoured cars and 15-inch howitzers. [Two draft carbon copies].

Scope and Contents Letter from Field Marshal 1st Lord Kitchener, Secretary of State for War, to WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty] on the status of naval units serving with the Army in France. Kitchener states that while the War Office would welcome a Naval Brigade or Division, they did not think it necessary to have "irregular" Naval units serving in armoured cars or trains, which could be provided by the War Office. He adds that if these irregular units were only a means for "certain officers and gentlemen...

Scope and Contents

Memorandum by WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty] on the need to secure naval command of the Baltic, in view of the stalemate on the Western Front. [Hand-written draft, initialled by WSC].

Scope and Contents

Letter from Admiral of the Fleet 1st Lord Fisher [1st Sea Lord] to WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty] urging him to persuade Field Marshal 1st Lord Kitchener [Secretary of State for War] to send 100,000 men to Flanders [Belgium] at once. Fisher also comments on the lack of daring shown by General Joseph Joffre [Commander-in-Chief, French Army]. [Hand-written, with typescript copy].

Scope and Contents

Minute from Major-General Sir George Aston, to WSC, First Lord of the Admiralty, reporting on the activities of the Naval Division in Belgium and France. [Carbon].

Scope and Contents

Letter from Lieutenant-Colonel Alfred Ollivant (Dunkirk [France]) to WSC, First Lord of the Admiralty, reporting on the activities of the Royal Naval Division in France and Belgium. [Carbon].

Scope and Contents

Admiralty statement on the work of the Royal Naval Division in the defence of Antwerp [Belgium]. [Carbon].

Scope and Contents

Minute from WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty] to the Secretary, [Sir (William) Graham Greene], 1st Sea Lord [Prince Louis of Battenberg, later 1st Lord Milford Haven] and Chief of Staff, Admiralty [Vice-Admiral Sir (Frederick) Doveton Sturdee] on the deployment of the Marine Brigade in Ostend [Belgium]. [Carbon].

Scope and Contents

Minute from WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty] to the Secretary, Admiralty [Sir (William) Graham Greene], with orders for Colonel Sir George Aston, Royal Marine Brigade, ordering him to occupy and fortify Ostend [Belgium], to create a diversion favourable to the Belgians advancing from Antwerp, and to threaten the western flank of the German southward advance; also giving him the temporary rank of Brigadier-General. [Carbon].

Scope and Contents

Report from H W Wilson, correspondent for the Daily Mail, on the situation in Ostend [Belgium], following the removal of the garrison to Antwerp. [Carbon].

Scope and Contents

Telegram from Major-General Archibald Paris [General Officer Commanding Royal Naval Division] to WSC, First Lord of the Admiralty, on the defence of Antwerp [Belgium], including blocking the River Schelde. [Carbon].

Scope and Contents

Telegram from Admiralty to Major-General Archibald Paris [General Officer Commanding Royal Naval Division], on the defence of Antwerp [Belgium], ordering him to hold his position against artillery attacks. [Carbon].

Scope and Contents

Telegram from Rear-Admiral Horace Hood to Admiralty, on his bombardment of the Belgian coast in support of the Belgian Army. [Carbon].

Scope and Contents

Telegram from [Rear-Admiral Horace Hood] to Admiralty, on his bombardment of the Belgian coast in support of the Belgian Army, asking for a gunboat or scout, with at least 500 rounds of ammunition per gun. [Carbon].

Scope and Contents

Telegram from Calais [France] to Admiralty, reporting that there were 3000 wounded in the town, and that the state of affairs was "deplorable owing to total collapse of organisation"; also stating that 3000 more wounded were expected from the front. [Carbon].

Scope and Contents

Telegram from Rear-Admiral Horace Hood, to Admiralty, reporting on his support of the Army in Belgium. [Carbon].

Scope and Contents

Telegram from Colonel Tom Bridges to WSC, request from General Sir John French [later 1st Lord Ypres] for shallow draught gunboats under Captain Eyre Howard for the British 1st Army in France [initialled by WSC].

Scope and Contents

Minute from J W S Anderson, Admiralty to WSC, First Lord, on the start of weekly despatch service to Malta via Marseilles.

Scope and Contents

Telegram from Lord Kitchener, War Office to Gen Sir John French [later 1st Lord Ypres], on arrangements for naval bombardment of Westende, Belgium.

Scope and Contents

Minute by Lord Fisher, 1st Sea Lord "On the possibility of using our command of the sea to influence more drastically the military situation on the continent" [carbon, with ms annotations ? by WSC].

Scope and Contents

Minute by WSC, commenting on Admiralty despatches on Antwerp Operations, Oct 1914 [printed].