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Telegram from Field Marshal Sir John French [Chief of Imperial General Staff, later 1st Lord Ypres] to Field Marshal 1st Lord Kitchener [Secretary of State for War], stating that the advance along the Belgian coast from Nieuport was not as fast as hoped, and asking for surprise bombardment by monitor and big gun ships. [Typescript copy].

Scope and Contents Letter from WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty] to Field Marshal 1st Lord Kitchener [Secretary of State for War] on the need for artillery on the Western Front, suggesting that territorial batteries be sent to India, and regular artillery brought home: "It is an awful pity to leave these splendid batteries keeping order among natives when trained artillery is our bitterest need. I think myself that every regular battery in India except mountain, ought to come home and be replaced by...

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Telegram from Admiralty to Major-General Sir George Aston, [Royal Naval Division] (Dunkirk [France]), reporting large enemy cavalry forces within 60 miles, and urging caution in using British Yeomanry cavalry as they were deficient in equipment. [Carbon].

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Telegram from Lieutenant-Colonel Alfred Ollivant [General Staff Officer, Admiralty], (Dunkirk [France]) to Admiralty, on the position of the Royal Naval Division. [Carbon].

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Telegram from Major-General Sir George Aston, [Royal Naval Division] (Dunkirk [France]), to WSC, First Lord of the Admiralty, reporting his interview with the Governor of Dunkirk [Charles Bidon], on the employment of the Division. [Carbon].

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Telegram from Admiralty to Major-General Sir George Aston, [Royal Naval Division] on the defence of Antwerp [Belgium] and Dunkirk [France]. [Carbon].

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Telegram from Major-General Sir George Aston [Royal Naval Division] (Dunkirk [France]), to WSC, First Lord of the Admiralty, on a request from French Territorial Forces at Douai for cavalry support. [Carbon].

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Telegram from WSC, First Lord of the Admiralty, to Major-General General Sir George Aston [Royal Naval Division], placing him on the sick list, and ordering him home to London for a rest before resuming his duties, handing over command to Major-General Archibald Paris. Further temporary command changes are detailed. [Carbon].

Scope and Contents Telegram from the Director of Intelligence [Rear-Admiral Henry Oliver, Admiralty] to Major-General Archibald Paris [General Officer Commanding, Royal Naval Division] (Dunkirk [France]) reporting the statement of the Belgian Minister of War, that the Germans were taking the siege of Antwerp [Belgium] seriously and that it is not intended as a diversion; also stating that German forces had moved towards Mons [France] and that German reserve troops intended to occupy positions on the Meuse...

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Telegram from Admiralty to Major-General Archibald Paris [General Officer Commanding, Royal Naval Division] ordering him to bring back his battalion from Lille [France], and concentrate his brigade, and to be ready to move to Antwerp [Belgium] during the morning. The telegram states that the First Lord of the Admiralty [WSC] would arrive at Dunkirk at 0500 hours. [Carbon].

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Telegram from Major-General Archibald Paris [General Officer Commanding, Royal Naval Division] to WSC, First Lord of the Admiralty, on the military situation in Antwerp [Belgium]. [Carbon].

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Telegram from Admiralty to Major-General Archibald Paris, [General Officer Commanding, Royal Naval Division] on the defence of Antwerp [Belgium]. [Carbon].

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Telegram from Admiralty to Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleets [Admiral Sir John Jellicoe], sending the text of a telegram from Field Marshal Sir John French [Commander- in-Chief, British Expeditionary Force, later 1st Lord Ypres] to the War Office, on the retreat from Mons [France]. [Carbon].

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Telegram from WSC, First Lord of the Admiralty to Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleets [Admiral Sir John Jellicoe], on the Admiralty's desire to defend Dunkirk, Calais and Boulogne [France] as long as possible. [Carbon].

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Telegram from WSC, First Lord of the Admiralty to Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleets [Admiral Sir John Jellicoe], on bad military news from France, asking him to consider the possibility of Germany controlling Calais and the French coasts. [Carbon].

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Telegram from WSC, First Lord of the Admiralty to Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleets [Admiral Sir John Jellicoe], on military news from France, reporting that the general impression was more favourable. [Carbon].

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Telegram from Admiralty to Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleets [Admiral Sir John Jellicoe], on the decision to send the Naval Division to defend Ostend [Belgium]. Initialled by Vice-Admiral Sir [Frederick] Doveton Sturdee [Chief of Staff]. [Carbon].

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Telegram from the Ministry of Marine, Paris [France] to Admiralty, on the transport of 16,000 Belgian troops from Le Havre to Ostend [Belgium]. Includes replies from Vice-Admiral Sir (Frederick]) Doveton Sturdee [Chief of Staff, Admiralty], Prince Louis of Battenberg [1st Sea Lord, later 1st Lord Milford Haven] and WSC. [Carbon].

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Telegram from Rear-Admiral Horace Hood to the Duty Captain, Admiralty, on his operations to support the Army in Belgium. [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].

Scope and Contents Telegram from Sir Francis Bertie [British Ambassador to France], on a meeting between Paul Cambon [French Ambassador to Britain] and the French Minister of War, in which Cambon passed on a message about the importance that the British attached to the transfer of British troops to the extreme left of the Allied line. Bertie also reports on the view of General Joseph Joffre [Chief of French General Staff] on such a move, and Joffre's lack of confidence in British support, particularly from [?...

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Map of the Western Front, with forts and defences marked: scale 1:70,000.

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Map of the area surrounding Antwerp [Belgium], showing Allied defences, scale 1:40,000.

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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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].