Scope and Contents Prime Minister's printed personal minutes, April 1942.Includes texts of minutes from WSC (annotated with additional printed information) to: General Sir Hastings Ismay [Chief of Staff to the Minister of Defence]; members of the Cabinet and other government ministers; the Chiefs of Staff.Subjects covered by the minutes include: the Japanese threat to the Falkland Islands; discussion of operation "Ironclad" [code name for British occupation of Diego Suarez, Madagascar]; the British naval...

Scope and Contents Prime Minister's printed personal minutes, May 1942.Includes texts of minutes from WSC (annotated with additional printed information) to: members of the Cabinet and other government ministers; the Chiefs of Staff; General Sir Hastings Ismay [Chief of Staff to the Minister of Defence].Subjects covered by the minutes include: aircraft production; bombing policy; operation "Ironclad" in Madagascar; the availability of ammunition for the Home Guard; naval operations in the Indian Ocean;...

Scope and Contents Prime Minister's printed personal minutes, June 1942.Includes texts of minutes from WSC (annotated with additional printed information) to: General Sir Hastings Ismay [Chief of Staff to the Minister of Defence]; the Chiefs of Staff; members of the Cabinet and other government ministers; Sir Edward Bridges [Secretary to the War Cabinet].Subjects covered by the minutes include: discussion of proposed operations against Germany in northern Norway ("Jupiter"), Spitsbergen ("Jackpot") and France...

Scope and Contents Prime Minister's printed personal minutes, September 1942.Includes texts of minutes from WSC (annotated with additional printed information) to: members of the Cabinet and other government ministers; Major-General Leslie Hollis [Military Assistant Secretary to the War Cabinet]; the Chiefs of Staff; Colonel John Bevan [Head of the London Controlling Section]; Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Moore [Vice Chief of the Naval Staff]; Air Chief Marshal Arthur Harris [Commander in Chief Bomber...

Scope and Contents Prime Minister's printed personal minutes, October 1942.Includes texts of minutes from WSC (annotated with additional printed information) to: members of the Cabinet and other government ministers; senior civil servants, including Sir Edward Bridges [Secretary to the War Cabinet]; General Sir Hastings Ismay [Chief of Staff to the Minister of Defence]; the Chiefs of Staff; Lieutenant-Colonel Ian Jacob [Military Assistant Secretary to the War Cabinet].Subjects covered by the minutes include:...

Scope and Contents Prime Minister's printed personal minutes, November 1942.Includes texts of minutes from WSC (annotated with additional printed information) to: Desmond Morton [Prime Minister's Personal Assistant]; Colonel Ian Jacob [Military Assistant Secretary to the War Cabinet]; members of the Cabinet and other government ministers; General Sir Hastings Ismay [Chief of Staff to the Minister of Defence]; the Chiefs of Staff; senior civil servants, including Sir Edward Bridges [Secretary to the War...

Scope and Contents Prime Minister's printed personal minutes, December 1942.Includes texts of minutes from WSC (annotated with additional printed information) to: members of the Cabinet and other government ministers; the Chiefs of Staff; Director of Movements [War Office, General Noel Holmes]; General Sir Hastings Ismay [Chief of Staff to the Minister of Defence]; Colonel Ian Jacob [Military Assistant Secretary to the War Cabinet]; Chief Whip [James Stuart].Subjects covered by the minutes include:...

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Telegram from the Prime Minister of Australia, John Curtin, to WSC on modifications to the Empire Air Training Scheme; asks about strength of force in South Western Pacific.

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Telegram from General Sir Claude Auchinleck, Commander-in- Chief, Middle East, to WSC on subjects including a tank encounter to the south of Agedabia [Ajdabiyah, Libya], the accuracy of RAF bombing and the movement of enemy ships from Ras el Aali.

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Telegrams from General Sir Claude Auchinleck, Commander- in-Chief, Middle East, to WSC on subjects including: activity in Agedabia [Ajdabiyah, Libya]; RAF bombing of Ras Aali; prisoner-of-war figures; fighter planes over Agedabia; news from Lieutenant-General Neil Ritchie [Commander of 8th Army] on the Allied capture of Bardia, and release of British prisoners-of-war.

Scope and Contents Letters from 1st Lord Beaverbrook [former Minister for Aircraft Production and Minister of Supply, earlier Max Aitken] to WSC, Lord Cranborne [Lord Privy Seal, later 5th Lord Salisbury] and Sir Edward Bridges [Secretary to the Cabinet] on the aircraft and shipbuilding programme, including the lack of dive-bombers, asking for minutes of the Defence Committee of Supply and on his speech in the House of Lords on anti-tank gun development; also includes a letter from A V Alexander [First Lord of...

Scope and Contents Correspondence between WSC, James Stuart [Government Chief Whip], John Martin, Francis Brown, Leslie Rowan [Private Secretaries to WSC] and A L Armstrong and Eric Jackson, [Private Secretary to Minister of Aircraft Production], John Llewellin [Minister of Aircraft Production] and Sir William Brass [later 1st Lord Chattisham], former Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister of Aircraft Production, on Brass's allegations about inadequate supply of aircraft spares and ministerial...

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Copy of a letter from John Colville [pilot, RAFVR, former Private Secretary to WSC] to CSC with impressions of South Africa and criticisms of the Empire Air Training Scheme; with correspondence between WSC, Sir Archibald Sinclair [Secretary of State for Air, later 1st Lord Thurso] and 1st Lord Cherwell [Personal Assistant to WSC, earlier F A Lindemann] enquiring about the efficiency of the scheme, and Colville's progress.

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Correspondence on John Colville [former Private Secretary to WSC] being found unfit for a pilot's commission; includes letters between John Martin [Private Secretary to WSC], WSC, Sir Archibald Sinclair [Secretary of State for Air, later 1st Lord Thurso] and Ronald Melville [Private Secretary to Sinclair] on the inconvenience to WSC of releasing Colville, his progress in training, and the limitations of training in South Africa.

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Memorandum [submitted by Sir Edward Bridges, Secretary to the Cabinet] examining proposition by the Lord Privy Seal [Sir Stafford Cripps] for co-operation between the Services through an overall commander. [See CHAR 20/56B/129-134 for Cripps's proposition].

Scope and Contents Correspondence between Sir Stafford Cripps [Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Commons], WSC and Sir Edward Bridges [Secretary to the Cabinet] on memoranda by Cripps on subjects including: dissatisfaction in Parliament, the vote of censure against the Government and public opinion over progress of war in the Middle East, including leadership, weaponry, research and invention and the RAF; lack of public morale, the direction of the war and need for improved co-operation between the...

Scope and Contents Letter from 1st Lord Hankey [Paymaster-General] to WSC enclosing memoranda on the use and techniques of Bomber Command and the dispersal of capital ships and their use against Japan, written before his resignation; forwarded to the Secretary of State for Air [Sir Archibald Sinclair, later 1st Lord Thurso] and Chief of Air Staff [Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal], the First Lord of the Admiralty [A V Alexander] and 1st Sea Lord [Admiral of the Fleet Sir Dudley Pound]; with replies by...

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Memorandum by Professor A V Hill [Member, War Cabinet Scientific Advisory Committee] on Science and the U-boat War addressed by the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee to all MP's; includes covering note by Edward Salt, Deputy Chairman, Parliamentary and Scientific Committee.

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Copy of letter from George Sparrow to Major Sir Jocelyn Lucas on adapting the Mosquito aircraft as a torpedo bomber, forwarded by Lucas to Brigadier George Harvie-Watt [Parliamentary Private Secretary to WSC] with reply; plan rejected by Geoffrey Mander [Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Air].

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Letter and memorandum from Christopher Mackintosh [Chairman and Managing Director of Sir Henry Lunn Limited] to Brigadier George Harvie-Watt [Parliamentary Private Secretary to WSC] on development of "E.S." materials and threats used by Ministry of Aircraft Production to obtain patent; includes letter from Ben Smith [Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Aircraft Production] to Harvie-Watt, explaining their position.

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Correspondence between Henry Nimmo, Chief Engineering Inspector, Electricity Commission, John Martin [Private Secretary to WSC], Ronald Melville [Private Secretary to Secretary of State for Air], [?] Reginald Maudling [Assistant Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Air] and WSC on Nimmo's suggestion that German electricity generating stations would be prime targets for bombers.

Scope and Contents Extract from Hansard with summary of Parliamentary questions from Major Charles Taylor and others to WSC about co-operation between the Army and RAF in the Middle East, and in their training; also includes copy of letter from Admiral Sir [William] Reginald Hall to Taylor on the control of air power in Egypt, with letters from Taylor to Brigadier George Harvie-Watt [Parliamentary Private Secretary to WSC], enclosing Hall's letter, thanking WSC for answering his questions, asking if he could...

Scope and Contents Memoranda by 3rd Lord Tollemache, on subjects including: the defence of the Empire, on modernising the Imperial Defence Cabinet, the Ministry of Production and the Imperial General Staff; modern war on land, including the army, transport and supply; the Home Guard; the RAF; fuel supply co-ordination; improving the railways; army training; with covering letter from Tollemache to WSC including notes on supplying fighter aircraft to the Middle East and Far East and strategic islands in the...

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Telegram from WSC to the Prime Minister of Australia [John Curtin] with figures for army and air reinforcement of Malaya [later Malaysia].

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Telegram from WSC to the Government of New Zealand [and Peter Fraser, Prime Minister] with figures for air reinforcement of New Zealand.