75 MSS letters from Carr-Gomm to his father, nearly all written from the Cameroons, and all signed Culling. Carr-Gomm, who had been in West Africa in the Colonial Service since April 1912, joined the Anglo-French Expeditionary Force to the Cameroons in September 1914, and later that month was gazetted to the 2nd Battalion of the Nigerian Regiment. Until January 1915 his letters (15 of them) describe the campaign, which consisted chiefly of trying to force the inferior German forces into a major engagement, at first hand. After this, Carr-Gomm was transferred to the Royal Engineers, and the next 36 letters (until March 1916) are nearly all written from Duala, the main port of the Cameroons, and frequently refer to the administrative and technical problems of catering for the many Europeans in the town, and of dealing with captured enemy property, especially the rubber and cocoa plantations. The letters continue to describe the progress of the campaign until its completion in February 1916, and Carr-Gomm frequently comments on the state of affairs in England and Europe. In March 1916 the Cameroons were divided between Britain and France, and from then until November, when he returned to England, Carr-Gomm was in charge of the Public Works Department in Buea, the main administrative centre of the British sphere. The final 20 letters describe the problems raised by the partition, the pressures imposed on Carr-Gomm by the interference of the Nigerian authorities, and his increasing desire to leave the Cameroons and play a more active part in the war. He landed in England on 9 November 1916, and the last letter in the collection is from Arthur Street Maitland, Parliamentary Under-secretary at the Colonial Office, discussing Carr-Gomms future employment. Some of the more interesting letters are described below: 3pp., MSS. On troopship of Duala, the capital of the Cameroons, preparing to land tomorrow. 25 September 1914 8pp., MSS. Surrender of Duala. 30 September 1914 3pp., MSS. Defending Susa, sixteen miles inland. Germans adopting Boer tactics, sniping and then melting away. (And next 3 letters). 9 November 1914 4pp., MSS. At Duala. Germans still at large. Criticises whinings in English press about recruitment and the navy. 20 January 1915 6pp., MSS. Inaccuracy of press reports on the Cameroons. 1 February 1915 3pp., MSS. His work in Duala, The problems of coping with the increased population there. 1 March 1915 2pp., MSS. German good conduct in the Cameroons, as compared with their barbarity in SW Africa. 3 June 1915 5pp., MSS. Disappointing return of Heywoods battalion, which had been expected to finish off the Germans at Jaunde. 8 June 1915 4pp., MSS. Influx of Kitchener soldiers - arrogant and ignorant of West Coast habits, but full of martial vigour. Arrival of auditors and bureaucrats. 27 October 1915 4pp., MSS. Defends Dobell, the GOC, against criticisms. Bitterness against the War Office for supplanting them with upstarts and Dugouts. Unfairness of promoting stay-at-homes. 22 December 1915 5pp., MSS. Disappointment over the handing over of most of the Cameroons to France, and confusion over future developments. Complains about his letters being sent to the Daily Graphic. We here in this little corner of the worlds affairs are more of a family party so to speak than those who wage their warfare in the limelight of European publicity. 16 March 1916 6pp., MSS. Present situation. The arbitrary division of the territory, with no regard for tribal boundaries, makes relations with the natives difficult. 12 April 1916 3pp., MSS. Visit of Sir Frederick Lugard, Governor-General of Nigeria. Problem of who should get cocoa and rubber profits: if they will ultimately go to the Germans, why should we work the plantations? 20 May 1916 2pp., MSS. Anxious to exchange this leisurely life for something more strenuous. 21 August 1916
Norman King was the British consul at Dar-es-Salaam, German East Africa, when war broke out in 1914. His diary begins at the end of July and the early entries reflect the confusion which the declaration of war brought to the colonies. King himself was now on enemy territory; nevertheless, the German Authorities who had previously been his associates and friends made every endeavour to help him and other British subjects to leave Dar-es-Salaam safely: "The Governor said the Authorities would give me every assistance to obtain a dhow and told Kempner, who had meanwhile prepared my pass, to go with me and see that I got what I wanted. I expressed my regret at the situation and thanked him for all the consideration he had shown me as British Consul. He seemed very upset and both of us felt too bewildered at the sudden catastrophe to say more than a few formal phrases." (5 August 1914) After a hazardous journey by dhow along the coast King and a few other refugees arrived at Zanzibar only to be mistaken for German saboteurs and fired on! Eventually they got ashore and King went straight to the Residency to make a vigorous complaint about the incident. There followed a few days in Zanzibar during which time he was appointed Chief Intelligence Officer and then ordered to proceed to Simla in India, headquarters of the British East African Expedition. A break in the journey at Mombasa, to await despatches, allowed him to note and criticise the fact that the German subjects there had been imprisoned. King arrived at Simla, (25 August), and was installed in the headquarters to impart his knowledge of German East Africa to the British staff. He was officially appointed Political Officer to Force "B" of the East African Expedition and spent the following few days in composing a handbook on German East Africa for the benefit of the Expeditionary Force. On 20 September he sailed from Bombay with Force "C" and, on his return to British East Africa, was gazetted Political Officer temporarily attached to Force "C". Several diary entries at this time express Kings irritation with the vagueries of his position and series of stop-gap appointments. At the beginning of November the Expeditionary Force sailed for Tanga, a coasted town of strategic importance, just within the border of German East Africa. Kings description of the attack on Tanga is detailed and highly informative. Although he personally blamed the failure of the expedition upon the cowardice of the ill-prepared Indian troops, it is clear from his account that lack of organisation was chiefly responsible for the British defeat. After the Force had landed and established a camp King commented: "There was not much organisation apperant and the nature of the troops was shown by a sudden scare when what looked like the whole camp bolted, seized by unreasoning and uncontrollable panic. ------- it was pitiful to hear the officers calling out to the men to take their arms, while the men ran like sheep." (3 November) Eventually the Force advanced on the town but the move was chaotic: "There was machine gun just in front which was making a terrible noise; people said it was ours and we hoped it was, but nobody knew much." (4 November) Having sustained heavy losses the British began to fall back and the demoralised troops re-embarted. [NB News of the disaster at Tanga was not released publicly in Britain until several months later, for fear of the effect which it would have on morale.] The second operation in which King took part was more successful but still characterised by disorganisation. He was to act as interpreter on board HMS FOX whose mission was to sail to Dar-es-Salaam to make a reconnaissance and to ensure that German ships could not leave the harbour. The situation was delicate as Dar-es-Salaam was protected by a flag of truce - on the understanding that she did not harbour the German cruiser Koenigsberg. However, whilst inspecting the harbour the British were fired on and so HMS Goliath was ordered to bombard the town. After inflicting some damage the British returned to Zanzibar with a few wounded and a number of German prisoners, (28 November). Back in Mombassa King wrote: "I am at a loose end, my activities as Political Officer having come to an end after the Tanga affair, and I may have to return to consular duties." (8 December) Shortly after this he was transferred to the service of the Governor of British East Africa and early in the New Tear was sent as Political Officer with an expedition to capture Mafia Island, a small island to the south of Dar-es-Salaam. He sailed in the Kinfauns Castle with an expeditionary force of 500 and gives a thorough account of the capture of the island. While the Kinfauns Castle and Fox shelled the shore the Force landed and set up a base camp, (8 January 1915). The following day they advanced on the German position, meeting with little resistance from the outnumbered enemy. Mafia was, in fact, the first German territory in East Africa to be captured by the British. In February King returned to Mafia to take up the post of Political Officer on the island. This time he sailed in "a miserable little tub full of Indians and niggers and a rather interesting baboon" and arrived to find that Colonel MacKay, the Military Commandant of Mafia, ". has the whole white house to himself and has put up a tent for me." (8 February) Throughout Kings term of office on the island relations between the two were strained, with MacKay unwilling to recognise Kings status. The native population of the island, mainly Indians and Arabs, were apparently undisturbed by the transition from German to British rule but had enough problems of their own as, writes King, "practically everyone on the island seems to be an undischarged bankrupt." (23 August) The handling of native disputes occupied much of his time conscientious in dealing with them. Most of his non-working hours were spent in hunting or dining with the other white people on Mafia, of which there were few. The monotonous routine of life on the island is reflected in Kings diary entries which gradually become shorter and more infrequent. In addition to suffering from boredom and loneliness he was not in the best of health and many entries complain of feverishness. After a few months on Mafia he wrote ". feeling rather a wreck. I need home-leave after three-years in this climate." (3 November). In September 1916 the Foreign Office informed King that he was to be transferred to Dakar, but he remarks in his diary that he has no intention of going. He left Mafia for Dar-es-Salaam, which had just surrendered to the British, and then proceeded to Zanzibar where the medical board prescribed him four months rest in a temperate climate. On 30 October the Jubilant King sailed for home and had travelled as far as Durban before he received a wire from the Foreign Office actually granting his leave. After a dull voyage, the ship having to sail in darkness and quiet because of submarines, King reached England. His diary ends on 31 December 1916 as the ship weighed anchor.
File of 8 letters to his mother from Senior Officers School talking about the course work and his preparations for his lecture on the Cameroon Campaign (see above)
Album of press-cuttings. Events on the Western Front, in Africa and India 1914-18 Box containing press-cuttings. All theatres of war. 1914-18 The Times History and Encyclopaedia of the War. The Campaign in German East Africa (parts 1-1V). 12 December 1916, 5 June 1916, 6 November 1917, 25 February 1919. 1916-19 List of war graves, The War Graves of the British Empire. Vermelles British Cemetary France. Published, Imperial War Graves Commission, London, 1928. ND The War Illustrated. General report on events. 8 July 1916 The Glory of Neuve Chapelle. Reprinted from The Daily Mail. 2 copies. 19 April 1915 The Illustrated War News 28 April 1915 Sir Douglas Haigs Great Push, The Battle of the Somme (part 1). Published, Hutchinson & Co., London 1916 3 copies of the Morogoro News 1916-17 vol. i, no.2 30 September 1916 vol. i, no 3 14 October 1916 Last issue 30 January 1917 Francis Brett Young, Five Degrees South, pub. Martin Secker, London. Poems written while on active service in German East Africa. ND John Masefield, Gallipoli, pub., Thomas Nelson & Sons Paris. ND The Coming Victory. Copy of a speech made by General Smuts. 4 October 1917 The Very Rev. Sir George Alan Smith, Syria and the Holy Land, Holder & Stoughton, London, New York, Toronto, 1919. 1919 Intelligence Notes on British and German East Africa, pub., The Intelligence Department, British East Africa. March 1916 Sketch map of the East Africa Protectorate prepared for the Handbook of British East Africa. ND Field Notes on German East Africa, pub., General Staff, India. 2 copies. August 1914 Military Report on German East Africa. Prepared by the General Staff, War Office. 1905 Collection of maps of East Africa. ND Third Supplement to the London Gazette. 2 copies 7 March 1918 Envelope containing press-cuttings. 1914-18 Newspapers. The Times. The Daily Chronicle. The East African Standard. 1914-18 Metal canister containing photographs of Dar-es-Salaam. ND
In August 1917, at the end of two months in dockyard hands, a new Captain, B S Thesiger, was appointed to the Inflexible and she proceeded to Scapa Flow for working-up exercises with the Grand Fleet. After so little activity for so long, Lee noted that it "makes one wake up" when the battle cruisers were suddenly ordered to sea, but no engagement materialized (16 October). Just over a week later, the survivors from the destroyer Mary Rose, sunk while escorting a Scandinavian convoy, were brought on board the Inflexible (24 October 1917). The Inflexible took part in two fruitless sweeps in the North Sea in November and during the winter formed part of the escorting force for the Scandinavian convoys. Owing to "stress of work" and the temporary loss of his diary, Lee made no entries for the periods 20 November 1917 - 7 February 1918, 30 April - 20 July, 4-19 August, 26 August - 21 September 1918. The infrequent entries during these months record U-boat attacks on the Scandinavian convoys, Allied counter-measures (26 March, 26-7 April) and the continuing weekly exercises. The most interesting entries for the final weeks of the war relate to the poor quality of British mines (27 September), the destruction of the U-boat manned entirely by officers off the entrance to Scapa Flow (29 October) and Armistice Day celebrations in the Battle Cruiser Fleet. The Inflexible was present at the surrender of the High Seas Fleet and, to Lee, ". it was a most wonderful sight.. one could hardly understand it all" (21 November) and he went round the Moltke the following day. Much to the ships companys disgust, however, they were deprived of their Christmas leave because of the situation in the Baltic (4, 6 December). Lee only kept his diary intermittently in 1919, but he did enter the Captains speech informing them that "the old home is to be broken up" (23 January), and the consequent discharge of most of the ratings at the Nore (31 January) and the ships reduction to the Third Fleet (14 February). Lees diaries contain summaries of many of the speeches made by the Inflexibles Captains during the war, and also transcriptions of congratulatory signals made to the Inflexible. All three volumes include photographs, press cuttings and odd notes by Lee relating to the war at sea, 1914-18. ALL 2 Printed "Extracts from the Press" relating to naval activities during the First World War, notably the Battles of Coronel and the Falklands, British minesweeping in the North Sea, the American Mining Squadron, the German East Africa blockade runners, the cruise of the Seeadler and the future of the submarine. 70pp. ND
Midshipmans journal (128pp) covering his service in the battleship HMS GOLIATH (September 1914 - March 1915) including her passage from the United Kingdom to India and then, as a convoy escort, to Mombasa (September - October) and her operations in the East African campaign, notably the blockade of the German cruiser KONIGSBERG in the Rufiji River and the bombardments of Dar-es-Salaam and Lindi, and then in the light cruiser HMS HYACINTH (April - July 1915) with descriptions of further operations against the KONIGSBERG including the interception and sinking of one of her supply ships and the attack on her by the monitors HMS SEVERN and HMS MERSEY; together with two Army field message books kept when he was commanding a Naval Lewis Gun Detachment in German East Africa (March - June 1917), a Night Order Book containing steaming orders for the battleship HMS WARSPITE on the Mediterranean Station and in the North Atlantic (December 1938 - January 1940); and an Admiralty pass and Admiralty Constabulary membership card issued to Murray when he was a Rear Admiral.
Microfilm copy of an informative and well-written ts diary (127pp) kept during his work with the Consular Service in East Africa, July 1914 - December 1916, referring to the confusion which the declaration of war brought to the colonies; his hazardous journey with other British subjects from Dar-es-Salaam, where he had served as British Consul, to British-held Zanzibar; his trip to the British East Africa Expeditionary Force headquarters in Simla, India, where he briefly acted in an advisory capacity before returning to British East Africa and gazetted Political Officer to the Expeditionary Force (September 1914); his irritation with the vagaries of his position and series of stop-gap appointments; his involvement in the disastrous British landing at Tanga, just within the border of German East Africa (November 1914), as interpreter on board HMS FOX, whose mission was to make a reconnaissance of Dar-es-Salaam (November 1914), and as part of the successful expedition to take Mafia Island (January 1915), the first German territory in East Africa to be captured by the British; returning there the following month to take up the post of Political Officer, he describes his handling of native disputes, the monotonous routine of life on the island and his leisure activities of hunting and fishing, eventually returning to the United Kingdom on medical leave (September 1916). The diary incorporates a large number of photographs, taken by Sir Norman and relating to events described in the text.
Photocopies of 140 ms and ts letters concerning his military service, 1913 - 1927, including 6 letetrs he wrote to his mother while serving in the Northern Nigeria Regiment during the British advance into the German Cameroons and his spell in hospital after being wounded during the capture of Tepe, August - November 1914; 22 letters home while serving as a pilot with No. 4 Squadron, RFC, April - July 1915, and with No. 12 Squadron, RFC, September 1915, in France; 22 letters, January - May 1916, whilst travelling to join the 1st Battalion, Highland Light Infantry (9th Brigade, 3rd Lahore Division) in Mesopotamia and briefly with his regiment before being wounded in the attack on the Beiteiysa Redoubt, April 1916; 5 letters while on leave in Scotland, September - October 1916, and 8 from Senior Officers School, January - March 1917; 56 letters from the Western Front, April - November 1917, while serving with the 17th Battalion, Highland Light Infantry (32nd Division) April 1917, then as 2nd in command 2nd Battalion, the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers (96th Brigade, 32nd Division) May, and July - August 1917; as OC 1st Battalion, the Dorsetshire Regiment (95th Brigade, 32nd Division), June 1917, and in hospital in France, August - November 1917 after being gassed; 8 letters while serving as 2nd in command 16th Battalion, Highland Light Infantry with the Army of the Rhine, June - December 1919; together with service papers, and letters concerning promotions and pensions.
Photograph of Cooke as a Lance-Corporal 1915 Envelope containing tickets for a passage on the German July 1914 East Africa Line from Zanzibar to Bombay. A Brief Record of the Advance of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force under the Command of General Sir Edmund H.H. Allenby, G.C.B., G.C.M.G., published, Cairo, 1919. July 1917-October 1918 Telegrams emanating from London containing news bulletins Often several copies of each. 1 December 1915-2 February 1916 Copy of News Summary. 1p. Ts. Reports from all theatres of war. ND Map of German East Africa. ND Map of Central Europe ND Two sketch maps. Location apparently Palestine ND Folder containing papers relating to the death in action of Cookes brother, Ernest Reginald. 1916 Folder containing photographs and miscellaneous papers from Africa. ND Cookes ms. diary. East Africa and India:- 1914-1918 (i) 1914 (India) (ii) 1 January 1915-12 May 1915 (East Africa). (iii) 12 May 1915-16 June 1915 (East Africa). (iv) 17 June 1915-28 July 1915 (East Africa). (v) 29 July 1915-31 October 1915 (East Africa). (vi) 1 November 1915-17 May 1916 (East Africa). (vii) 17 May 1916-24 February 1917 (East Africa). (viii) 25 February 1917-26 June 1918 (East Africa & India) (ix) 28 June 1918-22 October 1918 (India-Alexandria-England-Taranto). Army Book 152, Correspondence Book (Field Service). 7 July 1918 - 22 March 1919 Contains ms. copies of Cookes letters while with the 3rd Kashmir Rifles, Egyptian Expeditionary Force, and after the War. Incomplete account by Cooke of his first months with the 2nd Kashmir Rifles in East Africa. 8pp. Tss. October 1915-February 1916 Bundle of letters addressed to Cooke. Personal topics. 1914-15 Bundle of News Letters. 1918 Envelope containing miscellaneous letters:- (i) To Cooke from Eleanor Casson (8 April 1916) (ii) To Mrs. Cooke from Private James Smith. Condolences on Cookes brothers death. (10 September 1916). (iii) To Cooke from Geraldine Tighe (10 March 1916). (iv) Four letters to Cookes brother Ernest from his (v) Two letters to Mrs. Cooke from Mary Kelly, the widow of Ernest Cookes former servant (3 November 1916, 23 November 1916). (vi) A poem. March-Nov. 1916 Rolled certificate in honour of Capt. Ernest Cooke, killed 26 April 1916 in action. Buried at Vermelles war cemetery. Folder containing miscellaneous papers and letters:- (i) Copy of telegrams announcing Cookes selection for the Indian Army Reserve of Officers. 1p. Ms. 13 September 1915 (ii) Ms. note on conditions of service. 1. Ms. 5 November 1915 (iii) Telegram granting Cooke 3 weeks leave 23 August 1918 (iv) Official circular attached to the royal gift to the forces, Christmas 1914. 25 December 1914 (v) Notice announcing Cookes promotion to 2nd. Lieutenant. 1p. TS. 5 October 1915 (vi) Pay Book 16 September 1914 - 11 October 1915 (vii) Regulations regarding the grant of Acting Rank to Officers performing the Duties of a Higher Rank. June 1916 Instructions issued in June 1916. (viii) Papers relating to an application for leave. 27 July 1918 (ix) Memorandum granting Cooke 2 months leave 3 June 1917 (x) Sketch Map ND (xi) Ration Book ND (xii) Embarkation Card 17 October 1918 (xiii) Letter of recommendation. 1p. Ms. 11 June 1917 (xiv) Two letters reporting praise of the 2nd. and 3rd. Kashmir Rifles. 1p. Ts., 1p. Ms. 5 July 1917 14 January 1918 (xv) Letter to Cooke from a Constance Rose Thank you for the photographs. 23 December 1917 (xvi) Certification that Cooke had suffered from malaria. 14 June 1916 (xvii) Telegram to Cooke in Cairo. Return if he wishes to go with the advance party. 28 January 1918 (xviii) Envelope containing Cookes declaration of obedience. Also an ND letter from Jack. 7 July 1915 (xix) Envelope containing an approval of 5 days leave. 6 October 1915 (xx) Christmas card. 1917 (xxi) Letter to Cooke from J.L. Roe, apparently his former Commanding Officer. 1p. Ms. 21 December 1917 (xxii) Letter from Cooke to Capt. T.H. James applying for a commission. Letter contains an outline of Cookes career. 5 pp. Mss. 12 July 1918 (xxiii) Two invitations. 21 January 1918 26 January 1918 (xxiv) Notes on Bush Fighting. Issued by General Staff, Nairobi. 4pp. 15 March 1915 (xxv) Notes on the Employment of Machine Guns with Infantry. Issued by the General Staff, Nairobi. 4pp. 19 August 1915 (xxvi) Cooperation between Artillery and other arms, with reference to "Notes from the Front, Part III, Section III, page 5." ND (xxvii) Extracts from "Notes on War". 4pp. 13 September 1915 (xxviii) Ms report on patrol to Hill 857. 11pp. Mss. 27-28 March 1916 (xxix) News report. 1p. Ms. 20 February 1916 (xxx) A railway pass. ND (xxxi) Notes on procedure by British officers on arrival in Rome. ND (xxxii) War Office authorisation for Cookes passage to Egypt. 1p. Ts. 29 September 1918
A collection of papers kept during his service in the campaign in German South West Africa during the First World War, comprising a ts translation (7pp) of documents from the Official Gazette of the Protectorate of German South West Africa concerning the proclamation by the Imperial Governor, Dr Seitz, to create a South West African Volunteer Corps, 16 September 1914; ts translations (6pp) of a report concerning peace negotiations between the Imperial Governor and General Botha, and of a General Order from Lieutenant Colonel Franke, the Commander of the Protectorate Force, following the breaking down of negotiations, 26 May 1915; and a ts anti-German report (11pp) of a meeting held at Winghoek to show the Boers that they shared a common cause with Germany, 1 December 1915. Also held with the collection are papers relating to German East Africa, including 29 photographs of sketches by an unknown artist of German officers serving in East Africa, March - October 1918; plus two ms letters (14pp and 4pp) written in May 1916 to an unknown correspondent by M B Furse, the Bishop of Pretoria, while on an official visit to the Union forces in German East Africa, describing the services and recreations he was laying on for the troops during their voyage in the troopship HMT ARMADALE CASTLE, while relating meetings with Generals Hoskins and Smuts, and referring to an account by a fellow passenger of conditions experienced by British prisoners of war in Germany.
He was pleased by the troops reaction to the final service on board - "Singing good: and they listened well to my discourse." He had proceeded inland from Mombasa and had had meetings with General Hoskins, who had promised to "help all he can", and General Smuts, from whom he had acquired "a general idea of the campaign." Furse was now drawing up an itinerary which would enable him to meet as many South African troops as possible during his visit, despite the transportation difficulties caused by the rain and indifferent roads.
Philip Kerr (1886-1941) was working at the Crown Mines in South Africa when the war broke out, and at Johannesburg on 26 September he enlisted as a Trooper in E Squadron of the Imperial Light Horse. After barely a fortnights training, the Imperial Light Horse were ordered to the front to help put down the rebel forces under Maritz - ". the news was received with shouts of joy.." (10 October). They entrained for Prieska and then made a long and very tiring march across country towards Uppington. These "days of heat, dust and dirt" were followed by a couple of inconclusive skirmishes with the rebels and, finally, a fiercer action with a rebel force under Kemp, in which ten men from the Imperial Light Horse were killed (25 November). Although Kemp escaped, the governments hold on Uppington and the surrounding area was secured. In early December 1914 the Imperial Light Horse returned to Cape Town and later in the month they were landed at Walfish Bay in German South West Africa (28 December). Resistance was minimal, and Swakopmund was occupied within a few weeks, proving a rich source of booty for the South African troops (22 January 1915). Occasional counter-attacks were launched by the Germans, but Kerr did not see any further action before he was invalided back to Cape Town in March. During his convalescence and leave, he was offered a post on the Governor-Generals staff, which he declined (7 May), and witnessed the anti-German riots in Johannesburg (12-16 May). At the beginning of June, he was discharged from the Imperial Light Horse and sailed home to volunteer for service in the British Army. In July 1915 Kerr was commissioned into the Royal Field Artillery and, after training in Ireland, he crossed to France in October and was posted to 114 Battery, 25th Brigade RFA, 1st Division, then in the Hulluch-Loos sector. The contrast with the cavalry skirmishes of the "gymkhana" war in Africa was painfully obvious: ". there are a good many dead people lying about, which is rather beastly" he noted (29 November). Apart from frequent German shelling, the sector proved a peaceful introduction to trench warfare, and Kerr settled into his task of acting alternately as observation point officer and liaison officer with the local infantry. The behaviour of Major-General A.E.A. Holland, the RFA commander in the area, did, however, anger Kerr and explain to him why relations between staff and regimental officers were so unsatisfactory (11 December 1915, 21 February 1916).
Ronald Murrays Journal begins a few weeks after the outbreak of war when his ship, the battleship Goliath (Captain T L Shelford), a unit in the Channel Fleet, was based on Portland and was employed on patrol and shipping examination duties at the eastern end of the English Channel. In mid-September HMS Goliath left Home waters for India, and Murray describes in detail their voyage east via Gibraltar, the Suez Canal, the Gulf of Suez and Aden. In the Gulf of Suez they experienced great heat, which ". was felt very much by some of the Ships company.." (4 October), but there were occasional amusements such as the capture of a seabird which ". was kept in a cardboard box and fed on Sardines which it evidently liked as it soon finished one tin" (7 October). On her arrival at Bombay on 16 October, Goliath coaled at once and then sailed with HMS Swiftsure as escorts to a large convoy of troop transports. Murray notes that some ships had fallen up to forty miles eastern of the convoy by noon on 18 October, but this situation was rectified within forty eight hours. The convoy experienced only one or two minor alarms and was mainly notable for the ceremonies that took place when they crossed the Equator on 28 October. The convoy arrived at Mombasa on 1 November and Goliaths involvement in the German East African campaign began immediately as her armed picket boat was detached for operations against the German cruiser Königsberg, which was blockaded but still in fighting condition in the Rufiji River. The Journal records that the picket boat returned "amid great enthusiasm" and with a few bullet holes in her sides on 12 November. Because it was believed that enemy shipping might ship out of the harbour there, on 28 November Goliath and Fox carried out a bombardment of Dar-es-Salaam and, as some resistance was encountered, the town was shelled again two days later. The progress of both bombardments is described at length by Murray, who notes the extensive destruction of buildings ashore. A prolonged period of inactivity followed these events as in December Goliath was ordered to Simonstown, where her midshipmen were to enjoy a full social life and to receive some further instruction in their profession. Not until early March 1915 did Goliath join the now substantial force which had been assembled to enforce the blockade of the Königsberg and, if possible, destroy her. After failing to negotiate a truce with the German authorities there, Goliath carried out a bombardment of Lindi on 20 March, but otherwise nothing of moment happened and on 27 March Goliath was ordered to leave the Cape Station for service at the Dardanelles. Murray, however, was transferred to the light cruiser Hyacinth (Captain D M Anderson) which remained with the blockading force, and his Journal lists their regular patrols off the Rufiji River and the East African coast. In early April the blockading force learnt that a supply ship was hoping to meet the Königsberg in the near future, and Murray relates how the supply ship was intercepted by Hyacinth off Tanga on 14 April and was sunk after fire had made it impossible to salvage her. The Journal entries for the remainder of April and May include regular references to reconnaissance flights by seaplanes over the Königsberg and on 1 June it records the arrival of the monitors Severn and Mersey (see also 15 June). Under the entries for 29 June and 2 July Murray notes that the monitors and aircraft were practising the techniques which they would employ against the Königsberg and on 5 July he describes the final preparations for the attack. The long but incomplete last entry in the Journal is an account of the events on 6 July, when the monitors proceeded some 5-6 miles up the Rufiji River to within 10,600 yards range of the Königsberg, but then came under continuous fire from the German ship during which the Mersey was hit and forced to break off action.
An extremely well-written series of 77 ms letters covering his service as an NCO with the 10th Battalion Royal Fusiliers (111th Brigade, 37th Division) on the Western Front, August 1915 - July 1916, and with the 25th Battalion Royal Fusiliers in South and East Africa, February 1917 - January 1918, describing his pre-embarkation training on Salisbury Plain, conditions in France and the discomfort of trench life, artillery bombardments and the sensations of being under fire, his involvement in an attack on Pozieres during the opening of the Battle of the Somme (July 1916) in which he was wounded, evacuation back to Mile End Hospital, East London and, following his recovery, his posting to Dover in October 1916 to join the 6th (Reserve) Battalion and later the 32nd (Training Reserve) Battalion Royal Fusiliers. In February 1917 he embarked for South Africa where he joined the 25th Battalion on garrison duty at Wynberg and Cape Town, before returning to active service in July 1917 in East Africa where he describes skirmishes with the Germans, the burdens of being acting CQMS, and periods spent in hospital at Dar-es-Salaam suffering from dysentery and in Durban with an attack of fever.
Ms. account consisting of sixteen operational reports and miscellaneous jottings noted in a carbon book at "HQ, Kings Africa Rifles" in the period just before the German surrender in East Africa. 1/4th Battalion, Kings Africa Rifles was then in pursuit of the little force of Germans and Askaris commanded by Colonel von Lettow-Vorbeck which had crossed the border from German East Africa into British Northern Rhodesia. Each report has a corresponding entry for time, date, sender and destination. Most of the reports were sent by Lieutenant-Colonel Edward B B Hawkins, commander of the 1/4 Battalion, Kings Africa Rifles. Others were sent by unknown officers: Davidson, Harris, Dirmed, or from BGGS or NRP (possibly Northern Rhodesia Police). All the reports were made for either Norforce or Kartufor. The reports deal with the Allied pursuit of Lettow-Vorbecks force in the area between Lake Tanganiyka and the Chambesi River when the Germans, reduced to about 125 white men with 1500 Askaris and 1800 bearers, were eluding capture by rapid marches. in particular Lieutenant-Colonel Hawkins was seeking to capture small isolated German detachments led by Meyer and Kohl.
26 ts War Diaries (263pp, December 1915 - May 1918), with attached correspondence, maps, and official documents, and 2 ts letters (12pp, March 1917 - April 1917), submitting the names of officers and men in his force recommended for a mention in despatches, recording his command of the Nyasa-Rhodesia Frontier Force (December 1915 - May 1918) and operations in German East Africa. Also included are undated ms lecture notes (9pp) on his experiences in East Africa, ts press cuttings mostly from East African newspapers (November 1918 - July 1919) relating to his appointment as Governor of British East Africa and his arrival in the Colony, and a ts copy of a letter (7pp, January 1925) from the Acting Governor of Kenya to the Secretary of State for the Colonies reporting on the progress of the Ex-Soldier Settlement Scheme in Kenya.
This group of records consists of typescript copies of the War Diary, usually compiled at the end of each month, of the Nyasaland and North-Eastern Rhodesia Frontier Force (abbreviated to Nyasa-Rhodesia Frontier Force) while serving in German East Africa under the command of Brigadier-General (later Major-General) E Northey ADC.
The USA 9 mss and tss letters from Paul B Condit (Cleveland Ohio) to H E S 1.7.40. - 20.12.44. Ms letter from William Crowley (Seattle, Wton) to H E S 31.10.41. 5 mss letters from Alvin and Saidee Hatch (Morgan Hill, California) to H E S 6.1.37. - 21.11.41. Ms letter from Hugh M Marquis (Baker, Oregon) to HES 31.1.39. Ms letter from Charles S Seely (Orange, Virgina) to H E S 9.9.39. 14 mss and tss letters from Dr and Mrs Paul E Wedgewood (San Diego, California) to H E S September 1939 - 30.10.45. Ts letter from H E Wirch (Billings, Montana) to HES 17.12.38. The majority of these letters contain useful information about the American reaction to the situation in Europe, American preparations for war, and conditions in America in wartime. Canada 4 mss letters from John R Scoby (Victoria, British Columbia) to H E S 30.4.38. - 25.2.41. Ms letter from Maudie (Summerhead, British Columbia) to H E S 8.12.39. 2 mss letters from Millicent Hutson (Vancouver, British Columbia) to H E S 8.6.41., 21.8.41. Ms letter from Lilian Halliwell (Prince Rupert, British Columbia) to H E S 11.7.41. These letters contain a little information about the effect of the war on Canada. Australia Ms letter from Joyce (Melbourne) to H E S 23.5.39 2 mss letter from A W Kenyon (Melbourne) to H E S 20.10.40., 29.8.41. 4 mss letters from Chrissie Stirling (Melbourne) to H E S 20.11.39. - 31.8.42. These letters include some references to wartime conditions in Australia. China 2 mss letters from Millicent Hutson (Yangtse River) to H E S 8.11.12., 25.5.19. South Africa Ms letter from Eleanor (Johannesburg) to H E S 4.7.41. New Guinea 2 mss postcards from Gwen Owens (Rabaul) to H E S February 1938 Norway Ms letter from Thus Berge-Ask (Oslo) to H E S 29.12.38.
papers rel to nursing service aboard hospital ships in the Mediterranean and in British and German East Africa
Writing on board HMS Armadale Castle, a troopship carrying reinforcements from South Africa to Kilindini, East Africa, Furse, who was making an official visit to the Union forces in German East Africa, describes the services and recreations which he was helping to lay on for the troops during the voyage. However, much of his letter is devoted to telling the story of an English doctor on board, who had been captured in France and later exchanged by the Germans, but only after seeing the appalling conditions in which British prisoners of war in Germany were being compelled to live.
Ts diary (82pp) recording his service as a Trooper in E Squadron, Imperial Light Horse in South Africa and German South West Africa, September 1914 - June 1915, describing his enlistment at Johannesburg, skirmishes with rebel forces, the occupation of Swakopmund and the towns rich source of booty, and witnessing the anti-German riots in Johannesburg; after travelling to the United Kingdom to receive a commission in the Royal Field Artillery, he trained briefly in Ireland before embarking for active service with the 25th Brigade RFA (1st Division) on the Western Front, October 1915 - 1919, where he refers to his duties as observation post officer and liaison officer with the local infantry, the frequent German shelling and the prevalence of unburied dead, while criticising the behaviour of the RFA commander in his area, Major General A E A Holland. Also held with the collection are a scrapbook (95pp) containing a large number of interesting photographs, postcards, sketches, newspaper cuttings, documents, maps, bank notes and other souvenirs of his service, plus a small number of official papers.