Second World War
Churchill Archives Centre looks after many collections relating to all aspects of the Second World War. Highlighted here are notes on War Cabinet and Supreme War Council Meetings and private diaries from the papers of Ian Jacob (Military Assistant Secretary to the War Cabinet), and Admiral Somerville’s account of a trip to Calais in 1940.
Showing 1 - 24 of 24 Records
Diary
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Reference Code : - ACAD 1/4
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Date : - 1936-01-01-1936-09-09 (creation)
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Description : - Diary of the final few months of Cadogan's time in China and his new role as Joint Deputy Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office in 1936. Subjects covered include: his relationship with important figures within the Foreign Office when in China, such as Frederick Leith-Ross and in London; the relationship between China and Japan and meetings with Chiang Kai-Shek; the death of King George V; a meeting with King Edward VIII; problems within the Foreign Office; his trip to the Montreaux Conference and the spectre of Hitler in Europe as well as social and family events.
Diary
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Reference Code : - ACAD 1/5
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Date : - 1936-09-09-1936-12-31 (creation)
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Description : - Diary. Subjects covered include: Cadogan's relationship with and his role within the Foreign Office; the atmosphere within the Foreign Office and his opinions on international relations with Germany, Italy, Japan and China; the status of the Abyssinian delegation to the League of Nations and the abdication of King Edward VIII as well as social and family events.
Diary
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Reference Code : - ACAD 1/6
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Date : - 1937 (creation)
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Description : - Diary. Subjects covered include: relationships within the Foreign Office and diplomatic service; the growing threat of Hitler and Mussolini; the challenges of, and opinions on, British foreign policy; international relations with, in particular, Italy, Spain, Japan, China, France and the United States of America; the Spanish Civil War and the Non-Intervention Committee; paralysis at the League of Nations; the Abyssinian and Sudetenland Crises and the Imperial Conference as well as social and family events.
Diary
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Reference Code : - ACAD 1/7
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Date : - 1938 (creation)
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Description : - Diary. Subjects covered include: relationships inside the Foreign Office and diplomatic service; the Abyssinian crisis and relations with Italy as differing to those with Germany; the Anglo-American and Anglo-French relationships; Anthony Eden's resignation in February; the Czechoslovakian crisis and the Munich Agreement; the policies of rearmament and appeasement and the League of Nations as well as social and family events.
Diary
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Reference Code : - ACAD 1/8
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Date : - 1939 (creation)
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Description : - Diary. Subjects covered include: relationships inside the Foreign Office and diplomatic service with a sense of the complexities of British governmental policy; a trip to Rome in January 1939 to visit Mussolini regarding Hitler's in Europe; Franco and the Spanish Civil War; the German occupation of Prague in March 1939; Italian occupation of Albania; the challenges of working with the Soviet Union; the build up to war, with the declaration of war against Germany and her allies, and the following 'Phoney War' as well as social and family events.
Diary
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Reference Code : - ACAD 1/9
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Date : - 1940 (creation)
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Description : - Diary. Subjects covered include: relationships within the Foreign Office and diplomatic service, including with Samuel Hore-Belisha and The Viscount Halifax; the work load at the Foreign Office and Cadogan's increasing strain; the crisis with the ice-free harbour at Narvik in Norway in April 1940; the intrigue surrounding a new prime minister and the invasion of Holland and Belgium in May 1940 as well as the general progress of war and the consequences of the fall of France in the summer of 1940.
Diary
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Reference Code : - ACAD 1/10
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Date : - 1941 (creation)
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Description : - Diary. Subjects covered include: relationships within the Foreign Office, in particular with Anthony Eden; Cadogan's insight into the Axis campaigns in the Balkans; diplomatic concerns regarding Britain's activities in North Africa and Persia [now Iran]; reception of intelligence in advance of Hitler’s planned attack on Russia; Cadogan's opinions and influence upon Churchill's communications with Roosevelt, the voyage to the USA aboard the H.M.S. Prince of Wales and the drafting of the Joint Declaration/Atlantic Charter; voyage to Soviet Union with Eden to conduct talks with Stalin and Molotov, including discussion on future Soviet frontiers; description of a journey on the Metropolitan line from Marylebone to Wendover, with comments on urban sprawl; and Cadogan's first-hand accounts of wartime affairs and events, including damage caused by the Blitz in Westminster, news reports on shipping, and exasperated comments on the quality of B.B.C. news reportage.
Diary
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Reference Code : - ACAD 1/15
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Date : - 1945 (creation)
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Description : - Diary. Subjects covered include: relationships with Churchill, the War Cabinet, and the Foreign Office; Cadogan's involvement in overseas diplomatic visits, including meetings at Alupka, Athens, Cairo, Washington, and San Francisco; Cadogan's role in the Malta Conference, Yalta Conference, and the United Nations Conference on International Organisation; the Allied invasion of Germany; negotiations over the Polish question and Soviet actions in Eastern Europe; reactions to the death of Roosevelt; remarks on the 1945 General Election campaign, including listening to a radio broadcast of a speech by Churchill; thoughts on Attlee's new Cabinet; discussions surrounding the atomic bomb; news of the Japanese surrender; and Cadogan's comments on wartime affairs and events, and the arrival of peace.
Draft chapters for Cadogan's autobiography, up until the outbreak of WW2
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Reference Code : - ACAD 7/1
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Date : - 1960 (creation)
Draft chapters for Cadogan's autobiography from WW2 onwards
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Reference Code : - ACAD 7/2
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Date : - 1960 (creation)
Family papers
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Reference Code : - BRME 14/5
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Description : - Including a typescript autobiography; an outline, synopsis and drafts of "Spunyarn", reminiscences from Jackie Broome's life and family history; a chronology giving details of the lives of Louis Egerton Broome and Clara Kathleen (Aimée) Lake (parents) and Frederick Napier Broome (grandfather); and other research notes for "Spunyarn".
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Collection : - The Papers of Jackie Broome
Italian Naval Enigma Code
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Reference Code : - BTEY 3/2
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Date : - 1941-03 (creation)
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Description : - Comprising a single photocopied sheet with solution to cipher in folder entitled 'First Italian Message Broken', signed by Mavis Batey.
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Collection : - The Papers of Mavis Batey
Manuscript diary
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Reference Code : - JACB 1/11
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Date : - 1941-12 (creation)
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Description : - Operation "Arcadia", the Washington Conference
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Collection : - The Papers of Sir Ian Jacob
Diary of Operation "Bracelet", the Middle East & Moscow
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Reference Code : - JACB 1/15
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Date : - 1942-08 (creation)
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Description : - Manuscript diary.
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Collection : - The Papers of Sir Ian Jacob
Diary of Operation "Bracelet", the Middle East & Moscow
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Reference Code : - JACB 1/16
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Date : - 1942-08 (creation)
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Description : - Typescript and illustrated.
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Collection : - The Papers of Sir Ian Jacob
Diary of Operation "Bracelet", the Middle East & Moscow
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Reference Code : - JACB 1/17
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Date : - 1942-08 (creation)
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Description : - With annotations for publication by Charles Richardson.
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Collection : - The Papers of Sir Ian Jacob
Notebook about the preliminary reconnaissance of "Operation "Symbol"
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Reference Code : - JACB 1/18
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Date : - 1942-12 (creation)
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Description : - Typescript and manuscript contents.
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Collection : - The Papers of Sir Ian Jacob
Diary covering Operation "Symbol", Casablanca
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Reference Code : - JACB 1/19
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Date : - 1943-01-1943-02 (creation)
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Description : - Manuscript.
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Collection : - The Papers of Sir Ian Jacob
Diary covering Operation "Symbol", Casablanca
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Reference Code : - JACB 1/21
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Date : - 1943-01-1943-02 (creation)
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Description : - With annotations for publication by Charles Richardson.
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Collection : - The Papers of Sir Ian Jacob
War Cabinet and Supreme War Council Meetings
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Reference Code : - JACB II 6/1
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Date : - 1939-1940 (creation)
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Description : - Original notes on meetings
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Collection : - The Papers of Sir Ian Jacob
Letters from Elizabeth "Betty" Pack
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Reference Code : - MISC 86/3
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Date : - 1936-1963 (creation)
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Description : - Includes letters to her mother, 1936; to her family, 1938; and to (former) sister-in-law Rosina "Rosie" Rivett, 1945-1963. The majority are to Rosie, with topics including Arthur Pack, [second husband] Charles Brousse, and children Denise and Tony
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Collection : - Churchill Archives Centre Miscellaneous Holdings
Admiralty diary of Commander Michael G. Goodenough, 1939-1941
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Reference Code : - MISC 117
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Date : - 2023-01-24 (creation)
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Description : -
Commander Michael Grant Goodenough RN joined Admiralty Plans Division on 28 August 1939. Within barely a week, Britain had declared war on Germany and Winston Churchill had become First Lord of the Admiralty, returning to the position he had been forced to relinquish in 1915.In October 1939, having served for a few weeks at the Admiralty, Michael Goodenough bought a large, soft-back foolscap notebook in which he started a diary that he kept until June 1941. The original manuscript is held by the Goodenough family. This transcript was prepared in 2020 by his eldest son, Sir Anthony Goodenough (born in 1941, a month after the diary ends). Sir Anthony’s brother Simon (born in 1945) contributed to this work. The diary has been edited to remove most family material as well as a few personal remarks on colleagues.
This is a full PDF copy of the diary. A published hard copy exists in the Roskill Library at Churchill College.
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Collection : - Churchill Archives Centre Miscellaneous Holdings
Account of a trip to Calais
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Reference Code : - SMVL 7/1
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Date : - 1940-05 (creation)
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Collection : - The Papers of Admiral Sir James Somerville