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The Department of Documents holds the papers of high ranking officers such as Field Marshals Sir John French, Sir Henry Wilson and Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, manuscripts of war poets and writers such as Isaac Rosenberg and Siegfried Sassoon, and many unpublished personal diaries, letters and memoirs. It also holds extensive collections of captured foreign records and related material.

The Department holds substantial numbers of diaries, letters and personal papers on subjects such as wartime service, conscientious objection, prisoners of war and internees in Europe and the Far East, civilian life in Britain during the Second World War, refugees from Nazi persecution, women in wartime and National Service.

Collections covering high office in the First and Second World Wars include the papers of Admiral of the Fleet Prince Louis of Battenburg (property of the Broadlands Archive Trust); Field Marshal Sir John French; Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson; Sir Henry Tizard and Field Marshal Viscount Montgomery of Alamein.

Major collections include the poems of Isaac Rosenberg, successive drafts of Siegfried Sassoon's Memoirs of an Infantry Officer, RC Sherriff's play Journey's End and other significant literary manuscripts.

These also include the Salamander Oasis Trust Archive which mainly comprise poetry and prose written by members of the services in the Middle East and Italy during the Second World War.

The Foreign Documents and associated collections are made up of original material and of records in photostat and microfilm form which have been deposited in the museum by various government departments and agencies. They represent a significant source of information on the military and economic history of Germany, Japan and to a lesser extent Italy in the period prior to and during the Second World War.

The German material includes copies of official Army War Diaries and related operational records, high-level `Wehrmacht’ planning files, records concerning the operations of the German Air Force, technical documentation on German aircraft and aeronautical research, and extensive documentation on all aspects of the German war economy.

The Japanese records consist primarily of original and translated postwar studies on the wartime operations of the country’s armed forces, written by former Japanese military personnel, together with interrogation reports on senior commanders. These collections are complemented by published British and American intelligence reports on the German and Japanese war economies, and by the official British records of the major war crimes trials conducted by the Allies at Nuremberg and Tokyo during 1945 – 1948.

The Italian records mainly document the economic and military collaboration between Italy and Germany during the war.

If you are unable to find what you want on Collections Online or have any other enquiries concerning the Department of Documents or its collections, please contact us.

Contact Details and Visitor Information for visitors to the Department of Documents.

On-line finding aids for a small selection of our Private Papers collections are now available on the A2A (Access to Archives) database, the English strand of the UK archives network

The British Private Papers Collection

The Edith Cavell papers

The Siegfried Sassoon collection

The papers of Field Marshal Viscount Montgomery of Alamein

The Salamander Oasis Trust Archive

The summaries of the Foreign Documents, War Crimes Trials and associated collections