DOCSLIB.ORG

Download Thesis

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Download Thesis This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from the King’s Research Portal at https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/ The men who planned the war A study of the Staff of the British Army on the Western Front 1914-1918 Harris, Paul Martin Awarding institution: King's College London The copyright of this thesis rests with the author and no quotation from it or information derived from it may be published without proper acknowledgement. END USER LICENCE AGREEMENT Unless another licence is stated on the immediately following page this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ You are free to copy, distribute and transmit the work Under the following conditions: Attribution: You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work). Non Commercial: You may not use this work for commercial purposes. No Derivative Works - You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work. Any of these conditions can be waived if you receive permission from the author. Your fair dealings and other rights are in no way affected by the above. Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact [email protected] providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 23. Sep. 2021 THE MEN WHO PLANNED THE WAR A study of the Staff of the British Army on the Western Front 1914-1918 Paul Harris Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy September 2013 King’s College London 1 Abstract The historiography of the First World War has produced few systematic studies of the staff officers of the British army on the Western Front. The work of the staff and their development during the war has largely been overshadowed by the debate over the quality of generalship. As a consequence the picture of the command function is incomplete. This thesis aims to fill the gap in understanding through a detailed analysis of the characteristics of the staff and their evolution over four years of war. It will evaluate changes in the profile of the staff and assess the implications for command performance. The staff will be subjected to scrutiny over several strands of analysis including training, staff duties, origins and experience, career paths and turnover and the differences evident between formations. The research will also explore how the staff addressed the considerable challenges that confronted them to emerge as part of a war-winning army. This study will refute the popular view that the staff were largely incompetent and ignorant of front-line conditions. 2 Contents Page List of figures 4 Acknowledgments 5 Abbreviations 6 Introduction The Missing Element 8 Chapter One Origins, Duties and Training 39 Chapter Two The Staff go to War 76 Chapter Three The Life of the Staff 112 Chapter Four Wartime Learning and Experience 153 Chapter Five The Changing Staff 191 Chapter Six Teams and Careers 236 Conclusion Setting the Record Straight 280 Biographical Notes 295 Appendices 300 Bibliography 331 3 List of Figures 1. G staff structure 28 2. Career paths of Beddington and Braine 94 3. Total G posts each year-end 193 4. Total G, A & E posts each year-end 193 5. G, A & E staff posts across Army, Corps and Division each year-end 194 6. Total staff – all branches and all levels 196 7. Percentage of psc officers on the G staff by year 199 8. Number of new joiners with psc on G staff by year 200 9. Percentage of G staff with psc by grade 208 10. Changing G Staff – Percentage of regular officers by year 211 11. Number of regular officers on G staff of six regular divisions 213 12. Number of regulars on G staff of selected Territorial and New Army 214 divisions 13. G Staff by regimental type 242 14. G staff with pre-war battle experience 244 15. Average age of G staff by year 245 16. ‘Staff pyramid’ – total G staff that served at each grade 254 4 Acknowledgments Many people have given generously of their time and knowledge in helping me produce this work. I would first like to thank my supervisor Bill Philpott for his insight and advice throughout the course of my three years of study. Special thanks are also due to Tony Cowan, Charles Messenger and Simon Robbins for the considerable time and information they have provided. I would like to thank James Beach, Brian Bond, John Bourne and Peter Simkins who assisted in the development of the initial proposal for this study. At King’s College, Brian Holden Reid together with Andy Simpson, Tom Thorpe, Tony Vines and other members of the ‘Coal Hole Club’ military operations study group sustained my momentum and were always prepared to assist with requests for material. I would also like to thank David French from the military history group at the Institute of Historical Research in London for his helpful suggestions. Current and former contacts from the University of Birmingham have also provided assistance and useful information. I would like to acknowledge the staff of all the institutions that have permitted the use of their archives including the Bodleian Library Oxford, the British Library, Churchill College Cambridge, the Imperial War Museum, the Joint Services Command and Staff College, Shrivenham, the Liddle Collection at the University of Leeds, the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives at King’s College, the National Archives at Kew, the National Army Museum and the National Library of Scotland. I am grateful to Elspeth Johnstone, Simon Justice, and Jon Palmer for their support. Final thanks are due to my wife for all her suggestions and help with editing. 5 Abbreviations A Adjutant Staff branch ADC Aide de Camp AIF Australian Imperial Force BEF British Expeditionary Force BGGS Brigadier-General General Staff BoL Bodleian Library, Oxford BM Brigade Major CCC Churchill College, Cambridge CDS Central Distribution Service CEF Canadian Expeditionary Force CGS Chief of General Staff CIGS Chief of Imperial General Staff CO Commanding Officer CRA Commander Royal Artillery CRE Commander Royal Engineers DSO Distinguished Service Order FSR Field Service Regulations G General Staff branch GHQ General Headquarters GOC General Officer Commanding GOCRA General Officer Commanding Royal Artillery GQG Grand Quartier Général GS General Staff GSO 1 General Staff Officer Grade One GSO 2 General Staff Officer Grade Two GSO 3 General Staff Officer Grade Three HQ Headquarters IWM Imperial War Museum, London JSCSC Joint Services Command and Staff College, Shrivenham LCUL Liddle Collection, University of Leeds LHCMA Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, King’s College London 6 MC Military Cross MGGS Major-General General Staff NAM National Army Museum, Chelsea NLS National Library Scotland Psc Passed Staff College Q Quartermaster Staff branch QMG Quartermaster General Qs Qualified Staff QUC Queen’s University, Canada RA Royal Artillery RE Royal Engineers RFA Royal Field Artillery RFC Royal Flying Corps RMA Royal Military Academy SC Staff Captain SS Stationary Service TNA The National Archives, Kew VC Victoria Cross 7 Introduction The Missing Element The work of the staff officers of the British army on the Western Front during the First World War has courted much controversy. Some commentators have held them responsible for the mismanagement of the war effort and the profligate loss of British lives in futile offensives.1 In 1915, a Liberal peer remarked upon criticism levelled at the staff by the Press: our Staff in France is larger than any Staff in the world's history, and that the Staff has been built up very largely not on account of the military records of the men put on it, but from family and other considerations. These newspapers allege that the Staff work has been bad, that over and over again victory has been stopped because of the badness of the Staff work.! The staff have often been characterised as arrogant, remote and out of touch with the realities of the front line. Such views have developed as part of a ‘cultural’ rather than a military assessment of the staff. Their function and role in the war effort has been the target of much opprobrium but little systematic study. This has painted an incomplete picture of the command function. As Brian Bond observed, ‘Our understanding of the quality of generalship and the performance of units and formations will be seriously flawed without systematic studies of the staff and staff work from brigade major to the chief of staff at GHQ’.3 1 Some examples are: A.J.P. Taylor, English History 1914-45 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1965), pp.93-97; T. Travers, How the War was Won: Command and Technology in the British Army on the Western Front, 1917-18 (London: Routledge, 1994), pp. 175-182; John Keegan’s quote, ‘that hideously unattractive group, the British generals of the First World War’ in J. Terraine, ‘British Military Leadership in the First World War in P. Liddle, Home Fires and Foreign Fields, British Social and Military Experience in the First World War (London: Brasseys, 1985), pp. 39-51. A good summary of the ‘disillusionment’ that set in after the war can be found in G. Sheffield, Forgotten Victory (London: Headline Book Publishing, 2001), pp. 7-12. 2 Speech by Lord St Davids, House of Lords, Hansard 16 November 1915 v20 p. 360. 3 B. Bond, The Unquiet Western Front (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), p. 96. 8 This research seeks to fill these gaps in current understanding by undertaking a detailed investigation of the characteristics of the staff and their evolution over the course of the war.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 6 X 10.5 Three Line Title.P65
    Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-19480-8 - Armies of Empire: The 9th Australian and 50th British Divisions in Battle 1939-1945 Allan Converse Frontmatter More information Armies of Empire The 9th Australian and 50th British Divisions in Battle 1939–1945 Armies of Empire uniquely reflects upon the experience of two divisions from different armies facing similar challenges in the Second World War. The 9th Australian Division and the British 50th (Northumbrian) Division both saw long service and suffered heavy casualties, and both encountered morale, discipline and battlefield effectiveness problems. In this illuminating, comparative study of Australian and British divisions at war, Allan Converse draws extensively on primary sources as well as recent scholarship on morale and combat efficiency. His fresh approach questions the popular mythology surrounding the Australian Digger and the British Tommy, and shows how it was a combination of leadership, loyalty and tactics, rather than intrinsic national qualities, which resulted in victory for Churchill’s armies. Allan Converse is Lecturer in the Department of History at Bentley University, USA. © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-19480-8 - Armies of Empire: The 9th Australian and 50th British Divisions in Battle 1939-1945 Allan Converse Frontmatter More information Other titles in the Australian Army History Series Series editor David Horner Phillip Bradley The Battle for Wau: New Guinea’s Frontline 1942–1943 Mark Johnston
    [Show full text]
  • The Forgotten Fronts the First World War Battlefield Guide: World War Battlefield First the the Forgotten Fronts Forgotten The
    Ed 1 Nov 2016 1 Nov Ed The First World War Battlefield Guide: Volume 2 The Forgotten Fronts The First Battlefield War World Guide: The Forgotten Fronts Creative Media Design ADR005472 Edition 1 November 2016 THE FORGOTTEN FRONTS | i The First World War Battlefield Guide: Volume 2 The British Army Campaign Guide to the Forgotten Fronts of the First World War 1st Edition November 2016 Acknowledgement The publisher wishes to acknowledge the assistance of the following organisations in providing text, images, multimedia links and sketch maps for this volume: Defence Geographic Centre, Imperial War Museum, Army Historical Branch, Air Historical Branch, Army Records Society,National Portrait Gallery, Tank Museum, National Army Museum, Royal Green Jackets Museum,Shepard Trust, Royal Australian Navy, Australian Defence, Royal Artillery Historical Trust, National Archive, Canadian War Museum, National Archives of Canada, The Times, RAF Museum, Wikimedia Commons, USAF, US Library of Congress. The Cover Images Front Cover: (1) Wounded soldier of the 10th Battalion, Black Watch being carried out of a communication trench on the ‘Birdcage’ Line near Salonika, February 1916 © IWM; (2) The advance through Palestine and the Battle of Megiddo: A sergeant directs orders whilst standing on one of the wooden saddles of the Camel Transport Corps © IWM (3) Soldiers of the Royal Army Service Corps outside a Field Ambulance Station. © IWM Inside Front Cover: Helles Memorial, Gallipoli © Barbara Taylor Back Cover: ‘Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red’ at the Tower of London © Julia Gavin ii | THE FORGOTTEN FRONTS THE FORGOTTEN FRONTS | iii ISBN: 978-1-874346-46-3 First published in November 2016 by Creative Media Designs, Army Headquarters, Andover.
    [Show full text]
  • Canadian Infantry Combat Training During the Second World War
    SHARPENING THE SABRE: CANADIAN INFANTRY COMBAT TRAINING DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR By R. DANIEL PELLERIN BBA (Honours), Wilfrid Laurier University, 2007 BA (Honours), Wilfrid Laurier University, 2008 MA, University of Waterloo, 2009 A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in History University of Ottawa Ottawa, Ontario, Canada © Raymond Daniel Ryan Pellerin, Ottawa, Canada, 2016 ii ABSTRACT “Sharpening the Sabre: Canadian Infantry Combat Training during the Second World War” Author: R. Daniel Pellerin Supervisor: Serge Marc Durflinger 2016 During the Second World War, training was the Canadian Army’s longest sustained activity. Aside from isolated engagements at Hong Kong and Dieppe, the Canadians did not fight in a protracted campaign until the invasion of Sicily in July 1943. The years that Canadian infantry units spent training in the United Kingdom were formative in the history of the Canadian Army. Despite what much of the historical literature has suggested, training succeeded in making the Canadian infantry capable of succeeding in battle against German forces. Canadian infantry training showed a definite progression towards professionalism and away from a pervasive prewar mentality that the infantry was a largely unskilled arm and that training infantrymen did not require special expertise. From 1939 to 1941, Canadian infantry training suffered from problems ranging from equipment shortages to poor senior leadership. In late 1941, the Canadians were introduced to a new method of training called “battle drill,” which broke tactical manoeuvres into simple movements, encouraged initiative among junior leaders, and greatly boosted the men’s morale.
    [Show full text]
  • A Historiography of C Force
    Canadian Military History Volume 24 Issue 2 Article 10 2015 A Historiography of C Force Tony Banham Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.wlu.ca/cmh Part of the Military History Commons Recommended Citation Tony Banham "A Historiography of C Force." Canadian Military History 24, 2 (2015) This Feature is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Canadian Military History by an authorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact [email protected]. : A Historiography of C Force FEATURE A Historiography of C Force TONY BANHAM Abstract: Following the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong in 1941, a small number of books covering the then Colony’s war experiences were published. Although swamped by larger and more significant battles, the volume of work has expanded in the years since and is no longer insignificant. This historiography documents that body of literature, examining trends and possible future directions for further study with particular respect to the coverage of C Force. h e f a t e o f the 1,975 men and two women of C Force, sent T to Hong Kong just before the Japanese invaded, has generated a surprising volume of literature. It was fate too that a Canadian, Major General Arthur Edward Grasett, was the outgoing commander of British troops in China— including the Hong Kong garrison— in mid-1941 (being replaced that August by Major General Christopher M altby of the Indian army), and fate that his determination that the garrison be reinforced would see a Briton, Brigadier John Kelburne Lawson, arrive from Canada in November 1941 as commander of this small force sent to bolster the colony’s defences.
    [Show full text]
  • The Final Campaigns: Bougainville 1944-1945
    University of Wollongong Thesis Collections University of Wollongong Thesis Collection University of Wollongong Year The final campaigns: Bougainville 1944-1945 Karl James University of Wollongong James, Karl, The final campaigns: Bougainville 1944-1945, PhD thesis, School of History and Politics, University of Wollongong, 2005. http://ro.uow.edu.au/theses/467 This paper is posted at Research Online. http://ro.uow.edu.au/theses/467 The Final Campaigns: Bougainville 1944-1945 A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree Doctor of Philosophy from University of Wollongong by Karl James, BA (Hons) School of History and Politics 2005 i CERTIFICATION I, Karl James, declare that this thesis, submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy, in the School of History and Politics, University of Wollongong, is wholly my work unless otherwise referenced or acknowledged. The document has not been submitted for qualifications at any other academic institution. Karl James 20 July 2005 ii Table of Contents Maps, List of Illustrations iv Abbreviations vi Conversion viii Abstract ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction 1 1 ‘We have got to play our part in it’. Australia’s land war until 1944. 15 2 ‘History written is history preserved’. History’s treatment of the Final Campaigns. 30 3 ‘Once the soldier had gone to war he looked for leadership’. The men of the II Australian Corps. 51 4 ‘Away to the north of Queensland, On the tropic shores of hell, Stand grimfaced men who watch and wait, For a future none can tell’. The campaign takes shape: Torokina and the Outer Islands.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Introduction
    Notes 1 Introduction 1. Donald Macintyre, Narvik (London: Evans, 1959), p. 15. 2. See Olav Riste, The Neutral Ally: Norway’s Relations with Belligerent Powers in the First World War (London: Allen and Unwin, 1965). 3. Reflections of the C-in-C Navy on the Outbreak of War, 3 September 1939, The Fuehrer Conferences on Naval Affairs, 1939–45 (Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1990), pp. 37–38. 4. Report of the C-in-C Navy to the Fuehrer, 10 October 1939, in ibid. p. 47. 5. Report of the C-in-C Navy to the Fuehrer, 8 December 1939, Minutes of a Conference with Herr Hauglin and Herr Quisling on 11 December 1939 and Report of the C-in-C Navy, 12 December 1939 in ibid. pp. 63–67. 6. MGFA, Nichols Bohemia, n 172/14, H. W. Schmidt to Admiral Bohemia, 31 January 1955 cited by Francois Kersaudy, Norway, 1940 (London: Arrow, 1990), p. 42. 7. See Andrew Lambert, ‘Seapower 1939–40: Churchill and the Strategic Origins of the Battle of the Atlantic, Journal of Strategic Studies, vol. 17, no. 1 (1994), pp. 86–108. 8. For the importance of Swedish iron ore see Thomas Munch-Petersen, The Strategy of Phoney War (Stockholm: Militärhistoriska Förlaget, 1981). 9. Churchill, The Second World War, I, p. 463. 10. See Richard Wiggan, Hunt the Altmark (London: Hale, 1982). 11. TMI, Tome XV, Déposition de l’amiral Raeder, 17 May 1946 cited by Kersaudy, p. 44. 12. Kersaudy, p. 81. 13. Johannes Andenæs, Olav Riste and Magne Skodvin, Norway and the Second World War (Oslo: Aschehoug, 1966), p.
    [Show full text]
  • NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE Published by Authority
    No. 151 3505 THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE Published by Authority WELLINGTON: THURSDAY, 15 AUGUST 1985 CORRIGENDUM Given under the hand of His Excellency the Administrator ofthe The Balmoral Irrigation Amendment Order 1985 Government, and issued under the Seal of New Zealand, this 29th day of July 1985. IN the Order in Council with the above heading dated 22 July 1985 K. T. WETERE, Minister of Maori Affairs. and published in New Zealand Gazette of I August 1985, No. 142 at page 3251 in the third line of clause 4 of the Order for the word [L.S.) GOD SAVE THE QUEEN! "from" read "farm", which appears in the original Order executed (M.A. H.O. 7/2/419,63/71) by His Excellency the Governor-General in Council. 6/iAL/2CL (P.W. 64/6/1/27, Ch. D.O. WS6/17/7) 10 CORRI9ENDUM The Marriage (Approval of Organisations) Notice (No.8) 1985 Cancelling a Notice Declaring Land to be Crown Land NOTICE with the above heading appeared in. the New Zealand RONALD DAVISON Gazette of 20 June 1985 No. 116, page 2604, in regard to Third Exodist Mission. The notice should read: Third Exodus Mission His Excellency the Adminjstrator of the Government Dated at Wellington this 7th day of August 1985. A PROCLAMA nON S. J. CAT"LAHAN, Secretary for Justice. PURSUANT to section 265 (3) of the Maori Affairs Act 1953, I, The (Leg. 4/5/6) Right Honourable Sir Ronald Keith Davison, the Administrator of the Government of New Zealand hereby declare the notice describing the land in the Schedule hereto as being Crown land subject to the Land Act 1948 and published in the New Zealand Gazette on 18 Cancelling a Notice Declaring Land to be Crown Land April 1985, No.
    [Show full text]
  • Downloaded for Personal, Non-Commercial, Research Or Study Without Prior Permission and Without Charge
    Middlesex University Research Repository An open access repository of Middlesex University research http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk Osborne, Richard ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4111-8980 (2011) Colonial film: moving images of the British Empire. Other. [Author]. [Monograph] This version is available at: https://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/9930/ Copyright: Middlesex University Research Repository makes the University’s research available electronically. Copyright and moral rights to this work are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners unless otherwise stated. The work is supplied on the understanding that any use for commercial gain is strictly forbidden. A copy may be downloaded for personal, non-commercial, research or study without prior permission and without charge. Works, including theses and research projects, may not be reproduced in any format or medium, or extensive quotations taken from them, or their content changed in any way, without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder(s). They may not be sold or exploited commercially in any format or medium without the prior written permission of the copyright holder(s). Full bibliographic details must be given when referring to, or quoting from full items including the author’s name, the title of the work, publication details where relevant (place, publisher, date), pag- ination, and for theses or dissertations the awarding institution, the degree type awarded, and the date of the award. If you believe that any material held in the repository infringes copyright law, please contact the Repository Team at Middlesex University via the following email address: [email protected] The item will be removed from the repository while any claim is being investigated.
    [Show full text]
  • British 8Th Infantry Division on the Western Front, 1914-1918
    Centre for First World War Studies British 8th Infantry Division on the Western Front, 1914-18 by Alun Miles THOMAS Thesis submitted to The University of Birmingham For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY School of History and Cultures College of Arts & Law January 2010 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. ABSTRACT Recent years have seen an increasingly sophisticated debate take place with regard to the armies on the Western Front during the Great War. Some argue that the British and Imperial armies underwent a ‘learning curve’ coupled with an increasingly lavish supply of munitions, which meant that during the last three months of fighting the BEF was able to defeat the German Army as its ability to conduct operations was faster than the enemy’s ability to react. This thesis argues that 8th Division, a war-raised formation made up of units recalled from overseas, became a much more effective and sophisticated organisation by the war’s end. It further argues that the formation did not use one solution to problems but adopted a sophisticated approach dependent on the tactical situation.
    [Show full text]
  • Image Credits__
    BECOMING AMERICAN: The British Atlantic Colonies, 1690-1763 PRIMARY SOURCE COLLECTION Becoming American: The British Atlantic Colonies, 1690-1763 __Image Credits__ AMERICAN ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY. Worcester, Massachusetts. WEBSITE Images in AAS collections retrieved in digital collection, Early American Imprints, Series I: Evans, 1639-1800, American Antiquarian Society in collaboration with Readex, a division of NewsBank. Items in chronological order. Reproduced by permission. Francis Makemie, A Narrative of a New and Unusual American Imprisonment of Two Presbyterian Ministers . , 1707, title page. #1300. Cotton Mather, Theopolis Americana, 1710, title page. #1469. Cotton Mather, A Man of Reason, 1718, title page, details. #1976. Benjamin Colman, Some Observations on the New Method of Receiving the Small Pox by Ingrafting or Inoculating, 1721, title page. #2211. William Cooper, A Letter to a Friend in the Country, Attempting a Solution of the Scruples . against the New Way of Receiving the Small Pox, 1721, title page. #2247. Jeremiah Dummer, A Defence of the New-England Charters, 1721, title page. #2216. Cotton Mather, Some Account of What Is Said of Innoculating or Transplanting the Small Pox, 1721, title page. #2206. John Williams, An Answer to a Late Pamphlet Intitled A Letter to a Friend in the Country . , 1722, title page. #2407. Benjamin Colman, God Deals with Us as Rational Creatures, 1723, title page, detail. #2421. James Allin, Thunder and Earthquake, A Loud and Awful Call to Reformation, 1727, title page, detail. #2833. Cotton Mather, The Terror of the Lord. Some Account of the Earthquake That Shook New- England . , 1727, title page, detail. #2919. Thomas Prince, Earthquakes the Works of God, and Tokens of His Just Displeasure, 1727 (1755 reprint), title page, detail.
    [Show full text]
  • Middlesex University Research Repository
    Middlesex University Research Repository An open access repository of Middlesex University research http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk Osborne, Richard (2011) Colonial film: moving images of the British Empire. Other. [Author]. Available from Middlesex University’s Research Repository at http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/9930/ Copyright: Middlesex University Research Repository makes the University’s research available electronically. Copyright and moral rights to this thesis/research project are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. The work is supplied on the understanding that any use for commercial gain is strictly forbidden. A copy may be downloaded for personal, non-commercial, research or study without prior permission and without charge. Any use of the thesis/research project for private study or research must be properly acknowledged with reference to the work’s full bibliographic details. This thesis/research project may not be reproduced in any format or medium, or extensive quotations taken from it, or its content changed in any way, without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder(s). If you believe that any material held in the repository infringes copyright law, please contact the Repository Team at Middlesex University via the following email address: [email protected] The item will be removed from the repository while any claim is being investigated. Richard Osborne Colonial Film Essays The homepage for the essays is located at: http://www.colonialfilm.org.uk/ . The web address for each essay is included in the individual entries. 2 Contents 2ND BATTALION 4TH BOMBAY GRENADIERS IN INDIA, CA 1930 ................................. 4 2ND BATTALION WELCH REGIMENT IN INDIA CELEBRATE GHELUVELT DAY, 1933 ..................................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Woomera's Women
    Woomera’s Women: Rolls and Roles of Film Camera operators on the Anglo-Australian rocket range 1947-1970 Stella M. Barber Bachelor of Arts (Hons), University of Melbourne; Master of Arts, Monash University Graduate Diploma in Information Management (Archives and Records), Melbourne This thesis is presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of Murdoch University College of Arts, Business, Law & Social Sciences February 2020 Declaration I declare that: a. The thesis is my own account of my research, except where other sources are fully acknowledged by referencing or endnotes. b. The thesis contains as its main content work which has not been previously submitted for a degree at any tertiary education institution. c. The thesis has been proof-read by a professional editor and complies with the standards set out by the Murdoch Graduate Research Office. d. The thesis includes work that has been approved by the Murdoch University Human Research Ethics Committee (Approval No. 2017/048) and conducted in accordance with University ethics and fieldwork guidelines. Stella M. Barber February 2020 iii Abstract With the aftermath of World War II and the onset of the Cold War, Australia hosted with the UK one of the few global centres dedicated to the research, development and testing of rockets, jets and other long-range weapons, including Britain’s atomic warheads. By the mid 1950s a new purpose-built town had been constructed in the Australian desert, named “Woomera”, with a population of 7,000 at its peak. No expense was spared in establishing the testing grounds, laboratories and infrastructure – which included a security cleared film laboratory and production facilities at Salisbury near Adelaide – to support the Anglo-Australian Joint Project’s research and experimentation.
    [Show full text]