Are you sure about battalion war diaries being consultable at the IWM, Dick?
The ones I have looked at have always been at The National Archives, at Kew. Though I have to say that these were to do with WWI, and maybe it is different for more recent conflicts.
Joined on 23/08/2004
Surrey and Manche (Pays Mortainais)
Posts 8,981
Re: ww2 prisoner
Yes, I've been there many times to read them. Or at least, Divisional and Regimental Histories and Diaries, I've not seen Battalion ones. It is the Regimental Histories you need to go to first. They are not publicly available, you have to persuade the Museum that you are doing research (it can be personal) and you are admitted by appointment and escorted, under guard, to the reading room, which still has the Ten Commandments painted on the walls! There is also a huge (many millions of prints) photographic library, film library and private documents (letters, personal diaries) section. There are WW1 and WW2 resources - other periods are at the National Army Museum at Chelsea. Very helpful staff, even before they knew I was a friend of the head of Exhibits! Regards
Dick Smith
Nowhere is there warmth to be found Among those afraid of losing their ground
I have just given them some East German material that I found knocking around from some of my husband's long-ago filming, so I feel they owe me a peek at something!
23/12/2008, 12:14
