Private Papers of Lieutenant Colonel R O Wilberforce Kt CMG OBE PC

Ts transcription of two journals (40pp, with explanatory notes by his son) kept by him during April 1940 and April - October 1945, the first concerning his service as a 2nd Lieutenant RA with 'Sickleforce' in Norway, during which period he was ADC to Major General Bernard Paget, giving an excellent account of Paget's command and planning methods, the severe inadequacies of the War Office's input, the military operations at Andalsnes and Dombas, and the final evacuation, the second journal recording his service with SHAEF (Legal Branch) and the Allied Control Commission in Germany, with particular reference to his part in the drafting of the German surrender document in May 1945 and his subsequent work with the Control Commission's Legal Directorate in Berlin, with interesting comments on the process of reforming the German legal system and on working relationships with colleagues in the Directorate; appended to the journals are a copy of an official report by Fritz Oppenheimer (SHAEF) on his journey from Rheims to Berlin to attend the final German surrender ceremony on 8 May 1945, describing the signing ceremony itself and the attendant personalities, formalities and festivities (including a conversation with Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel); also a copy of the citation for the Bronze Star awarded to Wilberforce for his work with SHAEF.

Catalogue date 2003-11

Cataloguer SWW