DURNFORD, Lt Gen Cyril Maton Periam (`Tirpitz') (1891-1965)

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: GB 0099 KCLMA Durnford
Held at	: Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, King's College London   Click here to find out how to view this collection at http://www.kingscollections.org/catalogues/lhcma ›
Full title	: DURNFORD, Lt Gen Cyril Maton Periam (`Tirpitz') (1891-1965)
Date(s)	: 1914-1956
Level of description	: collection level
Extent	: 2 boxes or 0.02m3
Name of creator(s)	: Durnford | Cyril Maton Periam (`Tirpitz') | 1891-1965 | Lieutenant General

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

Born 1891; educated Merchant Venturers' School, Bristol; served in ranks, 4 Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment, 1908; commissioned into 123 Outram's Rifles, Indian Army Reserve of Officers, 1914; Egyptian Expeditionary Force, 1915-1916; Lieutenant, 1916; British Mandate of Iraq, 1920-22; Rajputana Rifles, Waziristan, India, 1923; Staff College, Camberley, 1924-1925; Brevet Major, 1930; Brevet Lieutenant Colonel, 1935; Brigadier General Staff, Northern Command, India, 1940; Deputy Quartermaster General, General Headquarters, India, 1942; Major General in charge of administration, Central Command, India, 1943; temporary Lieutenant General, 1945; Quartermaster General, India, 1945-1947; retired 1947 with honorary rank of Lieutenant General; died 1965.

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

Papers relating to the career and publications of Lieutenant General Cyril Durnford, 1914-1956, notably correspondence including letters of thanks and congratulations from colleagues, government officials and industry figures; progress reports and testimonials; official notices regarding promotion, awards and transfers; sailing orders; leave arrangements; mess arrangements and pay information, 1914-1947. Administrative papers including minutes, memorandums and reports including: "Summary of the Principal Military Reasons for the Urgent Construction of the Tauda China - Wana Road", 1930; "Passage of troops via the Imphal Road", 1942; "Despatching Stores along the Imphal Road", 1942; "Reorganisation of Command in Deccan District and Sind Area", 1943; "Report on Operations on Shatt Al Charraf (Sharaf) by 34 Brigade Column"; minutes of extraordinary meeting of the War Projects Coordination and Administrative Committee to consider Inter-Branch Subjects, 18-20 May, 1943; file regarding coordination of administrative functions at General Headquarters, India, 1943. Papers relating to Durnford's publications, including copies of articles "Imperial Organisation in Relation to Imperial Defence" and "The Arab Insurrection of 1920-21", [1924-25]; copies of The Journal of the United Service Institute of India, Vol LX, No 261, Oct 1930, including Gold Medal Prize Essay by Durnford on the subject of assisting economic development of tribal territories and finding employment for tribesmen; copies of The Journal of the United Service Institute of India, Vol LXIX, No 294, Jan 1939; including Highly Commended Essay by Durnford on modern army strategy and tactics; correspondence with Edward Machie of The Statesman newspaper, Mar-Sept 1947, regarding a series of articles by Durnford on `The Foundations of India's Security', with drafts of the articles entitled: `A Strong Man Armed Keepeth His House', `Threats to India's Security', `Can an Independent India Stand Alone?', `The Bases of Defence Planning' and `Internal Unity'; draft of article, `Forgotten Men', Jan 1949, about the officers of the Indian Army; copy of `Planning, Development and Operation of the Assam Lines of Communication, 1941-45', by Maj Gen George Neville Russell and Brig Richard Gardiner, 1951, with annotations by Durnford and related memo from Quartermaster General's Branch regarding maintenance of troops in Kalewa, Burma, 1942; correspondence with the Observer newspaper regarding Durnford's review of Defeat into Victory by FM Sir William Joseph Slim and correspondence with others regarding the review, 1956. With portrait photograph of Durnford, July 1943.

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
English

System of arrangement:

6 files arranged chronologically.

Conditions governing access:

Open, subject to signature of Reader's undertaking form, and appropriate provision of two forms of identification.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Copies, subject to the condition of the original, may be supplied for research use only. Requests to publish original material should be submitted to the Trustees of the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, attention of the Director of Archives and Information Management.

Finding aids:

A detailed box-list is available in hard copy in the reading room.

Archival Information

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

Presented by the family, May 2007

Allied Materials

Related material:

The National Army Museum has material relating to Durnford's career, including certificate of service in 1Vol Bn Gloucestershire Regt, 1907-1908; commission certificates, 1915 and 1917; Home Guard service certificate, 1952-1956; letters from the War Office regarding Home Guard commission, 1956-1957 (ref. 1967-05-71).

Publication note:

Description Notes

Archivist's note:
Entry compiled by Katharine Higgon.

Rules or conventions:
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal Place and Corporate Names 1997.

Date(s) of descriptions:
May 2007