Papers of Sir John Slessor

Papers relating to the the question of the Southern Rhodesian Unilateral Declaration of Independence in November 1965.
Correspondence includes letters to and from: Sir John Slessor; Sir Burke Trend, Secretary to the Cabinet; Lord Shackleton; The Rhodesian Ministry of Information; Sir Robert Birley; and businessman and shipping magnate, Sir Nicholas Cayzer. Broadcast texts by Slessor on the BBC African Service; Rhodesian propaganda material, memoranda, and newspaper cuttings, 1965-67.

Marshal of the Royal Air Force (MRAF) Sir John Cotesworth Slessor GCB, DSO, MC, Sir John Cotesworth Slessor was born on 3 June 1897 in Ranikhet, India. He was educated at Haileybury College, Hertfordshire. During the war of 1914-1918 he served in the Royal Flying Corps (RFC), seeing action in France and North Africa and was awarded the Military Cross (MC). In 1920 he was commissioned into the RAF and served for two years in India, followed by a succession of varied home appointments.
During the period 1935-1937 he commanded a wing in the Indian army in Waziristan, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO). Returning to the UK, he served as Director of Plans at the Air Ministry.
During the war of 1939-1945, Slessor served as Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Policy) [1942], Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Coastal Command [1943], Deputy Air Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean Allied Air Forces [1944] and, in 1945, Air Member for Personnel on the Air Council. He was knighted for his work as commander-in-chief of Coastal Command in 1943 and retired in 1953.
It was around this time that he became involved with the Capricorn Africa Society, a group founded by David Stirling in 1948 with the aim of solving the constitutional, political and racial problems of East and Central Africa. He became chair of the Society's London Consultative Council and, together with Jeannine Scott, later Bartosik, Henry Crookenden, Charles March and Jonathan Lewis, established the charitable Capricorn Africa Trust in 1956.
Sir John Slessor died on 12 July 1979.

The microfilmed papers can be accessed with permission of the Borthwick Institute.

Marshal of the Royal Air Force (MRAF) Sir John Cotesworth Slessor GCB, DSO, MC, Sir John Cotesworth Slessor was born on 3 June 1897 in Ranikhet, India. He was educated at Haileybury College, Hertfordshire. During the war of 1914-1918 he served in the Royal Flying Corps (RFC), seeing action in France and North Africa and was awarded the Military Cross (MC). In 1920 he was commissioned into the RAF and served for two years in India, followed by a succession of varied home appointments.
During the period 1935-1937 he commanded a wing in the Indian army in Waziristan, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO). Returning to the UK, he served as Director of Plans at the Air Ministry.
During the war of 1939-1945, Slessor served as Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Policy) [1942], Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Coastal Command [1943], Deputy Air Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean Allied Air Forces [1944] and, in 1945, Air Member for Personnel on the Air Council. He was knighted for his work as commander-in-chief of Coastal Command in 1943 and retired in 1953.
It was around this time that he became involved with the Capricorn Africa Society, a group founded by David Stirling in 1948 with the aim of solving the constitutional, political and racial problems of East and Central Africa. He became chair of the Society's London Consultative Council and, together with Jeannine Scott, later Bartosik, Henry Crookenden, Charles March and Jonathan Lewis, established the charitable Capricorn Africa Trust in 1956.
Sir John Slessor died on 12 July 1979.

Following the collapse of the negotiations on HMS Fearless, Sir Harold Wilson asked Sir John to visit Rhodesia. He did not in fact do so, but the papers document his views and the views of others who were significant in the attempt to find a solution.

Permission to reproduce images of documents in the custody of the Borthwick Institute must be sought.

Further accruals are not expected.

* Borthwick Institute: Capricorn Africa Society Archive, files 99, 124: chair of the London Committee's correspondence with Sir John Slessor, April 1963 -June 1961; appeals for financial contributions by Slessor, and article written by Slessor, 1955. (GB 193 CAP)
* H. M. Government Blue Book: Rhodesia: Documents relating to Proposals for a Settlement 1966. Cmnd. 3171. (London, HMSO).
* The National Archives: Papers of Marshal Sir John Slessor (GB 66, AIR/75); Records of the Prime Minister's Office - Rhodesia and Nyasaland (GB 66 PREM 11/5039, 5047-48).

Tom Lodge, 'The Paarl Insurrection', African Studies seminar paper, presented at the the African Studies Institute, University of Witwatersrand, October 1979.

Published

GB 193