Correspondence and papers of Sir William Denis Battershill

This material is held atBodleian Library, University of Oxford

Reference
- GB 161 MSS. Brit. Emp. s. 467
Dates of Creation
- 1914-1952
Language of Material
- English.
Physical Description
- 14 boxes

Scope and Content

Correspondence, mainly with the immediate Battershill family, 1908-1956
Papers concerning administrative service, chiefly in Cyprus, Palestine and Tanganyika, 1935-1957
Notes on safaris undertaken in Tanganyika and Kenya, 1945-1948
Manuscript and printed material relating to the political situation in Cyprus, also typescript of personal reflections on the island, 1949-1960
Typescripts, etc. of books, short stories and an article, by Battershill, 20th century
Diaries and diary extracts, 1933-1940, 1951-1952
Correspondence, reports and drafts in preparation for an official government guidebook to Cyprus, 1952-1959
Letters and telegrams of condolence to Lady Battershill on her husband's death, 1959, with related press cuttings, 1938-1959

Administrative / Biographical History

Sir William Denis Battershill (1896-1959) was a soldier and colonial administrator. Educated at King's School, Worcester, 1908-1914, he served in India and Iraq, 1914-1919 with the 6th Battalion, East Surrey Regiment and the 2nd Battalion, the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment. Entering civilian life in 1920 as a cadet in the Ceylon Civil Service, he rose to the post of 2nd Assistant Secretary and Clerk to the Legislative Council in 1928. Continuing his career, he served as Assistant Colonial Secretary, Jamaica, 1929-1935, Colonial Secretary, Cyprus, 1935-1937, Chief Secretary to the Government of Palestine, 1937-1939, Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Cyprus, 1939-1941, Assistant Under-Secretary of State, Colonial Office, 1941-1942, Deputy Under-Secretary, Tanganyika Territory, 1942-1945, and Governor and Commander-in-Chief, Tanganyika Territory, 1945-1949.

In 1924 he married Joan Gellibrand, with whom he had two daughters. He spent the last ten years of his life after 1949 in retirement on Cyprus.

Access Information

Bodleian readers ticket required.

Note

A typescript autobiography of Sir William Denis Battershill, 1950s, was donated to the library by Mrs. J. D'Arcy in 1959.

Collection level description created by Paul Davidson, Bodleian Library of Commonwealth and African Studies at Rhodes House.

Other Finding Aids

Listed as no. 557 in Manuscript Collections in Rhodes House Library Oxford, Accessions 1978-1994 (Oxford, Bodleian Library, 1996). A handlist is also available in the library reading room.