Reference code: GB99 KCLMA Macleod
Title: MACLEOD, Col Roderick (Rory) (1891-1984)
Dates of creation of material: 1919-[1984]
Level of description: item level
Extent: 0.01m3 or 1 box of papers
Born in 1891; educated at Rugby and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich; commissioned into the Royal Field Artillery, 1911; posted to 80 Battery, Royal Field Artillery, Kildare, Ireland, 1911; participated in the Curragh incident, 1914; served World War One, Western Front and Italy, 1914-1918; served with the BEF (British Expeditionary Force) in 80 Battery, 15 Bde, Royal Field Artillery, 5 Div, 1914; wounded at Battle of Le Cateau, 1914; Lt, 1914; served with 5 Battery, Royal Horse Artillery, 2 Indian Cavalry Div, at Neuve Chapelle, Festubert and Aubers Ridge, 1915; temporary Capt, 1915; served with 10 Battery, Royal Horse Artillery and 4 Bde, Royal Flying Corps, 1916-1917; Capt, 1916; commanded A Battery, Royal Horse Artillery, 240 Bde, Royal Field Artillery, 1917; commanded C Battery, Royal Horse Artillery, 241 Bde, Royal Field Artillery, 48 (South Midland) Div, Territorial Force, at the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendale) and Vimy Ridge, 1917; served in Italy, 1917-1918; posted to UK with 1 Battery, Royal Field Artillery, 1919-1921; Adjutant, 36 Bde, Royal Field Artillery, Ireland, 1921-1922; Adjutant, 1924-1925; graduated from Staff College, Camberley, 1927; commanded 27 Battery, Royal Artillery, Allahabad, India, 1928; Maj, 1929; General Staff Officer, Grade 3, Headquarters Meerut District, India, 1929-1930; General Staff officer, Grade 2, Headquarters Meerut District, India, 1930-1933; commanded 60 Battery, Royal Artillery, 1933; General Staff Officer, Grade 2, 47 (2 London) Div, Territorial Army, 1934-1936; Brevet Lt Col, 1935; General Staff Officer, Grade 2, 48 (South Midland) Div, Territorial Army, 1936-1938; substantive Lt Col, 1938; Col, 1938; commanded 6 Medium Regt, Royal Artillery, Muttra, India, 1938-1939; appointed acting Brig, Royal Artillery, Headquarters Eastern Command, Naini Tal, India, 1939; appointed General Staff Officer, Grade 1, and Military Assistant to Gen Sir (William) Edmund Ironside, Inspector General of Overseas Forces, 1939, and Chief of the Imperial General Staff, 1939-1940; served World War Two, 1939-1945; commanded 4 Army, a fictitious unit employed in deceiving German forces on Allied strength and invasion targets, 1944; retired 1945; commanded Guildford Home Guard Bn, 1955; appointed literary executor to the estate of FM (William) Edmund Ironside, 1st Baron Ironside of Archangel and Ironside, 1959; died 1984.
Presented to the Centre by Macleod in three accessions; the typed narratives 1/3, 1/4, 2/4 and the unpublished correspondence from FM Sir (William) Edmund Ironside, 2/2/1, in 1964, the memoirs 1/1-2 and 2/1 in 1965 and the book review 2/3 in 1966.
The papers mainly relate to Macleod's life and career, 1918-1968, and to the life and career of FM Sir (William) Edmund Ironside, 1st Baron of Archangel and Ironside, 1902-1959. Material relating to Macleod himself principally comprises an unpublished memoir of his early career as an artillery officer serving on the Western Front and Italy during World War One, including accounts of the Curragh incident, Mar 1914; the retreat from Mons, Aug 1914, the Western Front, 1914-1917, and the Asiago Plateau, Italy, 1918. There is also a narrative relating to Macleod's command during World War Two of the deception operation undertaken by the fictional 4 Army to distract attention from the Normandy landings of 1944.
The material relating to Ironside includes an unpublished account, taken by Macleod from Ironside's notes and conversations, detailing his service as a British secret agent in German South West Africa, 1902-1904, [1965], and an unpublished volume containing extracts of letters from Ironside to Macleod, notably on his service as Chief of the Imperial General Staff during the opening stages of World War Two (Sep 1939-May 1940), his relationship with the Rt Hon Leslie Hore-Belisha, Secretary of State for War, and lessons learnt from the war, [1965]. Also included are letters and papers taken from the latter volume, including a series of newspaper cuttings of letters, some by Macleod, sent to the Daily Telegraph, taking issue with the contents of The Private Papers of Hore Belisha (Collins, London, 1960) by Rubeigh James Minney.
The theme is continued with a review by Macleod of Laurence Thompson's 1940 - Year of Legend, Year of History, (Collins, London, 1966), in which he refutes allegations against Ironside's performance as Chief of the Imperial General Staff in 1939-1940.
The collection has been divided by the archivist into two sections, namely papers relating to Macleod's career, and those relating to the life and career of FM Sir (William) Edmund Ironside, 1st Baron of Archangel and Ironside.
Open, subject to signature of reader's undertaking form.
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 College Archivist.
English.
Section 15/14 of the papers of Capt Sir Basil Liddell Hart comprises papers relating to the life and career of Macleod, and of FM Sir (William) Edmund Ironside, 1st Baron of Archangel and Ironside, although much of the material consists of duplicates of the Macleod papers with references to Liddell Hart removed; general correspondence with Liddell-Hart 1935-1970 (Ref: LH 1/481); notes by Liddell Hart on discussions with Macleod and others are in LH section 11; texts of lectures and training instructions by Macleod are in LH section 15/3; the papers of Maj Gen Ridley Pakenham Pakenham-Walsh include correspondence from Capt George Alexander Eugene Douglas Haig, 2nd Earl Haig, and Ironside to Macleod, 1939-1945 (Ref: GB99 KCLMA Pakenham-Walsh).
The National Army Museum holds correspondence and papers of Macleod, 1908-1970 (Ref:8502/32) and a typescript account of Passchendale (Third Battle of Ypres), 1917 (Ref:9405-4/275).