Janus: The Papers of Wing Commander Sir Archibald James

Churchill contains:
ABMS	The Papers of Mark Abrams
ACAD	The Papers of Sir Alexander George Montagu Cadogan (1884-1968)
ADAM	"Naval interlude", memoirs of a RNVR midshipman, 1918/9, including photographs of various naval vessels Adam served on
ADMS	The Papers of Rear-Admiral John Adams
AGAR	The Papers of Alan Agar
AGDF	The Papers of Lieutenant- Colonel Adrian Grant-Duff
AGNW	The Papers of Stair Carnegie Agnew
AHKY	The Papers of Adeline, Lady Hankey
AITK	The Papers of Jonathan Aitken
AJMS	The Papers of Wing Commander Sir Archibald James
ALBU	The Papers of Austen Albu
See later -->

More information

Please feel free to contact the repository.

The Papers of Wing Commander Sir Archibald James

Title	The Papers of Wing Commander Sir Archibald James
Reference	GBR/0014/AJMS
Creator	James, Sir Archibald William Henry, 1893-1980, Knight, Wing Commander
Covering Dates	1931–1977
Extent and Medium	1 archive box
Repository	Churchill Archives Centre

Content and context

Archibald William Henry James was born in 1893, son of late H. A. James, of Hurstmonceux Place, Sussex. He was educated at Eton College and then Trinity College, Cambridge.

From 1914-1926 he served with the 3rd Hussars, the Royal Flying Corps and the RAF. He was Unionist MP for the Wellingborough Division of Northamptonshire (1931-1945); Parliamentary Private Secretary to R. A. Butler at the India Office and Ministry of Labour (1936-1938); Board of Education (1942); then Honorary First Secretary at the British Embassy in Madrid (1940-1941).

James was married twice, to Bridget Guthrie in 1919 with whom he had one son and one daughter and then to Eugenia Stirling in 1940 with whom he had two sons. He died on 5 May 1980.

The small collection of James' papers held at Churchill Archives Centre mainly consists of James' later recollections of his Royal Flying Corps and RAF career and on the personalities he knew.

The collection was deposited at Churchill Archives Centre by Sir Archibald in 4 stages between 1969 and 1975.

Access and Use

The collection is open for consultation by researchers using Churchill Archives Centre, Churchill College, Cambridge. Churchill Archives Centre is open from Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm. A prior appointment and two forms of identification are required.

Researchers wishing to publish excerpts from the papers must obtain prior permission from the copyright holders and should seek advice from Archives Centre staff.

Please cite as Churchill Archives Centre, The Papers of Wing Commander Sir Archibald James, AJMS

Further information

The collection has been catalogued. Copies of the catalogue are available in the Reading Room at Churchill Archives Centre, at the National Register of Archives in London, and on the Janus website http://janus.lib.cam.ac.uk.

This collection level description and catalogue were prepared by Natalie Adams of Churchill Archives Centre in June 2005 using information from an existing catalogue. Biographical information was obtained from James' entry in Who Was Who (A& C Black).

Index Terms

James, Sir Archibald William Henry (1893-1980) Knight, Wing Commander

Churchill/AJMS contains:

Memoirs of the Royal Flying Corps RFC and an appendix on James' part as MP in the expansion of the RAF (xerox).
1 file.

1931–1936

Script of a taped interview with David Lance of the Imperial War Museum about the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and James' part as MP in the expansion of the RAF. Includes subsequent notes by James.
1 file.

1972

Reminiscences and notes by James about General Charles de Gaulle; General Sir Edward Spears; the role of No 6 Squadron RFC during 1917-18; on "some of Churchill's Ministers whom I knew personally"; and on recollections of Lord Trenchard.
1 file.

1974

Correspondence.
1 file.

1932–1938

Memoirs of Royal Flying Corps expansion.
1 file.

1977

Personal observations, comments and reminiscences of James on Edward VIII by Frances Donaldson.
1 file.