WAVELL ARCHIBALD: (1883-1950)

WAVELL ARCHIBALD: (1883-1950)

‘Russia is in a dreadful state just now and the revolution
has played the devil with the army’

WAVELL ARCHIBALD: (1883-1950) British Field Marshal who served in both World War I and World War II, later becoming the Viceroy and Governor-General of India (1943-47). A.L.S., A. P. Wavell, four pages, 8vo, Cranborne, Salisbury, 16^th June 1912, to Sergeant Major Johnstone. Wavell sends his congratulations to his correspondent on their promotion, and also thanks him for their letter and photographs of the regiment at the Durbar, commenting 'I heard the battalion did splendidly at Delhi and saw it for myself in the Durbar cinematograph pictures in a theatre in London, The regiment and particularly the guard of honour came out very well, and received a lot of applause from the audience. They looked extraordinarily smart and handled their arms wonderfully well' and also writing of his own work at the War Office ('It doesn't suit me very well living in London, doing office work, and getting little exercise') and previous post in Russia, 'I had a fairly good time in Russia, it is a very interesting country but it was such hard work learning the language…..that I got very tired of it. The best fun I had was 10 days manoeuvres with a Russian corps. Their men are very good, fine physique, well disciplined and very good marchers but stupid and uneducated. The officers are not very good, though very nice people'. Together with a second A.L.S., A. P. Wavell, three pages, 8vo, Cranborne, Salisbury, 18^th June 1917, to Johnstone. Wavell reports on his recent military activities, 'They wired from Mesopotamia last October to ask for me to go out there to the battalion and I was very anxious to get back, but they wouldn't let me go from France. I was not far off from Mesopotamia however a short time ago, as I was sent out to the Caucasus last November as military attaché to the Russian army there…..I didn't want to go at all and was very glad to get back. Russia is in a dreadful state just now and the revolution has played the devil with the army', adding that he expects to return to France shortly, and would like to get command of a battalion, and also briefly referring to mutual comrades. Two letters of good content. Some light age wear and a few neat splits at the edges of folds, otherwise about VG, 2

 

In 1911 Wavell spent a year as a military observer with the Russian Army and in 1912 became a General Staff Officer in the Russian section of the War Office. After visiting manoeuvres at Kiev in the summer of 1913, Wavell was arrested at the Russo-Polish border as a suspected spy, following a search of his Moscow hotel room by the secret police, but managed to remove from his papers an incriminating document listing information wanted by the War Office. In October 1916 Wavell was made an acting Lieutenant-Colonel and assigned as liaison officer to the Russian Army in the Caucasus. In June 1917 he was promoted to brevet Lieutenant-Colonel and continued to work as liaison officer with the Egyptian Expeditionary Force headquarters.