Letters from Anthony Brooke to Kathleen Brooke and correspondence relating to a thesis by R.H. Reece, 1942-1944; 1951-1981

File

MSS. Pac. s. 83/35

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Comprises:

Folder 1:

(fols. 1-75) about Anthony Brooke's acceptance for an Intelligence Corps Commission and subsequent training, chiefly at Colchester, Brentwood, and Rotherham; the birth of a daughter, Angela, on 23 Apr, 3 Feb-28 Dec 1942.

Folder 2:

(fols. 1-108) letters from Rotherham, Wrotham, and the School of Military Intelligence at Matlock, 3 Jan-19 Dec 1943.

Folder 3:

(fols. 1-80) letters from Matlock, Rotherham, and overseas: Bombay (Mumbai) where he visited his mother, Karachi (Intelligence School, India), New Delhi, and Headquarters, SAC, South East Asia. The last two letters in the file and four telegrams (also two from his mother in Bombay (Mumbai)) refer to the birth of his daughter Celia and the restoration of his title of Rajah Muda, 2 Jan-15 Nov 1944.

Folder 4:

(fols. 1-2) letter from Paris about plans for his return to England, 8 Mar 1951
(fols. 3-7) draft of letter from Kathleen Brooke at Milford-on-Sea about the purchase of a house, 'Nutfield', and Anthony Brooke's reply from London, 3 and 8 May 1951
(fols. 8-9) letter from Mackinac Island, Michigan, suggesting she should join him; his plans to visit Washington, 3 and 6 Jun 1951
(fols. 10-11) letter from Caux sur Montreaux, about Moral Re-Armament meetings, 12 Sep and 25 Oct 1951
(fols. 12-20) letter from SS Chusan, en route to visit his mother in Colombo; social events and Moral Re-Armament (MRA) activities there; his mother's poor health; friendly meeting with the Governor, Sir Franklin Gimson, 31 Jan-27 Mar 1952
(fols. 21-30) letter from Colombo, after a fortnight in Southern India; his 'temporary confusion' while at Trivandrum (Thiruvananthapuram), and spiritual experiences; his departure for England on SS Himalaya on 28 May, 15 Apr-6 Jun 1952
(fols. 31-44) letter from SS Himalaya and Colombo, about receiving news of his mother's death and her Muslim funeral; his return to Colombo to settle her affairs, 13 Jun-26 Jul 1952.

Folder 5:

Letters from Anthony Brooke concerned with his world travels and work for the promotion of international understanding and peace (see also MSS. Pac. s. 83/25):

(fols. 1-40) letters from Florence, Geneva, aboard the SS Ionia, Cyprus, Beirut, Alexandria, Jordan, 19 Apr-28 Jun 1955
(fols. 41-57) letters from various addresses in England, 5 Oct 1956-Jan 1959
(fols. 58-61) letters from the Community of the Resurrection, Mirfield, about his reasons for being there and his need to be 'for long periods of time completely alone'; and their differing approaches to life, his views on his future work, and plans for the family, including a 'general scheme of expenditure for 1960', 13 May 1959
(fols. 62-63) letters from Austria (Schloss Trautenfels, where he attended a Conference) and at home at Well Cottage, 5 and 26 Aug 1959
(fols. 64-75) written during his World Tour, from Geneva, Rome, Bombay (Mumbai), New Delhi (with an account of his meeting with Nehru), Rangoon (Yangon), China, Tokyo, Washington, Paris, Geneva, and St Annes-on-Sea, 15 Nov 1959-1 May 1960
(fols. 76-78) letters from Geneva (written after the World People's Conference) and Dortmund, 11 and 18 May 1960
(fols. 79-84) letters from addresses in England, 8 Aug-1 Sep 1960
(fols. 85-87) letters from Copenhagen, Moscow, and Geneva, 13 Sep-13 Dec 1960.

Folder 6:

Letters from Anthony Brooke concerned with his world travels and work for the promotion of international understanding and peace (see also MSS. Pac. s. 83/25):

(fols. 1-3) letters from New York and Washington, 23 Jan-11 Mar 1961
(fol. 4) letter from Holland about his study of Esperanto, 1 May 1961
(fol. 5) letter from London about Kathleen Brooke's health, 7 Jun 1961
(fol. 6) letter from Warsaw, about the World Peace Brigade and the International Youth Forum in Moscow, 25 Jun 1961
(fols. 7-9) letters from London, Holland, and Geneva, about financial arrangements for the family, 15 Nov and 4 Dec 1961
(fols. 10-11) letter from Nicosia about plans for his visit to Jerusalem, 4 Jan 1962
(fol. 12) letter from California (Foundation for Social Research), 27 Feb 1962
(fols. 13-14) letters from Rangoon (Yangon) (International Meditation Centre) and Bombay (Mumbai), 3 and 29 Apr 1962
(fols. 15-16) letters from Nairobi about first impressions of Africa; his visit to Tanganyika (mainland Tanzania) and meetings with Nyerere, Kaunda, and Sir Ronald Turnbull; his coming visit to West Africa, 3 and 12 May 1962
(fol. 17) letter from Well Cottage, 15 Jun 1962
(fol. 18) letter from Holland, before leaving for South America, 29 Dec 1962
(fols. 19-20) letter from Los Angeles about plans for his coming journey to the Far East, 4 Apr 1963
(fols. 21-22) letter from Rome about the [Rajah's] Memorial Service; a Peace Rally in Rome, 28 May 1963
(fols. 23-29) letter from Corrèze and England, about the Commonwealth of the World Citizens Conference in Cardiff, with mention of Sarawak and Malaysia, 24 Aug-16 Sep 1963
(fol. 30) letter from Palma de Mallorca, about his improving health, 20 Dec 1963
(fol. 31) letter from Pondicherry (Puducherry) (International Seminar on Media of Understanding), with references to his plans to visit Sarawak, 12 Jan 1964
(fols. 32-33) letters from Hollywood and Hiroshima ('World Federation City'), and his plans to travel slowly across the USA 'speaking with groups of people in about 17 cities', 31 Jan and 3 Apr 1964
(fol. 34) letter from London, about conferences in Oxford on Psychological and Spiritual Studies, 2 Sep 1964
(fol. 35) letter from Delhi (Quaker Centre), 30 Nov 1964
(fol. 36-37) letters from Pondicherry (Puducherry) (World Union International Centre); his meetings with the President of India and other Ministers, 11 Dec 1964 and 2 Feb 1965
(fols. 38-40) letters from Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and the Astana, Kuching, 22 Mar-13 Apr 1965
(fols. 41-43) letters from Ottawa, about psychic experiences, and preparations for his year as President of the Commonwealth of World Citizens, 11 May and 5 Nov 1966
(fol. 44) letter from London, about plans for visiting the Middle East 'before another flare-up', 21 Jun 1967.

Folder 7:

Letters from Anthony Brooke concerned with his world travels and work for the promotion of international understanding and peace (see also MSS. Pac. s. 83/25):

(fols. 1-2) draft of letter from Kathleen Brooke to Anthony Brooke, and his reply, about their legal separation, n.d. and 13 Nov 1968
(fols. 3-4) letters from Anthony Brooke in London and Chicago, 12 Nov and 7 Dec 1969
(fols. 5-6) draft of cable from Kathleen Brooke to Anthony Brooke, and his reply from Colorado, about financial arrangements, and the work of the Emissaries of Divine Light, n.d. and 5 Mar 1970
(fols. 7-12) letters from California, Scotland (Findhorn Trust), and Wisconsin (Munedowk Foundation). The last two letters refer to their divorce, his own sense of 'mission', and his need to feel absolutely free to pursue this, 4 Jan 1971-5 Apr 1973.

Folder 8:

Papers related to The Cession of Sarawak to the British Crown in 1946, doctoral thesis by R.H. Reece. The thesis appeared later in book form under the title The Name of Brooke: the End of White Rajah Rule in Sarawak, with a Foreword by Anthony Brooke (Oxford University Press, Kuala Lumpur, 1981). Correspondence about the thesis, between Reece in Australia, Anthony and Kathleen Brooke, and Margaret Noble, comprises:

(item 1 ) photocopy of draft of Chapters 2 (pp. 1-75) and 2A (pp. 1-60), as well as extracts from p. 275 et seq (3 pages), sent by Reece to Anthony and Kathleen Brooke for their comments, n.d.
(fols. 1-28) correspondence (photocopies) between Reece (two letters) and Anthony Brooke (seven letters). The last from Anthony Brooke (fols. 27-28) was included in the present collection at his own request, as stating 'broadly how I saw my function while acting for my uncle during my brief six months rulership of Sarawak' (letter to archivist, 16 Oct 1981), 12 May 1974-19 Dec 1976, 2 Nov 1980
(fols. 29-53) correspondence between Reece (14 letters) and Kathleen Brooke (draft of letter dated 17 Nov 1976 and notes about sections of his text, fols. 36-45), 15 Jun 1974-5 Nov 1980
(fols. 54-61) seven letters (photocopies) from Reece to Margaret Noble, 23 Jul-11 Oct 1976
(fols. 62-71) eight letters from Anthony Brooke in Sweden to Kathleen Brooke and copy of one from him to Christopher [Dawson] (fols. 69-70) about references in the thesis to him and his 'crucial role in Sarawak affairs', 28 Oct-24 Dec 1976.