Rajah Sir Charles Vyner Brooke: personal correspondence, chiefly with his brother Bertram, 1941-1946

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Bertram Brooke is addressed as 'Adeh' (brother). Comprises:

(fols. 1-2) letter from the Rajah to [C.D.] Le Gros [Clark] from Astana, Sarawak; marked 'Private', about the succession; the Rajah's view that he and Anthony Brooke were 'perfect strangers'; his impression that the Dayak communities 'did not care a rap for the future provided he promised to stay in Sarawak' and his willingness to do so provided he was not bothered about his successor, n.d.
(fols. 3-6) letter from the Rajah to Bertram Brooke from Astana, Sarawak; about satisfactory discussions with the Residents on the Constitution; agreement to engage a British representative to live in Sarawak; MacBryan's duties as his 'private servant', and the 'muddle' about his passport (marked passages); comments on the behaviour of Le Gros Clark and Pitt-Hardacre; and the death of Crocker, 9 Aug 1941
(fols. 7-9) letter from the Rajah to Bertram Brooke from Astana, Sarawak; about the draft Constitution; his plans to visit Australia; MacBryan being 'indispensable' to him; wartime conditions, and entertainments at the Astana; and financial arrangements for Crocker's family, 26 Aug 1941
(fols. 10-12) letter from the Rajah to Bertram Brooke, who noted: 'Written from Java after his arrival there with MacBryan by air from Australia', about events following the Japanese invasion of Sarawak; anti-British feeling among the indigenous communities in Kuching; Borneo including Sarawak under Dutch control, the British having 'done nothing'; MacBryan accompanying a Dutch Colonel to Borneo; and the Rajah awaiting news from him before deciding whether to attempt a return to Sarawak or to go to Australia, 31 Dec 1941
(fols. 13-15) letter from the Rajah to Bertram Brooke, from Melbourne, about the 'so-called Council' sitting in Sydney; lack of news from Sarawak; retreat of Macpherson and other Europeans to Long Nawang in central Borneo; the need for a Council based in London, and his readiness to return to England or to Sarawak if wanted, on his own terms, 24 Mar 1942
(fols. 16-18) letter from the Rajah to Bertram Brooke, from South Yarra [near Melbourne], about satisfactory discussions with Sir Ronald Cross, High Commissioner, concerning Agency business, 'hush-hush affairs', and MacBryan's activities; Pitt-Hardacre's visit to England, ostensibly to see the Commission on Agency business, as 'liaison officer' with the English authorities, and with instructions to tell the Colonial Office of the Rajah's opposition to 'extra bellicose methods being employed in the recapture of Sarawak'; MacBryan to go to England to discuss his affairs with military officials, to remove 'the stigma' from his name; the original terms of the Agency to be strictly adhered to and precise accounts kept; and the Rajah's decision to invest part of Sarawak reserve funds in an Australian 'Austerity Loan', 16 Nov 1942
(fols. 19-20) letter from the Rajah to Bertram Brooke, from South Yarra, about his pleasure in hearing good news of Anthony Brooke and that there was 'peace and quiet in family circles'; Pitt-Hardacre's departure on military duties; cancellation of MacBryan's visit to England; the Rajah's decision to go to England in Mar when the Agency could be shut down; his stupidity in allowing the signing of cheques with only one name, at Pitt-Hardacre's instigation; and Gascoigne to go to England and to handle the accounts, 9 Dec 1942
(fols. 21-23) letter from the Rajah to Bertram Brooke, from South Yarra, about his passage to England; Pitt-Hardacre's departure to Brisbane; payment of £50 to the wife of Burnham who had been 'Sarawak trade liaison officer'; reports by Sarawak officers on their hurried retreat to Pontianak; 'impractible [sic] to move Sarawak office' to Melbourne; MacBryan told he must wait till after the war to take up the matter of his imprisonment, 15 Dec 1942
(fols. 24-27) copy of letter from Bertram Brooke to the Rajah in Australia in reply to fols. 19-23 above, about MacBryan's 'political meddling over the Brunei-Limbang episode'; the right of successors to the Raj to be consulted were any change in the status of Sarawak contemplated; that Anthony Brooke before joining his Unit had handed to his solicitors all correspondence relating to his leaving Sarawak; Bertram Brooke's view that it would be scandalous to 'scuttle' from Sarawak while any member of the family was prepared to continue to serve as Rajah; MacBryan's power derived solely from acting as the Rajah's mouthpiece, with deplorable results; MacBryan's possible intentions regarding Sarawak and his future position there; the state of political chaos following the Constitution, the Rajah having parted with all his powers; the Ranee's declaration that the future Ruler was the Rajah's grandson; Bertram Brooke's wish to be left out of future discussions unless he could be sure of where he stood and that matters would be tackled 'in an above-board manner'; and Anthony Brooke's good start in the Intelligence Corps, 26 Jan 1943
(fols. 28-30) copy of letter from Bertram Brooke, to be handed to the Rajah on his arrival in England, concerning the Commission's wish to see him urgently as it was impossible to continue 'in present conditions', problems requiring a solution including control of the Funds, and the views of the British Government on this point; disparity in payment of officers; rumours of events in Sarawak preceding the fall; the Rajah's instructions regarding an Act of Succession in favour of his grandson; the credit due to him for having been 'a good Rajah over a happy country for many years'; and Bertram Brooke's anxiety to avert further disasters, 8 Jun 1943
(fols. 31-32) letter from the Rajah to Bertram Brooke, from London, in reply to the above, agreeing to the payments to former Sarawak officers; his view that there was no doubt that, on his demise or retirement, the future of Sarawak would be in the keeping of Bertram Brooke or Anthony Brooke; and news of his daughter Valerie, n.d.
(fols. 33-35) letter from the Rajah to Bertram Brooke, from Stanford Dingley, about (1) his agreement to the appointment of a British Government representative in Sarawak; (2) his wish not to return to Sarawak unless asked to do so by the British Government for a short period and accompanied by MacBryan; and (3) his lack of opposition to Anthony Brooke as Rajah, and his comment that it was 'extremely noble' of him 'to face the music under such chaotic conditions'; the prime importance of rice to indigenous communities; his views of the role of Chinese communities in the future of Sarawak; and comments on Arthur Bryant and his book, 28 Jul 1944
(fols. 36-37) partial copy of a letter from Bertram Brooke to the Rajah about the latter being loath to return to Sarawak but wanting financial provision to be made for him before he retired; the British Government's policy of not entering into any arrangement made during enemy occupation that might tie the hands of a future government; and the vulnerable position of the Rajah in regard to the £200,000 received by him out of the Reserves, Dec 1944
(fol. 38) letter from the Rajah to Bertram Brooke, from Stanford Dingley, about his readiness to return to Sarawak for 'a two or three year stretch'; and his view that the £200,000 was certainly not a 'loan', n.d. [Dec 1944?]
(fol. 39) letter from the Rajah to Anthony Brooke, from Stanford Dingley, about naming the new Sarawak ship Rajah Brooke; a charming lunch party with Anthony Brooke and members of the Commission; and 'grand news from Japan', 14 Aug [1945]
(fol. 40) letter from the Rajah to Bertram Brooke giving reasons why neither he nor Anthony Brooke should accompany him to Sarawak, and saying that the 'Political Will' was merely an 'expression of wishes', that there could be no question of Anthony Brooke succeeding him, and that financial arrangements had been made for both Bertram Brooke and Anthony Brooke as beneficiaries under the Sarawak Trust Fund, 9 Mar 1946
(fols. 41-42) letter (and copy) from Bertram Brooke in reply to the above, about his feeling of shock that the Rajah could be persuaded to break his oath and to say that the will was not binding, and that he was being 'most terribly misled', 19 Mar 1946
(fols. 43-44) letter from the Rajah to Bertram Brooke, from Kuching, about how they should behave towards each other when they meet in Kuching; post-war conditions there; reports of the behaviour of the Malayan (Malaysian) people during the Japanese occupation; the coming visit of Admiral Louis Mountbatten; and the programme of reconstruction in Sarawak, [May 1946]
(fol. 45) note by Bertram Brooke of his reply to the opening remarks of the above letter, saying he 'had no intention of allowing the matter to degenerate into a family dog-fight', n.d.
(fols. 46-47) copy in Jean Halsey's hands of a letter from her to her uncle, the Rajah, expressing her opinion of him for ceding Sarawak, and saying that his policy was conceived out of 'petty spite against Peter' and that her father and brother had been forced 'to fight against their own Rajah to try and preserve their country', 17 May 1946.