[Lord Hankey [Maurice Hankey, 1st Baron Hankey], Secretary of Lloyd George’s War Cabinet.] Typed Letter Signed (‘Hankey’) to T. Lloyd Humberstone, regarding a book he is working on, and pressure to ‘cut out all reference to my diary’.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The recipient Thomas Lloyd Humberstone (1876-1957) was a prominent member of the Convocation of the University of London. The work referred to in this letter is probably Hankey's 'The Supreme Command', the two volumes of which would be published in 1961. 1p, 4to. In fair condition, lightly aged. Folded three times. He is returning his letter and ‘its interesting enclosure’. Not having had any experience of the Central Office of Information, he is left with the impression ‘that they are not very well informed on questions of Military Organisation’. What Humberstone says about his book ‘is an encouragement, but it is not much use my making the attempt under the present regime’. He refuses to ‘cut out all reference to my diary, which they wished, for General Smuts, who with Lord Lothian and with the strong approval of Lloyd George, was the instigator of my efforts, gave me the strongest advice to reject this suggestion’. He has no doubt ‘the book will be published one day’, and would like to ‘carry it on to the period between the wars and World War II, on which I have done some work’.