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 Collection
Identifier: MC 1250

J.F.C. Fuller Papers

Dates

  • Majority of material found within 1848,1893-1965

Abstract

Letters received (1893-1965), correspondence, military journals, notes on military topics, drafts of published and unpublished writings, maps, charts, clippings, photos, printed matter, and other papers.

Extent

12 Cubic Feet (18 boxes and 9 volumes)

Language of Materials

English

Biographical Sketch of J.F.C. Fuller (1878-1965)

John Frederick Charles Fuller, a prolific English writer of military history, was born in 1878, the son of a clergyman. He attended Malvern College, Worcestershire and secured his military training at Royal Military college, Sandhurst and Staff College, Camberley. For thirty five years he was a career officer in the British Army, retiring as a major general in 1933. His military accomplishments included service in the Boer War and India, Chief General Officer of the newly-organized Tank Corps during World War I, and a brigade commander in Germany and England following the War.

After retiring from the Army, Fuller devoted most of his time to writing. From 1935 to 1936 he was a military correspondent in the Halo-Abyssinian War, and from 1936 to 1939 he observed the Spanish Civil War in a similar capacity. During this period his work brought him into contact with Hitler, Mussolini, Franco, and the leading German generals. Most of his works date from this retirement period, although they reflect a military knowledge which had accumulated from the beginning of the twentieth century.

As a writer on military subjects, Fuller has been acclaimed widely. He has been honored throughout Western Europe and was the recipient of numerous awards, including that of Commander, Order of the British Empire. His literary career spanned half a century. He authored numerous books, published in England and America, and contributed over 400 articles on World War II to English and American periodicals. Many of his works were published by university presses, and most of his last books were published by Rutgers University Press. In his will, General Fuller bequeathed his papers and books to Rutgers Library.

DESCRIPTIONS OF FULLER'S DIARIES

[The following entries are from Donald Sinclair's A Guide to Manuscript Diaries and Journals in the Special Collections Department, Rutgers University, entry numbers 322 and 325. The diaries are in box 4 of the collection.]

FULLER, JOHN FREDERICK CHARLES, 1878-1966.

Journal of a military tour, Oct. 22-Dec. 2, 1926. India and present Pakistan. 48 pages.

A high-ranking officer attached to the British War Office, Fuller made the visit "to establish a personal link between the W.O. & Delhi, to discuss the changes which were influencing Home policy, to learn the difficulties which confronted India so that the War Office might modify its policy accordingly." He spent about ten days at Delhi, discussing the Indian military and political situation with General Sir Andrew Skeen and other officers. These conversations and his own reactions, which are entered in detail, deal considerably with mechanization, tanks, Indianization of the army, Afghanistan, Russia, and the staff college at Quetta. The largest part of his stay, nearly a month, was devoted to a tour of the Afghanistan-India (now Pakistan) frontier in the areas west of Rawalpindi and around Quetta. Fuller was not only an officer but also a noted military authority. His journal of the India trip is both interesting and informative.

From the J.F.C. Fuller estate, 1968, through William Sloane.

FULLER, JOHN FREDERICK CHARLES, 1878-1966.

War Journal, Oct. 3-Nov. 24, 1935. Ethiopia, Italy, etc. 22 pages.

Retired British officer and well-known military writer, General Fuller visited the Ethiopian War theater as a correspondent. The journal begins with his departure from London and a short stay in Italy. There his reputation and connections secured him an interview with Mussolini, contacts with other Italian officials, and passage on a troop-carrying ship out of Naples, which reached Massawa on Oct. 17. The next thirty-eight days were spent either at Asmara (where he wrote a number of articles) or in trips to military locations as far south as Adigrat and Aduwa.

Fuller's view of the war was entirely professional, unshaded by any sympathy for the victims (the Italians "mean well of this country"). As a military observer, however, he had little to say of the invading army which was not deprecatory, even contemptuous. The campaign, with its weak logistic base, had been planned by a "strategical lunatic." Fuller considered the Italians, especially those of the Blackshirt units, to be poor soldiers - "muddlers," slovenly and ill-trained.

From the J.F.C. Fuller estate, 1968, through William Sloane.

BOOKS FROM FULLER'S LIBRARY

The following volumes were acquired with the J.F.C. Fuller Papers. They are stored separately from the collection, in sublocation X-FULLER. To see any of these items, please fill out a call slip at the Special Collections reference desk with the author, title, sublocation and call number of the item.

  1. Aristotle. The Politics of Aristotle: Or, a Treatise on Government. (1952 printing.) New York: Dutton, 1912. Translated by William Ellis. X-FULLER JC71.A41 E4 1912
  2. Bacon, Sir Reginald Hugh Spencer (ed.), J.F.C. Fuller and Sir Patrick Playfair. Warfare Today: How Modern Battles Are Planned and Fought on Land, at Sea, and in the Air. London: Odhams Press Limited, [1944). "First five chapters written by J .F.C. Fuller." Clipping of book review pasted inside. X-FULLER Ul 02.B3
  3. Boswell, James. Boswell's Life of Johnson. (New ed. 1960 printing.) London: Dent, 1949. Vol. 1 only. X-FULLER PR3533.B6 1949A
  4. British Union of Fascists. Constitution and Regulations, British Union of Fascists and National Socialists. London: Abbey Supplies, 1936. Manuscript note on flyleaf: Compiled under the direction of J.F.C. Fuller in 1935. Also marginal notes in text. X-FULLER JNl129.B6 B65
  5. Buckle, Henry Thomas. History of Civilization in England. New York: H. Milford, Oxford University Press, [1925-1931). X-FULLER CB63.B8 1925
  6. Budge, Sir Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis. The Alexander Book in Ethiopia. (Revised edition of the translation first published with the Ethiopic text under title: The Life and Exploits of Alexander the Great. London, 1896 (2 v.) London: Oxford University Press, 1933. X-FULLER PJ9099.A6 1933
  7. Burton, Sir Richard Francis. The Kasidah (couplets) of Haji Abdu al-Yazdi [pseud.] A Lay of the Higher Law Translated and Annotated by his Friend and Pupil F. B. London: H.J. Cook, [1906). "250 copies." "This copy contains Aleister Crowley's corrections.". X-FULLER PR4349 .B52 K3 1906
  8. Burton, Sir Richard Francis. The Kasidah of Haji Abdu el Yezdi [pseud.]: A Lay of the Higher Law. London: Hutchinson, 1914. Foreword by Roger Ingpen. With reproductions of two title pages from the first edition of 1880, London. X-FULLER PR4349.B52 K3 1914
  9. Bury, John Bagnell. History of the Later Roman Empire from the Death of Theodosius I to the Death of Justinian. ("An unabridged and unaltered republication of the first edition.") New York: Dover Publications, [1958). X-FULLER DG31l.B98 1958
  10. Chadwick, Nora (Kershaw). The Age of the Saints in the Early Celtic Church. (The Riddell memorial lectures; 32nd series.) New York: Oxford University Press, 1931. X-FULLER BR748.C43
  11. Chateris, Hon. Sir Evan Edward. H.Q. Tanks, 1917-1918 [London?]: Privately printed, 1920. "20 copies printed only." "Key to Names" written in pencil on rear flyleaf. X-FULLER D546.C43
  12. Churchill, Sir Winston Leonard Spencer. The Second World War. Cassell, 1948-1954. (6 volumes.) X-FULLER D743.C4714
  13. Collier, Mary A. Memoir of Thomas Fowel1 Buxton, Embracing a Historical Sketch of Emancipation in the West Indies, and of the Niger Expedition for the Suppression of the Slave Trade. Boston: Amencan Tract Society. 1861. X-FULLER HV28.B8C6
  14. Crowley, Aleister. Aha! The Sevenfold Mystery of the Ineffable Love... London: Simpkin, Marshall, Harmlton, Kent, 1910. Penciled note: "From The Equinox. vol. 1, No. 3, March 1910." Two copies: copy 1 is hardcover, copy 2 is softcover. X-FULLER PR6005.R7 A7 1910
  15. Crowley, Aleister. Liber DCCCCLXIII. London: [n.p.], 19--. X-FULLER BFl 999.C7
  16. Crowley, Aleister. The Sword of Song: Called by Christians The Book of the Beast. Benares: Society for the Propagation of Religious Truth, 1904. Printed in black and red. Pages uncut. X-FULLER PR6005.R7 S94
  17. Crowley, Aleister. The Winged Beetle. [London]: Priv;;tdy printed, 1910. "This ed. consists of 50 copies on handmade paper numbered from 1-50, and 300 copies on ordinary paper numbered from 51--350. This copy is No. 116." "Glossary of obscure items" tipped in following p. 228. Handwritten nott inside: "Cover designed mid drnwn by J.F.C. Fvller.". X-FULLER PR6005.R7 W5.5
  18. Evelyn, John. The Diary of John Evelyn. (Revised edition.) London: Dent, 1952. (2 vols.) Edited by William Bray; prefatory note by George V. E. Russell. X-FULLER DA447.E9 A42 1952
  19. Fuller, John Frederick Charles. Armament and History, a Study of the Influence of Armament on History from the Dawn of Classical Warfare to the Second World War. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1946. Inscribed inside: "To Sonia with love from Boney, 27 Sept. 1946." X-FULLER U102.F84 1946
  20. Fuller, John Frederick Charles. Decisive Battles of the U.S.A. (First edition.) London: Harper and Brothers, [1942]. X-FULLER El8l.F95
  21. Fuller, John Frederick Charles. The Decisive Battles of the Western World, and Their Influence Upon History. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1954-1956. (3 vols.). X-FULLER D25 F93
  22. Fuller, John Frederick Charles. The First of the League Wars, Its Lessons and Omens. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1936. C1ipping of review pasted inside. X-FULLER DT387.8.F8
  23. Fuller, John Frederick Charles. The Foundations of the Science of War. London: Hutchinson and Company, [1926]. X--FULLER U102.F85
  24. Fuller, John Frederick Charles. The Foundations of the Temple of Solomon the King and the Nine Cunning Craftsmen Who Laid Them Between the Watch-Towers of Night and Day. [n.p.]: [n.d.]. Spine title: The Nine Cunning Craftsmen. "The Equinox." Heavily annotated/correct in Fuller's hand. X-FULLER BS580.S6 FS
  25. Fuller, John Frederick Charles. The Generalship of Alexander the Great. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1958. Clipping of review pasted inside. Errata penciled in on back inside of jacket. X-FULLER U55.A4.S FS
  26. Fuller, John Frederick Charles. The Generalship of Ulysses S. Grant. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1929. X-FULLER E672.F96
  27. Fuller, John Frederick Charles. Grant and Lee: A Study in Personality and Generalship. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1933. X-FULLER E468.F96
  28. Fuller, John Frederick Charles. The Last of the Gentlemen's Wars: A Subaltern's Journal of the War in South Africa, 1899-1902. London: Faber and Faber. [1937]. 2 copies: One contains reviews and a letter (sender's name illegible: "Tim Braine"? Zetland House, Marloes Rd., Kensington). Other copy heavily annotated/corrected in Fuller's hand. X-FULLER DT932.F8
  29. Fuller, John Frederick Charles. Machine Warfare: An Enquiry into the Influences of Mechanics on the Art of War. London: Hutchinson and Company, [1942]. X-FULLER UG446.5.F8
  30. Fuller, John Frederick Charles. Machine Warfare: An Inquiry into the Influence of Mechanics on the Art of War. Washington, D.C.: The Infantry Journal, 1943. Note inside: "Badly cut by publishers." X-FULLER UG446.5.F8 1943
  31. Fuller, John Frederick Charles. A Military History of the Western World. New York: Funk and Wagnalls, 1954-1956. X-FULLER D25.F935
  32. Fuller, John Frederick Charles. On Future Warfare. London: Sifton, Praed and Company, Ltd., 1928 X-FULLER Ul02.F86
  33. Fuller, John Frederick Charles. The Second World War, 1939-45: A Strategical and Tactical History. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, [1948]. Clippings of reviews pasted inside. X-FULLER D743.F8
  34. Fuller, John Frederick Charles. Sir John Moore's System of Training. London: Hutchinson and Company, [1925]. X-FULLER U51l.F8
  35. Fuller, John Frederick Charles. The Star in the West: A Critical Essay Upon the Forks of Aleister Crowley. London: W. Scott Pub. Co., 1907. "This is No. 2 of One Hundred copies printed on handmade paper, specially bound and embellished with portraits and autographs." Signed by: Aleister Crowley, J.F.C. Fuller. Inscribed: "To my lazy rosebud 20th July 1907.". X-FULLER PR6005.R7 Z65
  36. Fuller, John Frederick Charles. The Star in the West: A Critical Essay upon the Works of Aleister Crowley. London: W. Scott Pub., 1907. Errata sheet inserted. X-FULLER PR6005.R7 Z65 1907 A
  37. Fuller, John Frederick Charles. Tanks in the Great War, 1914-1918. London: J. Murray, 1920. X-FULLER D608.F8
  38. Fuller, John Frederick Charles. Towards Armageddon: The Defence Problem and Its Solution. London: L. Dickson, Limited, [l937]. X-FULLER UA647.F82
  39. Fuller, John Frederick Charles. Thunderbolts. London: Skeffington and Son, 1946. X-FULLER U19.F95
  40. Fuller, John Frederick Charles. War and Western Civilization, 1832-1932; A Stud_v qfTVar as a Political Instrument and the Expression of Mass Democracy. London: Duckworth, 1932. X-FULLER D361.F8
  41. Fuller, John Frederick Charles. Watchwords. London: Skeffington and Son, Ltd., 1944. X-FULLER Ul9.F97
  42. Gibbon. Edward. The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. (1925 printing.) London: H. Miiford, Oxford University Press, 1903-1906. (Volumes 2, 3, 5, 6.). X-FULLER DG311.G5 1903
  43. Gibbon. Edward. Tlte History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. (2nd ed., 1929 printing.) London: Methuen and Co., 1909-1929. (Vols. 4, 5, and 7.). X-FULLER DG311.G5 1909
  44. Grant, Michael. Roman History from Coins: Some Uses of the Imperial Coin Age to the Historian. Cambridge, England: Cambridge [England] University Press, 1958. X-FULLER CJ843.G7
  45. Grieb, Conrad K. Uncovering the Forces for War. New York: Examiner Books, [1947]. X-FULLER DS145.G75
  46. Herodotus. The History of Herodotus. (1920 printing.) London: J.M. Dent and Sons, 1920. (2 vols.) Translated by George Rawlinson. Edited by E. H. Blakeney. X-FULLER D58.H5 1910
  47. Hoyle, Fred. Frontiers of Astronomy. London: Heinemann, [1955]. X-FULLER QB44.H86 1955
  48. Hutchison, Graham Seton. Kitchener the Man. [London?]: Fanfare Press, 1943. "This special bound edition is limited to one hundred copies, signed and munbered. This is No. 23." Handwritten .. inscription by the author to Major General J.F.C. Fuller dated March 1944. X-FULLER DA68.32.K6 H8
  49. Keith, Arthur Beniedale. Speeches and Documents on the British Dominions, 1918-1931; from Self-Government to National Sovereignty. London: Oxford University Press, H. Milford, [1932]. X-FULLER DA18.K4
  50. Layriz, Otfried. Mechanical Traction in War for Road Transport, with Notes on Automobiles Generally. London: S. Low, Martson and Company, 1900. Translated by R. B Marston. X-FULLER UC340.L4
  51. Legunm, Colin. Congo Disaster. (A Penguin Special S191.) Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin Books, (1961]. X-FULLER DT657.L4
  52. Lezak-Borin, Vladimir. To-morrow's Dawn after a Century of the Grave-Diggers. Glasgow: Polish Library, 1945. Inscribed by author to Fuller, April 12, 1946. X-FULLER D844.L496
  53. Lot, Ferdinand. L'Art Militaire et les Armies au Moyen age en Europe et dans le Proche Orient. Paris: Payot, 1946. (2 vols.). X-FULLER U37.L7
  54. Lucretius Carus, Titus. On the Nature of the Universe. Hannondsworth [England]: Penguin Books, 1951. Translated with an introduction by Ronald Latham. X-FULLER PA 6483.E5 L3 1951
  55. Luvaas, Jay. The Education of an Army: British Military Thought, 1815-1940. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1964. Inscribed by the author: "To Major General J.F.C. Fuller, with admiration, gratitude, and the hope that the results will not damage the reputations of either of us." X-FULLER DA68.1.A1L8
  56. Marsden, Eric William. The Campaign of Gaugamela. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 1964. X-FULLER DF234.5.M3
  57. Morison, Samuel Eliot and Henry Steele Commager. The Growth of the American Republic. (1943 printing.) London: Oxford University Press, 1942. X-FULLER E178.M85 1942
  58. Mosley, Sir Oswald. Fascism: 100 Questions Asked and Answered. (Fascist Shilling Library, v. 1. First impression, March 1936.) Westminster [London]: B. U. F. Publications, Ltd., 1936. X-FULLER DA578.M62
  59. Plato. The Republic of Plato. (1948 printing.) London: J.M. Dent and Sons, Ltd., 1935. Translated with an introduction by A D. Lindsay. Everyman's library, ed. by E. Rhys. Classical. First published in Everyman's library, 1935. X-FULLER JC71.P35 1935
  60. Popper, V. R. The Open Society and Its Enemies: Volume I: The Spell of Plato. London: Ratledge and Kegan Paul, 1962. Originally published 1945. X-FULLER B63.P6 1962
  61. Rose, John Holland. New Materials from the British Official Records. (6th ed. revision.) London: G. Bell and Sons. 1913. X-FULLER DC203.R82 1913
  62. Rossetti, Dante Gabriel. The Collected Works of Dante Gabriel Rossetti. London: Ellis and Elvey, 1901 (2 vols.) Edited with preface and notes hy William M. Rossetti. X-FULLER PR.5240.FOl
  63. Royal United Service Institution. Catalogue of the Library of the Royal United Service Institution. (To January 1st, 1908). London: Harrison and Sons, Printers, 1908. X-FULLER Z6726.R92 1908
  64. Saladin. God and His Book. The Bible: Where Did We Get It, and What ls It? London: W. Stewart and Company, [1887?]. X-FULLER BS476.R6
  65. Shakespeare, William. King Henry V. Cambridge [England]: Cambridge University Press, 1947. X-FULLER PR2812.A2 W55
  66. Spencer, Herbert. The Man Versus the State. (2nd edition.) London: Watts, 1950. The Thinker's Library, no. 78. X-FULLER JC571.S75 1950
  67. United States. Strategic Bombing Survey. Over-All Report (European War). Washington, D.C.: United States Government P1inting Office, 1945. X-FULLER D785.U63
  68. Vansittart, Sir Robert Gilbert. Black Record: Germans Past and Present. London: H. Hamilton, [1941]. First published in 1941. "Full text of ... broadcasts on the German people, delivered in the B.B.C. overseas program." p. [4] of cover. X-FULLER DD76.V3
  69. Walbank, Frank William. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire in the West. London: Cobbett Press, 1946. X-FULLER DG3l2.W3
  70. Warlimont, Walter. Inside Hitler's Headquarters, 1939-45. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1964. Translated from the German by R.H. Barry. X-FULLER D757.W3813 1964
Title
Inventory to the J.F.C. Fuller Papers MC 1250
Status
Edited Full Draft
Author
Special Collections and University Archives
Date
April 2009
Language of description note
Finding aid is written in English.
Sponsor
Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University received an operating support grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of the Department of State.