Great War Authors: Captain C T Atkinson

[Guest]

Hello

One of the more prolific authors of Regimental Histories was Capt C T Atkinson. Does anyone know anything about him? First names? Which regiment he served in?

Thanks in advance.

MG

[spof]

Martin

The Dec 1918 Army List has him under OTC at Oxford University.

Captain Atkinson, C.T. Unattd List (TF) (H) (attd Gen Staff, War Office, 4 Aug 14)

The (H) means he was "An Officer of the Special Reserve,of Officers, Militia, Territorial Force or Volunteers qualified at a School of Musketry. (In abeyance during the War)

A possible service record at Kew - http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/Details?uri=C672821

Glen

[Steven Broomfield]

I'll look it out, but some years ago the Journal of the Society For Army Historical Research had an article about him. I'll see if I can find it this evening.

[charlesmessenger]

He was for many years a fellow of Exeter College, Oxford.

Charles M

[Steven Broomfield]

I'm afraid my efforts might have to wait as I'll not be home until late and am away early tomorrow. I'll look the reference up as soon as i can, but it might not be until Monday.

[Moonraker]

A few documents relating to him have found their way to McMaster University in Canada.

See here

Moonraker

[josquin]

Christopher Thomas Atkinson, MA, wrote histories of regiments and divisions as projects in his work as a historian.

He was a Tutorial Fellow and Lecturer in Modern History at Exeter College, Oxford from 1898 to 1941, with time-off in 1914-18

for service as a Captain with a posting to the War Office. Born in Surrey in 1874 (birth registered at Farnham), he was living

in Gloucestershire in 1891, and died at Oxford in 1964.

Trelawney

[Guest]

Thanks All,

Trelawney...Can I ask what is the source of the info above?

[josquin]

Responding to your enquiry, I referred to the following sources:

"Rectors and Fellows of Exeter College, Oxford between 1901 and 2005" (at www.exeter.ox.ac.uk...)

"Michel de L'Hospital, " C.T. Atkinson, Lothian Prize Essay, 1899 (at google books)

BMD (registry of births & deaths for England & Wales, 1837 to present) at ancestry.com.uk)

1891 Census, England at ancestry.com.uk

Atkinson was a demy at Magdalen College, Oxford prior to becoming a fellow of Exeter (source: the Lothian Prize Essay cover page, cited above)

Regards,

Trelawney

[Tom Tulloch-Marshall]

Has anybody got an Army List circa Sept 1915 ? - Captain CT Atkinson - I have a note beside his name which says "Historical Section C.I.D".

This is almost certainly somewhere in the War Office - any idea who they were ?

Tom

[Steven Broomfield]

Presumably the C T Atkinson who went on to write so many regimental and divisional histories.

 

 

[Ron Clifton]

C I D = Committee of Imperial Defence.

Ron

[Tom Tulloch-Marshall]

On 28/05/2014 at 05:35, Steven Broomfield said:

Presumably the C T Atkinson who went on to write so many regimental and divisional histories.

 

 

Yes that could well be him. The man I have a ref to was being consulted (circa Sept 1915) about the content of some 1914 infantry war diaries. I guess then that the C.I.D. would at that time be collating an ongoing account of the war, - does that sound right ?

Tom

[Steven Broomfield]

Makes sense, I'd say.

[Ron Clifton]

Hello Tom

Yes, I think that the Historical Section was the home of the Official Historians. CID papers in the National Archives tend to be in the CAB classes, but the Cabinet Office as such did not exist in 1914-15. Basically, Hankey ran everything.

You may recall that Field Service Regulations defined the purpose of War Diaries as to provide a narrative from which, in due course, the history of the campaign could be compiled. Atkinson's involvement with both War Diaries and the Historical Section thus makes good sense.

Ron

[Tom Tulloch-Marshall]

Just for passing info - it seems in the ref I have that Atkinson had been consulted about contradictory dates for the capture / wounding / death of a particular officer. The dates in question spanned three days in 1914 and the WO notes ref the enquiries are all dated about September 1915. Amazing what people with a very limited mindset can preoccupy themselves with !

Tom

50.82.01.21.FP.10.