Cataloguing of the archives of General Sir Neville Lyttelton is now underway, and many interesting items have already been uncovered.
The archives include the family papers of the Lyttelton’s. It includes correspondence with eminent politicians such as Liberal Prime Minister, William Gladstone (1809-1898) and Sir Edward Grey (1862-1933), Foreign Secretary from 1905 to 1916. Grey famously remarked at the outbreak of the First World War "The lamps are going out all over Europe. We shall not see them lit again in our time".
The family was very well connected. Some letters describe Neville Lyttelton's meetings with Rudyard Kipling and Winston Churchill. Neville's wife Katherine met King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra at a dinner party. There are also accounts of Katherine's sister Margaret Talbot's numerous meetings with Queen Victoria, Princess Louise, and Princess Beatrice and her husband Henry.
During the cataloguing process we will be highlighting some of the treasures that can be found in the Lyttelton Family Archives. For more information on the collection email archives@qmul.ac.uk.