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France. Two letters between Colonel Geoffrey Webb at SHAEF and James G Mann, honorary...
Catalogue reference: T 209/13
What’s it about?
This record is about the France. Two letters between Colonel Geoffrey Webb at SHAEF and James G Mann, honorary... dating from 1944 in the series British Committee on the Preservation and Restitution of Works of Art, Archives and.... It is held at The National Archives, Kew.
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Full description and record details
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Reference (The unique identifier to the record described, used to order and refer to it)
- T 209/13
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Date (When the record was created)
- 1944
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Description (What the record is about)
- <p>France. </p> <p>Two letters between Colonel Geoffrey Webb at SHAEF and James G Mann, honorary secretary of the Macmillan Committee, enclosing a list of the historical monuments rescued by the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives [MFA and A] officers attached to the 2nd Army with brief details of their state of conservation, dated July 1944. </p> <p>Report on the monuments of the city of Rouen and Troyes including information on the stages in which the damage to the buildings took place and their present state of preservation, undated [stamped October 1944]. </p> <p>Preliminary report on the monuments of Southern France compiled by the MFA and A officer attached to the 7th Army describing the damage suffered by buildings and monuments of the Bouches du Rhone [sic] and Vaucluse areas, undated [stamped October 1944]. </p> <p>Report on war damage in North Western France forwarded by Sir Leonard Woolley at the War Office to James G Mann for the Macmillan Committee containing preliminary information on the damage to the buildings and monuments of the Rouen, Aube, Marne, Aisne, Eure et Loire and Orleans regions, dated November 1944. </p> <p>Second Report on the monuments of France forwarded by Sir Leonard Woolley at the War Office to James G Mann for the Macmillan Committee and containing additional information on the damage to France's main buildings and monuments, dated December 1944. </p> <p>Article on the repositories of works of art in Strasbourg 'in which had been stored the contents of the museums and galleries of Strasbourg and Colmar, and art objects of all kinds which had been "requisitioned" by the Germans from private collections with a view to their export to Germany', forwarded by Sir Leonard Woolley for the information of the Macmillan Committee, dated January 1945. States that 'captured documents show that plans had been drawn up for the wholesale removal of the treasures, but too late for the scheme to be put in execution. [...] The most important of these contained the great altar-piece by Gruenewald from Isenheim and Schongauer's Madonna of the Roses, from the Colmar museum; two of the world's most famous pictures, stacked together in one room, in perfect condition'. </p> <p>Report on the condition of the monuments of France for the period up to January 1945 including further information on the extent of the damage inflicted on the monuments and buildings across France, stamped March 1945. </p> <p>Third Report on the condition of French monuments for the period up to December 1944, forwarded by Sir Leonard Woolley to the Macmillan Committee in March 1945. Includes descriptions of the war damage and the reparation works being carried out to monuments and buildings on the official SHAEF list of protected monuments. </p> <p>Letter addressed to J G Mann from the direction of <emph render="italic">The Empire News</emph> enclosing a report sent to the newspaper from Marcelle Poirier [not specified] claiming that 'over 50 million pounds sterling worth damage was done to historical monuments of france [sic] during five years war according [to the] conservative estimate made by service des monuments historiques in Paris', dated October 1944. Includes Mann's notes on his reply to <emph render="italic">The Empire News</emph> stating that 'there is nothing concrete in this report'. </p> <p>Press clipping [in French, no source] listing the 25 most remarkable French historical monuments as 'unharmed', as indicated by a recent SHAEF report. </p> <p>Copy of J G Mann's report on his trip to Paris in September 1944 [see T 209/11]. </p> <p>Several lists of the main French monuments and historic buildings organised in alphabetical order according to their location, with brief details of their state of conservation and the level of damage suffered, undated. Includes a further report on Rouen and complete lists for all of France's main regions. </p>
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Held by (Who holds the record)
- The National Archives, Kew
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Legal status (A note as to whether the record being described is a Public Record or not)
- Public Record(s)
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Language (The language of the record)
- English
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Closure status (Whether the record is ‘open’ (available to the public) or ‘closed’ (not available due to a legal exemption))
- Open Document, Open Description
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Subjects (Categories and themes found in our collection (our subject list is under development, and some records may have no subjects or fewer than expected))
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Record URL
- https://beta.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/id/C2388678/
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Series information
T 209
British Committee on the Preservation and Restitution of Works of Art, Archives and...
See the series level description for more information about this record.
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France. Two letters between Colonel Geoffrey Webb at SHAEF and James G Mann, honorary...
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