FIFTH

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. With mourning border. On first leaf of a bifolium. In good condition, folded once for postage. All in a secretarial hand, except the signature ‘Rosebery’. Addressed to ‘My dear Sturgis’ - the item is from the autograph album of Sturgis’s wife, George Meredith’s daughter Marie Eveleen (‘Mariette’; 1871-1933). He regrets that he has ‘disposed of the vacancy of the secretaryship at the Treasury’. Had he not, he ‘would gladly have considered the claims of your candidate’. Ends: ‘I wonder if you and Mrs Sturgis would come and dine here some evening.’

'Report My Signals' (hereafter RMS) was well received on its publication in 1948, a second impression appearing in the same year. The book's dustwrapper blurb describes the contents as 'the war memoirs of a Signals officer who served for three years with the Fifth Indian Division. He was with this illustrious formation from August 1942 (near El Alamein) until the recapture of Rangoon. | The author writes frankly and sincerely of his experiences with Indian soldiers, for whom he expresses affection and admiration.