Harris Manchester College and the Second World War

Harris Manchester College and the Second World War

Some of our most intriguing, and one might argue important, archival collections relate to activities that occurred in the College (then Manchester College) during the Second World War when the buildings were requisitioned by the Ministry of Works on behalf of Naval Intelligence.

The work undertaken in College had a profound impact on the course of the War, and included in-depth planning for D-Day events. We are delighted that in 2024, the 80th anniversary of D-Day, we are able to present Professor Ashley Jackson’s masterful look at what happened in the College during the Second World War. He examines the work undertaken in the College and explains the significance of the Inter-Service Topographical Department (ISTD), a specialised Naval Intelligence section headquartered at Manchester College during the War. He explains in detail the significance of the ISTD and how the work they did advanced military outcomes. The requisitioning of the College buildings is also considered and how the day-to-day academic business was shaken up during the period. Using sources from the archive, Professor Jackson has provided us with a fully engaging account of the College during the War bringing to life a little known but vital story.

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Article - Manchester College Oxford and the Second World War

Read in detail about what happened at Manchester College during the War. A detailed and compelling article by Ashley Jackson, Professor of Imperial and Military History at King’s College London and a Visiting Fellow of Kellogg College Oxford. Ashley's study of Oxford during the Second World War - Oxford's War, 1939-1945 - will be published by Bodleian Library Publishing in 2024.

Watch Professor Jackson's talk 'From Geographical Intelligence to Major Head Injuries: Oxford Colleges at War'

Watch Ashley Jackson, Professor of Imperial and Military History at King’s College London and a Visiting Fellow of Kellogg College Oxford, give a talk at the Kellogg College-Bletchley Park Week 2023 featuring Harris Manchester’s war experience. Ashley worked with Kate Alderson-Smith, Fellow Librarian at HMC, and Amanda Ingram, Archivist at Pembroke College Oxford and St Hugh’s College Oxford, on archival material from each college.

Slideshow - explore some of the unique items from the College's archive relating to the War

Explore some of the remaining papers, photos and reports that exist in the College archive. All of the files relating to the work of the ISTD and Naval Intelligence exist elsewhere but the archive does have a tantalising selection of items that offer glimpses of what happened in Manchester College during the war.

Harris Manchester College and the Second World War