Earl Haig's war diary: acquired in 1961
The First World War diary of Field Marshal Sir Douglas (later 1st Earl) Haig is part of the Haig Papers collection at the National Library of Scotland.
Haig's diary, which covers every day of the war, was written in a series of notebooks with alternate perforated and fixed pages.
Every few days, Haig would send the perforated pages, with a covering letter, to his wife for safekeeping. The fixed pages, which were the carbon copy of his notes, he kept himself. After the war, he had a typed copy made of the diary. Into this he added all the supporting correspondence and documentation.
Pictured is Haig's diary entry for 11 November 1918, the day on which 'the Great War' was formally ended when the Armistice came into effect at 11am.
The Haig Papers were deposited at the Library in 1961. In 1982 we bought them with the aid of a large grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund. They have been used extensively in our Experiences of War website, and this particular image is included in Scotland's Pages (see '1900-1950' – 'Armistice Day').