Pen that ended WW2: We get exclusive access to Field Marshal Slim's personal collection

The seating plan for surrender. The sword of a Japanese general. The pen which signalled peace.

BFBS Forces News was granted exclusive access to film artefacts collected by Field Marshal William Slim during his command of the Fourteenth Army in Burma in the Second World War.

The collection is now held by Field Marshal Slim's grandson, Viscount Mark Slim, and includes rarely-seen pieces of iconography, such as the seating plan for the 12 September 1945 meeting in Singapore at which the Japanese generals signed their official surrender.

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'Mesmerising': Reflections on these rare artefacts from our reporter Tim Cooper

I've got to admit to being a touch nervous about meeting the grandson of such a famous wartime commander.

I shouldn't have worried.

Viscount Slim, or just plain Mark as he prefers to be called, couldn't have been more welcoming.

Within a few minutes of meeting him and his wife Hettie, I've been immersed into a world of unbelievable artefacts, all brought back from the Second World War by Viscount Slim.

The Japanese sword, on the mantlepiece in the hall, is mesmerising.

Still razor sharp, it belonged to the Japanese general who was part of the Imperial hierarchy which surrendered to the British on 12 September 1945.

It's not a ceremonial item – it's rough and dour, tarnished bronze in colour.

Mark unsheathes it and explains how the grim nicks and notches on the blade are signs of it being used to shatter bones as it was wielded to kill.

Tucked away in a photograph album is a telegram, received by Slim on 3 September 1939. It says simply: "We are at war with Germany."

Stark words delivering the plain truth to the military command around the Empire.

On a wall in another room, a seating plan for the aforementioned Japanese surrender. Oh, and there's the pen the Japanese used to sign it. The actual pen that signed peace.

I could go on – watch the film, there's so much more!

But what strikes me the most about my visit is how Mark and his family value and honour their famous grandfather. The items are all around them.

A continual reminder of how Field Marshal Slim developed the 14th Army and gradually turned the tide against the Japanese in Burma, enabling the war to finally come to an end.