Catalogue description Foreign Office: Information Policy Department and Regional Information Departments: Registered Files

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Details of FO 953
Reference: FO 953
Title: Foreign Office: Information Policy Department and Regional Information Departments: Registered Files
Description:

This series contains files of the various Information Departments established in the Foreign Office after 1946 to deal with publicity abroad. They relate to individual countries and to information policy, news and information staff generally. From 1945 the series includes News Department records. From 1965 the series also contains general correspondence of the Foreign Office's Planning Staff. From 1966, Foreign Office and Commonwealth Information Departments were merged as a precursor to the formation of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in October 1968, and records of the joint departments are in this series.

Date: 1947-1966
Arrangement:

From the beginning of 1950 a revised filing system was adopted by the Foreign Office. This system was based on:

  • i) an initial letter (or letters) indicating the Department concerned
  • ii) a file number
  • iii) a further number indicating the particular paper in the file

A separate series of code numbers by countries was used together with file numbers for papers filed in the Claims, Consular and Information Policy Departments. This modification does not affect the basic filing principle, thus KG 1021/7 stands for paper 7 on file 1 of the Consular Department's Argentina series.

Departmental index letters:

  • P - Information, Policy News
  • P - General
  • PG - Geographical
  • PN - News
  • PR - Information Research
This system was replaced by new registry codes for the joint Commonwealth Office/ Foreign Office departments in 1966. From January 1967 the joint information departments began using a new registry system in preparation for the merged Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Related material:

For later files of the Joint Foreign Office/Commonwealth Office Information Departments see FCO 26

For pre 1939 records of the News Department see: FO 395

Held by: The National Archives, Kew
Legal status: Public Record(s)
Language: English
Creator:

Foreign Office and Commonwealth Office, Joint Information Administration Department, 1966-1968

Foreign Office and Commonwealth Office, Joint Information Policy and Guidance Department, 1966-1968

Foreign Office and Commonwealth Office, Joint Information Services Department, 1966-1968

Foreign Office and Commonwealth Office, News Department, 1966-1968

Foreign Office, American Information Department, 1946-1949

Foreign Office, Eastern European Information Department, 1946-1949

Foreign Office, Far Eastern Information Department, 1946-1949

Foreign Office, German Information Department, 1948-1957

Foreign Office, Information Executive Department, 1957-1965

Foreign Office, Information Policy Department, 1946-1965

Foreign Office, Information Services Department, 1947-1954

Foreign Office, Latin American Information Department, 1946-1949

Foreign Office, Middle Eastern Information Department, 1946-1949

Foreign Office, News Department, 1945-1965

Foreign Office, Planning Staff (Information Departments), 1965-1968

Foreign Office, Western European Information Department, 1946-1949

Physical description: 2518 file(s)
Access conditions: Subject to 30 year closure unless otherwise stated
Unpublished finding aids:

The papers up to 1951 are indexed in FO 409 A list of countries with their code number for this series is available. Please speak to staff at the enquiry desk for the precise location.

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