Catalogue description Commonwealth Office and Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Hong Kong Departments: Registered Files, Hong Kong, British Honduras, British Indian Ocean Territories and the Seychelles (HW and HK Series)

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Details of FCO 40
Reference: FCO 40
Title: Commonwealth Office and Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Hong Kong Departments: Registered Files, Hong Kong, British Honduras, British Indian Ocean Territories and the Seychelles (HW and HK Series)
Description:

This series contains records of the Hong Kong and West Indian Department 'C' of the Commonwealth Office created between January 1967 and late 1967 dealing with UK and Commonwealth relations with Hong Kong and British Honduras, and thereafter records of the Hong Kong Department of the Commonwealth Office and, from October 1968, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, dealing with Hong Kong only.

Some records produced by West Indian Department 'B' after it assumed responsibility for British Honduras are also in this series. From May 1972 the records are those of the Hong Kong and Indian Ocean Department, dealing with Hong Kong, the Seychelles and the British Indian Ocean Territory.

Date: 1965-1994
Arrangement:

By former file reference within each accession

Related material:

For earlier Commonwealth Office files on Hong Kong see CO 1030

For earlier Commonwealth Office files on British Honduras see CO 1031

For earlier files on the Seychelles and BIOT see FCO 83

Held by: The National Archives, Kew
Former reference in its original department: HW and HK file series
Legal status: Public Record(s)
Language: English
Creator:

Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Hong Kong and Indian Ocean Department, 1972-1976

Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Hong Kong Department, 1968-1972

Physical description: 4598 paper files and digital records
Closure status: Open Document, Open Description
Access conditions: Open unless otherwise stated
Immediate source of acquisition:

From 1999 Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Accumulation dates: File series runs from 1967
Accruals: Series is accruing.
Administrative / biographical background:

The department was established when the Commonwealth Office was created in August 1966 as part of the Dependent Territories Division (the former Colonial Office departments), and was responsible for UK and Commonwealth relations with Hong Kong and British Honduras. Responsibility for relations with British Honduras passed to West Indian Department 'B' in late 1967, from which time the department became the Hong Kong Department.

From October 1968 the Hong Kong Department continued in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, but using a new HK file series. In May 1972 the department was renamed the Hong Kong and Indian Ocean Department, with responsibility for relations with the Seychelles and the British Indian Ocean Territories being added, but still used the HK file series.

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