Catalogue description Ministry of Home Security: Chief Engineer's Department, Registered Files

The Air Raid Precautions Department of the Home Office included a Chief Technical Adviser's Branch, which in January 1939 was renamed the Chief Engineer's Branch. It included an Architect's Section. Under the Ministry of Home Security the branch became a department in its own right to enable it to cope with all the technical difficulties which arose in different parts of the ministry. In particular, the chief engineer co-operated closely with the Shelter Department, assisting with shelter design and methods, and the Research and Experiments Department. He was also concerned with general constructional problems and he gave technical instructions to the regional technical advisers, who were engineers appointed to the staff of the regional offices.