Catalogue description SERIES II: 1946-1951 (plus strays 1916-1945, 1952-1956)

The files are grouped into subsubseries that largely reflect the year when the file number was registered, apart from the last subseries which contains papers from various dates. Within each subseries, files originating from the same Admiralty Department (eg Naval Intelligence Department, Air Warfare Directorate etc) tend to be grouped together. However, it is unlikely that this has any significance other than the order in which the files were boxed up prior to despatch to the Public Record Office. Most subseries include a significant number of files registered in other years, including strays registered before 1946.

The original paper catalogue was arranged differently. After the allocation of archival reference numbers but before the release of these documents to the public, it was decided to arrange the catalogue by 1935 Admiralty Secretariat Digest Code Number. Each number relates to a different subject from (1) for 'Academy and Education' to (104) for 'Regattas and Yachts'. Many files were catalogued under two or three different codes and hence appear more than once in the subject catalogue. These subject headings have been included in the online catalogue entries to facilitate searching.