Catalogue description Records of the Defence Chiefs of Staff

The following glossary of acronyms used in DEFE 4, DEFE 5 and DEFE 6 will aid understanding of the itemised catalogue listing for these series:

ACE - Allied Command Europe.

ACP - Allied Communication Publication.

ACS - Assistant Chief of Staff.

AFHQ - Allied Forces Head Quarters.

AMF - ACE Mobile Force.

ANZAM - Australia, New Zealand, Malaya (Defence Agreement).

BAOR - British Army of the Rhine.

BBC - British Broadcasting Corporation.

BCOF - British Commonwealth Occupation Force.

BDCC - British Defence Coordinating Committee.

BFAP - British Forces Arabian Peninsula.

BFAR - British Forces Arabia.

BJSM - British Joint Staff Mission (Washington).

CACDS - Commonwealth Advisory Committee on Defence Science.

CAS - Chief of the Air Staff.

CCL - Commonwealth Consultative Committee, London.

CENTO - Central Eastern Treaty Organisation.

CICC - Commander in Chief Committee.

CIGS - Chief of the Imperial General Staff.

CMPS – Combined Military Planning Staff.

COS - Chiefs of Staff.

CW - Chemical Warfare.

DCC - Defence Co-ordination Committee.

EDC - European Defence Community.

F - (used in DEFE 6) - Final.

GAF - German Air Force.

GOC - General Office Commanding.

HMS - Her Majesty’s Ship.

IDC - Imperial Defence College.

IFF - Identification Friend or Foe.

JCOSA - Joint Chiefs of Staff, Australia.

JIC - Joint Intelligence Committee.

JSP - Joint Service Publication.

JSM - Joint Staff Mission.

JSSC - Joint Staff Steering Committee.

LANDCENT - Allied Land Forces Central Europe.

LCT - Landing Craft Tank.

LST - Landing Ship Tank.

MECOS – British Chiefs of Staff, Middle East, Cyprus.

MLF – Multilateral Force.

MRBM - Medium Range Ballistic Missile.

NADGE - NATO Air Defence Ground Environment.

NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.

NCDB - Nevil Charles Dowell Brownjohn, Quartermaster-General to the Armed Forces, personal minute). .

OPD - Defence and Oversea Policy Committee.

ORBAT - Order of Battle.

RAF - Royal Air Force.

SACEUR - Supreme Allied Commander Europe.

SACLANT - Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic.

SACSEA - Supreme Allied Commander South East Asia.

SAS - Special Ammunition Storage.

SAS Squadrons - Special Air Service.

SEA - South East Asia.

SEACDT - South East Asia Collective Defence Treaty.

SEACOS - South East Asia Chief of Staffs.

SEATO - Southeast Asia Treaty Organisation.

SHAPE - Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe.

SIF - Selective Identification Feature.

TR - (used in DEFE 6) - Terms of Reference.

USAF - United States Air Force.

USAAF - United States Army Air Force.

USSR - Union of Soviet Socialists Republics.

VCAS - Vice Chief of Air Staff.

The Chiefs of Staff (COS) Committee structure of the Cabinet became part of the Ministry of Defence on its formation in 1947. The COS was collectively responsible to the Secretary of State and government for professional advice on strategy and operations, and advising it of the capabilities and activities of each of the three armed service as well as co-ordinating their work. Since 1958 the committee has been permanently chaired by the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) who does not represent the interests of any one service, and who is therefore seen as an independent source of advice. Prior to this date, the Chiefs of Staff would alternate the chair. The Committee comprises the Chief of the General Staff (CGS) who represents the army, the chief of the Naval Staff and First Sea Lord (CNS) and the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS). Other members include the Chief Scientific Adviser and the Permanent Under Secretary to the Secretary of State for Defence who advises on financial, political and parliamentary matters. The work of the Chiefs of Staff Committee continued virtually unchanged by the 1964 reorganisation.