Catalogue description Diplomatic Service Administration Office and Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Communications Department and successors: Registered Files (DSY, XY and Y Series)

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Details of FCO 19
Reference: FCO 19
Title: Diplomatic Service Administration Office and Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Communications Department and successors: Registered Files (DSY, XY and Y Series)
Description:

This series contains records of the Communications Department of the Diplomatic Service Administration Office and its successor in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office dealing with security of communications (Queen's messengers, diplomatic bags, the diplomatic wireless service, telecommunications and cyphers) between London and Britain's overseas diplomatic posts and representatives in the Dependent Territories.
Date: 1967-1982
Arrangement:

By former file reference within each accession
Related material:

For earlier records see FO 850
Held by: The National Archives, Kew
Former reference in its original department: DSY, XY and Y file series
Legal status: Public Record(s)
Language: English
Creator:

Diplomatic Service Administration Office, Communications Department, 1965-1968

Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Communications Department, 1968-1973

Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Communications Operations Department, 1973-1990

Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Communications Planning Staff, 1973-1990
Physical description: 569 file(s)
Access conditions: Open unless otherwise stated
Immediate source of acquisition:

From 2000 Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Custodial history: The records of the Diplomatic Service Administration Office passed to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office when it was established in October 1968.
Accruals: Series is accruing
Administrative / biographical background:

The specialist function of maintaining and securing communications between London and overseas posts of the Commonwealth and Foreign Offices had been the function of the Communications Department of the Diplomatic Service Administration Office from its establishment in January 1965. This department was absorbed unchanged into the unified Foreign and Commonwealth Office on its creation in October 1968.

In 1973 the Communications Department was split into various functional units: the Communications Administration Department; the Communications Engineering Department; the Communications Operations Department; the Communications Planning Staff and the Communications Technical Services Department. Each of these units continued using a common file registry series, though the registry code was changed from 'XY' to 'Y', and selected files continue in this series.

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