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Ministry of Munitions, Munitions Council: Historical Records Branch
Description and record details
| Reference | MUN 5 |
|---|---|
| Title | Ministry of Munitions, Munitions Council: Historical Records Branch |
| Date | 1901-1943 |
| Description | Documents in this series, mostly of the period 1915 to 1922, are those specially appropriated by, or created in, the Ministry's Historical Records Branch for the purpose of preparing the official History of the Ministry of Munitions. It includes some records of the Munitions Committee and Munitions of War Committees of the Cabinet and of the Armament Output Committee of the War Office. The 'R', 'His. R' or 'His. Rec. R' sequence contains source material for the History acquired from Departments of branches, copied from other Ministry records, and domestic records of the Branch. It consists of consists of schemes for the History; correspondence with Ministers, authors and officials on its compilation; historical notes on departments and activities which sometimes supplement sections of the printed work; series of cables, circulars, office notices, minutes of committees, memoranda and instructions; organisation charts; posters; reports and notes; printed pamphlets, guides and brochures; catalogues and handbooks; statistical tables; and other papers. The 'H', 'His. H' or 'His Rec. H' sequence consists of schemes for the History, correspondence with ministers, authors and officials about its compilation, and historical notes on departments and activities which sometimes supplement sections of the printed work. The series also contains unregistered papers that do not fit into either of these classifications but are largely analagous to those in the 'R' sequence. They include minutes of committees, photographs and handbooks. |
| Arrangement | Papers in the 'R' and 'H' sequences are arranged according to the library-style classification schemes used when the files were compiled. The item-level catalogue references incorporate the old file numbers that were applied as part of these classification schemes. Hence, the sequence of item numbers is not always consecutive. |
| Related material |
Records of the Ministry of Munitions' and War Office's Chemical Warfare Research Department,Porton are in WO 142 |
| Held by | The National Archives, Kew |
| Legal status | Public Record(s) |
| Language |
English |
| Creator |
Ministry of Munitions, Munitions Council, Historical Records Branch, 1918-1922 |
| Physical description | 419 boxes and volumes |
| Immediate source of acquisition |
Ministry of Defence |
| Accruals | No further accruals are expected. |
| Unpublished finding aids |
A subject card index formed contemporaneously with the document collection is available. Please speak to staff at the enquiry desk for the precise location. A list of the classification numbers used in these schemes is available with the paper catalogues. |
| Administrative/ biographical background | In May 1918 the Historical Records Branch was formed within a group of bodies that reported to the Munitions Council. The History of the Ministry of Munitions was fully published in 1922. |
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