Material Classification
War, State and Society contains records from the following collections:
Records of central government departments and ministries
- War Cabinet: Home affairs minutes and memoranda from the Lord President's Committee and the Food Policy Committee.
- Ministry of Information: Home intelligence reports.
- Ministry of Home Security: Civil intelligence papers and daily reports of attacks on the U.K.
- Ministry of Health: Records of the Government Evacuation Scheme.
- Board of Education: Evacuation surveys and progress reports.
- Ministry of Labour and National Service: Minutes of the Committees for Reserved Occupations and Manpower Priorities.
- Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries: Administrative records of the Women's Land Army.
- Foreign Office: Records of refugee policy and the Advisory Council on Aliens.
- Ministry of Works and Buildings: Records of the Nuffield College Social Reconstruction Survey.
Records of local organisations and wartime bodies:
- Ministry of Home Security: Progress reports on bomb shelter provisioning and conditions.
- Research and Experiments Department: Surveys on the social impact of bombing.
- Ministry of Health: Evacuation numbers and progress reports submitted by Regional Officers.
- Food Control Committees: Minutes and enforcement records.
- Women's Land Army: Minutes of local organisations and welfare committees.
- The Home Guard: Histories and organisational records of local units.
Collections of government propaganda:
- Wartime advertisements from the History of Advertising Trust archives, Beccles (U.K.).
- Film production records from the Ministry of Information and the Crown Film Unit.
- Transcripts of the radio broadcast series Kitchen Front, produced by the Ministry of Food.
Users can browse, filter, and search the collection by the following themes and subthemes:
Preparations for War and Peace | Military activity and Home Defence | Bombing and Attacks on the Population |
---|---|---|
Pre-war planning | Air Raid Precautions and Civil Defence | Damage to property |
The wartime economy | Air raid shelters | Disruption to services |
Health and welfare | Conscription | Casualties and injuries |
Central and local government | Civilian-military interactions | Psychological impacts |
Post-war planning | Invasion contingencies | Reconstruction and salvage |
Rationing and Supply | Evacuation | Industry and Infrastructure |
---|---|---|
Agriculture and food supply | Evacuation scheme | Manufacturing and materials |
Rationing, licensing, and price control | Reception and billeting | Transport and travel |
Fuel and utilities | Education and schooling | Labour supply and relations |
Retail and consumer goods | Unofficial evacuations | Gender and work |
Enforcement and regulation | Dislocated populations | Reserved occupations |
Domestic Life | Information Services and Propaganda | Social Relations |
---|---|---|
Eating and cooking | Public opinion and morale | Crime and policing |
Housing and living conditions | Publicity campaigns and initiatives | The black market |
Wages and cost of living | News and information channels | Political movements and disruption |
Families and relationships | Censorship and surveillance | Social identities and divisions |
Entertainment and culture | Rumours and gossip | Foreign nationals and newcomers |
The files contain the following document types:
- Advertisements, Pamphlets, and Posters
- Film and Broadcast Transcripts
- Letters and Statements from the Public
- Maps, Charts and, Diagrams
- Meeting Minutes
- Memoranda
- Miscellaneous
- Official Correspondence
- Photographs
- Press Summaries and Publications
- Reports and Surveys
- Statistical data
In addition, the files are also indexed according to the following:
- The thirteen Civil Defence Regions of the wartime U.K. (including Northern Ireland).
- A list of over 1,500 locations (including over 200 countries and locations outside of the U.K.).
- A list of over 500 government, commercial, and public organisations and services.
- A list of over 950 subject-specific keywords.
For a detailed description of each of these metadata fields, visit our Metadata and Keyword Glossary pages.