Series Descriptions
Why government records?
Which government records?
The following series descriptions have been sourced primarily from the catalogues of The National Archives, with supporting information from The National Archives handbook, The Second World War – a guide to documents in the Public Record Office (PRO, 1998), and relevant passages from the documents themselves.
Please select from the list below to view descriptions of the series and subseries included in this resource:
Ministerial collections
- CAB 71 - War Cabinet, Lord President's Committee, Minutes and Papers.
- CAB 74 - War Cabinet, Food Policy Committee, Minutes and Papers.
- ED 136/111-128 - Board of Education and successors, Private Office, Files and Papers: Evacuation papers.
- ED 138/48-53 - Board of Education and Ministry of Education: Second World War and General Historical Survey: Evacuation papers.
- FO 371 - Foreign Office: Political Departments: General Correspondence from 1906-1966. Political: General: Refugees. Advisory Council on Aliens.
- HLG 82 - Ministry of Works and Buildings, Nuffield College Social Reconstruction Survey, Reports and Papers.
- HLG 900 - Ministry of Health: Evacuation Schemes and Billeting Arrangements, Second World War, Specimens of Series of Documents Destroyed. Government Evacuation Scheme.
- HO 192 - Ministry of Home Security: Research and Experiments Department, Registered Papers, General Survey of Damage in Great Britain (Birmingham).
- HO 199/381-487 - Ministry of Home Security, Intelligence Branch, Registered Files: Civil intelligence papers.
- HO 203 - Ministry of Home Security, Daily Intelligence Reports.
- HO 262 - Ministry of Information, Home Intelligence Files.
- LAB 6/7-94 - Ministry of Labour and National Service. Sub-Committees on Military Recruitment; Reserved Occupations and Manpower Priorities: Minutes.
Local records
- HLG 7 - Ministry of Health: Second World War Special Wartime Functions, Registered Files (LN and other series) and Papers. Evacuation: Regional Officers' Reports.
- HO 205 - Ministry of Home Security: 'O' Division: Correspondence and Papers.
- HO 207 - Ministry of Home Security: Civil Defence Regions, Headquarters and Regional Files.
- MAF 59 - Board of Agriculture, Women’s Land Army: Correspondence, papers and minutes of Committees.
- MAF 67 - Ministry of Food, Food Control Committees, Select Minutes.
- WO 199 - War Office, Military Headquarters Papers: Home Guard papers and histories.
Propaganda collections
