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Series
Admiralty, Inter-service Topographical Department, and Ministry of Defence, Joint...
Catalogue reference: WO 252
What's it about?
WO 252
This series comprises reports, surveys, maps, plans, and photographs of places and areas in theatres of war in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Atlantic, and the Pacific. The reports were compiled for use in strategic and tactical planning, and comprise...
Full description and record details
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Reference (The unique identifier to the record described, used to order and refer to it)
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WO 252
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Title (The name of the record)
- Admiralty, Inter-service Topographical Department, and Ministry of Defence, Joint Intelligence Bureau Library: Surveys, Maps and Reports
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Date (When the record was created)
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1913-1968
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Description (What the record is about)
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This series comprises reports, surveys, maps, plans, and photographs of places and areas in theatres of war in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Atlantic, and the Pacific. The reports were compiled for use in strategic and tactical planning, and comprise information on climate, health and medical resources, communications and transport facilities, and power supplies, including a series of oilfields investigation reports prepared for the British Intelligence Objectives Sub-Committee.
The records of the Inter-service Topographical Department were transferred to the library of the Joint Intelligence Bureau in 1945, and records created for or collected by the Bureau were then added to these to form this series.
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Related material (A cross-reference to other related records)
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For records of the Naval Intelligence Division see ADM 223
For other material produced by the Joint Intelligence Bureau see ADM 234
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Held by (Who holds the record)
- The National Archives, Kew
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Legal status (A note as to whether the record being described is a Public Record or not)
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Public Record(s)
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Language (The language of the record)
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English
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Creator(s) (The creator of the record)
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- Admiralty, Inter-service Topographical Department, 1941-1945
- Ministry of Defence, Joint Intelligence Bureau, 1945-1964
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Physical description (The amount and form of the record)
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1486 files and volumes
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Access conditions (Information on conditions that restrict or affect access to the record)
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Subject to 30 year closure unless otherwise stated
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Immediate source of acquisition (When and where the record was acquired from)
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from 1977 Ministry of Defence
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Subjects (Categories and themes found in our collection (our subject list is under development, and some records may have no subjects or fewer than expected))
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Accruals (Indicates whether the archive expects to receive further records in future)
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Series is accruing.
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Unpublished finding aids (A note of unpublished indexes, lists or guides to the record)
- There is, in the reading rooms at The National Archives, Kew, a list of the sub-series found in the series.
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Administrative / biographical background (Historical or biographical information about the creator of the record and the context of its creation)
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The Inter-service Topographical Department was operative from 1941 to 1945, and administered by the Admiralty, for the production of topographical information for the use of the service departments.
The Joint Intelligence Bureau was constituted in 1945, under the Ministry of Defence from 1947, to provide information for defence purposes. It was operative until 1964.
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Record URL
- https://beta.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/id/C14457/
Catalogue hierarchy
Over 27 million records
This record is held at The National Archives, Kew
9,781,006 records
Within the department: WO
Records created or inherited by the War Office, Armed Forces, Judge Advocate General,...
You are currently looking at the series: WO 252
Admiralty, Inter-service Topographical Department, and Ministry of Defence, Joint Intelligence Bureau Library: Surveys, Maps and Reports
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