War Cabinet and Cabinet Office: London Controlling Section Correspondence and Papers

CAB 154

1940-1978

This series contains the correspondence and papers of the London Controlling Section mainly relating to deception activities during the Second World War.

Some pieces in this series originally contained NATO documents, which were extracted and replaced with dummy cards when the pieces were transferred to the PRO. The dummy cards state that the extracted documents are retained by the Cabinet Office. With the agreement of the PRO, these extracted NATO documents were destroyed by the Cabinet Office in May 2001. Researchers wishing to seek access to extracted documents should apply to the NATO Archives in Brussels.

Public Record(s)

English

• Cabinet Office, London Controlling Section, 1942-1945
• War Cabinet, London Controlling Section, 1942-1949

112 file(s)

Subject to 30 year closure

from 1988 Cabinet Office

Topics

Conflict

Operations, battles and campaigns

Series is accruing

The London Controlling Section was one of the agencies engaged in deception during the Second World War.

At the outbreak of the Second World War, deception had been the responsibility of the Inter-Services Security Board (ISSB) at the War Office. Then in December 1940, 'a special section of Intelligence for Deception of the enemy' was formed in the Middle East Force, which was the beginning of what was to be known as A Force. After having submitted a report on the activities of A Force to a combined meeting of the Joint Intelligence Sub-committee and the Joint Planning Staff, a recommendation was made to the Chiefs of Staff to consider setting-up an organisation in London dealing with deception.

A Controller, the first being the Rt Hon Oliver Stanley, was appointed in October 1941 with the task of co-ordinating and implementing deception policy and activities against Germany and Italy. This was later to become the London Controlling Section. In December 1941, the A Force Technical Unit was set-up with the task of providing forged enemy documents such as passports, identity cards, and counterfeit money.

At the end of the Second World War there was a diminishing need for deception, but in January 1947 the London Controlling Section was reconstituted with its primary task being directed against the Soviet Union and satellites.