Series
Military Department Library
Catalogue reference: IOR/L/MIL/17
What’s it about?
This record is about the Military Department Library dating from c 1786-c 1947.
Is it available online?
Maybe, but not on The National Archives website. This record is held at British Library: Asian and African Studies.
Can I see it in person?
Not at The National Archives, but you may be able to view it in person at British Library: Asian and African Studies.
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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IOR/L/MIL/17
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Title (The name of the record)
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Military Department Library
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Date (When the record was created)
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c 1786-c 1947
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Description (What the record is about)
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Both the Military Department and the Political and Secret Department built up working reference collections, or 'libraries', which were housed within their offices in the India Office building and which was kept apart from the main India Office accumulation of Official Publications. The Military Department acted as a distribution point for certain official publications from India, such as the various runs of Army Lists, keeping its own reference sets of them. It also received relevant British publications together with a large number of confidential or secret prints produced in India or the UK, and purchased commercially published monographs. The collection, which was completely uncatalogued, was arranged in a series of cupboards according to broad subject or geographical divisions, e.g. British Army, Africa. The present arrangement reproduces these divisions, as follows: L/MIL/17/1 British Army L/MIL/17/2 Bengal Army L/MIL/17/3 Madras Army L/MIL/17/4 Bombay Army L/MIL/17/5 Indian Army L/MIL/17/6 Indian States Forces L/MIL/17/7 Burma Army L/MIL/17/8 Royal Navy L/MIL/17/9 Indian Navy L/MIL/17/10 Royal Air Force L/MIL/17/11 Miscellanea L/MIL/17/12 India, Bhutan & Sikkim, Ceylon L/MIL/17/13 North-West Frontier, Baluchistan L/MIL/17/14 Afghanistan, Central Asia, Tibet L/MIL/17/15 Iran, Iraq, Persian Gulf L/MIL/17/16 Arabia, Syria, Turkey, Cyprus L/MIL/17/17 Africa L/MIL/17/18 North-East Frontier L/MIL/17/19 Burma, South-East Asia L/MIL/17/20 China, Japan
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Held by (Who holds the record)
- British Library: Asian and African Studies
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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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Physical description (The amount and form of the record)
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Approximately 10,000 items
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Access conditions (Information on conditions that restrict or affect access to the record)
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Unrestricted
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Publication note(s) (A note of publications related to the record)
- A J Farrington, Guide to the India Office Military Department (London, 1982), pp 201-396
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Record URL
- https://beta.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/id/5213f496-b311-4fad-998f-3f7e97bfbb04/
Catalogue hierarchy
This record is held at British Library: Asian and African Studies
Within the fonds: IOR/L/MIL
Records of the Military Department
You are currently looking at the series: IOR/L/MIL/17
Military Department Library