Record revealed
Report on the British Indian Army, 1943
This Second World War War Office document assessed the British Indian Army's battle readiness and made recommendations for its development.
Division
Records of the Defence Chiefs of Staff
Catalogue reference: Division within DEFE
What's it about?
Division within DEFE
Records relating to the business of high-level strategic command undertaken by the British Government from 1946 onwards. Chiefs of Staff Committee: Minutes DEFE 4. Chiefs of Staff Committee: Memoranda DEFE 5. Chiefs of Staff Committee: Reports of...
Full description and record details
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Reference (The unique identifier to the record described, used to order and refer to it)
- Division within DEFE
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Title (The name of the record)
- Records of the Defence Chiefs of Staff
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Date (When the record was created)
- 1942-1983
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Description (What the record is about)
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Records relating to the business of high-level strategic command undertaken by the British Government from 1946 onwards.
Chiefs of Staff Committee: Minutes DEFE 4.
Chiefs of Staff Committee: Memoranda DEFE 5.
Chiefs of Staff Committee: Reports of the Joint Planning Staff and successors DEFE 6.
Registered Files (General Series) DEFE 7.
Chiefs of Staff Committees and Sub-Committees: Minutes and Memoranda DEFE 8.
Chiefs of Staff Committee: Registered Files DEFE 11.
Chief of Defence Staff: Registered Files (CDS, SCDS and ACDS (OPS) Series) DEFE 25.
Chiefs of Staff Committee: Secretary's Standard Files DEFE 32.
Defence Chiefs of Staff: Staff Memoranda Defence Chiefs of Staff: Staff Memoranda DEFE 206.
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Arrangement (Information about the filing sequence or logical order of the record)
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The following glossary of acronyms used in DEFE 4, DEFE 5 and DEFE 6 will aid understanding of the itemised catalogue listing for these series:
ACE - Allied Command Europe.
ACP - Allied Communication Publication.
ACS - Assistant Chief of Staff.
AFHQ - Allied Forces Head Quarters.
AMF - ACE Mobile Force.
ANZAM - Australia, New Zealand, Malaya (Defence Agreement).
BAOR - British Army of the Rhine.
BBC - British Broadcasting Corporation.
BCOF - British Commonwealth Occupation Force.
BDCC - British Defence Coordinating Committee.
BFAP - British Forces Arabian Peninsula.
BFAR - British Forces Arabia.
BJSM - British Joint Staff Mission (Washington).
CACDS - Commonwealth Advisory Committee on Defence Science.
CAS - Chief of the Air Staff.
CCL - Commonwealth Consultative Committee, London.
CENTO - Central Eastern Treaty Organisation.
CICC - Commander in Chief Committee.
CIGS - Chief of the Imperial General Staff.
CMPS – Combined Military Planning Staff.
COS - Chiefs of Staff.
CW - Chemical Warfare.
DCC - Defence Co-ordination Committee.
EDC - European Defence Community.
F - (used in DEFE 6) - Final.
GAF - German Air Force.
GOC - General Office Commanding.
HMS - Her Majesty’s Ship.
IDC - Imperial Defence College.
IFF - Identification Friend or Foe.
JCOSA - Joint Chiefs of Staff, Australia.
JIC - Joint Intelligence Committee.
JSP - Joint Service Publication.
JSM - Joint Staff Mission.
JSSC - Joint Staff Steering Committee.
LANDCENT - Allied Land Forces Central Europe.
LCT - Landing Craft Tank.
LST - Landing Ship Tank.
MECOS – British Chiefs of Staff, Middle East, Cyprus.
MLF – Multilateral Force.
MRBM - Medium Range Ballistic Missile.
NADGE - NATO Air Defence Ground Environment.
NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
NCDB - Nevil Charles Dowell Brownjohn, Quartermaster-General to the Armed Forces, personal minute). .
OPD - Defence and Oversea Policy Committee.
ORBAT - Order of Battle.
RAF - Royal Air Force.
SACEUR - Supreme Allied Commander Europe.
SACLANT - Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic.
SACSEA - Supreme Allied Commander South East Asia.
SAS - Special Ammunition Storage.
SAS Squadrons - Special Air Service.
SEA - South East Asia.
SEACDT - South East Asia Collective Defence Treaty.
SEACOS - South East Asia Chief of Staffs.
SEATO - Southeast Asia Treaty Organisation.
SHAPE - Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe.
SIF - Selective Identification Feature.
TR - (used in DEFE 6) - Terms of Reference.
USAF - United States Air Force.
USAAF - United States Army Air Force.
USSR - Union of Soviet Socialists Republics.
VCAS - Vice Chief of Air Staff.
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Related material (A cross-reference to other related records)
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Registered files of the Chief of the Defence Staff are in DEFE 25
Reports of the Joint Planning Staff are in DEFE 6
Registered files are in DEFE 11
For the records of the Chiefs of Staff Committee prior to 1946 see CAB 79
Sensitive papers held separately from the main set of minutes are in DEFE 32
Papers of the Office of the Chief of the Imperial General Staff are in WO 216
Memoranda are in DEFE 5
The ministry's general registered file series, which covers all areas of defence activities from the middle of the Second World War, is in DEFE 7
Minutes and memoranda of committees reporting to the Chiefs of Staff Committee are in DEFE 8
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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)
- Public Record(s)
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Language (The language of the record)
- English
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Creator(s) (The creator of the record)
- Ministry of Defence, Chiefs of Staff Committee, 1947-1947
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Physical description (The amount and form of the record)
- 9 series
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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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Administrative / biographical background (Historical or biographical information about the creator of the record and the context of its creation)
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The Chiefs of Staff (COS) Committee structure of the Cabinet became part of the Ministry of Defence on its formation in 1947. The COS was collectively responsible to the Secretary of State and government for professional advice on strategy and operations, and advising it of the capabilities and activities of each of the three armed service as well as co-ordinating their work. Since 1958 the committee has been permanently chaired by the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) who does not represent the interests of any one service, and who is therefore seen as an independent source of advice. Prior to this date, the Chiefs of Staff would alternate the chair. The Committee comprises the Chief of the General Staff (CGS) who represents the army, the chief of the Naval Staff and First Sea Lord (CNS) and the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS). Other members include the Chief Scientific Adviser and the Permanent Under Secretary to the Secretary of State for Defence who advises on financial, political and parliamentary matters. The work of the Chiefs of Staff Committee continued virtually unchanged by the 1964 reorganisation.
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Copies information (Indicates existence, availability, location and format of copies)
- The records in DEFE 4-6 and DEFE 8 were made available as photocopies because of the need to expurgate the large amount of material which was considered to be defence security sensitive. With effect from 1995, following the Open Government Initiative, Ministry of Defence adopted a new policy of releasing the original bound volumes. In time, these originals will replace the photocopied versions.
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Publication note(s) (A note of publications related to the record)
- A history of the Chiefs of Staff is published in B Jackson and D Bramall, The Chiefs: The Story of the United Kingdom Chiefs of Staff (London, 1992).
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Record URL
- https://beta.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/id/C1014/
Catalogue hierarchy
Over 27 million records
This record is held at The National Archives, Kew
68,016 records
Within the department: DEFE
Records of the Ministry of Defence
You are currently looking at the division: Division within DEFE
Records of the Defence Chiefs of Staff
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