Principal Supply Officers Committee

This series contains records of the Principal Supply Officers Committee of the Committee of Imperial Defence and of the Board of Trade, Supply Organization (BT), which were formerly responsible for the duties in respect of the supply of materials taken over in 1939 by the Ministry of Supply.

For further records of the Principal Supply Officers Committee of the Committee of Imperial Defence and of the Board of Trade, Supply Organization, see CAB 60

See also War Office,

• Board of Trade, Principal Supply Officers Committee, 1927-1939
• Board of Trade, Supply Organization, 1927-1939
• Committee of Imperial Defence, Principal Supply Officers Committee, 1924-1927

Topics

Trade and commerce

The Board of Trade Supply Organisation resulted from a report of the Principal Supply Officers Committee of the Committee of Imperial Defence, made in December 1926, which outlined a scheme for a "supply organisation in peace and war".

This provided for, among other things, a nucleus organisation in the board and assigned to the board certain duties. These involved the estimation of the fighting services', civil departments' and civil population's requirements of materials; the collection of information about the production and sources of materials and the movement of supplies; and the formulation of proposals for remedying any likely shortage.

As these functions did not differ in kind from those ordinarily carried out by its various departments, the board did not establish a nucleus organisation as recommended, but instituted a standing conference of heads of departments and others under the chairmanship of the permanent secretary.

This conference was named the Board of Trade Supply Organisation and continued to function until in 1939 it was absorbed by the Ministry of Supply, along with the Principal Supply Officers Committee.