Record revealed
Japanese Instrument of Surrender, 1945
After six years of brutal global conflict, this document marked the end of the Second World War.
Series
War Office and successors: Registered Files (General Series)
Catalogue reference: WO 32
What's it about?
WO 32
This series comprises registered files of the War Office dealing with all aspects of the administration of the departments and the armed forces. They include files opened in the War Office and continued in the Ministry of Supply (SUPP) after...
Full description and record details
-
Reference (The unique identifier to the record described, used to order and refer to it)
- WO 32
-
Title (The name of the record)
- War Office and successors: Registered Files (General Series)
-
Date (When the record was created)
- 1845-1999
-
Description (What the record is about)
-
This series comprises registered files of the War Office dealing with all aspects of the administration of the departments and the armed forces. They include files opened in the War Office and continued in the Ministry of Supply (SUPP) after 1939; and files pertaining to functions restored to the War Office in 1959.
With the unification of the Ministry of Defence in 1964, the War Office became the Army Department of the Ministry of Defence, its registered files are generally to be found thereafter in DEFE 70, but there is some overlap with this series.
-
Arrangement (Information about the filing sequence or logical order of the record)
-
Arrangement
Records in this series have accrued in annual batches according to the year in which they were opened, though transfers have usually included a few files containing earlier papers. The registry system distinguishes between overseas and other files.
Up to piece 15512 (files opened before 1954) the piece descriptions are arranged under coded subject headings. There is a key to these codes, and indexes to subjects, placed at the beginning of each of the volumes in which they are listed, in the reading rooms at The National Archives, Kew.
From piece 15513 (mainly files opened after 1954) the piece descriptions are arranged numerically; in registry series order within each transfer.
-
Related material (A cross-reference to other related records)
-
For the contracts precedent books entries relating to some registered files in this series see WO 254
For War Office correspondence subject indexes see WO 139
-
Separated material (A cross-reference between records that are related by provenance but now kept separately)
-
Records of MOD (Army) department branches, see
Special series files transferred from WO 32, see
-
Held by (Who holds the record)
- The National Archives, Kew
-
Former department reference (Former identifier given by the originating creator)
- 20/GENERAL
-
Legal status (A note as to whether the record being described is a Public Record or not)
- Public Record(s)
-
Language (The language of the record)
- English
-
Creator(s) (The creator of the record)
-
- Ministry of Defence, 1947-1947
- Ministry of Supply, 1939-1959
- War Office, 1857-1964
-
Physical description (The amount and form of the record)
- 22243 files and volumes
-
Access conditions (Information on conditions that restrict or affect access to the record)
- Open unless otherwise stated
-
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))
-
Accruals (Indicates whether the archive expects to receive further records in future)
- Series is accruing
-
Selection and destruction information (Information about how the record was selected for archiving)
- Boxes 1-2356 were reviewed under Section 6 of the Public Records Act of 1958 and piece numbers 4730-9360 and 11197-11404 were allocated to the individual files retained. There is a key from former to present number in the reading rooms at Kew, as part of the box list. Numbers not shown have not been selected for preservation. The first piece number currently in use is 2357.
-
Administrative / biographical background (Historical or biographical information about the creator of the record and the context of its creation)
- This series comprises registered files of the War Office dealing with allaspects of the administration of the departments and the armed forces. Theyinclude files opened in the War Office and continued in the Ministry of Supplyafter 1939; and files pertaining to functions restored to the War Office in1959. With the unification of the Ministry of Defence in 1964, the War Officebecame the Army Department of the Ministry of Defence.
-
Record URL
- https://beta.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/id/C14241/
Catalogue hierarchy
Over 27 million records
This record is held at The National Archives, Kew
9,787,085 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 32
War Office and successors: Registered Files (General Series)
You may be interested in
-
-
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. -
Record revealed
A dramatic plea for Churchill’s help from Bletchley Park
In 1941, four Government Code and Cypher School cryptanalysts, including Alan Turing, made a stunning appeal directly to Winston Churchill.
Related records
Records that share similar topics with this record.