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Series
Government Code and Cypher School: Sigint Board and Related Committees and Sub-Committees:...
Catalogue reference: HW 42
What's it about?
HW 42
This series consists of the minutes, papers and correspondence of the Signals Intelligence Board and its predecessor, the Cryptography and Interception Committee, and of all their respective committees and sub-committees.
Full description and record details
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Reference (The unique identifier to the record described, used to order and refer to it)
- HW 42
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Title (The name of the record)
- Government Code and Cypher School: Sigint Board and Related Committees and Sub-Committees: Minutes, Papers and Correspondence
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Date (When the record was created)
- 1924-1945
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Description (What the record is about)
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This series consists of the minutes, papers and correspondence of the Signals Intelligence Board and its predecessor, the Cryptography and Interception Committee, and of all their respective committees and sub-committees.
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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)
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- Government Code and Cypher School, Cryptography and Interception Committee, 1924-1943
- Government Code and Cypher School, India Y Board, 1942-1945
- Government Code and Cypher School, Signal Intelligence Board, 1943-1946
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Physical description (The amount and form of the record)
- 31 file(s)
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Access conditions (Information on conditions that restrict or affect access to the record)
- Subject to 30 year closure unless otherwise stated
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Immediate source of acquisition (When and where the record was acquired from)
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From 2002 Government Communications Headquarters
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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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- Topics
- Intelligence
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Accumulation dates (The dates the record was accumulated)
- File series ran from 1924 to 1946
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Accruals (Indicates whether the archive expects to receive further records in future)
- Series is accruing
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Selection and destruction information (Information about how the record was selected for archiving)
- All surviving records of the Y and Sigint Boards and their respective committees and sub-committees have been selected for permanent preservation as showing the central direction of the pre-war and World War II signals intelligence effort. Selected under section 2.2.1.3 (external relations and defence) of the PRO acquisition policy.
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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 Cryptography and Interception Committee of the Government Code and Cypher School (more commonly referred to as the Y Board) was established in 1924 at the request of the armed forces to prioritise the work of the School, and guide its operations. The Board itself met relatively infrequently, and conducted its business through a number of committees and sub-committees, dealing with particular technical subjects or with work in specified geographical locations. The Y Board was replaced in October 1943 by the Signal Intelligence Board (SIB or, more commonly, the Sigint Board).
A separate India Y Board operated between 1942 and 1945, exercising similar functions in respect of setting service priorities for signals intelligence work in the sub-continent. There were also Y Boards and Committees for the Middle East, for Gibraltar and for North Africa. A Y Committee for West Africa was proposed but never established
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Record URL
- https://beta.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/id/C15696/
Catalogue hierarchy
Over 27 million records
This record is held at The National Archives, Kew
17,110 records
Within the department: HW
Records created or inherited by Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ)
You are currently looking at the series: HW 42
Government Code and Cypher School: Sigint Board and Related Committees and Sub-Committees: Minutes, Papers and Correspondence
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