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Series
Government Code and Cypher School and Government Communications Headquarters: Records...
Catalogue reference: HW 50
What's it about?
HW 50
This series contains records produced during the production of the History of British Signals Intelligence in World War II (now preserved in HW 11). These working papers cover all aspects of the work carried out at Bletchley Park, as well as...
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 50
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Title (The name of the record)
- Government Code and Cypher School and Government Communications Headquarters: Records relating to the writing of the history of British signals intelligence in World War II
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Date (When the record was created)
- 1914-1954
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Description (What the record is about)
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This series contains records produced during the production of the History of British Signals Intelligence in World War II (now preserved in HW 11). These working papers cover all aspects of the work carried out at Bletchley Park, as well as intercept stations, overseas units and liaison with wartime allies, and include notes of consultations with former members of staff of the Government Code and Cypher School.
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Related material (A cross-reference to other related records)
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The histories written following this work are in HW 11
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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, 1919-1946
- Government Communications Headquarters, 1946-1946
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Physical description (The amount and form of the record)
- 95 files and volumes
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Access conditions (Information on conditions that restrict or affect access to the record)
- Open unless otherwise stated
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Immediate source of acquisition (When and where the record was acquired from)
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from 2004 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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Accumulation dates (The dates the record was accumulated)
- 1945 to 1954
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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)
- Selected under acquisition policy criterion 2.2.1.3, showing the methods used to compile the history of British Signals Intelligence during the Second World War. Working papers of the historians that throw light on the activities of GC&CS during the war selected, ephemeral and duplicate papers not selected.
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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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In September 1945 a group of Government Code and Cypher School experts, headed by Frank Birch, were brought together to write internal histories of the British signals intelligence effort during World War II. The experts were given full access to the records produced during the war, and consulted former colleagues on aspects of the work.
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Record URL
- https://beta.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/id/C15825/
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 50
Government Code and Cypher School and Government Communications Headquarters: Records relating to the writing of the history of British signals intelligence in World War II
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