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Series

Foreign Office and Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Information Research Department;...

Catalogue reference: FCO 168

What's it about?

FCO 168

The collection contains policy files of the Information Research Department in different series documenting the policy and workings of the IRD in different areas of the world. It also contains general admin files on the day to day running of the...

Full description and record details

Reference

FCO 168

Title
Foreign Office and Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Information Research Department; Registered Files (O, RJ and V Prefix)
Date

1951-2012

Description

The collection contains policy files of the Information Research Department in different series documenting the policy and workings of the IRD in different areas of the world. It also contains general admin files on the day to day running of the department.

Arrangement

This series is arranged by file prefix order.

Held by
The National Archives, Kew
Former department reference

O, RJ and V prefix

Legal status

Public Record(s)

Language

English

Creator(s)
  • Foreign and Commonwealth Office, 1968-1968
  • Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Information Research Department, 1968-1977
  • Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Overseas Information Department, 1977-1980
  • Foreign Office, Information Research Department, 1948-1968
Physical description

8305 file(s)

Access conditions

Open unless otherwise stated

Immediate source of acquisition

From 2018 Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Subjects
Topics
International
Research
Accruals

Series is accruing

Selection and destruction information

Selected under Records Collection Policy

Administrative / biographical background

The Foreign Office Information Research Department (IRD) was formed in 1948 to combat Soviet propaganda and communist influence worldwide. It became the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Information Research Department in 1968 until 1977. Initially operating mainly in Western Europe and South East Asia, it later expanded to South Asia, the Middle East, Africa and the Caribbean/Latin America and also operated within the UK creating different series of policy and general administration files on the workings of the IRD in different areas of the world.

Record URL
https://beta.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/id/C16555605/

Catalogue hierarchy

Over 27 million records

This record is held at The National Archives, Kew

331,892 records

Within the department: FCO

Records of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and predecessors

You are currently looking at the series: FCO 168

Foreign Office and Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Information Research Department; Registered Files (O, RJ and V Prefix)

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