Series
Admiralty: Material used in Official History of the "Cod War", Iceland, 1958-1961
Catalogue reference: ADM 306
What's it about?
ADM 306
Admiralty Military Branch files raised to deal with naval fishery protection duties following Iceland's unilateral declaration of a twelve-mile territorial waters limit in 1958.The files describe the organisation of the initial and subsequent...
Full description and record details
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Reference (The unique identifier to the record described, used to order and refer to it)
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ADM 306
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Title (The name of the record)
- Admiralty: Material used in Official History of the "Cod War", Iceland, 1958-1961
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Date (When the record was created)
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1953-1964
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Description (What the record is about)
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Admiralty Military Branch files raised to deal with naval fishery protection duties following Iceland's unilateral declaration of a twelve-mile territorial waters limit in 1958.
The files describe the organisation of the initial and subsequent Naval response, and include Foreign Office telegrams and Naval signals, and reports of proceedings and incidents of the period covered by the dispute.
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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)
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Public Record(s)
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Language (The language of the record)
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English
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Creator(s) (The creator of the record)
- Board of Admiralty, Historical Section, 1919-1964
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Physical description (The amount and form of the record)
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49 file(s)
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Access conditions (Information on conditions that restrict or affect access to the record)
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Subject to 30 year closure unless otherwise stated
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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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Whilst talks were underway to change the Laws of the Sea regarding territorial limits of national boundaries, Iceland unilaterally declared a 12 mile limit in 1958, and in response to what the British Government of the day decided was not either legally or morally binding, ships of the Fishery Protection Squadron and other vessels of the Royal Navy were dispatched to Icelandic waters to protect the then considerable British fishing fleet and interests, which were suffering considerable harassment and threat of arrest by Icelandic gunboats.
Iceland subsequently reacted by extending its territorial waters to 50 miles in 1973, and 200 miles in 1975, provoking further "Cod Wars", accounts of which have not yet been published.
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Publication note(s) (A note of publications related to the record)
- These files and reports form the basis of the Official History of the 1958-1961 "Cod War", written by Captain O'Sullivan RN, published in May 1990 by HMSO as BR 1776(57).
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Record URL
- https://beta.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/id/C2014/
Catalogue hierarchy
This record is held at The National Archives, Kew
Within the department: ADM
Records of the Admiralty, Naval Forces, Royal Marines, Coastguard, and related bodies
You are currently looking at the series: ADM 306
Admiralty: Material used in Official History of the "Cod War", Iceland, 1958-1961