Foreign and Commonwealth Office and predecessors: Aviation and Telecommunications...

FCO 14

1967-1973

This series contains the records of the departments of the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office, and their successors, which dealt with questions relating to international communications.

Subjects covered include civil aviation (airlines and airports, air service agreements, traffic rights and routes, air space, over-flying rights and air travel control, national travel restrictions, international jurisdiction matters in the field of transport and communications matters, national legislation and tourism); posts and telecommunications (work and membership of the Universal Postal Union, provision of postal services in the dependent territories, stamp issues, telegraphy, radio communications, the work of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Board, Council, Bureau and Organisation and the International Telecommunications Union (telecommunications satellites and the use of outer space, undersea cables); meteorology (including the work of the World Meteorological Organisation); international rivers (especially the Danube Commission and the Central Rhine Commission); marine transport (the Law of the Sea, coastal navigation conventions, flags of convenience and flag discrimination, ports and sea canals, hazardous cargoes, losses at sea, maintenance of lights, sea pollution, especially oil pollution, marine safety issues); international waters (fishing grounds and rights, and continental shelf delimitations, mineral extraction); international road transport; and the Channel Tunnel

Arrangement is by former file reference within annual cycles, after the initial transfer of records from 1967 to October 1968, which are additionally arranged according to creating department.

For earlier Commonwealth Office and Commonwealth Relations Office records relating to transport and communications matters see DO 160

For further files dealing with shipping matters see FCO 22

AT, AMT, GL and MU file series

Public Record(s)

English

• Commonwealth Office, Aviation and Telecommunications Department, 1967-1968
• Commonwealth Office, Aviation, Marine and Telecommunications Department, 1968-1968
• Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Aviation and Telecommunications Department, 1971-1973
• Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Aviation, Marine and Telecommunications Department, 1968-1971
• Foreign Office, Aviation, Marine and Telecommunications Department, 1968-1968
• Foreign Office, General Department, 1940-1968

1086 file(s)

Subject to 30 year closure unless otherwise stated

From 1999 Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Topics

Road Transport

Canals and river transport

International

Railways

Travel and tourism

Radio and television

Air transport

Oil and gas

Fishing

Communications

Series is accruing annually

The merger between the Commonwealth Office Aviation and Telecommunications Department, and those parts of the Foreign Office General Department which dealt with communications and transport matters was planned as part of the phased merger of the two Offices.

A joint Aviation, Marine and Telecommunications Department was formed at the end of April 1968, and this passed in turn to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in October 1968 with functions and title unaltered. Responsibility for matters relating to Commonwealth interest in communications in outer space passed to the Foreign Office Scientific Relations Department at the time of the formation of the joint department.

In 1971 the functions of the Aviation, Marine and Telecommunications Department were split. The MU file series continued to be used by a new Aviation and Telecommunications Department, while a separate Marine and Transport Department was created to handle questions relating to marine and road communications.