Foreign Office: Registry: Day Books

FO 1103

1919-1943

This series contains day books prepared by the Archives Branch of the Foreign Office Registry. Day books were created in the Archive Branch of the new single Registry.

The day books provide a summary of all the incoming and outgoing correspondence of the Foreign Office from 1920 until their production ceased during the Second World War. As such, they supplement the various series of original correspondence, and in particular give an indication of the contents of papers which are recorded in the printed indexes, but which have not been selected for permanent preservation.

The first transfer into this series is for the Chief Clerk's Department In Day Books, and cover all aspects of the work undertaken by this Department.

Public Record(s)

English

2251 volume(s)

Open unless otherwise stated

From 1996 Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Topics

International

Conflict

Operations, battles and campaigns

Series is accruing

Following the introduction of a new registration and paper keeping system to the Foreign Office in 1906, there were almost immediately noticed difficulties in the docketing system and delays in passing papers to departments and in producing previous papers. The increase in documentation during the First World War resulted in a virtual breakdown of the system, and prompted its review, undertaken in 1917 by the Foreign Office librarian. His recommendations were implemented in 1920, and lead, among other things, to the creation of day books.

Incoming correspondence was received by the Opening Branch which placed it in a docket sheet, and passed it to the appropriate section of Archives Branch, where the registration number was allocated before the correspondence was passed to the appropriate section clerk. Among other things, the clerk made a précis of the contents of the correspondence, which was typed and four copies made, one of which was pasted up in the appropriate In Day Book, in the order of the registry numbers allocated by the Opening Branch. There were separate day books for each country or subject branch.

Outgoing correspondence, once completed, was similarly dealt with, two summaries of the outgoing correspondence being made of which one was pasted up in the relevant Out Day Book, again in registry number order. The Day Books were passed to the Foreign Office Library when they were two years old.