What are these records?

These are the service records of around 30,000 airwomen who served with the Women’s Royal Air Force (WRAF) between 1918 and 1920.

These records, from series AIR 80, include volunteers from the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps, Women’s Legion drivers and the Women’s Civilian Subordinates.

The women were based in Britain at first, performing roles such as drivers, mechanics, cooks or office clerks. Later around 500 women served in France and Germany. After the war Helen Gwynne-Vaughan, Commandant of the WRAF, was awarded the Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in recognition of her work.

What information do the records contain?

Information on the service record can include the following:

• age
• address
• religion
• marital status
• dependants
• details of next of kin
• statement of services and promotions
• transfers
• trade or profession
• physical description
• discharge details

Occasionally there might be correspondence or notes.

How do I search the records?

You can search the records in our catalogue (£), by filling in the form below.

You don’t need to complete every field to find a record.

What do the records look like?

Enrolment form AIR 80/213

A service record can contain one or more of the following:

• an enrolment form
• a certificate of discharge on demobilisation
• a casualty form for active service

You might also find a statement for the services form.

The image above is from the enrolment form of Mrs Elizabeth Scott who was living in Edinburgh when she joined up (catalogue reference AIR 80/213). A widow with no dependants, she was 56 at that time.

Why can’t I find what I’m looking for?

There are a number of reasons why you might not find an entry:

• no officers’ records are known to have survived
• the service record dates from after 1920. Refer to our research guide Women’s Royal Air Force personnel for advice.

1. Why use this guide?

This guide will help you find records at The National Archives relating to Royal Navy operations and actions that took place between 1939 and 1945.

During the Second World War, the integration of the three armed services with one another, and with civil government and allied forces, went far further than ever before. Consequently there is a large amount of material on naval operations in records not relating specifically to the Royal Navy, and therefore not mentioned here. For a brief introduction to some of these records see our Second World War guide.

For a more detailed overview, see J Cantwell, The Second World War: A Guide to Documents in the Public Record Office (PRO Handbook no. 15, 1998).

The guide does not cover records of:

• personnel (for Royal Navy personnel records from the Second World War contact the Ministry of Defence via the Veterans Agency)
• administration or supply
• technological development and research (for guidance on these subjects see our Research and development in the Royal Navy guide)

2. Starting your research

2.1 Consult the Official History of the Second World War

The best way to start your research into Second World War naval operations is to consult the volumes of the Official History of the Second World War, available in The National Archives Library at Kew and some other specialist libraries. In particular, consult The War at Sea.

The unpublished version of The War at Sea is in CAB 101/36-39. It is annotated with file references to the original Admiralty papers on which the history is based but these references are all but redundant now, following subsequent rearrangements of the files.

A large collection of operational reports, military despatches, war diaries and other documents used by historians to compile the Official History of the Second World War are in CAB 106. Search within CAB 106 using keywords in the embedded search box.

2.2 Use keywords to search Discovery, our catalogue

To view records at The National Archives you must first find document references for the records you are interested in.

Use keywords to search record descriptions in Discovery, our catalogue.

A successful search will provide you with a document reference but not all records are described in detail in our catalogue.

Use the advanced search in our catalogue to restrict your dates to 1939-1945, to search within the ADM department and try searching by, for example:

• name of operation (for example, ‘Operation Neptune’ or ‘Neptune’)
• battle (for example, ‘Battle of the Java Sea’ or ‘Java Sea’)
• theatre of operations (for example, ‘Pacific’ or ‘Persian Gulf’)
• ship (for example, ‘HMS Wanderer’ or ‘Wanderer’)
• convoy number (for example, ‘HXF 1’)
• date or month (for example, ’27 February 1942′ or ‘February 1942’)

2.3 Search in the key record series

Restrict your catalogue search, as outlined above, to the principal record series for World War Two operations. Click on the following series references to search for records within each respective series using keywords and dates: ADM 1, ADM 116 and ADM 199.

More specific guidance on how to find information in these series appears throughout this guide.

3. Naval high command

At the head of the Royal Navy sat the Board of Admiralty which was itself headed by the First Sea Lord. Records of meetings of the Board of Admiralty cover broad operations strategies for the various theatres of operations in which the Royal Navy was engaged.

Click on the following series references, using keywords and dates to search for records within:

• minutes of the Board of Admiralty in ADM 167
• Admiralty Fleet Orders and Confidential Admiralty Fleet Orders in ADM 182
• First Sea Lord’s papers in ADM 205
• minutes and papers of the War Cabinet Committees on the Battle of the Atlantic and on Anti-U-Boat Warfare are in CAB 86

Alternatively, use the phrase “First Lord’s records” to search ADM 199.

4. Fleets, stations and squadrons

During the Second World War the Royal Navy was deployed around the world, divided into various fleets and operating from a number of regional stations, also known as commands. The most significant were:

• the Home Fleet based at various stations in the UK
• the Mediterranean Fleet based in Alexandria, Egypt
• the Eastern Fleet based at both the East Indies Station and China Station
• the Pacific Fleet based in Sydney, Australia (this fleet was not formed until November 1944)
• the South Atlantic and Africa Station
• the America and West Indies Station
• the Western Approaches Station (base for ships deployed in the Battle of the Atlantic)

These stations and the various other operational headquarters and units of the Royal Navy kept records, sometimes in the form of daily diaries or summaries of events, many of which are now in ADM 199, as well as other record series.

Click on the series reference to search within ADM 199 using keywords, such as those outlined in section 3.2, names of stations, fleets or any of the phrases listed below:

• “daily summary of Naval events”
• “daily Operations Report for First Lord”
• “war diary summaries”
• “war diaries” and the name of a command or squadron (for example, “War diaries” and “South Atlantic Command”)

There are specific record series for the following stations:

• Portsmouth Station in ADM 179 (contains numerous reports of operations in the Channel)
• Western Approaches Station in ADM 217
• East Indies Station in ADM 127
• China Station in ADM 125

5. Ships, submarines and other vessels

5.1 Ships’ logs

A ship’s log is primarily a navigational record, concerned only incidentally with operations. HM ships do not keep war diaries.

Click on the series reference to search by ship’s name (for example, ‘Venerable’ – don’t include ‘HMS’) within ADM 53 for logs from almost all types of Royal Navy ships – use the date range option to restrict your search to the appropriate years.

For more guidance see our guide to ships’ logs.

5.2 Records of submarines

Click on the series reference to search within ADM 199 for reports concerning submarines. Use the following keywords and phrases:

• submarines AND reports
• “U-boat attacks”
• “U-boat incidents”
• “Submarine patrol reports”
• “Admiral submarines”

There is an incomplete collection of submarine patrol reports from the Mediterranean in ADM 236, supplementing those in ADM 199. Search by submarine name within ADM 236 using the embedded search box.

Monthly reports of anti-submarine warfare from the East Indies Station are in the Confidential Reference Books in ADM 239. Click on the series reference to search by keyword ‘submarine’ within ADM 239.

Click on the series reference to search for submarine logs in ADM 173 by submarine’s name (for example, ‘H.34’ or ‘Tribune’ – don’t includes ‘HMS’) – use the date range option to restrict your search to the appropriate years.

Some of the records are missing as they were destroyed in enemy action.

5.3 Lists of vessels

The confidential edition of the Navy List, the official list of naval officers, their ranks and the ships to which they were appointed, is in ADM 177. It contains the complete information on officers and ships which was omitted from the published edition in wartime.

Click on the following series references to search for records within each respective series using keywords and dates:

• ADM 187, the pink lists, for location in port, though not position at sea, of all HM ships and Naval Air Squadrons in commission (issued twice weekly)
• ADM 208, the red lists, for location in port, though not position at sea, of minor war vessels in home waters
• ADM 210, the green lists, for landing ships, landing craft and the like in home waters
• ADM 209, the blue lists, for shipbuilding (issued monthly)

6. Ships lost or damaged

Click on the series reference to search ADM 199 using “Wartime damage to ships” as your search term.

Search the Printed Books of Reference issued to Navy personnel in ADM 234 for reports and studies of damage to ships in action.

The loss of merchant vessels is recorded in BT 347. For more guidance on this see our Registration of merchant ships guide.

7. Naval aviation services: Fleet Air Arm and RAF Coastal Command

7.1 Fleet Air Arm

The Fleet Air Arm, formed on 1 April 1924, is the air force of the Royal Navy.

Using the advanced search in our catalogue, search for:

• Fleet Air Arm Operations Record Books by name and number of squadron in ADM 207 and AIR 27 (for example, for 801 squadron search using the phrase ‘801 AND “Fleet Air Arm”‘)
• various kinds of operations reports by name of squadron or ship in ADM 199 (for squadrons, try searching by number and the word “squadron” or the phrase “naval air squadron”)
• combat reports by squadron name and number in AIR 50
• flying log books of RAF personnel serving with the Fleet Air Arm in ADM 900 (search using the word “log”)
• operational and technological histories relating to the Fleet Air Arm in the Second World War in ADM 335/1-4 and ADM 335/63-65

No aircraft carrier flying log books are known to have survived.

7.2 Coastal Command

RAF Coastal Command, founded in 1936, was the Royal Air Force’s premier maritime unit, based at Lee-on-Solent in Hampshire. Amongst its most significant roles in the war were the protection of convoys and allied shipping, playing a decisive role in the Battle of the Atlantic.

The other principal theatres of operations were the Mediterranean, the Middle East and Africa.

Click on the following series references to search for records within each respective series using keywords and dates:

• Headquarters Papers in AIR 15
• Operations Record Books in AIR 24
• squadrons and constituent formations in AIR 25, AIR 26 and AIR 27
• combat reports by squadron name and number in AIR 50

8. Convoys and operations with the Merchant Navy

8.1 War history cases and papers

Click on the series reference to search within ADM 199 for records of Royal Navy operations involving the Merchant Navy, including convoy records. Search using these phrases:

• “Trade Division”
• convoy AND reports

8.2 Western Approaches station records

ADM 217, Western Approaches Command, consists of an incomplete series of Reports of Proceedings from Senior Officers of Escorts and others, and is indexed by convoy and by Senior Officers’ ships. Use the search box embedded within ADM 217 to search by:

• ship’s name
• convoy number
• start or end date of the convoy voyage

8.3 Convoy reports

‘Convoy Packs’, in ADM 237, are convoy records maintained in the Operations Division of the Naval Staff. They include:

• reports of proceedings
• Commodores’ reports
• other papers

Click on the series reference to search within ADM 237 by:

• convoy number (for example, ‘OG 71’)

About half this series was destroyed.

9. Combined operations

Combined operations are operations with the other branches of the military, namely the Army, RAF or Royal Marines.

Use the advanced search in our catalogue to restrict your search to ADM 1, ADM 116 and ADM 199 and search using the term “combined operations”.

Browse or search by date in DEFE 2, records of the Combined Operations Headquarters, covering the planning and execution of all sorts of seaborne military operations.

Click on the series reference to search by name of unit or operation within ADM 202, for details of combined operations involving the Royal Marines.

10. Naval Intelligence records

A collection of reports and papers of the Naval Intelligence Division (N.I.D.) is in ADM 223.

In addition to texts of early decrypts of German naval wireless traffic enciphered on the ENIGMA machine, there are reports and summaries, both from N.I.D. and the Operational Intelligence Centre (O.I.C.), based on this ‘Special Intelligence’. These reports include:

• O.I.C. Daily Reports up to September 1940 (ADM 223/79-83)
• O.I.C. Special Intelligence Summaries from 1940 onwards (ADM 223/8-24, 43-50, 92-101, 170-175, 310-314, 321-329)

Consult The Battle of the Atlantic and Signals Intelligence for transcriptions of documents relating to ENIGMA and the Battle of the Atlantic selected from ADM 223.

Other records in ADM 223 include:

• general daily and weekly intelligence summaries in ADM 223/146-169, 830-834, 852-863
• ‘operational packs’ regarding particular engagements and operations in ADM 223/332-342, 507-619, 676-686, 697
• photocopies of documents not yet transferred, but cited in the footnotes of Volume 1 of The Official History of British Intelligence in the War in ADM 223/84-86, 107-108, 209, 212-214

Also consult:

• DEFE 3 which contains the texts of enemy signals, both naval and other, decrypted by the Government Code and Cypher School
• HW 1 which contains summaries of selected signals intelligence reports sent to the Prime Minister

11. Photographs

There are many photographs filed within the record series covered in this guide, but there is no single index to them, and no easy means of tracing them.

You can find some photographs using the advanced search in our catalogue, searching with “photograph” as your keyword (with or without additional keywords), selecting an appropriate date range and searching within ADM.

Search for photographs of:

• Royal Navy ships in ADM 176
• battle damage to ships, air and sea attacks and other photographs taken before, during or after operations in CN 1
• views of the Mulberry artificial harbours constructed for the Allied invasion of Normandy in WO 24

Consult our Photographic series guide for details of other ADM series that contain photographs.

Alternate collections of photographs of ships are held by the National Maritime Museum and the Imperial War Museum.

12. Further reading

The following recommended publications are available in The National Archives’ library.

Gordon Smith, The War at Sea: Royal & Dominion Navy Actions in World War 2 (Ian Allan, 1989)

Derek Howse, Radar at Sea: The Royal Navy During World War 2 (Macmillan, 1993)

Juurgen Rohwer and Gerhard Hummelchen, Chronology of the War at Sea 1935-1945: The Naval History of World War Two (Greenhill Books, 1992)

Myron J Smith, World War II at Sea: A Bibliography of Sources in English (Scarecrow Press, 1976)

David Syrett, The Battle of the Atlantic and Signals Intelligence: U-Boat Tracking Papers 1941-1947 (Ashgate, 2002)

David Syrett, The Battle of the Atlantic and Signals Intelligence: U-Boat Situations and Trends 1941-1945 (Ashgate, 1998)

1. Why use this guide?

This guide provides advice on how to locate records of immigrants to England and Britain from the 13th century onwards. It also covers records which reflect government policy towards immigration over the last 800 years.

The National Archives is the archive of central government in the UK. The immigration records we hold were originally created by the various government departments that recorded the arrival and existence of foreign nationals in Britain, as well those that formulated the government’s immigration policy.

Many records of individual immigrants have been destroyed so tracing someone’s arrival can sometimes prove impossible. There is no comprehensive index of names for immigrants.

You may also wish to consult one of our other research guides on related subjects, listed in the right-hand panel of this page.

2. Records of arrival

Many of our records of immigrants are records of ‘aliens’. An alien is someone who is born outside the country and does not have English parents (before 1707), or British parents (after 1707). From 1707 English and Scottish subjects were British subjects and from 1801 Irish subjects were also British subjects. If immigrants came to Britain from the British colonies they were not classed as aliens but were simply Britons.

The Home Office established an Aliens Department in 1913 (there having already been an Aliens Office in the 19th century) and many of the records of aliens at The National Archives are from that department.

2.1 Passenger lists

There are no passenger lists for people arriving in the UK by air.

2.2 Certificates and lists of alien arrivals

HO 2 contains original certificates of arrival of individual aliens in England and Scotland, arranged under the ports of arrival. These certificates include:

• nationality
• profession
• date of arrival
• last country visited
• signature and other details

Early certificates appear to have been destroyed. However, some records survive for the following dates:

• 1810–1811: FO 83/21–22 – aliens arriving in English ports
• July–November 1826: CUST 102/393–395 – accounts of aliens arriving in the port of London
• October 1826–August 1837: CUST 102/396 – accounts of aliens arriving in the port of Gravesend

HO 3 consists of returns of alien passengers made by masters of ships under section 2 of the Aliens Act of 1836. The lists survive for the period July 1836 to December 1869 but none survive from January 1861 to December 1866.

Earlier records relating to the arrival of aliens and aliens’ accounts are in local county archives, normally among Quarter Session papers. For example, certificates of alien arrivals issued at the port of Hull from 1793 to 1815 are held by Hull History Centre.

3. Records after arrival

In some cases the Aliens Department continued to take an interest in aliens long after their arrival, particularly at times of war. With questions of national security at stake the Home Office, both during the World Wars and later, amid the heightened security threat at the onset of the Cold War, sought to keep a close eye on foreign nationals living in the UK. Our records reflect these concerns.

3.1 Entry books, 1794–1921

Surviving in series HO 5 are entry books recording the out-letters of the Home Office and the Aliens Office relating to aliens and naturalization.

HO 5 includes registers of applications for denization, naturalization and exemptions, and indexes to the certificates of arrivals in HO 2 (see above).

3.2 Alien registration cards and registers of aliens from 1914

The Aliens Registration Act of 1914 introduced the requirement for aliens, other than those from British colonies or Ireland, to register with the police. They were required to give their name, marital status, address, occupation and other details. Though we only hold a sample of these registration records, from the London area only, you may be able to find registers of aliens from other parts of the country in local record offices.

Alien registration cards of London residents

Owing to the sensitive nature of these cards, they may be closed during the lifetime of the individuals concerned or until they can be assumed to be deceased. You can make a Freedom of Information request using the link in the catalogue description.

Registers of aliens from around the country in local archives

Use the advanced search of our catalogue to search other archives (scroll down to the ‘Held by’ section to select this option) for registers of aliens. Use the words ‘registers’ and ‘aliens’ and, optionally, the name of a county or city, as your keywords.

3.3 Aliens personal files since 1935

We hold a selection of files of the Aliens Department relating to individual aliens who entered the United Kingdom after 1935. They are held in series HO 382. Some of the files relate to famous individuals.

Search HO 382 by name to locate individual files. Many contain small photographs of the subject. Significant numbers of these records are closed and sight of them is dependent on a successful Freedom of Information request.

3.4 Records of internees: First and Second World Wars

During the First and Second World Wars both sides set up internment camps to hold enemy aliens – civilians who were believed to be a potential threat and have sympathy with the enemy’s war objectives. Internees were treated differently to prisoners of war and were given more privileges.

Some of these records are of people who were interned but others are of people who were exempted from internment.

For more detailed advice on these records see our Internees guide.

3.5 Records of the London Reception Centre at the Royal Patriotic Schools

This collection details the development of policy for the screening of internees at the Royal Patriotic School (RPS) between January 1941 and June 1945. The London Reception Centre was established to process aliens arriving in the UK, to gather intelligence from them on conditions in occupied Europe, and to screen arrivals for possible enemy agents. The screening centre for men was located at Trinity Road, Wandsworth, and at nearby Nightingale Lane for women.

The files include:

• interrogations of civilians arriving in the UK from abroad (KV 2) and WO 208/3663-3748
• correspondence and minutes of meetings of the sub-committee of the Home Defence (Security) Executive set up to run the London Reception Centre at the RPS (KV 4)
• lists of categories of people to be processed by the RPS (KV 4/339)
• reports of inspection visits to the school (KV 4)
• a list of the administrative staff at RPS in May 1941 at serial 68B (KV 4/240)
• a detailed note on the history of RPS at serial 211A (KV 4/342)
• a report from March 1941 at serial 49A (KV 2/339) which summarises the Security Service view of the schools and their importance

3.6 Operation Post Reports

Operation Post Reports (OPRs) date from the mid 1940s – 1950s and are the result of an initiative to investigate foreign nationals living in Britain at the onset of the ‘Cold War’. These individuals were required to report to the Aliens Office for an assessment of their potential risk to national security. Each OPR consists of a report containing some or all of the following details: Home Office reference number; Port and date of arrival in Britain; name; date of birth; place of birth; nationality; passport number; Police registration number; landing conditions; address at time of interview, occupation, religious denomination, marital status, place and date of interview

OPRs for up to 400,000 foreign nationals can be found in the series HO 481. They include refugees and displaced persons who fled to the UK. Most are for refugees from east Europe at the end of the Second World War but there OPRs for other refugees such as those from Hungary after the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.

Each OPR include a potted history of the individual’s status and time in the UK and an assessment of the individual’s security risk, which may include reference to any political affiliations. Often the OPRs contain phrases that would be considered offensive today.

The assessments were generally carried out by members of Special Branch.

Records in HO 481 are all closed for 100 years but a review can be requested  under the Freedom of Information (FOI) through our Catalogue, Discovery. Within HO 481, there are two different sets of volumes (each set running by surname A-Z), which have been intermingled and combined to form one sequence. Therefore, when searching for a surname, there is normally a chance of finding it in either of two volumes. To submit a review under FOI, you would need to identify the relevant piece or item and follow the prompts in Discovery. There are usually about 200-400 reports in each piece.

Scroll through the alphabetical ranges of HO 481 to locate the surname range you are looking for. Be aware of the probability that there will be two pieces covering roughly or sometimes exactly the same range.

3.7 Birth, baptism, marriage, death and burial registers, 1567-1970

Immigrants arriving from outside England or the United Kingdom were unlikely to have belonged to the Church of England. Those that retained the religion of their homeland would have had births, baptisms, marriages, deaths and burials recorded in non-parochial registers – where they were recorded at all.

We hold non-parochial registers, received from the General Register Office (RG 4 and RG 8). They include:

• registers of births and baptisms, marriages and burials for various periods between 1567 and 1857
• records formerly kept in the French, Dutch, German and Swiss churches in London and elsewhere (in RG 4)
• the archive of the Russian Orthodox Church in London, 1721–1927 (in RG 8), which contains more than just birth, marriage and death registers

All of the Dutch registers, and some of the French and German ones are for those countries Chapels Royal, but most are French (Huguenot) or German (Lutheran) church registers. There is only one Swiss church register.

4. Records of citizenship: denization and naturalisation

For hundreds of years, foreign nationals living in the UK have been able to attain British citizenship through naturalisation. The National Archives holds records of naturalisation up to 1 October 1986. For records since 1 October 1986 to the present you should go to the United Kingdom Visa and Immigration Service.

Denization was a legal process granting limited naturalisation to aliens. It granted a foreign national almost equivalent status of native-born Britons and provided them the protection of the law.

For more information about denization and naturalisation and advice on how to find the related records, see our research guide to records of Naturalisation, registration and British citizenship.

5. Earlier records, 13th to early 19th centuries

Searching for records of immigrants from the early modern and medieval periods involves largely speculative searches, though there were some sets of records from these periods created specifically to record immigrants or refugees of one kind or another. The earliest references to immigrants in England are in records of Chancery and the Exchequer.

5.1 Records of early-18th century German Protestant refugees

German Palatines came from the Middle Rhine region of what is now Germany, but was, in the early 18th century, part of the Holy Roman Empire. Thousands of them emigrated to England in 1709.

Embarkation lists of Palatine subjects shipped from Holland to England in 1709 are contained in a bundle of Treasury in-letters in T 1/119. Although these people were originally seeking a new life in the New World, many stayed in England. Other references to Palatines can be found in:

• the State Papers Foreign, Holland (SP 84)
• Colonial Office records (CO 5/1230–1231)

Lists of names traced in these series have been printed in WA Knittle’s Early Eighteenth Century Palatine Emigration; LD MacWethy’s The Book of Names Especially Relating to the Early Palatines and the First Settlers in the Mohawk Valley; and in The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, XL and XLI.

5.2 Records of French emigres, 1789 to 1814

In 1793 the Aliens Act introduced the first official immigrant registration system. It was introduced to manage the influx of people coming to Britain to escape the French Revolution.

For letters and papers concerning French émigrés, 1789 to 1814, look in:

• HO 69, Home Office records in the series of Bouillon papers
• PC 1, Privy Council unbound papers
• FO 95, Foreign Office miscellanea, series I
• WO 1, War Office in-letters

A descriptive note about all these letters and papers, and a full list of them in typescript, is available in the Open Reading Room. There are also names in registers and on pension lists in Treasury records of the French Refugees Relief Committee (T 93) for the period 1792 to 1828. These are described in PRO lists and indexes, no. XLVI (1922).

5.3 Early Chancery records

In records of Chancery there are documents from the reigns of Henry III to Henry VIII (1207–1547) relating to:

• alien clergy – C 269/15 and C 270/17/15
• foreign merchants – C 47/35/10/41-44

5.4 Records of the Exchequer

Records of the Exchequer include various documents and records related to immigration from 1229 to 1830:

• 1229 to 1483: E 106, King’s Remembrancer: extents of alien priories, aliens etc, which covers the period Edw I to Edw IV. The series includes documents relating to possessions of laymen who were foreign subjects and accounts of fines imposed on alien clergy
• 1523 to 1561: E 179, Exchequer subsidy rolls, including names of foreigners living in the city and suburbs of London and details of the taxes levied on them
• 1207 to 1830: E 101, Exchequer accounts various, including accounts of transactions involving foreign merchants living in London. These records extend over a long period, from Hen III to Charles I – see PRO Lists and Indexes, No. XXXV, pp 103–107

5.5 State Papers

The following state papers domestic include returns of strangers in London and elsewhere from 1232 to 1603, as well as other references to aliens:

• 1547–1553: SP 10 – Edward VI
• 1553–1558: SP 11 – Mary I
• 1558–1603: SP 12 – Elizabeth I
• 1547–1624: SP 13 – Elizabeth I: large documents
• 1603–1640: SP 14 – James I
• 1547–1625: SP 15 – addenda
• 1232–1665: SP 16 – Charles I
• 1649–1660: SP 18 – interregnum
• 1649–1688: SP 29 and SP 30 – Charles II

From 1560 onwards the state papers domestic contain names of Huguenots from France and Walloons from the Low Countries who emigrated as a result of Spanish persecution.

Some lists of the people mentioned in the above records also appear in the printed Calendar of state papers, domestic, Edw VI to James I (1537–1625), Vols I to V, which each have indexes and can be searched using State Papers Online (£) (institutional subscription required – access is free on the public computers at The National Archives) and British History Online.

You may be able to find names in the indexes to the printed calendars of SP 14–16, 18, 29 and 30.

Lists of names from these records can also be found in REG Kirk, Returns of aliens in London, 1523–1603, as well as:

• names of members of French and Dutch churches in London in 1561 and 1562
• returns of aliens in London in 1571
• lists of refugees settled at Norwich, Colchester, Rye, Sandwich, Canterbury and other parts of England

Short lists of names can also be found in J S Burn, ‘The history of the French, Walloon, Dutch and other foreign Protestant refugees settled in England from the reign of Henry VIII to the revocation of the Edict of Nantes’.

Lists of denizations of refugees escaping from the persecution of Huguenots in France, 1681 to 1688, are available in William A Shaw (ed), ‘Letters of denization and acts of naturalization for aliens in England and Ireland, 1603–1700’.

5.6 Parliament or patent rolls

Immigration records can be found in:

• Parliament rolls (C 65) – these contain records of many acts of naturalisation over a long period from c.1400
• Patent rolls (C 66–67) – these contain records of grants of denizations by letters patent c.1400–1844

There may be additional information on people naturalised by Act of Parliament in other collections held at The National Archives. For more guidance see our research guide on Naturalisation, registration and citizenship.

5.7 Treasury in-letters

Treasury in-letters (T 1) contain references to refugees and other foreign people who received annuities, pensions and other payments for their support, or in return for services rendered to the Crown. These can be traced in the indexes to printed volumes of the Calendar of Treasury papers, which covers the period 1556 to 1745.

6. Records in other archives

Other archives with records about foreigners settling in the UK:

• The London Archives
• the Bodleian Library, Oxford
• Cambridge University Library
• the Huguenot Society of London
• Lambeth Palace Library, London
• The National Archives of Ireland

7. Further reading

Most of the following publications are available in the The National Archives’ library. You can visit The National Archives shop for a range of related titles.

Family history and genealogy

Guy Grannum, Tracing Your Caribbean Ancestors (Bloomsbury, 2012)

Gerhard Hirschfeld, Exile in Great Britain: Refugees from Hitler’s Germany (Berg for German Historical Institute, 1984)

Roger Kershaw, Migration Records: A Guide for Family Historians (Kew, 2009)

Roger Kershaw and Mark Pearsall, Immigrants and Aliens: A Guide to Sources on UK Immigration and Citizenship (The National Archives, 2004)

List and Index Society, General Register Office list of non-parochial registers and records in the custody of the Registrar-General of births, deaths and marriages (List and Index Society, XXXXII, 1969)

L D MacWethy, The Book of Names Especially Relating to the Early Palatines and the First Settlers in the Mohawk Valley (Genealogical Publishing Company, 1933)

The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, XL and XLI (New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, 1909 and 1910)

Dhoeleka S Raj, Where Are You From?: Middle Class Migrants in the Modern World (University of California Press, 2003)

Michael Tepper (ed), New World Immigrants: A Consolidation of Ship Passenger Lists and Associated Data from Periodical Literature (Genealogical Publishing Company, 1979)

19th and 20th centuries

Shompa Lahiri, Indians in Britain: Anglo-Indian Encounters, Race and Identity, 1880–1930 (Frank Cass, 1999)

Lucio Sponza, Italian Immigrants in Nineteenth-Century Britain: Realities and Images (Leicester University Press, 1988)

Roger Swift and Sheridan Gilley (eds), The Irish in Britain 1815–1939 (Pinter, 1989)

Roger Swift and Sheridan Gilley (eds), The Irish in the Victorian City (Croom Helm, 1985)

Early Modern and Medieval periods

J S Burn, ‘The history of the French, Walloon, Dutch and other foreign Protestant refugees settled in England from the reign of Henry VIII to the revocation of the Edict of Nantes’ (London, 1846)

Calendar of Treasury Papers, 1556–1728 (Public Record Office)

Calendar of Treasury Books and Papers, 1729–[1745] (HMSO)

Peter Wilson Coldham, English Adventurers and Emigrants, 1609–1660: Abstracts of Examinations in the High Court of Admiralty with Reference to Colonial America (Genealogical Publishing Company, 1984)

Peter Wilson Coldham, More English Adventurers and Emigrants, 1625–1777: Abstracts of Examinations in the High Court of Admiralty with Reference to Colonial America (Genealogical Publishing Company, 2002)

Ian D Colvin, The Germans in England 1066–1598 (Kennikat Press, 1971)

R E G Kirk and Ernest F Kirk (eds), Returns of Aliens Dwelling in the City and Suburbs of London from the Reign of Henry VIII to that of James I (Aberdeen University Press, 1900–1908)

W A Knittle, Early Eighteenth-Century Palatine Emigration (Dorrance & Company, 1937)

Public Record Office, List of Various Accounts and Documents Connected Therewith Formerly Preserved in the Exchequer and Now in the Public Record Office: Bundles 1–603 [Henry III to George III] (Kraus Reprint, 1963)

William A Shaw (ed), Letters of Denization and Acts of Naturalization for Aliens in England and Ireland, 1603–1700 (Huguenot Society of London, 1911)

1. Why use this guide?

Until 1534, England was a Catholic country. Then, after years of upheaval, the 1559 Act of Supremacy made the Protestant Church of England the established church. Following this act there was a significant increase in the number of state records created documenting Catholics’ status and activities, subject as they were to new laws, taxes and a wave of persecution. The primary focus of this guide is on those records, especially from the 16th and 17th centuries, and how to find them at The National Archives. They include:

• records of penalties and punishments
• details of arrests
• letters from private citizens and spies sent to the authorities
• reports on Catholics sent by ecclesiastical and civil authorities
• baptism, marriage and burial registers

By the 18th century Catholics were no longer persecuted, but were still effectively barred from entering the professions, holding civil or military office, or inheriting land. Formal emancipation finally came in 1829 and state records relating to Catholics exists in smaller numbers from this date onwards.

Like all churches, Catholic churches kept their own records, though very few of these, in common with most local or parish church records, have found their way into The National Archives.

2. Catholic baptism, marriage and burial registers

Very few catholic birth, marriage and death registers are kept at The National Archives. They were collected together when the Registrar General called in the non-parochial registers in 1837 and 1857, part of the process of establishing the new system of civil registration. There are 77 in total, held in record series RG 4, and they originate from the following counties:

Most of these are baptism registers. Search the registers by name at BMD Registers,  one of our partner websites.

Perhaps so few catholic registers were surrendered because they contained records of illegal marriages; between 1754 and 1837, under the terms of Lord Hardwicke’s Marriage Act, it was a legal requirement to marry in the Church of England. Most of those that were handed over came from Yorkshire, Durham and Northumberland.

Find a list of all the catholic registers we hold using an advanced search of our catalogue, searching with ‘catholic’ and restricting the search to record series RG4. For more on catholic registers see section 4.

3. Catholic recusants

The 1559 Act of Uniformity imposed fines on all men who refused to attend Church of England services at their parish church and these people were known as recusants. Holders of public office and many others were required to swear an oath of loyalty to the Sovereign as head of the Church and records were kept of people who did and didn’t take these Oaths of Allegiance. Catholics could not accept the monarch as head of the Church, and so could not be loyal subjects in the eyes of the law.

Subsequent laws imposed numerous penalties and fines for non-attendance at Church of England services, for which there are equally numerous records, and catholics were effectively barred from inheriting land, entering the professions or taking up civil or military office. These punishments were not always strictly enforced and there was considerable variation according to time and place but the records of their issue, collection and enforcement provide a rich source of information on catholics during this period.

3.1 Catholic recusants in state papers

Within the records originally assembled by the State Paper Office (department code SP), one of the richest sources of information on catholics during the 17th  and 18th centuries, there are numerous details of and references to catholics. These include reports sent by ecclesiastical and civil authorities, letters from private citizens and spies as well as details of arrests and prosecutions.

3.2 Catholic recusants in other records

Details of catholic recusants can also be found in records relating to the imposition of fines or seizures of land for failure to attend Church of England services. The fines laid down in the 1559 Act of Uniformity for failure to attend church were collected by churchwardens and so do not appear in the central government records. After 1581, recusancy became an indictable offence, so fines levied were accounted for at the Exchequer (department code E) by sheriffs of each county. There are records of catholics who took the Oath of Allegiance, as well as of some who didn’t.

3.3 Searching the records

Searching online indexes by the name of an individual is either impossible or very problematic with records detailing catholic recusants. State papers (searchable under department code SP) are generally indexed by subject matter in our catalogue. However, not all documents in this department have a catalogue description and therefore some are unsearchable. Details of how best to search state papers, along with the other relevant record departments and series, are found in the following table.

3.4 ‘Papist’ returns

In 1680, 1706, 1767 and 1781, Parliament requested information about known or reputed Roman Catholics. This information was laid before the House of Lords and survives in the Main Papers (YHL/PO/JO/10). To find them, search the catalogue for the exact phrase “Papist Returns”. In most cases names are not given and only the total numbers of Catholics living in the area are recorded. Sometimes descriptions of individual people are given, including details such as age and occupation, but omitting the name. Sometimes names of individuals are given, especially in the Return for 1767. The 1767 returns have been transcribed and published by the Catholic Record Society (see Further Reading below).

Other Parliamentary material relating to Catholics recusants can be found by searching for terms such as ‘catholic’ and ‘papist’, including petitions.

3.5 Legislation

Public Acts of Parliament affecting Catholics will be published and some can be searched for on legislation.gov.uk. However they are not all available online. For more information see our research guide on Original Acts of Parliament and Royal Assent.

The original manuscript parchments of some of the most significant Acts have been digitised and are available on the catalogue including: Act of Supremacy 1534; Act of Uniformity 1551; Act of Uniformity 1558; Act of Uniformity 1662.

4. Records in other archives

Specifically catholic records are relatively few in number compared to many protestant denominations in England and the UK. The number of catholics themselves in England dwindled following the Act of Uniformity, and remained low from the 17th to the 19th centuries. Furthermore, between 1754 and 1837 it was a legal requirement to marry in the Church of England and though many Catholics were still married illegally according to catholic rites, registers for these illegal marriages were not generally kept since it might have been dangerous to do so.

The first new catholic chapels since the Reformation were built in the 18th century and more catholic registers were kept from 1791, but most do not begin until the early to mid-19th century. The earliest records were often kept in small notebooks or even loose sheets, which could easily be concealed or destroyed if necessary. Most surviving registers are for baptisms, and these often give more detail than Church of England registers, but there is considerable variation.

You can search our catalogue to find out what is held at catholic libraries, catholic archives and local records offices. Refine your results using the filters.

4.1 Catholic priests’ mission records

Until 1918, the catholic church was based on missions rather than geographical parishes; as a result some priests seem to have treated the registers as their private or personal property and many registers moved around with their keepers. Events from different places may therefore be entered in a single register. Many of these personal registers are in the custody of Archbishop’s House, Westminster. There is a list of these in ‘Sources for Roman catholic and Jewish Genealogy and Family History’ in the National Index of Parish Registers series. Others can be found at the catholic National Library which is part of Durham University Library.

4.2 Catholic parish records

The majority of catholic registers remain in the custody of parish priests, although a number have been transcribed and indexed by the Catholic Record Society. Many of these transcripts have been deposited at the Catholic National Library, and some are available at the library of the Society of Genealogists. Those that have been published are listed in the National Index of Parish Registers but a more comprehensive and up to date listing is contained in the six volumes of Michael Gandy’s Catholic Missions and Registers. Names and addresses of parish priests and diocesan archives are in the Catholic Directory, managed by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. The Catholic Archives Society website is also a useful source of information.

Some Catholic registers from local archives have been digitised and indexed. Search among the:

• Registers from Southwark Archdiocese, Diocese of Plymouth, Birmingham, Liverpool, Middlesbrough and Westminster at Findmypast.co.uk (£)

4.3 Church of England records

Although catholic registers may be relatively few in number, many Catholics appear in Church of England registers. Marriages between 1754 and 1837 had to be in the Church of England to be legally valid (even if the parties were also married according to catholic rites) and burials of Catholics might be in the Church of England parish churchyard, as there was often no other burial ground in the area. Catholic children might appear in the parish baptism registers, and they are not always identified as Catholics. Church of England clergy were required to supply lists of recusants in their parishes and as a result, the names of Catholics may appear in Church of England parish records, though not in the baptism, marriage or burial registers.

4.4 Catholic school records

Admission and discharge records for maintained schools, including many catholic schools, are held in county record offices. Many have been digitised and indexed an can be viewed online at Ancestry.co.uk (£) or at Findmypast.co.uk (£).

5. Further reading

Visit the National Archives’ bookshop for a range of publications useful for tracing your ancestors by their religion.

M Gandy, ‘Catholic parishes in England, Wales and Scotland: an atlas‘ (M Gandy, 1993)

M Gandy, ‘Catholic Missions and Registers 1700–1880‘ (six volumes) (M Gandy, 1998)

M Gandy, ‘Tracing Catholics ancestors‘ (PRO, 2001)

D Shorney, ‘Protestant Non-conformity and Roman Catholicism: a guide to sources in the Public Record Office‘ (PRO, 1996)

D J Steel, ‘Sources for Roman Catholic and Jewish Genealogy and Family History‘ (Society of Genealogists by Phillimore, 1974)

See also the multiple volumes of ‘Calendar of State Papers, Domestic’ published by various publishers including PRO.

This guide provides advice on how and where to search for records of ratings and officers who served in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR). The RNVR was established in 1903 and was made up of volunteers who served both on-shore and at sea. It was merged with the Royal Naval Reserve in 1958.

Not all Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve records have survived.

The Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve also administered the Mine Clearance Service (MCS), although men came from all branches of the Royal Navy. The MCS was established in 1919 to clear all sea mines.

What do I need to know before I start?

Online records

Records available only at The National Archives in Kew

Records in other archives and organisations

Other resources

This guide contains advice on how to search for records of Royal Flying Corps (RFC) airmen. Depending on when an airman served his records may be among the records of the British army or the Royal Air Force.

What do I need to know before I start?

Online records

Records available only at The National Archives in Kew

Records in other archives and organisations

Other resources

1. Why use this guide?

The National Archives holds a large quantity and variety of records relating to refugees. This guide will help you to find them.

You can find records on:

• refugee crises
• the treatment of refugees, including observer reports
• international law on refugees
• government policy on the relocation and settlement of refugees

There is also some advice on tracking down records of individual refugees but such documents are often very hard and sometimes impossible to find.

2. Definition of refugee

The definition of ‘refugee’ on which this research guide is based is the modern definition, as follows:

• a refugee is a person who does not enjoy the legal rights and protections of citizenship

This reflects the development of national and international laws arising from examples of forced, or otherwise necessary, migrations.

What are these records?

These records in series WO 373 are recommendations for military honours and awards for gallantry or distinguished service between 1935 and 1990, they are not campaign medals. They cover recommendations for awards to:

• British Army personnel
• dominions armies personnel

This collection also contains details of:

• some awards to members of the Royal Navy, Royal Marines and Royal Air Force
• decorations exchanged between British and Allied armies

The recommendations were made for various reasons including:

• gallantry in the face of the enemy
• ‘meritorious service’ (that is, not in the face of the enemy)
• distinguished service

How do I search the records?

You can search the records in Discovery, our catalogue, by filling in the form below.

You do not need to fill out every field to search these records.

What information do the records contain?

Each recommendation provides a detailed summary of the action or deed carried out by the person who earned the award. For some records the date will refer to the date of announcement in the London Gazette; for others it refers to the date of the action or deed which earned the award.

The collection includes recommendations for the following awards, presented in order of precedence (descriptions based on the system in force before 1993):

Victoria Cross

The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest award available to the armed forces for gallantry in action with the enemy. All ranks are eligible.

George Cross

The George Cross (GC) is the highest civilian award for gallantry. It may be awarded to members of the armed forces, irrespective of rank, for acts of gallantry other than in action with the enemy (for example, bomb disposal, rescue from minefields and so on).

Most Honourable Order of the Bath (Military Division)

The three classes, Knight Grand Cross (GCB), Knight Commander (KCB) and Companion (CB) were available to recognise outstanding services by senior officers, generally major-general or above.

Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (Military Division)

The five classes, Knight Grand Cross (GBE), Knight Commander (KBE), Commander (CBE), Officer (OBE) and Member (MBE) are awarded for meritorious service. A number of awards of OBE and MBE were made for gallantry ‘not in the face of the enemy’ (for example, bomb disposal and so on) and ranked below the George Medal.

Distinguished Service Order

The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) was awarded to commissioned officers for distinguished service, normally in positions of command but also, and much less frequently, for individual acts of gallantry.

Indian Order of Merit

Awarded for gallantry in battle displayed by members of the Indian Army. The Indian Distinguished Service Medal is awarded to Indian citizens in the forces for distinguished service.

Royal Red Cross

Available in two classes, Member (RRC) and Associate (ARRC) and is restricted to the Nursing Services of the armed forces. Award of the RRC is to more senior officers.

Military Cross

The Military Cross (MC) was awarded to officers for acts of gallantry during active operations against the enemy on land. In 1931 the award was extended to Royal Air Force personnel for gallantry on the ground.

Distinguished Flying Cross

The Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) may be awarded to all ranks for courage or devotion to duty while flying in active service against the enemy.

Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM)

Awarded to warrant and non-commissioned ranks for gallantry in action against the enemy.

Burma Gallantry Medal

Awarded to the Governor’s Commissioned Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers and other ranks of the Burma military, frontier and military police forces for acts of personal bravery in peace or on active service.

George Medal

The George Medal (GM) is the second highest civilian award for gallantry, ranking below the George Cross. It may be awarded to members of the armed forces, irrespective of rank, for acts of gallantry other than in action with the enemy (for example, bomb disposal).

Military Medal

The Military Medal (MM) was awarded to warrant and non-commissioned ranks for gallantry in action against the enemy. It ranked below the Distinguished Conduct Medal.

British Empire Medal

The British Empire Medal (BEM) was awarded to ranks below warrant officer for the same services as OBE and MBE.

Mention in Despatches

Commanders-in-Chief in the field submitted periodical lists of officers and soldiers who were ‘mentioned in despatches’. Award of a Mention ranked below MC or MM and could be for gallantry in action or for a wide range of services on and off the battlefield.

Foreign Awards to British recipients

Since the Second World War a significant number of British Army personnel have been granted an award for gallantry or meritorious service by a foreign nation. Many of these awards were for service alongside foreign troops or for service in places where there was little military presence.

The easiest way to search for such records is to do so by the name of recipient only.

A typical example

Avtar Singh was recommended for the Military Cross. This was approved and details were published in the London Gazette of 13 July 1945.  See Avtar Singh’s recommendation below.

Recommendation of Avtar Singh for the Military Cross (Army Form W3121) (TNA reference: WO 373/40/39)

Very often you will find the army form ‘W3121’, although other forms were also used.

The ‘miscellaneous images’ associated with each piece do not contain recommendations, but are related material. They appear to be paperwork created as part of the administrative process associated with awarding honours.

Why can’t I find what I’m looking for?

Only a few recommendations for Mentions in Despatches and the Most Honourable Order of the Bath have survived.

Prior to 1979 only the Victoria Cross and George Cross or a Mention in Despatches could be awarded posthumously.

A very small number of recommendations for honours and awards might not be found under a search by the name. It was not possible to index all of the series by name, because the original documents are quite complex.

If you can’t find an entry here, you may want to browse the entire series of recommendations for honours and awards (WO 373) by date order.

You should also be aware that in some cases the record will consist only of listings. This is where the person did not receive the award or the details of the circumstances have not survived (these particular documents may be downloaded free of charge).

1. Why use this guide?

You should use this guide for advice on how to find records at The National Archives created by and relating to the Privy Council, a group of advisers to the monarch that emerged during the middle ages. These records provide insights into the policies and day-to-day problems and issues of government between the 14th and 20th centuries, covering a broad range of affairs, including:

• law and order
• trade and industry
• colonial policy
• naval and military policy
• education and public health

1.Why use this guide?

This guide will help you to find UK copyright records held at The National Archives. Among these records is one of the great British photography collections of the Victorian and Edwardian eras, with well over 100,000 individual images. There is also a huge and wonderful collection of British branding and advertising images from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as well as records of the copyright protection of published books and musical scores.

The primary sets of copyright records held here are those originally held by:

• The Stationers’ Company 1842-1924 (but mostly up to 1912)
• The Stationery Office 1887-1955 (government publications only)

This photograph is among the tens of thousands of photographs registered for copyright and now held at The National Archives. The photograph was registered in 1892 (catalogue reference COPY 1/408/127).

These records include:

• details of literary and commercial books registered for copyright (1842-1912), including, in some cases, a copy of the title page of the book and the date of its first publication
• details of photographs, advertisement artwork, paintings and drawings registered for copyright (1862-1912), including, in many cases, reproductions or versions of the image
• details of dramatic and musical works registered for copyright

The records do not include:

• whole published works submitted as part of the copyright process – see the section on Copyright libraries for details of institutions which may hold these
• Copyright records and images from before 1842 or, in the main, after 1912 – see The Stationers’ Company Library and Archives for these

This image was registered for copyright in 1911 and is among the many commercial artworks held in our collection (catalogue reference COPY 1/302).

To view records referred to in this guide you will either need to visit The National Archives or order digital or paper copies to be sent to you (£). The vast majority of the records are not available to view online. However, there is a good selection of photographs, artwork and advertising from this collection available to preview in our Image Library.

Watch our Spotlight On: Copyright Office video for a brief introduction to copyright records at The National Archives.

2.What are these records?

Our copyright records come from two very distinct branches of government and make up two very different collections – it’s the records of the Stationers’ Company where you will find the photographs and artworks.

2.1 Copyright records of the Stationers’ Company 1842-1924 (but mostly up to 1912)

Between 1554 and 1924 individuals and businesses could apply to secure copyright by submitting an application for registration to the Stationers’ Company.

The copyright records held at The National Archives are those that were registered under the terms of a succession of copyright acts which began in 1842, including the following:

• The Copyright Act 1842

The key piece of legislation for records held here. The Act fixed the term of copyright at either 42 years or the life of the author plus seven years, whichever proved longer. The Act decreed that a copyright registry would be kept at Stationers’ Hall, the home of the Stationers’ Company. It covered only literary and commercial works.

• The International Copyright Acts of 1844, 1852, 1875 and 1886

Registration of foreign authors’ works began at Stationers’ Hall in 1846, in accordance with the 1844 Act.

• The Fine Arts Copyright Act 1862

This extended the terms of the 1842 Copyright Act to paintings, drawings and photographs. This Act conferred copyright protection for the life of the author plus seven years.

• The Imperial Copyright Act 1911

The Imperial Copyright Act of 1911 repealed the 1842 Act. The 1911 Act gave protection to all copyrighted material without the requirement for registration. The statutory registers at Stationers’ Hall therefore closed on 30 June 1912, except for those which recorded works first published in the self-governing dominions (for example, Canada and Australia). These continued to be registered for each dominion until it adopted the Act and such registrations continued until 31 December 1923, when our copyright records of the Stationers’ Company come to a close. The Act also required a copy of every book published in the United Kingdom to be deposited at the British Library (then part of the British Museum).

After the final expiration of statutory registration in 1924, the Stationers’ Company set up a new, voluntary register which was maintained until April 2000 (see section 7.1). After the voluntary register closed no further registrations were taken.

Throughout the period of copyright registration the procedure was often disregarded, partly because of the fees for registration but more importantly to avoid the obligation to provide complimentary copies for copyright libraries.

A wide range of images were registered for copyright protection under these Acts. Some examples include:

• Photographs of people and places
• Press photographs
• Paintings and illustrations
• Advertisements
• Artwork for product packaging or branding
• Designs for stationery and greetings cards

2.2 Copyright records of the Stationery Office 1887-1955

The Stationery Office is responsible for the copyright, printing, publication and sale of government publications.

Most of the Stationery Office records held at The National Archives are those of the working life of the office itself, as opposed to copyright records per se. However, there are some records that make reference to specific works of copyright (see section 6).

3. The record types and their content

The process of registration required the copyright proprietor to fill out an Entry Form with a description of the work and their personal details. This information was then entered into the Copyright Registers. We hold both the forms and registers here.

3.1 Entry forms

Entry forms often include copies of the title pages of books, or copies of the photographs or artwork being registered.

The entry forms include the following information:

• dates of registration or first publication
• titles of publications or descriptions of the works supplied
• details of the copyright proprietor and the creator of the work (the author, photographer or artist)
• name of publisher and place of publication (for published works)

All entry forms are held in series COPY 1 (see section 4).

This entry form is dated 15 December 1906 and has a copy of the image being registered attached to the form. The image is a combined photograph and drawing created for an advertisement for Cadbury’s Chocolate. (catalogue reference COPY 1/504/220).

3.2 Copyright registers

Copyright Registers include the same details as those recorded in the entry forms, as listed above.

There are original indexes for the registers.

There are separate registers for the various categories of works:

• ‘Books, Literary’ registers, which covered:
  • published plays and fiction
  • pamphlets
  • research guides of a technical nature
  • printed music
  • prints
  • games
  • advertising matter
• ‘Books, Commercial’ registers, which covered:
  • labels
  • trade marks
  • catalogues
  • advertising matter
• ‘Paintings and Drawings’ registers, split into ‘artistic’ and ‘commercial’ works
• ‘Photographs’ registers
• ‘Dramatic and Musical’ registers
• ‘General Series’ registers which covered all the above fine arts entries from 1862 to 1883
• Foreign entries and registers

The registers and indexes are held in series COPY 3 (see section 5).

3.3 Label Books

Label Books 1873-1912 are scrap books which mostly duplicate items in COPY 1 – they contain pasted-up labels, cards, commercial advertisements and the like.

Label books are found in record series COPY 2. To find an entry you must select a year range and leaf through the original book itself.

4. How to find entry forms (including copies of photographs and artwork)

All entry forms are held in series COPY 1. Photographs, prints and other representations of registered works come attached to the entry forms and their existence is usually highlighted in the catalogue description.

You can use our online catalogue to search by keyword and year in COPY 1 for entry forms of the following:

• Most of the photographs and artworks registered for copyright from 1862-1882
• All of the photographs registered for copyright from 1883-1912

Your keywords can be of the following types:

• description of the image (such as the name of the person, place, subject or theme depicted)
• name of the copyright proprietor (owner), photographer or artist
• address of the proprietor (owner), photographer or artist

This photograph of people bathing in the Ganges in Benares was registered in 1907 in the name of Walter Meakin. It’s listed in our catalogue as a photograph and as a ‘coloured postcard’ (catalogue reference COPY 1/514/30).

To find the reference for the photograph shown above in our catalogue you could search in COPY 1 with any of the following: ‘Ganges’, ‘Benares’, ‘Walter Meakin’ or even ‘coloured postcard’, though for the latter you would have a lot of results to pick through.

Not all entry forms have a copy of the work attached. If you are searching specifically for copies of works, check the record descriptions carefully as they usually indicate whether or not a copy is attached with a phrase such as ‘copy annexed’ or ‘no copy annexed’.

If you can’t find an entry form using keywords you can try browsing COPY 1 by date and type of entry. However, as all works other than photographs and artworks are not listed in our catalogue in individual detail, including books, musicals and plays, you will need to know the year and probably the month of registration to have a hope of finding anything.

Also bear in mind that descriptions are written in the language common at the time. If you cannot find what you are looking for, try considering the language used to develop different keywords for your search.

5. How to find entries in copyright registers

All registers are held in record series COPY 3.

The copyright registers in the COPY 3 series are arranged chronologically and are not searchable by keyword in our online catalogue. There are, however, original indexes to some of the registers (listed in the tables below) arranged alphabetically by the name of the copyright proprietor. You can use the paper indexes to find a volume and page number for the entry in the respective register – you will need to visit us to do so.

When a register entry is followed by the words ‘Copy Annexed’, it means that a copy of the work is attached to the original entry form in COPY 1.

5.1 Books registers

Assignments, up to and including 2 July 1883, are included in the registers with the original entries. They are included separately at the end of each volume.

5.2 Fine arts registers (including photographs, paintings and drawings)

The registers in this division include both original entries and assignments of all paintings, drawings and photographs registered.

From 1862 to 1883 all the fine arts entries are in a ‘General Series’ of registers.

Register types	References for registers	References for indexes
Paintings, Drawings & Photographs 1862-1883 in ‘General series’ registers	COPY 3/104-118	COPY 3/200-203
Paintings & Drawings 1883-1912	COPY 3/119-163	COPY 3/204-212
Photographs 1883 – 1912	COPY 3/164-199	COPY 3/213-220
Dramatic & Musical 1873-1922	COPY 3/221-224	COPY 3/225-226
Paintings and Drawings: Artistic 1906-1912	COPY 3/149-152
Paintings & Drawings: Commercial 1906-1912	COPY 3/153-163

The details of the copyright registration of this image, and many others commercial artworks, appear in the ‘Paintings and Drawings: Commercial” registers. The image itself, registered in 1909, is held in COPY 1 (catalogue reference COPY 1/288).

5.3 Foreign entries and registers

Between 1847 and 1854 foreign copyright entries were made in the General Series of Registry Books, but these are indexed separately.

After 1883 the Foreign Register is divided into separate divisions such as books, music or prints. Before 1883 assignments for books, music, prints, sculpture and so on are included in the General Series, at the end of each volume.

Register types	References for registers	References for indexes
Foreign Entries 1846-1912 (inc. in General)	COPY 3/4-7	COPY 3/251-256
Foreign Representations Dramatic 1883-1912	COPY 3/221, 223, 224, 250
Foreign Sculpture, Paintings & Drawings 1883-1888	COPY 3/248-249
Foreign Prints 1883-1888	COPY 3/247
Foreign Books 1883-1891	COPY 3/241-242

One of the foreign entries in our copyright records, registered in 1907. The address of the copyright owner of this photograph was in Rangoon in Burma, now known as Myanmar (catalogue reference COPY 1/514/560).

Note: Domestic Registers which continue beyond 1912 do so as Registers for Dominions (principally Canadian) works.

6. How to find Stationery Office records

All Stationery Office records are held in the STAT department.

Most of the Stationery Office records held at The National Archives are those of the working life of the office itself, as opposed to copyright records per se. However, the following records cover copyright issues and specific works of copyright:

• out-letters from 1888-1955 in STAT 4
• registers of in-letters from 1888-1921 in STAT 5
• files of copyright correspondence from 1887-1955 in STAT 14/27–255

7. Records and resources held elsewhere

7.1 Records of the Stationers’ Company held at Stationers’ Hall

For copyright records from between 1554 and 1842 and voluntary registrations from 1912 until April 2000, you should visit The Stationers’ Company archive. Please note that these records do not include copies of registered works.

To find individual records from 1710 to 1842 you need to consult the original registers at the archive itself and it’s essential to know the date of publication as no reliable index exists (there are less than perfect indexes up to 1750 and no indexes at all after 1750). For entries up to 1709 you can consult the transcripts in the following publications, though they are available only in specialist and academic libraries:

• A Transcript of the Registers of the Company of Stationers of London 1554-1640, ed Edward Arber (1875-1894)
• A Transcript of the Registers of the Worshipful Company of Stationers from 1640 to 1708 (1709), ed Briscoe Eyre (1913-1914)

The Stationers’ Company holds records of voluntary registration from 1912 to 2000. These records consist only of registers and do not include copies of registered works.

7.2 Copyright libraries

The following copyright libraries hold complimentary copies of publications:

• The British Library
• The Bodleian Library in Oxford
• The Cambridge University Library
• National Library of Scotland
• The library of Trinity College Dublin
• National Library of Wales

8. Further reading

The following publications are available at The National Archives’ library in Kew.

Sidney Hodgson, The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers: Archives and Portraits (Stationers’ Hall, 1953)

Hugh Barty-King, Her Majesty’s Stationery Office: the story of the first 200 years, 1786-1986 (H.M.S.O., 1986)

Robin Myers, The Stationers’ Company Archive: An Account of the Records 1554-1984 (St Paul’s Bibliographies, 1990)