Where can I find information about family members who used to work for the FCO/Colonial Office/India Office/Diplomatic Service?

All four organisations produced staff handbooks listing their employees:

The India Office Staff Lists are held at the British Library (Asia, Pacific and Africa Collections).
http://www.bl.uk/collections/asiapacificafrica.html

Staff handbooks for the FCO and the Colonial Office are available in The National Archives reference section. Arrangements can be made to view these along with other records at The National Archives.
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

How can I trace family members born overseas from the Colonial period?

The National Archives Family Records Centre holds the majority of certificates and other information from the British Colonial period. A free on-line booklet about relatives and tips for searching can be downloaded. The web site provides a comprehensive guide to family records with links to the various sections of records.
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/familyhistory.

British Subjects/Citizens who were born, married, entered a civil partnership, or died in certain Foreign or Commonwealth countries, and whose birth, marriage, civil partnership or death was registered with the British Consulate or High Commission, may obtain copies of the registration entry from the General Register Office
http://www.gro.gov.uk.

How can I view letters and reports produced by the FCO?

Government Departments hold unpublished material for a period of thirty years. After this date the files will be assessed for confidentiality and relevancy. If the files are 'unclassified' then they are sent to The National Archives: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk.

Where can I find publications that were in the India Office collection?

In 1947 the India Office and Colonial Office merged. The library collection of the India Office was transferred to the British Library. The collection is housed in the Asia, Pacific & Africa Collections Department. Any queries about the collection and the material should be directed to the British Library.

The British Library
Asia, Pacific & Africa Collections
96 Euston Road
London
NW1 2DB
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)20 7412 7873
Fax: +44 (0)20 7412 7641
Email: oioc-enquiries@bl.uk
http://www.bl.uk/collections/asiapacificafrica.html

Where are British Embassies' files held?

While some files may be retained within the British Embassies, most are filed either within the FCO's Information Management Department or at The National Archives. Some post files may not have survived because, for example, the post was evacuated or environmental damage occurred.
The National Archives website maintains an on-line catalogue for searching the lists of files. More information is available on their web site.
http://www.catalogue.nationalarchives.gov.uk/default.asp

Where can I obtain information on Military Attaches who served in British embassies overseas?

Contact either the Ministry of Defence (MOD), the MOD Veterans Agency (historical data) or The National Archives.

http://www.mod.uk/defenceinternet/home
http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceFor/Veterans/
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk.

How can I find information about an historical event connected to the British Royal Family?

The British Royal Family has an archive of historical material, including letters and papers of past monarchs. To find out about information in the Archive or if you have a specific enquiry, please contact the Royal Archives in written form only.

Further information about this service is on the Royal website but please note there may be a charge for this service:

The Registrar of the Royal Archives
Windsor Castle
Windsor
Berkshire
SL4 1NJ.
http://www.royal.gov.uk

How do I find out about Colonial and Commonwealth records?

For information on colonial and commonwealth records you should consult the British Documents on the End of Empire Project (BDEEP) which holds an extensive documentary record of the final stages of Britain's association with the colonies of the formal empire. Established in 1987 under the auspices of the British Academy and based at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies in the University of London, BDEEP is currently one of the UK's largest and most successful historical research projects. It was described in 1996 by the British Academy as 'an outstanding academic success, a model for other Academy Research Projects both in its scholarship and management, and fully worthy of the Academy's continued endorsement.'

Website: http://commonwealth.sas.ac.uk/british.htm

How can I find out about the Special Operations Executive (SOE)?

All the operational files for the wartime Special Operations Executive (SOE) have been released to The National Archives (TNA), where any member of the public can gain access to them. They are located in record series HS. The surviving SOE Personal Files (PFs) have also been transferred to TNA. There are also some documents and oral records about SOE at the Imperial War Museum. Due to the sensitive personal nature of many of these files the Lord Chancellor has stated that SOE personnel files remain closed for the lifetime of the individual concerned (i.e. for 100 years from 1930). If a researcher can demonstrate that the person whose file they wish to examine is deceased, or indeed if you are a living SOE agent and wish to examine your own file, then The National Archives will make the relevant record available. Enquiries should be addressed in the first instance to:

Howard Davies
Records Management Department
The National Archives
Kew Surrey, TW9 4DU

Email: howard.davies@nationalarchives.gov.uk

What is the British Diplomatic Oral History Project (BDOHP)?

The British Diplomatic Oral History Programme (BDOHP) can be accessed at the Churchill College Archive Centre. It comprises interviews with former diplomats or other officials who describe the role they have played in events bearing on international relations.

Website: http://www.chu.cam.ac.uk/archives/collections/dohp.php

What is the Diplomatic Service list?

Brief biographical details of former members of the Diplomatic Service and the Colonial Service may be obtained from the Diplomatic Service List (1856 to 1996) or the Colonial Office List. Copies of these lists are held at TNA and research libraries, but are not widely available. If you do not have easy access to them, FCO Historians may be able to help - but bear in mind that many people who worked for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and its predecessors, the Foreign Office and the Colonial, Dominions and Commonwealth Offices, do not appear in the lists. Information on former members of the Indian Civil Service may be found in the India Office records at the British Library (see above).