IDENTITY STATEMENT
Reference code(s): COL/TCD/CD
Held at: London Metropolitan Archives
Title: TOWN CLERK'S DEPARTMENT: CIVIL DEFENCE
Date(s): 1938-1987
Level of description: Collection
Extent: 0.01 linear metres
Name of creator(s): Corporation of London
CONTEXT
Administrative/Biographical history:
The office of Town Clerk can be traced back to 1274, when it was referred to as the office of Common Clerk. The Town Clerk was responsible for recording the minutes of the Common Council and all of its Committees as well as for general record keeping and administration.
In the present day, the Town Clerk and Chief Executive of the City of London has authority over all other City of London officers as is necessary for the efficient management and execution of the City of London's functions. He is also the City of London's principal advisor on matters of policy through the Policy and Resources Committee. The Town Clerk's department at the City of London is responsible for a number of areas of work, including servicing meetings of the Court of Common Council and Court of Aldermen, their committees, sub-committees and working parties. Other areas of work include taking responsibility for investigating complaints against the City of London from members of the public, acting as the Electoral Registration Officer and being responsible for the City of London's public relations, economic development and human resources.
CONTENT
Scope and content/abstract:
Records of the Town Clerk's Department relating to civil defence, including Fire Guard registration files, 1941-1943; correspondence, reports and depositions regarding the administration of the D 20 Fire Guard zone, 1943; Civil Defence Registration, an index of enrolment notices under Civil Defence Duties (Compulsory enrolment) (City of London) order 1941, and Civil Defence Duties (compulsory enrolment) (City of London) (No 2) order, 1942, 1941-1942, with register of Civil Defence Volunteers, 1942-1943; log of messages received at City Control Depot, including air raid warnings and their classification, dispatch of stretcher and rescue parties, and daily reports, 1939-1941; list of aid treatment at first aid posts in the City of London of casualties caused by enemy action, 1939-1945; papers relating to the identification of civilians killed by enemy action, 1941-1946 (please note these records are closed); notes on Invasion Preparations containing material on general policy, evacuation and refugees, restriction of movements and supplies (food, petrol), communications and information, mutual aid between military and civil powers and so on, [1941]; sample building plans of first aid posts, cleansing stations, respirator stores and gas chamber, [1938]; book of permits issued to various individuals to make plans and sketches of air raid damage in the City, 1940-1942; notes, memoranda, correspondence and press cuttings regarding the Invasion Defence Scheme and the formation of the City of London Civic Guard, 1942-1943; Civil Defence Circulars on bombs, gas bombs, the Fire Guard, invasion defence, operations bulletins, organisation and training, air raid precautions and unexploded missiles, 1940s; anti-gas arrangements at the Port of London, 1940s; papers regarding water supply during the war, 1941-1942; examples of the certificates issued to members of the City of London Civil Defence General Services 1939-1945, at the conclusion of hostilities, 9 May 1945 and papers relating to Defence Medal claims, 1945-1979.
Also Civil Defence Corps Divisional Annual Reports for the City of London, 1964-1967; papers relating to Exercise STRIVE and Exercise GRAPPLE, 1967; papers relating to the disbanding of the Civil Defence Department, 1967-1968; correspondence with the Society of Industrial Civil Defence Officers and the Civil Defence Instructors Association, 1950-1960; War Emergency Planning correspondence, 1967-1984; correspondence regarding plans in the event of peace time disasters, 1978-1981; correspondence and other papers regarding plans in the event of a Thames flood, 1974-1981; correspondence, agenda for conferences, reports of Corporation and other committees and of London Fire and Civil Defence Authority and various circulars on emergency procedures in London, 1986-1987; papers, minutes and correspondence of the City of London Emergency Planning Committee, 1969-1978 and papers of the City of London Civil Defence Instructor Association, 1954-1979.
ACCESS AND USE
Language/scripts of material: English
System of arrangement:
In sections according to catalogue.
Conditions governing access:
These records are available for public inspection, although records containing personal information are subject to access restrictions under the UK Data Protection Act, 1998.
Conditions governing reproduction:
Copyright: City of London
Physical characteristics:
Fit
Finding aids:
Please see online catalogues at: http://search.lma.gov.uk/opac_lma/index.htm
ARCHIVAL INFORMATION
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information:
Accruals:
Archival history:
Immediate source of acquisition:
Corporation of London Records Office.
ALLIED MATERIALS
Existence and location of originals:
Existence and location of copies:
Related material:
See COL/SJ/05/031 for list of the Civilian War Dead of the City of London. For Corporation of London records relating to the military, defence and wars, see CLA/050: City of London Lieutenancy, CLA/051 City Imperial Volunteers, COL/CC/CDC: Court of Common Council Civil Defence Committee, COL/CC/CDE: Court of Common Council Civil Defence (Emergency) Committee, COL/CC/MTC: Court of Common Council Militia Committee, COL/CC/SEC: Court of Common Council Special (Emergency) Committee, COL/CHD/MN: Chamberlain's Department: Military and Naval, COL/CHD/PR: Chamberlain's Department: Poor and other Relief, COL/CHD/CM: Chamberlain's Department: Chamber accounts, COL/CT: Charities, COL/MH/AD: Mansion House Administration, COL/SJ/05: Subject Series: Subjects - War and COL/SJ/10: Subject Series: Subjects - Honourable Artillery Company, COL/TCD/CD: Town Clerk's Department: Civil Defence, COL/PL: Plans for maps of the City produced during and after World War Two showing air raid damage, defences and jurisdictions.
Publication note:
DESCRIPTION NOTES
Note:
Date(s) of descriptions: February 2009