IDENTITY STATEMENT
Reference code(s): GB 0813 POST 102 Series
Held at: British Postal Museum and Archive: The Royal Mail Archive
Title: Post Office: Registered Files: DF Series
Date(s): 1936-1967
Level of description: Series
Extent: 50 files
Name of creator(s):
No further information available
CONTEXT
Administrative/Biographical history:
The system of 'minuting' papers submitted to the Postmaster General by the Secretary to the Post Office for a decision (ie numbering the papers, and separately copying a note of the paper as a 'minute' into volumes indexed by subject) was introduced in 1793. It remained in use by the Post Office Headquarters registry until 1973.
Until 1921, several different major minute series were in use: that concerned with the Packet Service (POST 29), and those concerned with England and Wales (POST 30), Ireland (POST 31) and Scotland (POST 32). From 1790 until 1841, parallel 'Report' series were in use by the Secretary (POST 39 and 40).
In 1921, the several different minute series were replaced by a single all-embracing series (POST 33). This was suspended in 1941 as a wartime measure when a Decimal Filing system came into use (POST 102), but was resurrected in 1949. In 1955 the registration of Headquarters files began to be decentralised under several local registries serving particular departments, although the 'minuting' of cases considered worthy of preservation, and the assimilation of later cases with earlier existing minuted bundles, continued until 1973.
CONTENT
Scope and content/abstract:
This class comprises Post Office headquarters files which, as a time saving wartime measure, were recorded under a Decimal Filing system, instead of the previously used 'Minuted' system. Like the minuted series, the files cover a diverse range of subjects and registry staff continued to add files to the series after it had nominally been closed in 1949: consequently, records date up to 1967. Subjects covered in the papers include inland and overseas telecommunications during and after wartime, the issue of stamps, and Post Office administrative records, such as those covering the introduction of the Decimal Filing system.
The Decimal Filing system was a simple system based on numbers being allocated to particular subjects or headings, with decimal extensions of these numbers being allocated to subheadings: e.g. 10 = Postal Packets, 100 = Letters (Ordinary). No record volumes were created for the Decimal Filing series; papers were filed in batches according to the common serial number allocated for a particular subject.
ACCESS AND USE
Language/scripts of material: English
System of arrangement:
Please see Scope and Content
Conditions governing access:
Public Record
Conditions governing reproduction:
Please contact the Archive for further information.
Finding aids:
Please contact the Archive for further information.
ARCHIVAL INFORMATION
Archival history:
Immediate source of acquisition:
Please contact the Archive for further information.
ALLIED MATERIALS
Related material:
GENERAL GUIDE TO REPORTS AND MINUTES:
POST 102 is one of several POST classes that contain reports and minutes that have been generated at Headquarters level, usually for the purpose of bringing a variety of Post Office matters to the attention of the Postmaster General. Records can relate to people, places or subjects. The various POST classes that hold these records cover the years 1790-1973. The reason there are numerous classes for such records is that organisational changes have occurred within the Post Office through the decades and different and sometimes overlapping systems have been put in place for such record keeping. For a fuller understanding of central records and how the POST classes that they can be found in relate to each other, readers are advised to consult the 'Guide to Reports and Minutes', which includes a timeline that illustrates what periods and subjects are covered by the various POST classes and how they relate to each other. This can be viewed in the BPMA search room or online. For now, here are two pointers.
1. As a rule of thumb, there are two POST classes for each run of records. One class contains the full paperwork for each case ('papers') and the other class is likely to contain an index or series of précis to this material ('volumes'). This means that the indexes of a 'volume' class will often list the material in the corresponding 'papers' class by subject, name, or place.
2. There are a number of POST classes that address issues such as Packet Service minutes, Scottish minutes, Irish minutes and miscellaneous matters. However, the principal classes likely to address central issues of general importance for England and Wales are:
1790 - 1840: POST 40 (POST 42 volumes)
1840 - 1921: POST 30 (POST 35 volumes)
1921 - 1955: POST 33 (POST 38 volumes)
(1941 - 1948): POST 102 (overlaps with POST 33)
1955 - 1973: POST 122 (also POST 35 volumes)
POST CLASSES SPECIFICALLY RELATED TO POST 102:
The records in POST 102 predominantly cover the 1940s. However, POST 33 (Postmaster General's Minute Papers) is very closely related in that it contains the same sort of material as POST 102 and covers the years 1921-1955. The decade that POST 102 covers therefore overlaps with POST 33.
Consequently, for records after 1948 (when the Decimal Filing system ended) up to 1955, see POST 33. For records beyond 1955 of a similar nature, see POST 122 (Minuted and Decentralised Registry Papers).
Similarly, for records before 1941 (when the Decimal Filing system began) as far back as 1921, also see POST 33. For before 1921 of a similar nature, the best starting place is POST 30 (England and Wales Minute Papers).
DESCRIPTION NOTES
Archivist's note: Entry checked by Barbara Ball
Date(s) of descriptions: Entry checked June 2011