References to Material in the National Archives

Over the years, many of the reports produced as accounts of Government research have found their way into the public records of the originating nation. In the USA the military reports relating to Chemical Warfare Agents that are available for public review are indexed by the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) and can be accessed via the website http://www.dtic.mil. In the UK, similar reports are held in The National Archives and can be accessed through the website http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk. In this book, the references to reports in The National Archives (UK) are referenced using the system used by the archive, so that each report can be searched for and located using its unique reference number. The number consists of a two letter code identifying the contributing department and a series number. The series number may consist of two numbers separated by a forward slash. A piece may be a single item or a collection of documents. If the reference is part of a collection, an additional item number may be added to identify the document within the piece. For example, WO 1234/56/7 would indicate item 7 of piece 1234/56 entered into the archive by the War Office.