by Dr Tim Powell
Introduction
Although visions of being able to transport passengers and cargo by aeroplane had appeared in print prior to the First World War, it was only after that conflict, with the huge advances in aircraft design and capacity and with the many surplus aircraft available on the market, that commercial aviation began in earnest. In January 1920, under the Air Navigation Act, civil aviation became the concern of the Air Ministry that had been established in 1918.
As civil aviation progressed in scale and ambition, by the early 1920s it was evident that French and German airlines, operating with their governments' support posed a threat to the viability of British aviation. At the same time, people were beginning to see the possibilities of airlines for political and economic imperial control, through the swift transmission of post and personnel that was being made possible by regular, organised flight.
In 1923 the Hambling Committee recommended the creation of a national airline, merging the four largest airlines, and the following year Imperial Airways was created from British Marine Air Navigation, Daimler Airways, Handley Page Transport Ltd and the Instone Air Line. The new airline was heavily subsidised initially, but was not a publicly-owned company. Oversight was maintained by the Air Ministry and within the Ministry by the Civil Aviation Department. In 1936 the department was expanded but following the Air Navigation Act of the same year, certain functions in respect of civil aircraft were delegated to an Air Registration Board, constituted in 1937.
Civil aviation was curtailed by the outbreak of war in 1939 and on 1 April 1940, Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd were merged into a single state-owned company, British Overseas Airways Corporation. The new airline continued to operate, though obviously its routes were much affected by the conflict.
Until April 1945 civil aviation continued to be the responsibility of the Air Ministry. However, this changed with the Ministry of Civil Aviation Act 1945 which transferred it to the newly-created Ministry of Civil Aviation. The charge of oversight and regulation of civil aviation thereafter was complex, with responsibilities being transferred between ministries, departments and offices fairly frequently.
On the establishment of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Air Services Division was formed and this was primarily responsible for the development of British civil aviation and relations with air service operators. With the Civil Aviation Act 1946, which nationalised the principal UK civil airlines, BOAC had seen its European and South American services passed to the newly-formed British European Airways (BEA) and British South American Airways respectively (although the latter returned to BOAC in 1949).
In October 1953 the Ministry of Civil Aviation was merged with the Ministry of Transport to form the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation. Then in October 1959 all the civil aviation functions of the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation were transferred to the Ministry of Supply, which was simultaneously disbanded and reconstituted as the Ministry of Aviation. A number of new divisions were created including Overseas Policy, Economic Planning and General Policy, and the new Air Transport Licensing Board was given powers to licence independent civil air services for the operation and maintenance of scheduled services.
This arrangement lasted until 1966, when most of the civil aviation functions of the Ministry of Aviation were transferred in stages to the Board of Trade, where a new Civil Aviation Department was set up. The Ministry of Aviation was abolished the following year when its remaining functions were passed to the Ministry of Technology.
In 1967 the Government set up a Committee of Inquiry into Civil Air Transport. The Committee reported in 1969 (the Edwards Report), and one of its recommendations was to establish a statutory body responsible for civil aviation. This new authority would bring together civil aviation functions previously undertaken by the Board of Trade, the Ministry of Technology and the Air Transport Licensing Board. No action was taken immediately and on the merger of the Board of Trade and the Ministry of Technology in October 1970 to form the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the new department took over all their civil aviation functions.
This changed in April 1972, with the creation of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), broadly in line with the Edwards Report's recommendation. Most civil aviation supervisory and regulatory functions were transferred to the new Authority. Although the DTI continued to exercise ultimate responsibility for the policy, development and international relations aspects of civil aviation, the authority was otherwise independent and was expected to conduct its affairs on a commercial basis. The overall aims of the CAA were to promote the British aviation industry and, in particular, to ensure the continuing operation of at least one large British airline. The Civil Aviation Act 1980 increased the authority's discretionary powers, and lessened the degree of control exercised by the government, and these powers were further strengthened by the Civil Aviation Act 1982.
At the same time as the creation of the CAA another recommendation of the Edwards Report was implemented, with the creation of a single board to manage BOAC, BEA, Cambrian Airways and Northeast Airlines. Two years later this British Airways Board unified its branding, effectively establishing British Airways as a single publicly owned airline. The airline was instructed to prepare for privatisation in 1981 and was floated on the London Stock Exchange in February 1987.
The records of British airline operators at The National Archives
As this brief oversight shows, the British government took a continued interest in the civil aviation sector from an early date, up to and beyond the complete privatisation of the airline industry, whether for purposes of imperial administration and control, or, after the Second World War, as overseeing a nationalised industry. Consequently, the UK National Archives (TNA), the place of deposit for records of the British state, contains thousands of files that relate to the operation of civil aviation and airlines.
However, these files are not to be found in the records of any single government department; as indicated above, over the decades a number of departments have been concerned with Britain's airlines and thus relevant material can be found within a considerable number of departmental collections. Furthermore, as responsibilities frequently overlapped or were transferred between government departments, so the records for a single area of responsibility or project can be found spread over a range of collections. A good example is that of Laker Airways. This airline attracted particular official attention as its operations impacted the UK carrier, British Airways, relations with the USA, competition policy, and other areas. Records relating to it can be found in many series, including the Board of Trade, the Civil Aviation Authority, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department of Trade and Industry. With the obvious exceptions of the national carriers, no other British airline has so much material relating to it in the official record.
Records are transferred to The National Archives by government departments and other Public Records bodies and therefore generally reflect the order in which they were received by The National Archives. Consequently, the arrangement of material within series is not always as helpful as one would wish. This makes focused research challenging but to some extent reflects the range of interactions across government and its agencies. It should also be warned that the listing of material in the series and files ranges from the extremely detailed to the highly sketchy.
The notes below exclude records relating to registration, airworthiness and so forth of individual civil aeroplanes or of air accidents (thus nearly all the material listed under ‘Cambrian Airways' relates to the crash of a Cambrian Airways Viscount at Liverpool in July 1965).
Finally, it should also be noted that the company records of Imperial Airways, BOAC, BEA or British Airways, even as nationalised bodies, were never defined as Public Records. They therefore remain outside the scope of the Public Records Act and are not held by The National Archives.
Records created or inherited by the Ministry of Aviation and successors, and related bodies, reference AVIA
This includes records created or inherited by the Ministry of Aircraft Production, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Aviation and successors, and related bodies. It includes general records relating to the direction of civil aviation, the Air Registration Board and so on, but civil aviation covered much more than liaison with and regulation of airline operators, of course, and the series include aircrew licensing, air traffic control, aerodromes and airports, and other areas. AVIA 2 has much material relating to the government's approach in the early years of civil aviation, for example, AVIA 2/14, 30 and 32 (1921) refer to a scheme for payment of subsidies to Aerial Transport Companies, while AVIA 2/26 and 2/27 are files relating to payments specifically to Handley Page Transport Ltd and S Instone and Co Ltd for cross-channel services in 1921-22.
Records of the Civil Aviation Departments of the Board of Trade and successors relating to responsibilities for civil aviation, reference BT
This includes records inherited from the Ministry of Aviation and its predecessors, including the Civil Aviation Department of the Air Ministry and, from April 1945, the Ministry of Civil Aviation covering a wide range of civil aviation matters including airports, flying regulations, and aircraft accidents as well as air services. In general coverage of civil airline operators is stronger than in AVIA, reflecting the nationalisation of the industry. In BT 217 (Air Ministry and Successors: Civil Aviation (R Series) Files), for example, BT 217/19 covers the ‘Lancastrian aircraft: British Overseas Airways Corporation Development Unit reports' 1945-46, and BT 217/20 European and internal services policy 1944-46. The International Relations Division series (BT 245) includes files dealing with the international relations dimension of civil air services.
At BT 257 are records of the Air Transport Advisory Council established under the Civil Aviation Act 1947. It acted as a licensing authority for the assessment of proposed agreements between British European Airways, British Overseas Airways Corporation and air charter companies to operate routes in the UK. In 1961 the Council's role was taken over by the Air Transport Licensing Board under the Civil Aviation (Licensing) Act 1960 (see DR 3/181).
BT 384 includes material relating to the privatisation of British Airways at BT 384/360-361, 363-408, 416-421 and elsewhere, and the series also contains appeals against Civil Aviation Authority (see below) licensing decisions, for example, BT 384/423-434, with Laker Airways material from 1980 at BT 384/106-112.
Records created or inherited by the Civil Aviation Authority, reference DR
This comprises central records of the Civil Aviation Authority and Air Registration Board and of other CAA departments, boards and committees. DR 3 contains general files of the Air Registration Board and CAA relating to licensing, 1938-90, unfortunately not listed beyond series level. At DR 4 are subseries of representative case files of the Air Registration Board and files of the CAA relating to similar licensing functions, DR 4/362-371 for example, are applications for a scheduled service (class 1) license and airlines documented here include Air Anglia, Air UK Ltd, British Air Ferries, Dan Air Services, Manx Airlines and others. There are applications for other service licenses, such as charter licenses at DR 4/379 (Laker) and 380 (British Midland).
DR also includes gathered versions ('snapshots') of CAA departmental websites, captured since 1999 together with websites of agencies and other bodies associated with the CAA. DR 108 is the CAA's own website while at DR 117 is the Authority's Thomas Cook Has Ceased Trading website. These records may be accessed via the UK Government Web Archive.
Records of the Department of Trade and Industry, reference FV
This includes records of FV 17, the Ministry of Technology's Air C Division and successor bodies. Although chiefly concerned with the government's relationships with the aircraft manufacturing industry, there is material relating to airline operators, for example, FV 17/17 Committee of Inquiry into the Civil Air Transport Industry (the Edwards Committee), and FV 17/116-121, covering British Airways fleet development. The department's general correspondence files include records relating to individual airlines and allow research into, for example, the development of budget airlines such as Laker Airways.
Other departmental collections
The principal departmental collections at The National Archives are listed above. However, this by no means exhausts the records relating to airline operators. The support of Britain's airlines particularly those under State subsidy or ownership, the operation of strategically important air routes, and relations with airlines of other countries, were not just a matter for the relevant Departments of State and the operators themselves. Such matters were of interest to the Foreign Office, Dominions Office, the Office of the Prime Minister, the Treasury and so on.
Records of the Colonial Office (CO), Dominions Office (DO), Foreign Office (FO) and Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)
We see, for example that CO 323/1324-1326 and CO 323/1726-1727 relate to the development of aviation in the Colonies; CO 537/3283 covers BOAC aircraft and equipment (1948); while the 1949 merger of BOAC and British South American Airways features in CO 937/82/3. Series from the Dominions Office and Commonwealth Relations Office include DO 35/507-525 - transatlantic services and the Empire Air Mail Scheme 1937-41. At DO 35/4885 are records of the commemoration of the 21st anniversary of BOAC/Qantas Air Services between UK and Australia. Foreign Office General Correspondence relating to Civil Aviation in FO 371 is varied and wide-ranging including FO 371/70137 on the purchase of aircraft from Aer Lingus by BOAC and possible BOAC assistance in operating Aer Lingus services to the USA in 1948, and FO 371/176160 on the BOAC service to South America 1964.
Series FCO 14, 1967-73, contains the records of the departments of the Foreign and Commonwealth Offices, and their successors, on questions relating to international communications, including civil aviation (airlines and airports, air service agreements, traffic rights and routes). Laker Airways, 1967-68 is the subject of FCO 14/61, and FCO 14/64 relates to BOAC/Air India/Qantas/Air New Zealand/and others.
Records of the Office of the Prime Minister (PREM) and Cabinet Office (CAB)
There is interest in the strategic development and direction of UK civil aviation from highest levels of government, as the examples here indicate. Papers at PREM 8/1124 consider the merger of BOAC and British South American Airways in 1949-50, those at PREM 11/2241 relate to the provision of new jet aircraft for BEA in 1957-58, while discussions on the order of the VC-10 by BOAC in 1964 are at PREM 11/4676. At PREM 15/227 are discussions of a BEA order for the Lockheed TriStar in 1971.
Cabinet Office material is also varied, two memoranda, for instance are at CAB 129/109/36 (on the proposed Cunard-BOAC joint company) by Peter Thorneycroft, May 1962, and CAB 129/118/42 relates to the VC.10 and BOAC's South American services, by R A Butler, July 1964.
Records of pre-nationalisation railway companies (RAIL)
Not all records relating to civil aviation and airline operators are to be found in the obvious records series. In the years before 1939 there were agreements between train companies and airlines which are documented in the RAIL series. A couple of examples are RAIL 420/334, which includes records relating to an amalgamation involving the London, Midland and Scottish Railway Co, Isle of Man Steam Packet Co, Blackpool and West Coast Air Services, Olley Air Services and Isle of Man Air Services, and RAIL 420/340 relating to an agreement between LMS Railway Co, and British Airways, Northern Airways, Highland Airways and others for air services for Scotland in 1938.
Records of the Treasury (T)
Operating an airline is an expensive business. During the periods when the UK government undertook financial support of the national carriers, whether through ownership or subsidy, the Treasury took a keen interest in strategic developments.
As noted earlier, on its creation Imperial Airways was initially subsidised by the UK government to help it compete against continental rivals. The Treasury was thereafter sometimes closely involved in matters relating to the support of Britain's national airlines. Series include the 1923 records of the Hambling Report, which recommended the creation of Imperial Airways and the public subsidy of it (T 161/561 and 562), while the records at T 160/872 and 873, and T 161/947 are related to Imperial Airways and the formation of BOAC in 1938-39.
This interest continued after the Second World War, of course. Searching for ‘British European Airways' in The National Archives' search engine Discovery, one finds the second highest number of ‘hits' are from Treasury records. Civil aviation features particularly in subseries under T 319 (e.g. BOAC T 319/101-118; BOAC and BEA T 319/119-128).
Conclusion
This summary overview offers an indication of the range of material held at The National Archives and highlights the series in which a researcher into UK airlines is likely to find relevant records. The nature of the records ranges widely from subjects such as the merits of particular routes to high-level government strategy and everything in between.
For searches for records on particular airline operators, the use of Discovery, The National Archives' search facility will be essential. Results from an initial search can be enhanced to good effect through use of the advanced search, filter and browse functions. However, one should be aware that not all the series and subseries are catalogued to the same level and in some there is very limited detail.
This section is Crown Copyright and may be used under the terms and conditions of the Open Government Licence, provided it is reproduced accurately and not used in a misleading context.