§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the date and title of the oldest document or archival unit retained by his Department which has not been passed on to the Public Records Office for release for public inspection. [7206]
§ Dr. ReidService personnel records are routinely retained for about seventy five years so that my Department can respond to any administrative matters that may arise such as, for example, pension entitlement. The oldest such documents are Royal Naval ratings ledgers covering the period 1892–1923. These records will be assigned to Public Record Office class ADM 188 with transfer taking place during 1998.