Items medium note

Series number

AWM86

Series title

Army Signals [Army Headquarters Signal Traffic 1952-1954]

Series contents range

01 Jan 1950 – 31 Jan 1955

Extent

12.5 m

Access conditions

Subject to the Australian Archives Act (1983)

Agency controlling

Department of Defence

Custodial Agency

Australian War Memorial

Function and Provenance

Series 86 consists of a small portion of signals traffic passing between Army Headquarters (AHQ) and major subordinate organisations between 1950 and 1955.

Signals traffic, utilizing a variety of radio frequency ranges, was a crucial component of communications between headquarters and subordinate units from the mid-War years until the recent advent of digital communications. During the 1950s, AHQ relied extensively on radio signals traffic to supplement the even more traditional paper based communication means. Signals traffic delivered the full range of material, from routine to urgent, classified and unclassified and trivial and critical. Standard practice was to retain a paper copy of every signal sent and received.

The primary function of AHQ was administrative (“raise, train, sustain”) while military district and formation HQs were responsible for implementation and theatre commands were responsible for operations. This means that the vast majority of the AHQ traffic concerned administrative matters which are normally of little interest to history.

Copies of AHQ signal traffic between 1950 and 1954 were transferred to Canberra for archiving in 1957. Subsequently they were appraised as being of little historical value and some 57 cases of records were recorded as destroyed by burning in 1959. Those that survived this culling process form the contents of AWM 86.

Content

This series consists of three groups of signals, divided by date of release of the signal as follows:

• 1952:

[1-6] Signals from MILCOMD Brisbane to AHQ

[7-15] Signals from MILCOMD Sydney to AHQ

[16-18] Signals from MILCOMD Melbourne to AHQ

[19-22] Signals from MILCOMD Adelaide to AHQ

[23-26] Signals from MILCOMD Perth to AHQ

[27-28] Signals from MILCOMD Hobart to AHQ

[29-30] Signals from MILCOMD Darwin to AHQ

[31-33] Cipher Traffic from BRITCOM Japan to Defence Melbourne

[34-36] Signals from AUSTARM Japan to AHQ

[37-39] Signals to AUSTARM Japan from AHQ

[40] Signals from Australian Defence London to AHQ

[41] Signals from War Office and Ministry of Defence London to AHQ

[42] Signals from AUSTMIL Washington to AHQ

[43] Signals from Australian Joint Services Staff (AJSS) Washington to AHQ

[44] Signals from AHQ to Australian MILCOMMANDs

[45-46] Signals from miscellaneous overseas stations to AHQ

[47-49] Signals from AHQ to other domestic bases

[50-53] Signals from AUSTARMY London to AHQ

[54 Parts 1, 2, 3] Signals from AUSTARMY London to AHQ

• January 1953:

[54 Part 4] Signals from AUSTARMY London to AHQ

• 1954:

[56-9] Signals from AUSTARMY London to AHQ

[60] Signals from UK Service Liaison Staff to AHQ

[61] Signals to Director, Military Training from AHQ

[62-4] Signals from AHQ to Australian MILCOMMANDs

[65-7] Signals from MILCOMD Brisbane to AHQ

There is also a small set of signals files from the Post-Korea period in 1954-55 which have not yet been assessed.

Titles used in the address blocks include:

• MILCOMD – Military District Command HQ
• BRITCOM – HQ British Commonwealth Occupation Forces Japan
• AUSTARM Japan – HQ Australian Army Forces Japan
• AUSTMIL – Australian Army Attaché
• AUSTARMY London – Australian Army Staff London

System of Arrangement and Control

The files are arranged in simple numerical order imposed by the War memorial. They are sorted into chronological order (primarily the year of release) and then grouped by originator of the transmission. Within the files, copies of the signal traffic for each day are stapled together and filed in reverse time-stamp order.

Using the Series

The entire series was has an access status of "OPEN". Records are available to be viewed in the Reading Room at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra and more information can be found at: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/research-at-the-memorial

Sources

AWM86 Series Dossier