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Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, King's College London

Gassed: British chemical warfare experiments on humans at Porton Down


IDENTITY STATEMENT

Reference code(s): GB 0099 KCLMA Gassed

Held at: Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, King's College London

Title: Gassed: British chemical warfare experiments on humans at Porton Down

Date(s): 1915-2000

Level of description: Collection (Fonds)

Extent: 39 boxes (0.39 cubic metres)

Name of creator(s): Evans | Robert | b. 1964 | journalist and author

CONTEXT

Administrative/Biographical history:

Rob Evans (b 1964) is a Guardian journalist . His book, Gassed: British chemical warfare experiments on humans at Porton Down was published by House of Stratus, London, 2000.

CONTENT

Scope and content/abstract:

Papers, 1915-2000, relating to background research by Rob Evans for his book, Gassed: British chemical warfare experiments on humans at Porton Down (House of Stratus, London, 2000), including: copy Public Record Office papers, 1915-1919, relating to the development and use of poison gas on the Western Front, World War One; copy Public Record Office papers relating to meetings of the Chemical Defence Advisory Board of the Advisory Council on Scientific Research and Technical Development, 1947-1968; copy Public Record Office papers relating to the testing of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), 1954-1967; Porton Down annual reports, 1991-1994; Public Record Office papers on the testing of V class nerve agents, 1961-1964; copy Public Record Office papers, 1921-1953, on the use of tear gas in the British Empire; papers on the development and use of CS tear gas, 1919-2000; papers on the use of pepper spray, 1922-1999; copy Public Record Office papers on the testing of radioactive material, 1956-1964; Public Record Office papers relating to biological warfare trials, 1953-1977; transcripts of interviews done by Observer Films for ITV documentary, Secrets of Porton Down, broadcast 1994; copies of parliamentary answers relating to chemical testing on volunteers, 1995-2000

ACCESS AND USE

Language/scripts of material: English

System of arrangement:

Rob Evans' original thematic arrangement has been retained

Conditions governing access:

Open, subject to signature of reader's undertaking form.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Copies, subject to the condition of the original, may be supplied for research use only. Requests to publish original material should be submitted to the Trustees of the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, attention of the College Archivist

Physical characteristics:

Finding aids:

Collection level description. Creator's detailed list available in hard copy in the Centre's reading room

ARCHIVAL INFORMATION

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information:

Accruals:

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

Presented to the Centre by Rob Evans, 2002

ALLIED MATERIALS

Existence and location of originals:

Originals of the majority of documents in the collection are held in the National Archives (Public Record Office), Kew, Richmond, Surrey

Existence and location of copies:

Related material:

The papers of Maj Gen Charles Howard Foulkes, held in the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, include material relating to the introduction and use of chemical warfare on the Western Front, World War One, and the proposed use of gas warfare in the North West Frontier Province, India, 1919-1920.

Publication note:

DESCRIPTION NOTES

Note:

Archivist's note: Compiled by Kate O'Brien

Rules or conventions: Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997

Date(s) of descriptions: June 2003


INDEX ENTRIES
Subjects
Armed forces | State security
Chemical/biological warfare | Warfare | Military engineering
Clinical medicine | Medical sciences
Disabled war veterans | Disabled persons | Disadvantaged groups
Drug abuse | Addiction | Social problems
Drug psychotherapy | Psychotherapy | Clinical psychology | Psychiatry
Military medicine | Medical sciences
Narcotic drugs | Drugs | Pharmacology
Rights of soldiers | Rights of special groups
Substance abuse | Diseases | Pathology
Surgery | Medical sciences
War | International conflicts
World War One (1914-1918) | World wars (events) | Wars (events)
World War Two (1939-1945) | World wars (events) | Wars (events)
Abuse
International relations
Medical research
Military organizations
Psychology

Personal names
Evans | Robert | b. 1964 | journalist and author

Corporate names
Advisory Council on Scientific Research and Technical Development
Chemical Defence Advisory Board
Chemical Defence Establishment
Chemical Defence Experimental Establishment
Chemical Defence Experimental Station

Places
London | England | UK | Western Europe | Europe
Porton Down | Wiltshire | England | UK | Western Europe | Europe