Shingle Street Suffolk

National Archives did not have the information requested.

Dear National Archives,

I request the following information under the FOI Act

Do you still hold 'closed' files on the events regarding Shingle Street, Suffolk during WWII?

If so when will the files be released?

If you do hold any remaining files and they are not to be released can you state in what year they will be released?

Thank you

Yours faithfully,

John Cooper

FOI Requests, National Archives

Dear Mr John Cooper,
 
Thank you for your enquiry of 29/11/2020 11:01 regarding a review of a
record held at the National Archives. 
 
In line with the new national restrictions in England, The National
Archives’ reading room service is suspended from 5th November 2020 for the
wellbeing of our visitors, staff and suppliers. Processing of FOI Requests
will continue, but access to the records will be affected; newly released
material is normally available to view in our reading room. Our main news
pages, details the services which are currently operating to facilitate
access. Please do [1]keep checking here for any changes.
 
We are handling your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
 
From our initial assessment it is clear that we will not be able to answer
your request without further clarification. Under section 1(3) of the Act,
a public authority need not comply with a request unless any further
information reasonably required to locate the information is supplied. 
In order to progress your request we require clarification on the record
you are seeking. Please search our archive using this link:
[2]https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/
  
Please provide as much information possible as this will assist us in
providing a more guided response and possibly assist you in getting the
information you require. 
Please send your clarification by reply this email, or by contacting:
 
FOI Centre
The National Archives
Kew
Richmond
Surrey
TW9 4DU
[3][email address]
 
We have now placed your request on hold until we receive clarification
from you. Please quote the reference number CAS-66200-H4Z9N1 in all
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FOI Administrator
Freedom of Information Centre
Government & Information Rights
The National Archives 
 
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FOI Requests, National Archives

Dear John Cooper,
 
Thank you for your information request to The National Archives. We are
handling your request and have given it reference number CAS-66200-H4Z9N1.
 
We will update you on the progress of your request by 29/12/2020 23:59.
 
Your request is being processed by The National Archives’ Freedom of
Information Centre. To learn more about the work of the FOI centre please
visit the following webpage: [1]www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/foi/
 
Yours sincerely,
 
The Freedom of Information Centre
Government & Information Rights 
The National Archives
Please don't print this e-mail unless you really need to.

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Dear FOI Requests,
reference number CAS-66200-H4Z9N1.
I do not understand why you do not appear to understand my request, perhaps more simple I could write
What 'closed' files on Shingle Street, Suffolk during WW2 do you hold in the National Archives? If you do still hold some files when will they be released into the Public Domain, eg Date Jan 1st 2021

Yours sincerely,

John Cooper

Dear FOI Requests, National Archives

May I respectfully suggest that my FOI is overdue, therefore may I have a reason and a response from you

Yours sincerely,

John Cooper

foienquiry, National Archives

Dear Mr Cooper,

Thank you for contacting The National Archives of the United Kingdom.

We may have records relating to your enquiry and the way to find out is to
try searching for document references in our online catalogue. However,
please first bear in mind that we are currently closed to the public due
to Tier 4 restrictions and that many of our services, including our record
copying service, are suspended until further notice.

Nearly all records, whether open or closed, are identifiable using our
online catalogue. A keyword search suggests that we hold no immediately
identifiable closed records relating to “events regarding Shingle Street,
Suffolk during WWII”.

Without full details of what you are referring to, anything other than
basic investigations were impossible, but I have tried searches based on
what I believe you mean.

Referring to information obtained online, it is believed that you are
referring to reports of a failed German invasion, or experiments in
weapons technology occurring there.

Document [1]HO 207/1175, regarding the evacuation of the civil population
from the village of Shingle Street in East Suffolk, was released by the
Home Office during the early 1990s in response to calls for greater
openness prior to the Freedom of Information Act as an example of a
subject which was held to involve a cover up by the authorities. It is
thought that this is the file often mentioned in news reports as being
hoped to answer the question of what occurred, but it is understood this
file contains no particular information directly relating to the supposed
event in question. In reports this is often referred to as being due for
release in 2021. Unfortunately, because the record was transferred to what
was then the Public Record Office as an open record, it is not recorded in
our catalogue what the original intended date of opening was, and ongoing
COVID-19 restrictions prevent staff from inspecting the file cover to
confirm this.

Files relating to what is reported as an anti-invasion measure used at
Shingle Street, such as [2]HO 186/2776 regarding petroleum sea fire, are
also openly available.

A small number of closed documents also have closed descriptions, making
keyword searches not possible. A search for any such documents dated to
1940 or 1941 could not identify any likely document which could not be
eliminated by referring to either the context of the document or the title
of a parent file where the closed item was part of a larger document.
There were 17 closed description items from a total of 70,571 closed
items.

You are welcome to [3]search our catalogue using keywords and dates of
your own choice to see what is held by The National Archives and at over
2,500 other archives across the UK. For advice on searching effectively,
read [4]our catalogue help pages or our [5]blogs on using the catalogue.

Your catalogue search results will provide you with short descriptions of
the records and details of where they are held (keep an eye on the ‘Held
by’ line for each search result). If the record is held at The National
Archives the full description (which you arrive at by clicking on its
catalogue title) will indicate your ordering and viewing options. If there
is a digitised version of the record available, in some instances you can
download a copy direct from our catalogue but in others you will be
directed to the website of one of our commercial partners (and there may
be a subscription cost to download the record from their site). Many of
our records are not available online and for these you can order paper or
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us before you request copies). However, if the record is held at another
archive you will need to contact that archive directly to find out how you
can see their records.

When we re-open to the public, you, or somebody acting on your behalf, are
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view original records and download online versions for free. Please check
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on our website for our regular [9]opening times and advice
on [10]researching here.

The limitations on our resources mean we are unable to offer free
research, beyond catalogue searches, but I hope the above advice allows
you to carry out this research yourself.

Yours sincerely,

Remote Enquiries Duty Officer
[11]www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Please consult The National Archives [12]news pages for up-to-date
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