Hanslope Park

Coordinates: 52°06′18.0″N 00°48′32.4″W / 52.105000°N 0.809000°W / 52.105000; -0.809000
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Construction work at Hanslope Park

Hanslope Park is located about half a mile south-east of the village of

His Majesty's Government Communications Centre ('HMGCC') and FCDO Services.[1]

History

The manor was part of the

gamekeeper, shot his master and then committed suicide.[5] Robin Watts owned the house until 1939, when it was bought by Lord Hesketh who handed it over to the War Office when it was requisitioned in 1941.[3]

In the

cryptologist Alan Turing worked there in the latter part of the war on secure speech "scrambling".[7] Today HMGCC researches, designs, develops and produces communications systems, equipment and related hardware and software.[8]

Foreign and Commonwealth Office archives

Hanslope Park gained publicity in 2011 for its extensive collection of Imperial records held as part of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's archive of

Foreign and Commonwealth Office migrated archives. It was described by Caroline Elkins as "the fortress-like warehouse for top-secret government files".[9]

These archives produced documentation that, unlike other papers, was never made public in the

Mau Mau uprising against British rule in Kenya, and their disclosure led to compensation being paid to people who had been maltreated at Hola camp and other places.[10]

In 2014, following reporting by the Guardian,[11] a group of journalists were allowed to visit the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's archives at Hanslope Park, and briefed on the issues relating to the declassification of the archive material, estimated to comprise roughly 1.2 million documents.[12]

The British government published guidance and a report on the scope of the task, including details of a rough timeline for the "weeding" and declassification process, originally in 2013 and updated from time to time.[13]

References

  1. ^ "FCDO Services' contact page". FCDO Services.
  2. ^ HMC 9 Salisbury Hatfield, vol. 20 (London, 1968), p. 128.
  3. ^ a b "Note from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Foreign and Commonwealth Office Services prior to the Committee visit to Hanslope Park". House of Commons. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  4. ^ "Hanslope Park - An Historical Background". Open University. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  5. ^ "Hanslope Park: Home of Britain's 'real-life Q division'". The Register. 5 July 2013. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  6. ^ Vendeville, Geoffrey (16 May 2016), "Keeper of World War secrets tells all", Toronto Star: GT2
  7. ISBN 978-0099116417
  8. ^ HMGCC, retrieved 25 May 2012
  9. ^ Elkins, Caroline (29 October 2023). "King Charles, Britain already admitted to torture in Kenya, no need for you to choke on an apology". The Observer.
  10. ^ Dominic Casciani (12 April 2011). "British Mau Mau abuse papers revealed". BBC News. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
  11. ^ Ian Cobain (18 October 2013). "Foreign Office hoarding 1m historic files in secret archive". The Guardian. London.
  12. ^ Katie Engelhart (14 May 2014). "Will the UK Government Ever Release These Secret Files to the Public?". Vice magazine.
  13. ^ "Guidance: FCDO archive records". Foreign & Commonwealth Office. 22 June 2022 [First published 24 July 2013 and updated from time to time].

52°06′18.0″N 00°48′32.4″W / 52.105000°N 0.809000°W / 52.105000; -0.809000

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