How the File was Invented

Abstract The file is synonymous with British bureaucracy but it had a long gestation from at least the 16th century. It emerged slowly from the chrysalis of the docket during the 19th century, differentially in the various departments of state and became a fixity following reforms in the aftermath of the First World War. Even then the system of recording information in government was not uniform and was subject to the exigencies of the financial crisis and the commitment of officials. Although India and the rest of the Empire had separate administration, there was very little attempt to manage and preserve information effectively. Most initiatives met only with partial success and were often resented by junior officials. Registries in keeping with long-held commitment to paucity in government spending were and are poorly staffed and resourced. This article traces the evolution of the file until its demise in the digital age.

in the India Office rarely if ever visited the subcontinent and often had only scant or hearsay knowledge of the country and its people. 7 The same was true of most colonial possessions, as contrary to external perception that British governments had little real interest in the Empire until it was challenged in the late 19 th century. 8

Filing
As we will see, the development of the file was a stepchange from the chronological methods of filing which had been used in courts and in diplomatic correspondence. The file allowed papers on the same subject to be brought together in the same place so that all the records relating to a single matter were to hand for a civil servant or minister to deal with. Careful filing of papers was regarded by observers as a key to

The Docket
As across most written cultures, the foundation of modern administration was the filing of dockets that recorded transactions. They were always a single item, normally dealing with a single subject and referenced and stored individually. In Britain, they were folded and

Confidential Prints and Blue Books
In

Reorganisation of the Registry System
In parallel with the Foreign Office registry review, the Treasury conducted a similar investigation that was designed to create, for the first time, a uniform system across the Home Civil Service and the Colonial Office.
Conducted by W. T. Matthews, the review was completed by May 1919 and was accompanied by printed »Notes for the use of Registry Branches«, which was painstakingly edited and revised in consultation with permanent secretaries and registry clerks across government. 107 The permanent secretary at the wartime ministry of National Service commented with a hint of sarcasm: The need for ›notes‹ such as you propose to issue is very obvious to those of us who have had to deal rapidly with a large correspondence. It is very obvious List of related files. This could be either the previous and next file in a series or files which were related by subject.
from the highest to the lowest, wasted, while wrong decisions will be given through the absence of essential information. 109 The way files were to be organised and numbered or titled in what has become known as a file plan was left to every department to decide for itself, as it had always been. 110

Digital Demise
The registry systems put in place after the First World War continued with modification and division as government business expanded throughout the 20 th century. The filing system that Sir Christopher Foster remembered had been invented but it was not without the problems as Barbara Craig has shown and was notoriously poorly staffed and resourced. 137 The whole system collapsed with the advent of the digital era. This was brutally exposed in the inquiry by Lord Hutton, Most initiatives met only with partial success and were often resented by junior officials. Registries in keeping with longheld commitment to paucity in government spending were and are poorly staffed and resourced. This article traces the evolution of the file until its demise in the digital age.