The Committee of Imperial Defence papers contain correspondence, notes and prints, acquired or produced by WSC in his capacity as a member of the Committee rather than as a Departmental Minister. They therefore include papers on topics both within and outside the province of WSC's departments (he was during this period: President of the Board of Trade, 12 April 1908 - 14 February 1910; Home Secretary, 14 February 1910 - 23 October 1911; and First Lord of the Admiralty, 23 October 1911 - 25 May 1915).The Committee of Imperial Defence was established permanently in 1904, as a small flexible advisory committee to the Prime Minister; members were usually cabinet ministers concerned with defence, military leaders, and key civil servants. During the war, its functions were taken over by the War Council, then the Dardanelles Committee, the War Committee and finally the War Cabinet.The papers have been divided into correspondence and subject-based files, and arranged chronologically. Subjects include: aircraft development; the Forth-Clyde canal; national service; naval bases and naval strategy; the German Army and Navy; the wartime food supply; home defence.