NLS - Ordnance Survey National Grid maps, 1940s-1960s

The NLS have added a series with some Civil Aviation features added.

OS Quarter-inch to the Mile, maps of Scotland, 1901-1960

OS Quarter-inch to the Mile, maps of Scotland, 1901-1960
OS Quarter-inch to the Mile, maps of Scotland, 1901-1960 graphic

We have put online all of our Ordnance Survey Quarter-Inch to the mile maps of Scotland, numbering 182 maps across 16 series. The quarter-inch to the mile series provides an overview of significant landscape features, including larger settlements, railways, and roads. It was also particularly valuable for aviation, with various Civil Air and Royal Air Force editions, as well as a set captured and reissued for the German Luftwaffe, showing new aerodromes, landing strips and conspicuous features from the air. The earlier series covered all of Scotland in 17 sheets, whilst later series, with larger sheet extents, covered Scotland in 9-10 sheets. There were four main numbered editions, with various military and civilian forms, and with different ways of showing relief using hachures as well as hypsometric tints or layer colours.

View all the quarter-inch to the mile maps of Scotland.
View a seamless layer of Quarter-Inch 1st (Hill shading) edition mapping (1900-1906) on a satellite image base
View a seamless layer of Quarter-Inch 1st (Outline) edition mapping (1900-1906) on a satellite image base
View a seamless layer of Quarter-Inch 3rd Civil Air edition mapping (1929-30) on a satellite image base
View a seamless layer of Quarter-Inch 4th edition mapping (1935-37) on a satellite image base

I noticed this in Recent Additions to the NLS websiteOS Quarter-inch to the Mile, maps of England and Wales, 1899-1958

It was also particularly valuable for aviation, with various Civil Air and Royal Air Force editions, showing new aerodromes, landing strips and conspicuous features from the air.

 

A great addition to the NLS library. I noticed on some of the Civilian Aviation maps some had manual additions to both aerodromes and ranges and crucially the dates of the amendment with many updated to 1937. Pleased to see the bombing range at Ash (Pirbright) marked with a date as well as it is a range not mentioned except as a mark on a map.

Also of interest is the removal of some aerodromes and the renaming of others where manual amendments appear on some maps. 

Sadly the mysterious Glasgow Auxiliary Sqns bombing range is not shown - probably came and went between issues.

The 1973 OS maps seem to be be out of copyright now.

We have put online 1,868 maps at scales of 1:1,250 to 1:10,560 which were published in 1973, and which have therefore just come out-of-copyright from 1 January 2024.

Sadly at that scale, bombing range features are often omitted. The larger scales were not issued until the 80s. I miss the old maps website that I subscribed to.

More added Ordnance Survey National Grid 1:1,250 / 1:2,500 maps of England and Wales, 1940s-1970s

Not sure how it works yet, but NLS say they now have Irish grid and also I see they have the Channel Islands.

Map Series of Ireland and Northern Ireland:

• Six-inch to the mile (1:10,560/ 1:10,000):
  • Ordnance Survey, Six-Inch, Ireland and Northern Ireland - 1829-1969 - 4,705 sheets
  • Ordnance Survey Northern Ireland, Irish Grid Series, 1:10,560/1:10,000, 1962-1974 - 121 sheets
• One-inch to the mile (1:63,360):
  • Ordnance Survey, One-Inch, Ireland - 1859-1917 - 1,069 sheets
  • Ordnance Survey, One-Inch, Ireland, 2nd ed., Administrative - 1898-1902 - 202 sheets
  • War Office, One-Inch, Ireland, (Large sheet series) G.S.G.S. 4136 - 1940-1942 - 124 sheets
• 1:25,000:
  • Ordnance Survey / War Office, Great Britain and Ireland 1:25,000. GSGS 3906, 1943-55 - 10 sheets

Map Series - Channel Islands

• Ordnance Survey / War Office / Ministry of Defence, Maps of the Channel Islands, 1900-1970 - 72 sheets