Table Of ContentSOURCES IN BRITISH POLITICAL HISTORY
1900-1951
Also by Chris Cook
ELECTION '70 (with David McKie)
THE DECADE OF DISILLUSION (editor, with David McKie)
EUROPEAN POLITICAL FACTS 1918-73 (with John Paxton)
BY-ELECTIONS IN BRITISH POLITICS (with John Ramsden)
BRITISH HISTORICAL FACTS 1830-1900 (with Brendan Keith)
THE AGE OF ALIGNMENT: ELECTORAL POLITICS IN BRITAIN, 1922-29
Sources in British
Political History
1900-1951
compiled for the British Library of Political
and Economic Science by
CHRIS COOK
with
Philip Jones
Josephine Sinclair
Jeffrey Weeks
Volume I
A Guide to the Archives of
Selected Organisations and Societies
Palgrave Macmillan
ISBN 978-1-349-15565-1 ISBN 978-1-349-15563-7 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-15563-7
Copyright © 1975 British Library of Political and
Economic Science
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1975 978-0-333-15036-8
All rights reserved. For information, write:
St. Martin's Press, Inc., 175 Fifth Avenue, New York,
N.Y. 10010
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 75-4012
First published in the United States of America in 1975
AFFILIATED PUBLISHERS: Palgrave Macmillan
also at Bombay, Calcutta, Madras and Melbourne
Contents
Foreword vu
Members of the Political Archives Investigation Committee VIU
Acknowledgements IX
Introduction x1
A Guide to the archives of selected organisations and
societies 1
Appendix I: Archives in Ireland 293
Appendix II: Archives in Wales 306
Appendix III: Archives in Scotland 308
Appendix IV: Selected Libraries and Record
Repositories 310
Index of Organisations and Societies 317
v
Foreword
This is the first of three volumes reporting the results of a survey of twentieth
century British political archives. It has been undertaken by the British Library of
Political and Economic Science with the support of the Social Science Research
Council.
The project originated from a meeting of archivists, historians and librarians,
held in October 196 7 on the initiative of Nuffield College, Oxford, which
appointed a Political Archives Investigation Committee {whose membership is listed
on p. ix) to explore the possibility of making a major effort to locate and list
modern British political manuscripts and encourage their preservation.
With the assistance of a grant from the Social Science Research Council a
two-year pilot project, directed by Dr Cameron Hazlehurst, was begun at Nuffield
College in 1968, with the object of locating the papers of Cabinet Ministers who
held office between 1900 and 1951. The same Committee acted as a steering
committee for the project. This enquiry was an undoubted success; and Dr
Hazlehurst's guide to the papers of Cabinet Ministers was published in 1974. *
In view of the favourable outcome of the pilot project, the Committee had no
hesitation in recommending that a more comprehensive survey should be under
taken; and particularly bearing in mind the bibliographical facilities and
geographical convenience of London, as well as the number of scholars active in
relevant fields working in the London School of Economics, it proposed that this
phase of the investigation should be carried out under the auspices of the British
Library of Political and Economic Science.
A generous grant was accordingly made to the British Library of Political and
Economic Science by the Social Science Research Council; and on 1 October 1970,
a research team directed by Dr C. P. Cook began work on a five-year project
intended to locate the papers of all persons and organisations influential in British
politics between 1900 and 19 51, encourage their preservation, and publish a guide.
In carrying out a project which has such very wide terms of reference combined
with a fixed time-limit, priorities have inevitably had to be established. Whilst a
comprehensive search is being made for the papers of all members of the House of
Commons, the papers of individual members of other categories are being sought
more selectively, on the basis either of their rank or of their known political
activity. These categories include civil servants of, or above, the rank of Under
Secretary; diplomats; and field commanders and chiefs of staff of the armed
services. The records of political parties, societies, institutions and pressure groups,
with which this first volume is concerned, have similarly, of necessity, been treated
with some degree of selectivity. D. A. CLARKE
British Library of Political and Economic Science
------------------------------------
*Hazlehurst, C. and Woodland, C. A Guide to the papers of British Cabinet Ministers
1900-1951 (Royal Historical Society, 1974).
vii
Members of the Political Archives
Investigation Committee
Mr John Brooke, Historical Manuscripts Commission (1967-) (Chairman, 1972-)
Mr D. A. Clarke, British Library of Political and Economic Science (1967-)
Dr C. P. Cook, British Library of Political and Economic Science (1970-)
Mr Martin Gilbert, Merton College, Oxford (1967-70)
Dr R. M. Hartwell, Nuffield College, Oxford (Chairman, 1967-72)
Dr Cameron Hazlehurst, Nuffield College, Oxford (1967-70)
Professor A. Marwick, the Open University (1972-)
Dr H. M. Pelling, Stjohn's College, Cambridge (1967-)
Mrs Felicity Strong, Historical Manuscripts Commission (1967-)
Dr John Roberts, Merton College, Oxford (1973-)
Mr A. J.P. Taylor, The Beaverbrook Library (1972-)
Professor D. C. Watt, London School of Economics and Political Science (1967-)
Dr Edwin Welch, Churchill College, Cambridge (1967-71)
viii
Acknowledgements
This book could not have been compiled without a large grant from the Social
Science Research Council and the help and guidance of Derek Clarke, the Librarian
of the British Library of Political and Economic Science, and of his staff, among
whom particular mention should be made of Geoffry Allen and David Bovey.
It would be impossible to thank by name all the people without whose help this
volume either would not have appeared or would have looked very different. I am,
however, especially indebted to the following: Maurice Bond, OBE, Clerk of the
Records at the House of Lords; D. S. Porter of the Bodleian Library, Oxford;
Christine Kennedy of Nuffield College, Oxford; Irene Wagner, Librarian to the
Labour Party; Roy Garratt, Librarian of the Co-operative Union; A. E. B. Owen of
Cambridge University Library; Daniel Waley, Keeper of Manuscripts at the British
Library; A. J. P. Taylor at the Beaverbrook Library; J. K. Bates, Secretary of the
National Register of Archives (Scotland); J. S. Ritchie at the National Library of
Scotland; Sir John Ainsworth, Bt, at the National Library of Ireland; and B. G.
Owens at the National Library of Wales. The section on Ireland received enormous
help from Philip Bull of the Bodleian Library, Oxford. Ian MacDougall and Miss W.
Schroeder supplied invaluable information about Scottish sources for labour history
and the holdings of the International Institute of Social History at Amsterdam
respectively.
I have relied heavily on suggestions, advice and information supplied by
colleagues and friends, both at the London School of Economics and elsewhere. I
should like to thank especially Joyce Bellamy and John Saville of the University of
Hull, together with Paul Addison, John Barnes, George Bergstrom, Geoffrey Block,
Martin Ceadel, Maurice Cowling, Roy Douglas, Catharine Hodges, Barry
Hollingsworth, George Jones, Elie Kedourie, Stephen Koss, Mrs P. Larby, lain
Maclean, Ross McKibbin, Ted Milligan, Kenneth Morgan, Ian Nish, Gillian Peele,
John Ramsden, David Rolf, Leonard Schapiro, Paul Shorter, Martin Sieff, D. H.
Simpson, Richard Storey, Paul Sturges, Brenda Swann, Maureen Turnbull, Paul
Wilkinson, Philip Woods and Ken Young.
Warm thanks are due to the officers of the organisations covered by this book. A
particular debt is owed to Lord Fraser of Kilmorack at the Conservative Central
Office, and to the Director of Organisation there, Sir Richard Webster.
Although this volume is relatively independent of the work done by Cameron
Hazlehurst and Christine Woodland, their work complements it and their help has
been greatly appreciated. I have also received continuous help and advice from
members of the steering committee, both past and present, and especially from Mrs
Strong and the staff of the Historical Manuscripts Commission, whose work is so
closely associated with our own.
Last but by no means least, the compilation of this book has been a team effort,
and my very warm thanks are due to my colleagues and co-authors, Philip Jones,
Josephine Sinclair and Jeffrey Weeks. Most of the typing for the survey was done
with unfailing energy and kindness by Eileen Pattison, with additional secretarial help
from Jean Ali and Wendi Momen. The index was compiled by Beryl McKie.
CHRIS COOK
ix
Introduction
1. Contents
This volume deals with the archives of organisations and societies active and
influential in British politics between 1900 and 1951. Subsequent volumes will deal
successively with the private political papers of senior public servants and Members
of Parliament.
The great majority of entries in this volume relate to the archives of political
parties, trade unions and other organisations directly involved in politics and
political controversy. Also included are a number of other organisations whose
activities are or were only marginally political. For example, many of the religious
societies included, and the associations involved in the temperance movement and
social work, were not primarily, or even partly, political organisations, yet their
archives can be of value to the historian in putting political facts into context and
tracing the interaction between politics and the people. For this reason, where
information is available they have been included.
The period covered by the survey is 1900 to 1951, but many of the
organisations included had a continuous existence from long before 1900, and
others continued after 1951. Many, indeed, are still active. To mention only those
archives which fall into the period of the survey would be misleading, and a brief
account of pre-1900 material has therefore been given where appropriate. In a few
instances organisations (such as the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament), founded
and active after 1951, have deposited their records. It was decided to include these
organisations, although strictly speaking they fall outside the scope of the survey.
Every effort has been made to secure information about as wide and
representative a range of organisations as possible. For a number of reasons,
however, the records of certain organisations are omitted. Occasionally the
organisation has been unwilling for an entry to appear, perhaps because of lack of
facilities for students or because the records are confidential and are therefore
necessarily closed at present. More often it reflects the difficulty of tracing the
extant archives of long since defunct or disbanded organisations and pressure
groups.
Where the archives of an organisation have been lost or destroyed, and no
records survive, the volume includes references to private papers which may to a
limited extent constitute an alternative source of information. For example, under
the Liberal League the user is referred to the papers of the 5th Earl of Rosebery in
the National Library of Scotland. References to such private papers are given,
however, only where all other information is lacking.
xi
