SOURCES IN BRITISH POLITICAL HISTORY

Transcription

1 SOURCES IN BRITISH POLITICAL HISTORY Since the first publication of Sources in British Political History, , the five-volume series has established itself as the indispensable reference work for all historians of contemporary Britain. Few previous guides to modern archival sources had attempted to provide such a comprehensive and invaluable aid to the research student and historian. This latest volume continues that tradition. It provides the first consolidated supplement to those pioneering five volumes. This major new work of reference not only indicates known changes to the information in earlier volumes but also includes a wealth of new entries. This volume includes not only the latest information from major British record repositories but also entries from as far away as Malaysia and Zimbabwe. Compiled by Dr Chris Cook, who has guided this project continuously since 1970, this latest volume offers a unique contribution to all those engaged in research on recent British history. Chris Cook is Head of the Department of History, Philosophy and Contemporary European Studies at the Polytechnic of North London. He was previously Lecturer in Politics at Magdalen College, Oxford, and Senior Research Officer at the London School of Economics. He has been co-author of all five earlier volumes of Sources in British Political History. A Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, he also acts as editor of Pears Cyclopaedia.

2 Also by Chris Cook THE AGE OF ALIGNMENT, Electoral Politics in Britain, A SHORT HISTORY OF THE LIBERAL PARTY, THE SLUMP (with John Stevenson) BY-ELECTIONS IN BRITISH POLITICS (with John Ramsden) BRITISH HISTORICAL FACTS, (with John Stevenson) BRITISH HISTORICAL FACTS, (with Brendan Keith) EUROPEAN POLITICAL FACTS, (with John Paxton) EUROPEAN POLITICAL FACTS, (with John Paxton) EUROPEAN POLITICAL FACTS, (with John Paxton) THE LONGMAN ATLAS OF MODERN BRITISH HISTORY, (with John Stevenson) THE POLITICS OF REAPPRAISAL, (with Gillian Peele) THE DECADE OF DISILLUSION (ed. with David McKie) CRISIS AND CONTROVERSY: Essays in Honour of A. J.P. Taylor (with Alan Sked) POST-WAR BRITAIN: A Political History (with Alan Sked) THE LONGMAN HANDBOOK OF MODERN BRITISH HISTORY, (with John Stevenson) THE LABOUR PARTY (ed. with Ian Taylor) TRADE UNIONS IN BRITISH POLITICS (ed. with Ben Pimlott)

3 SOURCES IN BRITISH POLITICAL HISTORY Volume 6 First Consolidated Supplement Compiled for the British Library of Political and Economic Science by CHRIS COOK

4 British Library of Political and Economic Science 1985 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act (as amended). Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. First published Published by THE MACMILLAN PRESS LTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 2XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world Typeset by Styleset Limited Warminster, Wiltshire British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Cook, Chris Sources in British political history Vol Archives-Great Britain 2. Great Britain --History-20th century -Sources 3. Great Britain-Politics and government- 20th century-sources I. Title DA566.7 ISBN ISBN (ebook) DOI /

5 CONTENTS Foreword Acknowledgements vii ix Part I: A Guide to the Papers of Organisations, Societies and Pressure Groups Part II: A Guide to the Personal Papers of Private Individuals Appendix I: A Note on Archival Sources since

6 FOREWORD This book is the first supplement to the earlier series of five volumes which reported the results of a major survey of twentieth-century British political archives. This was undertaken from 1970 to 1977 by the British Library of Political and Economic Science with the generous support of the Social Science Research Council. This supplement was gradually compiled between 1977 and 1984, again with financial help for part of this period from the Social Science Research Council, to bring the volumes up to date to 1 July The original project stemmed from a meeting of archivists, historians and librarians held in October 1967 on the initiative of Nuffield College, Oxford. As a result of this meeting a Political Archives Investigation Committee was established 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 twoyear 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 The Political Archives Investigation Committee acted as an advisory body to the project. The survey of cabinet ministers' papers was an undoubted success and a guide to the papers was published in In view of the favourable outcome of the pilot project, the Committee had no hesitation in recommending that a more comprehensive survey should be undertaken; 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 was 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 BLPES by the Social Science Research Council and on 1 October 1970 a research team directed by Dr. Chris Cook began work on a six-year project intended to locate the papers of all persons and organisations influential in British politics between 1900 and 1951, encourage their preservation, and publish guides. The records of political parties, societies, institutions and pressure groups were described in the first volume in this series. The second volume was concerned with the private papers of senior public servants, colonial administrators, diplomats and senior officers of the armed forces. The third and fourth volumes were devoted to reporting the findings of a comprehensive search that was made for the papers of all members of the House of Commons between the general elections of 1900 and 1 Cameron Hazlehurst and Christine Woodland, A Guide to the Papers of British Cabinet Ministers, (London: Royal Historical Society, 1974). vii

7 1951. The fifth volume dealt with the papers of selected writers, intellectuals and publicists, religious leaders, leading trade unionists, businessmen and others. 2 Inevitably, within a few years, some of the information contained in these volumes had become outdated, through the changes of address of owners, through deposits, or through the reorganisation of library or record services. The need for a supplement volume became very readily apparent and, with the aid of a further grant from the Social Science Research Council, Dr. Chris Cook was appointed research officer for a six-month period, beginning 1 January The results of that research are contained in this volume. Doubtless, as the years go by, yet further papers will become available and will themselves form the basis of subsequent supplement volumes. I would hope, therefore, that those who have so generously provided information over the years will continue to do so in the coming years by writing to the Librarian, British Library of Political and Economic Science, l 0 Portugal Street, London WC2A 2HD. The resulting file of up-to-date information will be made available to enquirers. It remains for me, on behalf of the British Library of Political and Economic Science, to thank Dr. Cook for his part in ensuring the successful outcome of this supplementary research. July 1984 D. A. Clarke Librarian British Library of Political and Economic Science 2 Chris Cook with Philip Jones, Josephine Sinclair and Jeffrey Weeks, Sources in British Political History, Vol. 1: A Guide to the Archives of Selected Organisations and Societies (London: Macmillan, 1975). Vol. 2: A Guide to the Private Papers of Selected Public Servants (Lond.,n: Macmillan, 1975). Vols. 3 and 4: A Guide to the Private Papers of Members of Parliament (London: Macmillan, 1977: A-K and L-Z). Vol. 5: A Guide to the Private Papers of Selected Writers, Intellectuals and Publicists (London: Macmillan, 1978). viii

8 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This book is the sixth in the series, and like its predecessor volumes could not have been compiled without a grant from the Social Science Research Council, and the help and guidance of Derek Clarke, Librarian of the British Library of Political and Economic Science. The facilities of that Library have been essential to the success of this project, and I owe its staff a major debt. I must also thank the members of the Political Archives Investigation Committee for their advice and gllidance in connection with this first supplement volume. This volume has been completed only with the unstinting help of many individuals, and it would be impossible to thank them all by name. I am, however, especially indebted to the following: H. Cobb at the House of Lords Record Office ;D. S. Porter of the Bodleian Library, Oxford; A. E. B. Owen of Cambridge University Library; Daniel Waley, Keeper of Manuscripts at the British Library; J. K. Bates, Secretary of the National Register of Archives (Scotland); J. S. Ritchie at the National Library of Scotland; D. O'Luanaigh at the National Library of Ireland and G. M. Griffiths at the National Library of Wales; the Keeper and the staffs at the Public Record Office and the India Office Library, London and their colleagues at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. I also enjoyed considerable help from some staff at the Historical Manuscripts Commission and I must record my deep debt to them. The project has enjoyed the closest possible cooperation with the Modem Records Centre at the University of Warwick. I am personally indebted to the Centre's archivist, Richard Storey, for his willing advice and help. The excellent guide to the Centre's holdings should be used to supplement the brief entries given in this volume. It goes without saying that I owe a major debt to the archivists and staff of various county record offices and specialist libraries. Particular thanks are due to Patricia Methven of the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, King's College, London; Rod Suddaby, Department of Documents, Imperial War Museum; Dr. R. A. Morriss at the National Maritime Museum; R. F. Barker and A. E. Cormack at the Royal Air Force Museum, Hendon; Julia Sheppard and Richard Palmer at the Wellcome Institute; Miss T. M. Thatcher at the Centre for South Asian Studies, Cambridge; Gillian Grant at the Middle East Centre, St. Antony's College, Oxford; N. Higson at the Brynmor Jones Library, University of Hull; Jean Ayton at Manchester Public Library; Glenise Matheson at the John Rylands University Library, Manchester; Miss J. Coburn at the Greater London Record Office; Dr. Felix Hull at Kent County Record Office and Ailsa Holland at University College, Dublin. Amongst individuals who have given of their time and specialist knowledge I must thank Stephen Brooks, Richard Clayton, Philip Jones, Peter Morgan, Jeffrey Weeks and Judith Woods. The whole of the secretarial work for the book was done by Jean Ali with her usual efficiency and good humour. ix

9 Additionally, I must thank my colleagues Angela Rasp in and Linda Bell at BLPES not only for answering my many questions but also for tolerating with such good nature my temporary intrusion into the Manuscript Reading Room. CHRIS COOK July 1984 X