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Rotholz , Siegfried , fl 1907-1977

Siegfried Rotholz was a German Jew and former resident of Berlin, who was transported to Australia on the HMT DUNERA.

HMT DUNERA was a British passenger ship built as a troop transport in the late 1930s. On 10 Jul 1940 the Dunera left Liverpool with men classed as enemy aliens, who were considered a risk to British security. Although many of the internees had in fact fled Europe to escape Nazi persecution, they were considered to have been German agents, potentially helping to plan the invasion of Britain. Included were 2,036 Jewish refugees from Austria and Germany, 451 German and Italian prisoners of war and others including the survivors of the Arandora Star disaster. They were taken to Australia for internment in the rural towns of Hay, New South Wales and Tatura, Victoria Australia. The ship had a maximum capacity of 1,500 - including crew - however on this voyage there were 2,542 transportees. The resultant condition has been described as 'inhumane', the transportees were also subjected to ill-treatment and theft by the 309 poorly trained British guards on board. On arrival in Sydney, the first Australian on board was medical army officer Alan Frost. He was appalled and his subsequent report led to the court martial of the army officer-in-charge, Lieutenant-Colonel William Scott.

Central British Fund for German Jewry

The Central British Fund for World Jewish Relief was founded in the early months of 1933 by a group of Anglo-Jewish community leaders, in response to the appointment of Adolf Hitler as Chancellor of Germany on a political platform of anti-Semitism. Among the founders were Anthony de Rothschild, Leonard G. Montefiore and Otto Schiff. The fund has been through many name changes in its lifetime. It started out as the Central British Fund for German Jewry, then became part of the new Council for German Jewry in 1936 along with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and the American United Palestine Appeal. On the outbreak of World War Two in 1939 the fund changed its name to the Central Council for Jewish Refugees, and in 1944 changed again to the Central British Fund for Jewish Relief and Rehabilitation. After many years as the Central British Fund for World Jewish Relief, the organisation is now known as World Jewish Relief. The Fund's mission, according to its Memorandum of Association, was 'to relieve or assist Jewish Refugees in any part of the world in such manner and on such terms and conditions (if any) as may be thought fit'. In this work the fund was aided by various organisations, including the Jewish Refugees Committee (JRC) which was founded by Otto Schiff in 1933, the Children's Refugee Movement (established by the JRC and the Inter-Aid Committee), and the Jewish Committee for Relief Abroad, which was established in 1943 and financed by the Central Council for Jewish Refugees (as the Central British Fund (CBF) was then known).

Otto Ernst Remer was born in Neubrandenburg (Mecklenburg) the son of a judicial officer. He embarked on a military career and by 1935 was made lieutenant. He was wounded several times during World War Two and was highly decorated. Although never a Nazi party member he played an important part in the suppression of the July 1944 conspiracy against Hitler. He was promoted by Hitler, as a result, to major-general on 31 January 1945. After a short period of imprisonment under the Americans after the war, he began working for them as a researcher into the history of the war.

He was expelled from the Deutsche Reichspartei for his extreme views and founded the more extreme Sozialistische Reichspartei. There followed short periods of imprisonment for minor offences in Germany and periods of exile in Egypt and Syria, where he is thought to have established links with the notorious fugitive Nazi war criminal, Alois Brunner. He died in 1997.

The Protocols of the Elders of Zion is a literary fraud alleging a Jewish and Masonic plot to achieve world domination. The writing has been revealed to be originally an antisemitic, and subsequently an anti-Zionist, plagiarism and hoax first published in 1903 in Russian, in Znamya.

Frank Collins, a German Jew, was born in Mannheim on 8 January 1918. He was interned at Gurs concentration camp, France, from 25 Oct 1940 to 4 August 1941. According to his 'Soldier's Release Book' he was called up for military service with the British army on 24 November 1943, having been listed as a butcher by trade. He was released on 19 March 1948. He was a member of the 2nd Special Air Service Regiment.

After the war he was involved in an operation to bring to justice Nazi war criminals who committed acts of brutality against civilians and members of the SAS at Moussey, France.

Various

Robert Philip Baker-Byrne was born in Berlin in 1910. His father was the owner of the company, Modellhaus Becker, Berlin. In 1936 he and his parents, under increasing pressure from life under the Nazis, came to Great Britain as refugees. Some time later he married and had a daughter. From 1939 until 1944 he was a member of the Pioneer Corps. In 1944 he began working for the British Secret Service and made two lone parachute drops into enemy territory. Whilst on the last mission into the Lübeck area he was apparently captured.

Having survived the war, he worked as an investigator in the investigation section of War Crimes Group, North West Europe. After he left the military he went to Australia (presumably with his family). After a few years he returned to Great Britain where he worked as a sales manager in the 1950s. Nothing further is known about his life nor that of his family.

Roth , Isabella , b 1896 , Jewish refugee

Isabella Roth was born in Vienna in 1896, the daughter of Josef Roth a Jewish manufacturer from Gross Wardein, Hungary. She worked as a correspondent for Holz-Handels-Aktien-Gesellschaft, Vienna, where she worked in the Rumanian department as German-Hungarian correspondent. From 1925 until 1938 she worked as typist for the Neue Wiener Tageblatt for Steyrermühl, the newspaper publisher. She came to England in 1939, where, according to her naturalisation certificate, she worked as a typist. Nothing further is known of her life or that of her family.

Various

Max Sander was a German Jew, born in 1890, who apparently came to Great Britain in 1939. During World War One he was awarded the Iron Cross First Class and the Ehrenkreuz für Frontkämpfer. He is described in various documents as a businessman and there is a photograph of a shop in Hamburg called Nebel und Sander. Sander died in London in 1979.

Szell , Franz , fl 1936-1937 , journalist

Franz Szell, an exiled Hungarian journalist apparently resident in Tilsit, Lithuania spent more than a year in the archives in Latvia and Estonia researching Alfred Rosenberg's family history with a view to publishing the open letter, 936/1.

Schindler , Oskar

Oskar Schindler's list documents the Jewish workers who were employed by Schindler at the concentration camp Gross Rosen and the work camp Brünnlitz. Inclusion on the list was a guarantee of safety. The list includes the names of 297 women and 800 men, the women's names being listed alphabetically. The list is thought to be a jumble of inaccuracies, false birth dates, and altered identities. Some of the mistakes are intentional; others apparently resulting from confusion or disinformation, or simply typos.

Various

Julia Rahmer, a former member of the underground Leninist group Neu Beginnen, gives some insight into the activities of the group and the realities of life as a member. Julia Rahmer was recruited into the group in Berlin by a friend, Fritz Meyer, in April 1933. As a Jew, frustrated at no longer being able to continue her studies at university, she was attracted to the possibility of 'keeping socialist ideas alive' under the Nazi regime. By 1935 she had become disillusioned with the group and in 1936 emigrated to Prague and later London on account of the danger posed to members of subversive organisations.

Committee for Refugees in Holland

The Committee for Jewish Refugees in Holland was created out of the Committee for Special Jewish Affairs, an organisation established to represent the interests of all Jewish interest groups. Dr David Cohen, a leading member of the Dutch Jewish community and Professor of Ancient History at Amsterdam University, was founder of both organisations.

Bankside Gallery Charitable Limited Company

The Bankside Gallery Charitable Limited Company was formed in 1980 by the Royal Watercolour Society (RWS) and the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers (RE). These two societies had a close association and had shared premises since 1888, and also had members in common. In 1980, the lease on their current premises - 26 Conduit St, London, expired, and the Societies transferred to the Bankside site.

The Society of Painter-Etchers was a voluntary society formed in 1880 by Seymour Haden and James J Tissot, Alphonse Legros and Hubert Herkomer, Robert Walker Macbeth, Heywood Hardy, who sought recognition of etching as a painter's art, rather than merely a craftsman's means of reproducing an artist's painting in multiples. It was also a protest against the Royal Academy's unwillingness to accept artists' etchings as original works of art and their refusal to elect artist-etchers as Academicians, though is elected craftsmen-engravers to membership and showed their copies of Academicians' paintings in the annual exhibitions.

It gained immediate support from fellow printmakers, and the following year an additional number were elected to the Society and the group prospered, so much so that in 1888 Queen Victoria granted a Royal title to the Society and in 1898 allowed its name to be enlarged to include Engravers, and in 1911 King George V granted a Charter of Incorporation and Bye-laws.
In 1989, to accommodate advances in technology and fully represent current printmaking in all its forms, the RE, as the Society had become known, voted to include all kinds of artists' prints in its exhibitions and to elect as members outstanding artists working in any of the various printmaking media. The revision of the name to The Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers, further reflects this change, and was approved by HM The Queen, The Privy Council, and the Home Office.
The Society has assembled a unique Diploma Collection of Prints, comprising a representative work from each new member upon election. This growing collection of more than a thousand prints, including works by such well reputed artists as Sickert, Poynter, Alma-Tadema, Griggs, Brockhurst, Knight, Sutherland, Hermes, Gross, Hayter, Bawden, and Rothenstein, is now held in trust by the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. From the beginning the Society had members in common with the Royal Watercolour Society (RWS) and a long term partnership ensued, with the Society sharing premises with the RWS. In 1980, they jointly established the Bankside Gallery Charitable Limited Company, where their regular exhibitions now take place. The Society's major exhibition of Member's work generally in May each year.

The establishment of the Society of Painters in Water Colours grew out of discontent at the disadvantage suffered by watercolours being hung amidst oil painting at the exhibitions of the Royal Academy of Art in Somerset House.
At a meeting at the Stratford Coffee House, Oxford St, London, on the 20 Nov 1804, William Frederick Wells initiated the establishment of the Society Associated for the Purpose of Establishing an Annual Exhibition of Paintings in Water Colours, in conjunction with the artists William Sawrey Gilpin, Robert Hills, John Claude Nattes, John and Cornelius Varley, Francis Nicholson, Samuel Shelley, William Henry Pyne and Nicholas Pocock. By the time of their first exhibition in April 1805, it had become known as the Society of Painters in Water Colours, and had gained six more members. The success of this exhibition, which enjoyed 12,000 visitors, encouraged its development into an annual event.

As a cooperative society, the Society's profits were shared among exhibitors, and at its peak in 1809, when there were more than 22,000 visitors, a profit of over £626 was divided between the twenty full members and seven associates. However poor financial management, and the uncertainty caused by renewed war with France, seems to have contributed to a decline in visitors and profits, ending in the collapse and winding up of the Society in 1812.

The Society was re-formed as the Society of Painters in Oil and Watercolours, in Dec 1812, with largely the same membership and struggled along until 1820, when on the 30 November 1820 the Society of Painters in Water Colours was reborn, reverting to the exclusive exhibition or water colours.

1860 saw the beginning of Diploma Collection - artworks presented to the Society by members following their election. Under the Presidency of Sir John Gilbert, the Society obtained the designation of 'Royal' following the agreement of Queen Victoria to sign the Diploma, in 1881.

Annual exhibitions of water colours began in 1805, with the Winter exhibition introduced in 1862. They were held in a variety of galleries located at Brook Street, Pall Mall, Old Bond Street, Spring Gardens, and the Egyptian Hall in Piccadilly. In 1823 the Society moved to number 6 Pall Mall East, where is stayed until 1938 when it moved to number 26 Conduit St. Following the expiration of the lease in Conduit St in 1980, the Bankside Gallery Charitable Limited Company was established by the Society in conjunction with the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers (previously the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers) who had shared the Society's premises since 1888, and with whom it had members in common.

John Joseph Jenkins, Secretary of the Society 1854-1864, collected the papers of the Society and compiled notes with the intention of writing its history. Though he did not achieve this, they were used extensively by John Lewis Roget in his two volume publication History of the 'Old Water-Colour Society', (Longmans, Green and Co, London, 1891).

The Society's Art Club was founded in 1884 to promote interest in watercolour painting by holding evening conversazioni, which were attended by professional and amateur artists. It was wound up after its centenary in 1984 and transformed into the Friends of the Bankside Gallery.

In 1923 the Old Watercolour Society Club (OWSC) was founded, and produced volumes of essays by artists and academics relating to watercolour artists from 1924-1994.

Bohm was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, USA on 20 December 1917. He studied at Pennsylvania State University, graduating in 1939, then moved to the California Institute of Technology for post-graduate work, completing his Ph.D. in 1943 at the University of California at Berkeley under J R Oppenheimer. He then worked on the Manhattan Project at the Berkeley Radiation Laboratory. In 1947 he was appointed Assistant Professor at Princeton University. He worked there until 1950, when Princeton refused to renew his contract after he had fallen foul of the House Committee on Un-American Activities. While working at the Radiation Laboratory during the war Bohm had been active in the Federation of Architects, Engineers, Chemists and Technicians (FAECT) trade union. In 1949, as Cold War tensions increased, the Committee on Un-American Activities began investigating staff who had been working there. As a member of FAECT and as a former member of the Communist Party Bohm came under suspicion. He was called upon to testify before the Committee but pleaded the Fifth Amendment refusing to give evidence against colleagues. After the USSR tested its first atomic device in September 1949 it was thought that atomic bomb secrets must have been passed to the USSR. It was alleged that members of the FAECT had been in a Communist cell working at Berkeley during the war. In 1950 Bohm was charged with Contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions before the Committee and arrested. He was acquitted in May 1951 but Princeton had already suspended Bohm and after his acquittal refused to renew his contract. Bohm left for Brazil in 1951 to take up a Chair in Physics at the University of São Paulo. In 1955 he moved to Israel where he spent two years at the Technion at Haifa. Here he met his wife Saral, who was an important figure in the development of his ideas. In 1957 Bohm moved to the UK. He held a research fellowship at University of Bristol until 1961, when he was made Professor of Theoretical Physics at Birkbeck College London. He retired in 1987.

Bohm made a number of significant contributions to physics, particularly in the area of quantum mechanics. As a post-graduate at Berkeley he discovered the electron phenomenon now known as 'Bohm-diffusion'. His first book, Quantum Theory published in 1951, was well-received by Einstein among others. However, he was unsatisified with the orthodox approach to quantum theory and began to develop his own approach, expressed in his second book Causality and Chance in Modern Physics published in 1957. In 1959, with his student Yakir Aharonov, he discovered the 'Aharonov-Bohm effect', showing how a vacuum could produce striking physical effects. His third book, The Special Theory of Relativity was published in 1965.

Bohm's scientific and philosophical views were inseparable. In 1959 he came across a book by the Indian philosopher J Krishnamurti. He was struck with how his own ideas on quantum mechanics meshed with the philosophy of Krishnamurti. The two first met in 1961 and over the following years had many conversations or dialogues. Bohm's approach to philosophy and physics are expressed in his 1980 book Wholeness and the Implicate Order, and in the book Science, Order and Creativity, written with F D Peat and published in 1987. In his later years, partly through his connection with Krishnamurti, Bohm developed the technique of Dialogue, in which a group of individuals engaged in constructive verbal interaction with each other. He believed that if carried out on a sufficiently wide scale these Dialogues could help overcome fragmentation in society. Bohm led a number of Dialogues in the 1980s and early 1990s, the most well-known being those held at Ojai Grove School in California. Bohm was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1990. He died in 1992. See B J Hiley, 'David Joseph Bohm', Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society, 43, 105-131 (1997).

There is evidence that football games have been played in England since the 11th century. During the early 19th century, football games became a popular recreation in English public schools. Various schools developed their own rules for the game. The rules of the game developed by Rugby School were gradually taken all over Britain and the rest of the world.

The Rugby Football Union (RFU) was founded 1871 for the purpose of standardising the rules of the game worldwide, to facilitate inter-club competitions. A committee was formed and three former Rugby School pupils were invited to write a set of laws, which were approved in Jun 1871. The first international match was played between Scottish and English members of the Union in March 1871, and ended in a Scottish victory.

National Rugby Unions were gradually formed with the Scottish Rugby Union being the first in 1873, the Irish Rugby Union in 1879 and the Welsh Rugby Union in 1881.

The English RFU continued to be the law making body for the game. In 1886, an International Rugby Board was formed by Scotland, Ireland and Wales, which challenged English rulemaking pre-eminence. It was not until 1890 that England agreed to send representatives to this Board. The International Board gradually took over more responsibility for making the laws and running the game.

In 1893, the strict amateur code of the game was challenged by reports of some players in the North of England were being paid for playing. The Union set up an enquiry, and the club concerned was suspended. The dispute was not entirely settled however and in 1895, twenty-two clubs seceded from the RFU and formed the Northern Union (later known as the Rugby League).

RFU was responsible for the management of the England side, whose games were played on various club grounds. In 1906, the RFU Committee asked the Finance Sub-Committee to investigate the feasibility of purchasing land and building a stadium for the exclusive use of playing Rugby. A site at Twickenham was purchased in 1907, and in 1909 the first match was held there, between the Richmond and Harlequin clubs, with the first international match taking place there in 1910 (England v Wales).

There are a number of trophies for which matches are played, including the Calcutta Cup - a trophy donated by the Calcutta Rugby Football Club, 1878, and given to the winner for an annual England Scotland match, first played in 1879; the Millennium Trophy, presented by the City of Dublin on its millennium year - 1988, for the winner of an annual Ireland England game; the Six Nations' Trophy (formerly the Five Nations Trophy) involving teams from England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France, and Italy, inaugurated in 1993. One of the oldest annual fixtures is however the Oxford University versus Cambridge University match first played in 1872.

In 1995, the International Rugby Board agreed that the amateur game become open, despite the opposition of the RFU. The RFU itself has since revised its management structure, and now consists of a Council, a Chief Executive Officer and a Management Board.

English Schools Rugby Union (ESRU) was formed in 1904 to coordinate the game played by those under the school leaving age (at that time 14 years at the beginning of the Autumn term). From 1948 to 1970, the age limit was set at 15 years.
The English Public and Grammar Schools Union (EPGSRFU) formed in 1948, to coordinate the game played by pupils older that the statutory school leaving age. In 1949, the EPGSRFU and RSRU amalgamated to form the English Schools Rugby Football Unions (ESRFU) with two groups - the ESRFU (Under 15 group) and the ERFU (over 15 Group). By 1960, the groups had changed to become the ESRFU (15 Group) and the ESRFU (19 Group). After a slow start, cooperation between the two groups was improved by the production of a handbook, an England Tie, the coordination of trials and International Match fixtures and the sending of minutes of both groups to all County Secretaries.

In 1984, the Rugby Football Union for Women was formed as the official governing body. Run by an executive committee of volunteers, it is recognised by the RFU and holds associate status. Matches are played from club to international level, and the England women's side compete in a Six Nations Championship, as well as a Rugby World Cup.

JEAVONS-FELLOWS , John International Rugby Board , 1886-

John Jeavons-Fellows was a member of the International Rugby (Football) Board, (IRB), representing England.

The International Rugby Football Board was formed in 1886. It gradually assumed more responsibility for the running of the game and making of its laws. In 1995, the Board announced the game would become 'open', and players could be paid for playing, effectively abolishing the amateur status of the game.

Beard , Wilfred Blackwell , 1891-1967 , trade unionist

Wilfred Blackwell Beard: born Manchester, Jan 1891; educated at Ardwick Higher Grade School, Manchester and Manchester School of Technology; worked as apprentice and journeyman pattern maker in Manchester, Bradford and Newcastle; joined United Patternmakers' Association (UPA), 1912; full-time area official, United Patternmakers' Association, Lancashire and Cheshire, 1929-1941; General Secretary, UPA, 1912-1966; Member, Trades Union Congress (TUC) General Council, 1947-1967 (Chairman 1955-1956, Vice-Chairman, 1956-1957); Chairman, TUC Educational Committee and Educational Trust, 1950-1967; President, Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions, 1958-1959 . Died Dec 1967.

Kapp , Yvonne , 1903-1999 , writer and activist

Born Yvonne Mayer, 1903; educated at King's College London; married the artist, Edmond Kapp, 1922; joined Communist Party of Great Britain, 1936, following a visit to the Soviet Union; worked with Basque and Jewish refugees, 1937-1938; Assistant to Director, British Committee to Refugees from Czechoslovakia, dismissed from her post by the Home Office, 1940, and wrote pamphlet British Policy and the Refugees, 1941; Research Officer, Amalgamated Engineering Union, 1941-1946; worked for Medical Research Council, undertaking field work in the East End of London, 1947-1953; editor and translator, Lawrence and Wishart (publishers), 1953-1957; died 1999. Publications: four novels under the pseudonym Yvonne Cloud, including Nobody Asked You, 1932 and The Houses in Between, 1938; Eleanor Marx, (2 vols 1972, 1976).

Northern Polytechnic Institution Northern Polytechnic

The origins of the Northern Polytechnic lie in the Charity Commissioners' scheme of the 1880s to develop a network of polytechnics modelled on the Regent Street Polytechnic (now part of the University of Westminster). The Northern Polytechnic Institution in Holloway, North London opened on 5 October 1896. Its mission was 'to promote the industrial skill, general knowledge, health and well-being of young men and women....(and)... the means of acquiring a sound General, Scientific, Technical and Commercial Education at small cost.' In the first year, a thousand students enrolled on courses ranging from English, mathematics and chemistry to machine construction, plumbing, dressmaking and millinery, mostly in evening classes. By 1900 the number of students had doubled, and by 1911 five-year evening degrees were available, recognised by the University of London. It changed its name to the Northern Polytechic c1931.
The Northern Polytechnic introduced polymer science courses at the turn of the 20th Century and developed an expertise in rubber technology. In 1948 the Northern Polytechnic was appointed as the National College of Rubber Technology, where it enjoyed a strong reputation for teaching and research. In 1982 the College merged with the Polytechnic of the South Bank's Polymer School to form the PNL (later UNL) School of Polymer Technology.
On 26 January1971, as more polytechnics were designated, it was decided that the Northern and North Western polytechnics should merge to form the Polytechnic of North London (PNL), which then had its degrees awarded by the Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA). The PNL became the University of North London (UNL) in 1992, and in 2001 the UNL annonced that it would be merging with London Guildhall University to form London Metropolitan University.

North Western Polytechnic

The North Western Polytechnic (NWP) - founded in 1896 - opened in Prince of Wales Road, Kentish Town, NW London, in 1929. It had more than 2200 students, mainly in evening classes, and an academic staff of 150, concentrating on social sciences, humanities and arts. By 1967 the NWP was the largest polytechnic in London. On 26 January 1971, as more polytechnics were designated, it was decided that the Northern and North Western polytechnics should merge to form the Polytechnic of North London (PNL), which then had its degrees awarded by the Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA). In 1992 the Polytechnic won the right to the title of 'University' and to award its own degrees and diplomas as the University of North London, rather than those of the CNAA. In December 2001, the University announced that it would be merging with London Guildhall University, to create London Metropolitan University, London's largest unitary university and one of the country's largest higher education institutions.

The Post Office Engineering Department was created in 1870. As a consequence, many local linesmen's associations developed. In 1886 a number of the associations merged to form the Postal Telegraphs Linesmen's Movement. In 1896 the name was changed to the Amalgamated Association of Postal Telegraphs, and the union opened its ranks to unskilled workers, construction hands and storemen. In 1901 it changes its title again, to the Post Office Engineering and Stores Association. In 1915 the Association merged with the Amalgamated Society of Telephone Employees to form the Amalgamated Engineering and Stores Association. The title of Post Office Engineering Union (POEU) was adopted in 1919. In 1985 the Union amalgamated with the Post and Telecommunications Group of the Civil and Public Servants Association fo them the National Communications Union (now the Communication Workers Union).

Various: collected by TUC Library

The TUC Library was established in 1922 and was based on the integrated collections of the TUC Parliamentary Committee, the Labour Party Information Bureau, and the Womens Trade Union League. It was run as a joint library with the Labour Party until the TUC moved to Congress House in 1956. The collection was developed for the use of the TUC and affiliated unions, but its specialisation has led to its parallel development as a major research library in the social sciences. In September 1996, the Collections moved to their new home in the London Metropolitan University. The Library includes several archives. The majority of these were held in the TUC Museum Collection and transferred to the University in 1998.

Gertrude Tuckwell was born in Oxford in 1861, and educated at home by her father, a master at New College School, before training to be a teacher. She went to London in 1885 to start her career but became secretary to Emily Dilke (1840-1904), her aunt, wife of Sir Charles Dilke, and a writer, suffragette and trade unionist. Through this association Gertrude Tuckwell became interested in politics, becoming an early member of the Labour Party, and active as a trade union organiser and campaigner for women's rights. In 1891 she became involved with the Women's Trade Union League (WTUL), working as its secretary and editor of its journal, the Women's Trade Union Review before becoming president of the League in 1905. In 1908 she also became president of the National Federation of Women Workers (NFWW) which had been founded in 1906 through the WTUL. She remained active in both organisations until 1918 when she announced her retirement and withdrew effectively from January 1921 when the WTUL merged its work with that of the Trades Union Congress. Tuckwell was one of the first women to be a Justice of the Peace and in 1926 served on the Royal Commission on National Health Insurance. Tuckwell also became involved in the struggle for protective legislation in the international arena and joined the executive committee of the International Association for Labour Legislation in 1906. She also maintained the Christian Socialist tradition of her family and from 1898 was secretary of the Christian Social Union Research Committee. A life-long philanthropist, Gertrude Tuckwell died in 1951. Publications: The State and its Children (1894).

Workers' Educational Association

The Workers' Educational Association (WEA) was founded in 1903 under the title Association to Promote the Higher Education of Working Men and in 1905 the name was changed to the Workers' Educational Association. Although the WEA is a single national organisation, locally it is organised into 13 English Districts and a Scottish Association.

Butler , William , fl 1915-1920 , educational activist

William Butler was a member of the Workers' Education Association (WEA) from 1916 and an associate member of the Ethical Movement, London branch. He collected the material in this collection between 1915 and 1920.

Royal Architectural Museum

The Royal Architectural Museum (RAM) was established in 1851, under the name of the Architectural Museum, by a group of architectural professionals led by George Gilbert Scott (1811-1878). Its founding members included such notable figures as Sir Charles Barry (1795-1860) and George Godwin (1813-1888), with Thomas Philip de Grey, 2nd Earl de Grey (1781-1859) as President and Alexander J. B. Beresford-Hope (1820-1870) as a trustee. The museum was formed for the purpose of improving the education of architectural art-workers and was considered by its founders as constituting the nucleus of a national museum of architecture. Its collections were made up primarily of plaster casts of European gothic architectural ornament, together with original examples of decorative ironwork, tiles, woodcarving, sculptural stonework, stained glass and architectural models, plans and drawings. The museum's first home was in Canon Row, Westminster, London where, from 1852 until 1854, it incorporated a School for Art-workmen.

Under the patronage of Prince Albert (1819-1861) and with the backing of John Ruskin (1819-1900), the museum expanded rapidly and in 1857 moved to the new South Kensington Museum (now Victoria and Albert Museum), where it retained its independent status and name. Following disputes with the South Kensington Museum authorities, the Architectural Museum purchased the lease on numbers 18-20, Bowling Street, Westminster, London (re-named Tufton Street in 1870), where it erected a museum building designed by members Ewan Christian (1814-1895) and Joseph Clarke ([c. 1819]-1888). On the museum's re-opening in July 1869, patronage was renewed by Queen Victoria (1819-1901) and permission granted for the title 'Royal' to be appended to the museum name. The collections continued to grow rapidly and at the publication of a catalogue in 1876 holdings totalled in excess of 6000 items. On Scott's death in 1878, leadership of the Museum passed to the architect, John P. Seddon (1827-1906), who worked to establish closer links with contemporary firms of art workers. In 1870 a School of Architectural Art was opened within the Museum, administered jointly by the RAM, the Architectural Association (AA) and the Royal Institute of British Architects. By 1873 the RAM was the sole administrator of the school and by 1875 had managed to obtain Government funding - the name of the school being changed to the Westminster School of Art (WSA) by 1888. The RAM and WSA were subsequently jointly registered as an incorporated company on 27 December 1893. In 1904 the RAM was wound up and its premises and collections passed to the AA, who continued to operate the Museum's administrative, legal and curatorial functions under the RAM name. The AA's architecture school co-existed within the Museum buildings until 1915 when it was decided that conditions were too cramped. The premises were then sold to the National Lending Library for the Blind and the collections dispersed, primarily to the Victoria and Albert Museum, where a portion remain on display in the cast courts.

The archive of working class autobiographies at Brunel University Library was gathered together by John Burnett, David Mayall and David Vincent during their compilation of their three volume annotated bibliography The autobiography of the working class (Harvester Press, Brighton, 1984-1989). The authors "sought to identify not only the large numbers of printed works scattered in various Local History Libraries and Record Offices, but also extant private memoirs, many of which remain hidden in family attics, known only to the author and a handful of relatives" (introduction to volume 1, p29). The criteria for inclusion in the autobiography were that the writers were "working class" for at least part of their lives, that they wrote in English and that they lived for some time in England, Scotland or Wales between 1790 and 1945. The autobiography indicates the location of unpublished items (over 230), which comprise the archive kept at Brunel. A few others of more marginal relevance are also available upon request.

The Great Exhibtion of 1851 was held in London in a specially-designed glass building erected in Hyde Park, nicknamed the Crystal Palace. The profits from this Exhibition purchased the Kensington Gore Estate on which the area named 'Albertopolis' was built and the Royal Albert Hall would come to be erected. The subsequent London International Exhibition on Industry and Art of 1862 was held from 1 May-1 November 1862 in South Kensington, in the gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society, which would later adjourn the Royal Albert Hall on the south side. The Queen, who was in mourning for her recently-deceased husband, did not attend the opening ceremony. The particular aim of the world exhibitions in the 19th century was to promote peaceful competition between nations and would be the last large international exhibitions in Great Britain.

The Independent Force was established by the Royal Air Force on 6 June 1918 to conduct a strategic bombing campaign against Germany, concentrating on strategic industries, communications and the morale of the civilian population. The Independent Force was formed out of the Royal Flying Corp's Forty-First Wing which commenced operations in October 1917. This initiative was partly in response to German airship and aeroplane raids on England but it also built upon earlier, small scale attempts at strategic bombing by the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Flying Corps. As its name implied, it operated independently from the land battle and struck at targets in central Germany including Cologne, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Bonn, and Mannheim. It was also intended to operate independently of the control of the Allied Supreme Commander, Marshal Foch, although this was later changed.

The Independent Force was commanded, reluctantly at first, by Major-General Hugh Trenchard who was gradually converted to the idea of strategic bombing by the operations of the Independent Force. The squadrons were based on airfields in the Nancy region, well to the south of the British sector of the Front Line. Although the effort appears miniscule compared to later bombing campaigns, four day and five night bomber squadrons dropped just 550 tons of bombs during 239 raids between 6 June and 10 November 1918, the effect on the German war effort was remarkable. The main targets were railways, blast furnaces, chemical factories that produced poison gas, other factories, and barracks to which had to be added airfields in an effort to reduce attrition from enemy fighter aircraft.

The effect on morale was out of all proportion to the size of the bomber force or the material damage caused and the air raids resulted in the movement of German air defence units away from the Front Line. Trenchard ordered statistics and records to be kept to demonstrate the work of the Independent Force and the role of strategic bombing in modern war.

The Independent Force was established by the Royal Air Force on 6 June 1918 to conduct a strategic bombing campaign against Germany, concentrating on strategic industries, communications and the morale of the civilian population. The Independent Force was formed out of the Royal Flying Corp’s Forty-First Wing which commenced operations in October 1917. This initiative was partly in response to German airship and aeroplane raids on England but it also built upon earlier, small scale attempts at strategic bombing by the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Flying Corps. As its name implied, it operated independently from the land battle and struck at targets in central Germany including Cologne, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Bonn, and Mannheim. It was also intended to operate independently of the control of the Allied Supreme Commander, Marshal Foch, although this was later changed.

The Independent Force was commanded, reluctantly at first, by Major-General Hugh Trenchard who was gradually converted to the idea of strategic bombing by the operations of the Independent Force. The squadrons were based on airfields in the Nancy region, well to the south of the British sector of the Front Line. Although the effort appears miniscule compared to later bombing campaigns, four day and five night bomber squadrons dropped just 550 tons of bombs during 239 raids between 6 June and 10 November 1918, the effect on the German war effort was remarkable. The main targets were railways, blast furnaces, chemical factories that produced poison gas, other factories, and barracks to which had to be added airfields in an effort to reduce attrition from enemy fighter aircraft.

The effect on morale was out of all proportion to the size of the bomber force or the material damage caused and the air raids resulted in the movement of German air defence units away from the Front Line. Trenchard ordered statistics and records to be kept to demonstrate the work of the Independent Force and the role of strategic bombing in modern war.

The Independent Force was established by the Royal Air Force on 6 June 1918 to conduct a strategic bombing campaign against Germany, concentrating on strategic industries, communications and the morale of the civilian population. The Independent Force was formed out of the Royal Flying Corp's Forty-First Wing which commenced operations in October 1917. This initiative was partly in response to German airship and aeroplane raids on England but it also built upon earlier, small scale attempts at strategic bombing by the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Flying Corps. As its name implied, it operated independently from the land battle and struck at targets in central Germany including Cologne, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Bonn, and Mannheim. It was also intended to operate independently of the control of the Allied Supreme Commander, Marshal Foch, although this was later changed.

The Independent Force was commanded, reluctantly at first, by Major-General Hugh Trenchard who was gradually converted to the idea of strategic bombing by the operations of the Independent Force. The squadrons were based on airfields in the Nancy region, well to the south of the British sector of the Front Line. Although the effort appears miniscule compared to later bombing campaigns, four day and five night bomber squadrons dropped just 550 tons of bombs during 239 raids between 6 June and 10 November 1918, the effect on the German war effort was remarkable. The main targets were railways, blast furnaces, chemical factories that produced poison gas, other factories, and barracks to which had to be added airfields in an effort to reduce attrition from enemy fighter aircraft.

The effect on morale was out of all proportion to the size of the bomber force or the material damage caused and the air raids resulted in the movement of German air defence units away from the Front Line. Trenchard ordered statistics and records to be kept to demonstrate the work of the Independent Force and the role of strategic bombing in modern war.

The Independent Force was established by the Royal Air Force on 6 June 1918 to conduct a strategic bombing campaign against Germany, concentrating on strategic industries, communications and the morale of the civilian population. The Independent Force was formed out of the Royal Flying Corp's Forty-First Wing which commenced operations in October 1917. This initiative was partly in response to German airship and aeroplane raids on England but it also built upon earlier, small scale attempts at strategic bombing by the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Flying Corps. As its name implied, it operated independently from the land battle and struck at targets in central Germany including Cologne, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Bonn, and Mannheim. It was also intended to operate independently of the control of the Allied Supreme Commander, Marshal Foch, although this was later changed.

The Independent Force was commanded, reluctantly at first, by Major-General Hugh Trenchard who was gradually converted to the idea of strategic bombing by the operations of the Independent Force. The squadrons were based on airfields in the Nancy region, well to the south of the British sector of the Front Line. Although the effort appears miniscule compared to later bombing campaigns, four day and five night bomber squadrons dropped just 550 tons of bombs during 239 raids between 6 June and 10 November 1918, the effect on the German war effort was remarkable. The main targets were railways, blast furnaces, chemical factories that produced poison gas, other factories, and barracks to which had to be added airfields in an effort to reduce attrition from enemy fighter aircraft.

The effect on morale was out of all proportion to the size of the bomber force or the material damage caused and the air raids resulted in the movement of German air defence units away from the Front Line. Trenchard ordered statistics and records to be kept to demonstrate the work of the Independent Force and the role of strategic bombing in modern war.

Royal College of Psychiatrists

The Medical Planning Sub-Committee was set up in July 1941 by the Council of the Royal Medico-Psychological Association a predecessor body of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. The Sub-Committee was responsible for liaising with other medical bodies like the Royal Society of Medicine (RSM), the British Medical Association`s Group of Practitioners of Psychological Medicine and the Royal College of Physicians on the admininstration, and the future of psychiatric services.

The British Geriatrics Society and the Royal College of Psychiatrists Joint Liason Committee was set up in 1976. The Committee was established to facilitate discussion on matters of common interest concerning old age psychiatry.

The British Paediatric Association and the Royal College of Psychiatrists Liaison Committee was established in 1986 to enable collaboration between the two bodies to discuss and debate joint issues, to facilitate closer integration of paediatrics and psychiatry, and to provide a source of advice and guidance on training for the two bodies.

The Standing Joint Committee of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and British Psychological Society was set up in 1975, but held its first meeting on 7 January 1977.

The The Royal College of Psychiatrists and the College of Occupational Therapists was established in 1988 to promote professional links and understanding between the two disciplines and to encourage joint research.

Born 1903; educated Central School Sheffield (Birley Scholar); Sheffield University (Linley Scholar); Gonville and Caius College Cambridge (Wollaston Scholar); PhD Sheffield; PhD Cambridge; 1851 Exhibition Student, Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge, 1926-1930; High-Voltage Laboratory, Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Company, Manchester, 1930-1946; Member, British Mission on Atomic Energy, Berkeley, California and Oakridge, Tennessee, 1944-45; Director, Laboratory, Associated Electrical Industries (AEI), Aldermaston, 1946-1963; elected Fellow of the Royal Society, 1948; Scientific Adviser, AEI, 1963; Chief Scientist, Central Electricity Generating Board, 1963-1970; External Professor of Electrical Engineering, University of Leeds, 1967-1979; Visiting Professor of Physics, City University, since 1971; Robert Kitchin (Saddlers) Research Professor, since 1983, and first Frank Poynton Professor, Physics Department, since 1984, City University.

Publications: The Release and Use of Nuclear Energy (1961); Rutherford: Father of Nuclear Energy (Rutherford Lecture 1972, published 1973); The Royal Society and its Dining Clubs (1975); Lightning: the long spark (1977); Cockcroft and the Atom (1983); Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co. and the Cavendish Laboratory (1984); The Making of Physicists (1987); Philately and the Royal Society (1990); papers on high voltage and transient electrical phenomena, fission and fusion.

Colleges of Advanced Technology , Committee of Principals

The Colleges of Advanced Technology (CATs) were established in1956 following the publication of a Government White Paper on Technical Education which listed 24 technical colleges in receipt of 75% grant for parts of their advanced work. Government confirmed that the proportion of advanced work at these colleges should be increased so that they could develop as quickly as possible into Colleges of Advanced Technology. Eventually ten of the 24 were confirmed as CATs including Battersea, Chelsea and Northampton Polytechnics in London and, in 1962, Brunel College of Technology. From the start the newly designated CATs felt the need to establish a basis for joint action and although the Principals were all members of the Association of Principals of Technical Institutions, they decided that they needed to meet as a discrete group. The first meeting took place in June 1957 and a formal announcement of the establishment of the Committee came in June 1959. The Committee met 54 times until it dissolved in 1965 prior to the Colleges becoming Universities when the Principals joined the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals. Throughout its existence the Committee was chaired by Dr P F R (later Sir Peter) Venables (1904-1979), Principal of Birmingham College of Technology, the first CAT, and the Hon. Secretary was Dr (later Sir) James Tait (1912-98), Principal of Northampton Polytechnic, later City University.

The original Governing Body of the Northampton Institute was to comprise seventeen members composed as follows: three appointed by the Central Governing Body of the City Polytechnic (the Trustees of the London Parochial Charities, also known as the City Parochial Foundation or CPF), one by the London County Council (LCC), one by the Schools Board for London, four by the Skinners' Company, one by the Saddlers' Company, one each by the Governing Bodies of the Birkbeck Institute and the City of London College, and five co-opted members (these original five comprised three then engaged in the major local industry of the watch and clock trade). The Governing Body first met at the Birbeck Institute on 1 Feb 1892. The 4th Marquess of Northampton and his son, the Earl Compton both desired to become members of the Body, and the scheme was amended to increase its composition to twenty one members. Meetings were held monthly.
Designation of the Institute as College of Advanced Technology (CAT) in 1957 also involved a revision of the Governing Body. No less than five members were now to be appointed by the LCC, one each by the County Councils of Essex, Hertfordshire and Middlesex, one from the University of London, four by the Skinners', one by the Saddlers', three by the CPF, and six cooptative members. Not less than six of the Governors were to have current professional or industrial experience relating to the work of the college. Advisory bodies representing industry and professional bodies in each technology were also established. The transition of CATs to direct grant' funding from the Ministry of Education in 1962 involved another reform of the Governing Body; five Local Education Authorities (of which four were to be LCC), one from the Regional Advisory Council, two from the University of London, four from the Skinners', one from the Saddlers', four from the Academic Board of the College, one from the Ministry of Education, the Principal ex-officio and co-opted members. As a result of the Robbins Report of 1963, proposing the conversion of the CATs into full technological universities, the College sought interest of affiliation with other relevant institutions. Discussions were begun with Sir John Cass College, Jewry Street, London and the College of Aeronautics, Cranfield, though no resultant link was achieved. The Governing Body held its final meeting on 26 Sep 1966. This was also its first meeting as the successor body, the Council of The City University, which controls the financial and legal side of the university. The Lady Superintendent wasresponsible, under the direction of the Principal, to the Governing Body, for all matters educational and social connected with women attending the institute'. The first Lady Superintendent, Mrs A Winton Thorpe, was appointed in 1896, and was succeeded by Mrs A M Tuck in 1898. Her successor, Miss V P Muddock, was appointed in 1928. On her retirement in 1949, the post was not filled again.

Iris Murdoch was born in Dublin, Ireland on 15 Jul 1919. When she was very young Iris and her parents moved to London, England, and Iris studied at Frobel and Badminton Schools. She followed this with studies in classics, ancient history and philosophy at Oxford, and further study at Cambridge. During the war years Iris worked for the Treasury in London, and then joined the UNRRA providing relief in formerly occupied countries in Europe. In 1948 she became a fellow of St Anne's College, Oxford, where she taught and researched philosophy.
Iris Murdoch wrote a number of tracts on philosophy, however it is for her novels that she is best known. She wrote 26 novels in total, her first being 'Under the Net' published in 1954. Other notable works include 'The Bell' and 'The Sea, the Sea', for which she won the Booker Prize. Her last novel, 'Jackson's Dilemma', was published in 1995.

In her youth Iris Murdoch had relationships with a number of individuals, including Elias Canetti. She met author and scholar John Bayley while at Oxford, and they married in 1956. She wrote to a great number of people and maintained friendships in this way.
Later in life Iris Murdoch was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, the first effects of which she had attributed to writer's block. She died in 1999.

Leo Pliatzky was a senior civil servant who spent much of his career working for the Treasury. He became friends with Iris Murdoch at the University of Oxford and they remained in contact for many years afterwards.

Kingston Polytechnic Gipsy Hill Teacher Training College

Gipsy Hill Teacher Training College was established in 1917 and a revolutionary College for the education of Kindergarten and primary school children. Originally founded on a site on Gipsy Hill, near Croydon, the College's first principal was Lilian de Lissa, an expert in education training from Australia. The College continued at the Gipsy Hill site until the Second World War, growing in popularity but suffering from failing buildings. During the War the College was evacuated, first to Brighton and then to a large house near Bradford. After the war in 1946 the College moved to Kingston Hill, where it continued to grow in popularity. In 1975 the College became part of Kingston Polytechnic, which later became Kingston University. The site of the College from 1946 onwards is now the University's Kingston Hill campus.

Kingston University is a university in Kingston upon Thames, south-west London. Formerly Kingston Polytechnic, it was granted university status in 1992. It has approximately 18000 students.

Murdoch , Dame , Jean Iris , 1919-1999 , author

Iris Murdoch was born in Dublin, Ireland on 15 Jul 1919. When she was very young Iris and her parents moved to London, England, and Iris studied at Frobel and Badminton Schools. She followed this with studies in classics, ancient history and philosophy at Oxford, and further study at Cambridge. During the war years Iris worked for the Treasury in London, and then joined the UNRRA providing relief in formerly occupied countries in Europe. In 1948 she became a fellow of St Anne's College, Oxford, where she taught and researched philosophy.
Iris Murdoch wrote a number of tracts on philosophy, however it is for her novels that she is best known. She wrote 26 novels in total, her first being 'Under the Net' published in 1954. Other notable works include 'The Bell' and 'The Sea, the Sea', for which she won the Booker Prize. Her last novel, 'Jackson's Dilemma', was published in 1995.

In her youth Iris Murdoch had relationships with a number of individuals, including Elias Canetti. She met author and scholar John Bayley while at Oxford, and they married in 1956. She wrote to a great number of people and maintained friendships in this way.
,br/>Later in life Iris Murdoch was diagnosed with Alzheimers disease, the first effects of which she had attributed to writer's block. She died in 1999.

Freeman , Barbara Constance , fl 1920s-fl 1989 , author

Barbara Constance Freeman was a student of art at Kingston School of Art, 1923-[1926]; passed an examination in drawing and won a scholarship in 1929 (information sourced from correspondence from Ernest Kyle within the collection, does not specify what scholarship was awarded). Freeman was awarded Silver trophy from Society of Women Journalists for 'Best illustration' in the Annual Literary Festival, 1949 and became an author.

Publications include Clemency in the Moonlight (Pan Macmillan, 1981) and Two Thumb Thomas (Puffin, 1978).

Dame Jean Iris Murdoch was born on 15 July 1919 in Dublin; later moving with her family to Brook Green, Hammersmith. Murdoch was educated at Froebel Demonstration School at Colet Gardens; Badminton School, Bristol from 1932 and Somerville College Oxford; winning scholarships to both Badminton and Somerville College.

At Oxford, Murdoch was influenced by the classicist, Eduard Fraenkel, and her philosophy tutor Donald MacKinnon and soon joined the Communist Party. Murdoch gained a first in Classics in 1942 and was employed as assistant principal in the Treasury, 1942-1944; later joining the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, working in London, Brussels and Austria. Murdoch returned to London in 1946, winning a place at Vassar College and a Commonwealth Scholarship, however as she had declared herself a communist on her application for an American visa her application was denied. Murdoch studied at Newnham College, Cambridge, 1947-1948 and won a philosophy tutorship at St Anne's, Oxford, where she stayed until 1963, she later worked as a lecturer at Royal College of Art for four years.

Murdoch's first book Sartre: Romantic Rationalist was published in 1953 by Bowes and Bowes in a series titled 'Studies in Modern Thought' and her first novel Under the net was accepted for publication. She went on to write many books including The Bell, 1958, which achieved great commercial success and The Red and the Green, 1965, concerning the Easter rising, reflecting her Irish background. Murdoch was appointed DBE in 1987 and presented with an honorary degree from Kingston University in 1993. In 1997, Murdoch was diagnosed as suffering with Alzheimer's disease and died in Oxford on 8 February 1999.

Publications include: Existentialists and Mystics: Writings on Literature and Philosophy, 1997; A Fairly Honourable Defeat, 1970 and Metaphysics as a Guide to Morals, 1992.

Sheridan Morley was born on 05 Dec 1941, the son of actor Robert Morley and Joan Buckmaster. His maternal Grandmother was actress Gladys Cooper, and maternal Grandfather was Herbert Buckmaster. He was named after a character that Robert Morley was currently playing in 'The Man Who Came to Dinner'. He was educated at Sizewell Hall school on the Sussex Coast, and later studied Modern Language at Merton College, Oxford. His education included a year in Switzerland to study languages. While at University he was the secretary of the Oxford University Drama Society (OUDS), and appeared in a number of productions.

After University and working in Hawaii for a year, Sheridan Morley worked for Independent Television News for some years as a reporter. At this point he started to write articles on the theatre in the press, and in 1967 moved to BBC 2 to present the art showcase 'Late Night Line-Up' and later 'Film Night'. Also for television he presented 'Sheridan Morley Meets' for the BBC and 'Theatreland' for London Weekend Television (LWT), and on radio he presented 'Kaledioscope' for Radio 4 and 'Meridian' for the BBC World Service. He regularly appeared as a panellist for quiz shows on both television and radio.

As a critic he wrote initially for The Times and Punch, and later for the Sunday Telegraph, Evening Standard, International Herald Tribune, The Spectator and the Daily Express. He also produced a number of plays, most notably 'Noel and Gertie', a tribute to Noel Coward and Gertrude Lawrence. Other productions include 'If Love Were All', 'The Chalk Garden', 'The Lodger', 'Jermyn Street Revue', 'Spread a Little Happiness' and 'Song at Twilight'. As well as directing productions Sheridan Morley also appeared in many, including the narrator in 'Side by Side by Sondheim' on many occasions and as the narrator in his own 'Noel and Gertie', along side giving a number of talks and performing in cabaret both on his own and with others, notably Michael Law.

Sheridan Morley also wrote a great number of books, including a biography of his friend Noel Coward. He also edited and introduced Coward's diaries and a number of his play scripts. Other notable biographies include those for John Gielgud, Dirk Bogarde, and Robert Morley. He wrote a number of books on theatre and film in general, including Spread a Little Happiness and Tales of the Hollywood Raj.

Sheridan Morley was close friends with a number of actors, actresses, directors and producers. He married Margaret Gudjeko in 1965, the marriage was later dissolved in 1990. He then married Ruth Leon in 1995. He has three children by his first marriage- Hugo, Alexis and Juliet. Sheridan Morley died on 16 Feb 2007 at the age of 65.

Scott Dunbar was a teacher, philosopher and theologian from Canada. Dunbar led a difficult life, experiencing a near death experience due to an alcohol overdose, later ending up an Alcoholics Anonymous member, 1975; became a bio-ethicist via the Cleveland Clinic and wrote on many aspects of bio-ethics; later moving to Toronto, 1997, only to return to Montreal unemployed. He then worked, teaching English as a second language. Scott, a profound thinker and skilled writer met Iris Murdoch in 1966; Scott became arguably the most important 'gay' friend she had, one of the many including Roly Cochrane and Andrew Harvey. Scott Dunbar died 1 March 2006.

Dame Jean Iris Murdoch was born on 15 July 1919 in Dublin; later moving with her family to Brook Green, Hammersmith. Murdoch was educated at Froebel Demonstration School at Colet Gardens; Badminton School, Bristol from 1932 and Somerville College Oxford; winning scholarships to both Badminton and Somerville College.

At Oxford, Murdoch was influenced by the classicist, Eduard Fraenkel, and her philosophy tutor Donald MacKinnon and soon joined the Communist Party. Murdoch gained a first in Classics in 1942 and was employed as assistant principal in the Treasury, 1942-1944; later joining the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, working in London, Brussels and Austria. Murdoch returned to London in 1946, winning a place at Vassar College and a Commonwealth Scholarship, however as she had declared herself a communist on her application for an American visa her application was denied. Murdoch studied at Newnham College, Cambridge, 1947-1948 and won a philosophy tutorship at St Anne's, Oxford, where she stayed until 1963, she later worked as a lecturer at Royal College of Art for four years.

Murdoch's first book Sartre: Romantic Rationalist was published in 1953 by Bowes and Bowes in a series titled 'Studies in Modern Thought' and her first novel Under the net was accepted for publication. She went on to write many books including The Bell, 1958, which achieved great commercial success and The Red and the Green, 1965, concerning the Easter rising, reflecting her Irish background. Murdoch was appointed DBE in 1987 and presented with an honorary degree from Kingston University in 1993. In 1997 Murdoch was diagnosed as suffering with Alzheimer's disease and died in Oxford on 8 February 1999.

Publications include: Existentialists and Mystics: Writings on Literature and Philosophy, 1997; A Fairly Honourable Defeat, 1970 and Metaphysics as a Guide to Morals, 1992.

Barbara Dorf studied at the Slade School of Art. She has exhibited in a large number of prominent London galleries and mixed shows, and in Paris and Belgrade. She is also a lecturer and an art historian. Her paintings were much admired by EH Gombrich and Iris Murdoch.

Publishing News magazine

Launched in 1979 by founders Fred Newman (Born Manfred Neumann in Austria in 1932. Was editor of the student newspaper 'Cherwell' at Oxford, where he met co-founder Labovitch. His first job was with the Daily Sketch. He went on to work at University of Sussex and Phoebus Partworks, part of the British Printing Corporation, where he was Managing Director. He left in 1979 to form Publishing News) and Clive Labovitch (Born 1932 in Leeds. Attended Oxford where he also worked on 'Cherwell'. He went into business with Michael Heseltine in the 1960s, winning the contract to publish the British Institute of Management magazine and forming Cornmarket Press (later Haymarket Publishing. He split from Heseltine and co-founded Publishing News in 1979 after a failed independent venture. He died in 1994.)

Newman and Labovitch’s first venture was Skateboard Weekly, formed in 'Harry’s Bar' in Park Lane Hotel’s vacant basement. It was also here that Publishing News was established, and the location lent its name to the paper’s long-standing diarist, 'Harry Barr' (a fictional character who many believed to be real). Publishing News focused on the people of the book trade. Many thought the venture would be short-lived: The Bookseller only ever referred in print to its competitor as 'Skateboard Weekly'.

Publishing News was a fornightly (later weekly) magazine reporting on all aspects of the book trade. It was commended for giving coverage to the independent sector and self-publishers, and innovations such as daily issues for the London Book Fair, and later the Frankfurt Book Fair. In 1983 the company moved to offices in Museum Street, and in 1990 they launched the first British Book Awards, also known as the 'Nibbies'. The first awards ceremony, held at the Park Lane Hotel, was a sell-out, and the ceremony continued to grow year on year and attract press and television coverage. In 2001 Publishing News launched a website covering news and features relevant to the book trade as a companion to its print magazine, and bought research agency BML (Book Marketing) in 2003.

The 25th July 2008 of Publishing News was the last. Fred Newman died in November 2008.

John Bayley was an author and literary critic who was a professor at Oxford for many years. He married the author Iris Murdoch in 1956, and stayed with her until her death in 1999. He published a trilogy of books on his life with Murdoch, particularly on caring for her through her Alzheimer's. After Murdoch's death he married Audi Villiers.

Michael Howard was an army officer during the Second World War. He met John Bayley during this time and continued a friendship and correspondence with him afterwards.

Kingston Polytechnic Kingston University

Kingston Polytechnic was formed in 1970 by the merger of Kingston College of Technology and Kingston College of Art. In 1975 Gipsy Hill Teacher Training College became part of the Polytechnic. In 1992 the Polytechnic was awarded University status, and became Kingston University.

Dame Jean Iris Murdoch was born on 15 July 1919 in Dublin; later moving with her family to Brook Green, Hammersmith. Murdoch was educated at Froebel Demonstration School at Colet Gardens; Badminton School, Bristol from 1932 and Somerville College Oxford; winning scholarships to both Badminton and Somerville College.

At Oxford, Murdoch was influenced by the classicist, Eduard Fraenkel, and her philosophy tutor Donald MacKinnon and soon joined the Communist Party. Murdoch gained a first in Classics in 1942 and was employed as assistant principal in the Treasury, 1942-1944; later joining the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, working in London, Brussels and Austria. Murdoch returned to London in 1946 winning a place at Vassar College and a Commonwealth Scholarship, however as she had declared herself a communist on her application for an American visa her application was denied. Murdoch studied at Newnham College, Cambridge, 1947-1948 and won a philosophy tutorship at St Anne's, Oxford, where she stayed until 1963, she later worked as a lecturer at Royal College of Art for four years.

Murdoch's first book Sartre: Romantic Rationalist was published in 1953 by Bowes and Bowes in a series titled 'Studies in Modern Thought' and her first novel Under the net was accepted for publication. She went on to write many books including The Bell, 1958, which achieved great commercial success and The Red and the Green, 1965, concerning the Easter rising, reflecting her Irish background. Murdoch was appointed DBE in 1987 and presented with an honorary degree from Kingston University in 1993. In 1997 Murdoch was diagnosed as suffering with Alzheimer's disease and died in Oxford on 8 February 1999.

Publications include: Existentialists and Mystics: Writings on Literature and Philosophy, 1997; A Fairly Honourable Defeat, 1970 and Metaphysics as a Guide to Morals, 1992.

Sugana Ramanathan, an academic employed by St Xaviers College, Ahmedabad, India [1998], wrote about Iris in Figures of Good (Macmillan, London, 1990) and met her 1987 at Murdoch's house. Ramanathan corresponded with Murdoch regularly during 1980s-1990s.