The political history of the country that achieved independence in 1948 as the Dominion of Ceylon, became the Republic of Sri Lanka in 1972 and then the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka in 1978 has to a certain degree been that of the oscillation of power between two parties. The Ekshat Jathika Pakshaya (United National Party, UNP) ruled the country in 1948-1956, 1959-1960, 1965-1970, 1977-1994 and from 2001-2004, while its rival, the Sri Lanka Nidahas Pakshaya (Sri Lanka Freedom Party SLFP), has been in government for the remainder of the period. Traditionally, the SLFP has been the more left-wing of the two, as indicated by the United Front it formed in 1970 with the Communist Party of Sri Lanka and the trotskyite Lanka Sama Samaja Party, but its strong pro-Sinhalese rhetoric and legislation (most particularly the 1972 constitution favouring Buddhism and relegating the Tamil language to a secondary status) served to antagonise the country's large Tamil minority as well as driving the UNP to take up a similar position. The Tamil community increasingly turned to their own political organisations, represented here by the likes of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress, and following the communalist riots of 1981 and 1983 there began the conflict between the Sri Lankan authorities and the rebel Tamil Tigers which has dogged the island ever since.
Canada emerged from World War Two with the power and jurisdiction of its federal government greatly enhanced by the necessity of wartime controls and centralization, and the post-war period has borne witness to a complex debate between the provinces and Ottawa as to the extent to which this power should be limited or even relinquished. Complicating the issue has been the presence within the confederation of predominantly francophone Quebec, where the desire for special status or even independence has in turn impacted upon the demands made by the other provinces and territories. This has also had an effect on the political party system, with perhaps only the Liberals (and until recently the Progressive Conservatives) consistently being able to lay claim to being a truly national party whilst other essentially regionalist parties (Social Credit, Bloc Quebecois, the Reform Party and arguably the New Democratic Party) sent representatives to the national parliament. External relations have also been a focus for debate, with concern centring on the United States and its economic and cultural influence, as well as the consequences for Canadian foreign policy of following the lead of its powerful neighbour. These issues and others are raised, referred to and discussed within the materials held here.
Following the events of 1974 the de facto administration of Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus unilaterally declared itself first the "Turkish Federated State of Cyprus" in 1975 and then in 1983 the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus", although only Turkey officially recognised the new state. Throughout this period (in which negotiations with the Greek Cypriots continued intermittently) it was led by Rauf Denktas of the resolutely seperatist and anti-communist National Unity Party, from which the majority of the materials held here originate.
After a ten year political campaign by the Convention Peoples' Party (CPP) the Gold Coast became independent Ghana on the 6th March 1957, the first of Britain's African colonies to make this transition. Its first Prime Minister and dominant political figure Dr. Kwame Nkrumah led it through independence to become a republic and a one-party state, and was also a prime mover in the formation of the Organization of African Unity (OAS). His removal in a 1966 coup ushered in a period of characterised by military interventions in government, which may have ended with the election of John Kufuor in 2000. He was the first elected president to succed another elected president. The material here dates from the independence movement onwards, and is of particular interest with regard to Nkrumah's socialism, his pan-Africanist orientation and the arguments over his legacy following his death in 1972.
Guadeloupe changed hands been France and Britain many times before settling as a French colony in 1815. Since 1946 it has been an overseas département of France.
Between 1953 and 1963 Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland formed a nominally self-governing Federation, which was eventually terminated prior to the independence of the latter two territories as Zambia and Malawi. Given the restrictions on African electoral participation the government of the Federation was effectively dominated by white parties, with the United Federal Party under first Godfrey Huggins and later Roy Welensky in power throughout this period.
As the Union of South Africa (1910-1961) and subsequently as a republic the country's history between independence from British rule and the 1994 elections has been dominated by the issue of relations between its different racial groups. Following the ascension to power of the Boer-dominated National Party in 1948 racial discrimination became increasingly entrenched in law as part of the 'apartheid' policy. Resistance and repression increased together, with groups representing the demands of the non-white population (notably the PAC and the ANC) being banned and subsequently conducting an armed struggle from various bases in sympathetic neighbouring countries. Legislation such as the pass laws and the ruling requiring all pupils to learn Afrikaans led to protests and subsequent massacres, in the former case at Sharpeville in 1960 and in the latter in Soweto in 1976. Domestic events were played out against a backdrop of increasing foreign condemnation of the apartheid regime and its consciousness of the vulnerability of its position as an important factor in Cold War strategy. These issues, as well as the disputes between different factions in the liberation and apartheid movements, are raised, referred to and discussed within the materials held here. In addition, newer materials deal with the political scene after the transition to majority rule and the problems such as endemic poverty and AIDS which have tempered the initial optimism of the post-apartheid era.
The political history of the Seychelles since achieving independence from Britain in 1976 has been dominated by two men: the country's first President, Charles Mancham of the Seychelles Democratic Party (SDP) and France Albert René of the Seychelles People's United Party (SPUP), later the Seychelles People's Progressive Front (SPPF). The latter overthrew Mancham in a 1977 coup, and between 1979 and 1991 ruled a one-party state. Despite the return of Mancham and the Democratic Party and the institution of multi-party elections in 1991 the SPPF and their leader are still in power today. Materials from these parties in their different incarnations are held, and there is also a small quantity of trade union material.
Swaziland held its first legislative council elections in 1964 and became independent in 1968.
Namibia (South West Africa) was administered by South Africa under a League of Nations mandate from 1920 to 1946, but as the apartheid regime consolidated itself so the idea of the mandate as something to be eventually relinquished faded, with South Africa refusing to convert the mandate into a UN trusteeship arrangement. The history of Namibia until 1990 was therefore characterised by increasing international disapproval of South African occupation (as shown by the withdrawal of the mandate in 1966 and the International Court of Justice ruling in 1971 that the South African presence was illegal), attempts by the Pretoria regime to give this occupation some legitimacy and the growth of organisations opposed to it. The largest of these were the South West Africa National Union (SWANU) and the South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO). The recognition of the latter by the UN in 1976 as the sole representative of the will of the Namibian people demonstrated how international events affected organisations resisting the occupation as well as those enforcing it. After the 1978 elections the South-African backed Democratic Turnhalle Alliance formed the territory's government in defiance of UN Resolution 435 and was boycotted by SWAPO among others. Bound as ever to political developments in its more powerful neighbour, Namibia achieved its independence in 1990 following a transitional period overseen by the UN, and has been governed by SWAPO ever since.
Trinidad and Tobago gained independence following the dissolution of the British West Indies federation in 1962 with Eric Williams of the People's National Movement (PNM) becoming Prime Minister. He retained this position until his death in 1981, and it was only in 1986 that the PNM were finally removed from power. The first-past-the-post electoral system combined with a polarisation of political support along racial grounds (the majority of PNM support came from those of African descent, whilst Indians tended to support first the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) and from 1976 the United Labour Front (ULF)) is cited in these materials as explaining the PNM's longevity in power. Williams survived the austerity of the 1960s and the surge in support for Black Power ideas around the time of the declaration of a state of emergency in 1970 (represented in print here by the Tapia House Movement), but his government subsequently benefitted from the revenues accrued from the post-1974 rise in oil prices. The overwhelming defeat suffered by the PNM in the 1986 elections followed the formation of an umbrella opposition group. the National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR), which garnered votes from both main racial constituencies. The NAR was made up of the Organisation of National Reconstruction (ONR), the Democratic Action Congress (DAC), United Labour Force (ULF), and Tapia (the political party which evolved from the Tapia House Movement), subsequently splitting into the United National Congress (UNC) and a rump party which retained the NAR name. Materials from all of the groups referred to here are held in the collection.
Uganda achieved its independence in 1962 with Milton Obote of the Uganda People's Congress (UPC) as chief minister. The UPC had formed an alliance with Kabaka Yekka, the monarchist party of the Buganda region, in order to defeat the mainly Catholic Democratic Party. Materials from all these groups are held here, many originating from the 1962 elections which were the last to be held in Uganda until 1980. During this period the influence of the military in the country steadily increased, following an army mutiny in 1964 and the Kabaka's deposition in 1966, and culminating in the 1971 coup d'etat that brought Ida Amin to power. The war with Tanzania in 1978-1979 was the catalyst for the removal of Amin's dictatorial regime, but though Obote and the UPC were returned to power in the 1980 election, further human rights abuses eventually led to the installation of a so-called no-party democracy under Yoweri Museveni's National Resistance Army (NRA) in 1986. The events of these traumatic years are documented here and in the Ugandan Pressure Groups Materials.
Zanzibar was a British protectorate from the end of World War One to 1963, when it briefly became independent. The revolution of 1964 was followed by a merger with Tanganyika later that year to form first the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar and later Tanzania. The Zanzibar-based Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP) was the junior partner in government with Julius Nyerere's Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) until 1977, when the two parties merged to form Chama Cha Mapinduzi (Revolutionary Party, CCM). As well as ASP materials there are also holdings for other parties dating back to the period of British control over Zanzibar.
Modern trade unionism can be said to have begun in Dominica in 1945 with the formation of the Dominica Trade Union. The Dominica Amalgamated Workers' Union (DAWU), whose history is to be found here, grew out of this original organisation. In contrast, the Civil Service Association (CSA) was formed independently of the general unions like DAWU and, in the advertisement preserved here is seen to be concerning itself with the political issues facing the country, particularly the question of sovereignty.
The trade union movement in India inevitably became bound up with the independence movement, with the foundation of the All-India Trade Union Congress (AITUC)in 1920 reflecting the increase in political and national consciousness following the First World War. An indication of the degree to which the economic struggle was subsumed in favour of the fight for independence can be found in the split which followed independence, with the Indian National Congress forming the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) in response to communist domination of the AITUC. The struggles of these umbrella organisations to work inside and outside the system throughout a period marked by increasing socio-economic and political crisis (encompassing the curtailing of trade union freedoms during the emergency and the wave of strikes under the Janata Party administration) are reflected in the materials here, as are the more generalised protests against the erosion of civil rights in this period by the likes of the People's Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR).
The collection held here stretches back to the 1940s and includes accounts of industrial disputes from that period from the likes of the New Zealand Waterside Workers' Union and the N.Z. Carpenters' and Related Trades' Union. Many of the later items originate from the Public Service Association, a white-collar union, and the umbrella organisation the New Zealand Federation of Labour, often consisting of critiques of government economic policy that reflect the increasing difficult circumstances the unions found themselves in in the late 1970s and early 1980s. As well as these materials and those of other unions representing specific industries there are also productions issued by the Labour Women's Council concentrating on the issues facing female union members.
In May 1989, the Institute of Contemporary British History commenced a broad ranging oral history project relating to the education and careers of high-ranking members of the Civil Service, 1947-1982. The interviews were conducted primarily by Dr W Scott Lucas from the University of Birmingham and Professor Anthony Gorst of the University of Westminster, under the auspices of an Institute for Contemporary British History archive project. The interviews were eventually coalesced into the Institute for Contemporary British History Suez Oral History Project, which concerned British political, diplomatic, and military involvement in the Suez Crisis, 1956.
The Institute was founded in 1902 as the London Day Training College. Financed and controlled by the London County Council and with the academic support of the University of London, it was initially a college for training elementary school teachers to work in the capital. In 1909 it became a School of the University of London, losing this status when, in 1932, it was transferred wholly to the control of the University. At this date it also changed its name to the Institute of Education, University of London. During the years it had gradually expanded its role, starting to train secondary school teachers and to offer higher degrees and research. Particularly important were its work in training teachers for colonial service and the establishment of the Child Development Department.
In 1942 the McNair Committee was established by the Board of Education, 'To investigate the present sources of supply and the methods of recruitment and training of teachers and youth leaders and to report what principles should guide the Board in these matters in the future.' It published its report in 1944. It was divided over the best method of reorganising teacher training, and it was four years before, in 1949, a new scheme for London was instituted. An 'Area Training Organisation' (ATO) for the London area was created. Confusingly, this took the name University of London Institute of Education and comprised around thirty affiliated individual colleges and education departments, including the 'old' Institute of Education. A new governing body (Council), and committee structure was created for the scheme to look after syllabuses, examinations, etc for all the constituent colleges which retained their own local governing bodies and administraive structures for local matters. The separate identity of the old Institute, sometimes now termed 'central activity' or 'Central Institute' was ensured by the establishment of a separate governing body (Committee of Management) and committee structure. However, both 'Central' and 'Wider' Institutes were administered from the 'Central Institute' building and shared one single administrative structure (registry, accounts office and examinations department). This arrangement was dissolved in 1975 and in 1987 the Institute once again became a School of the University of London, incorporated by Royal Charter. As a graduate college of the federal University it now offers a wide range of courses including initial teacher education, further professional development and research degree programmes and is a major centre for educational research.
The Exile Archive was established at the Institute in the academic year 1996-97. The Institute already holds the papers of several individuals such as Rudolf Majut, Herbert Thoma and Berthold Auerbach, who were exiled from Germany and Austria during the 1930s as a result of persecution under the National Socialist regime. However, since the setting up of the Research Centre for German and Austrian Exile Studies, the Institute has attracted archival donations from several emigrés, and the Collection now has material relating to both individuals and organisations.
The Institute of Germanic Studies was founded in 1950. The Institute is primarily a research institute, serving the needs of postgraduate students and scholars from the United Kingdom and abroad. The Institute has a wide-ranging publishing programme, including monographs, volumes of essays, conference proceedings, dissertations and bibliographies. Its programme of activities comprises lectures by guest speakers, symposia on particular authors and/or topics, readings by visiting writers, reading workshops, and colloquia for postgraduate students. The Institute also hosts the intercollegiate course leading to the MA degree in German of the University of London.
The Institute's Library holds over 87,000 volumes (nearly 500 current periodicals). It is widely recognised as the principal research collection for German in the University of London, and is the largest of its kind not only in the United Kingdom, but indeed anywhere outside the German-speaking countries. The reference collection covers the language and literature of all periods, with outstanding holdings of journals, reference works, and contemporary writing. Its book collection starts with the printed works of the late fifteenth century and comes right up to the present, whilst its extensive manuscript and archive holdings (many of which remain unknown and unpublished) range from the mid-ninth century to contemporary poetry.
The Research Centre for German Exile Studies was established at the IGS in 1995, when the Institute offered a home to this new organisation, which combined the former London Research Group for German Exile Studies and the Research Centre for Germans and Austrians in Great Britain, previously at the University of Aberdeen. The work of the Centre focuses on the history of those German-speaking emigrés who found refuge in Great Britain, on their personal recollections and experiences, their reception in British society, and their enrichment of the life of their new country of residence in such varied spheres as the professions, industry and commerce, literature, art and culture, politics, publishing, the media, and the world of entertainment and leisure.
The Institute of Jewish Affairs was founded in New York under the auspices of the American Jewish Congress and the World Jewish Congress in 1941, aiming to conduct an investigation of Jewish life over the preceding 25 years, to establish the facts of the position of the Jews during World War Two and determine their causes, and to suggest how Jewish rights might be claimed in a post-war settlement. It conducted research and collected documentation and information on various issues including anti-Semitism. The Insitute moved to London in 1965, maintaining its programme of research and publications into contemporary issues affecting Jewish communities, its regular publications including its report on anti-Semitism. The Institute was renamed the Institute for Jewish Policy Research in 1997.
In May 1960 Adolf Eichmann was kidnapped in Argentina by Israeli agents and handed over to the police authorities in Israel. The police investigation was put into the hands of a special unit (Bureau 6) which took 9 months to complete its task. The resulting indictment comprised 15 counts of crimes against the Jewish people, crimes against humanity, war crimes and membership of a hostile organisation.
The trial commenced on 10 April 1961 and Eichmann pleaded not guilty on all counts. Supported by more than 100 witnesses and 1600 documents the prosecution presented its case. The defence made no attempt to challenge the facts of the Holocaust or the authenticity of the documents that were evidence of it. The defence played down Eichmann's involvement and stressed the need to obey orders. The court found Eichmann guilty on all counts and sentenced him to death on 15 December 1961. Eichmann's lawyers lodged an appeal against the verdict and on 29 May 1962 the Israel Supreme Court rejected the appeal. Eichmann was executed on 31 May 1962.
The Institute of London Underwriters (ILU) was established in 1884 as the trade association for insurance companies transacting marine, aviation, and transport business in the London market. Although comparable in some respects to other representative market bodies, it differed from many of these in that it was concerned with the day-to-day business of the market as well as matters of policy. The governing body of the Institute was the Committee of fifteen, elected from among the nominated representatives of its member companies. The Committee in turn elected a Chairman and Deputy Chairman, both normally serving for two years.
The Institute was at first simply an association of underwriters working in the London market. It stemmed from informal meetings of London underwriters to discuss mutual problems. The underwriters recognised that more formal association would be helpful in many ways, such as providing an official channel for talks with governments, shipowners or even other insurers. From the earliest days, the Institute took a dominant role in trying to improve a variety of clauses in general use. Until the Second World War, the Institute remained a small secretariat concerned with promoting its members' interests in general rather than providing services to help process their business. However, the shortage of civilian labour during the Second World War led to the formation of a central Policy Department in October 1942, and the Institute's role began to grow substantially. During 1946, the Institute's Articles of Association were extended to comprise vessels, aircraft, cargoes, freight or other objects of marine, aviation and transit insurance. Lloyd's underwriters were included in membership in the early years, but Lloyd's Underwriters' Association was founded as a separate body in 1909. Nevertheless, the Institute continued to provide a secretariat to deal with questions of interest to the market as a whole. This led to a system of joint ILU/Lloyd'scommittees to monitor topics of interest in particular fields. The Joint Hull Committee was formed in 1910 to discuss all matters connected with hull insurance.
The Technical and Clauses Committee (formed 1925) drew its members from company and Lloyd's underwriters and claim adjusters, to act on mandates from the main committees to revise existing clauses or introduce new ones. The War Risks Rating Committee (formed 1935) monitored situations which might affect the insurance of war risks for cargoes. The Joint Cargo Committee (formed 1942) dealt with insurance of cargo by air as well as by sea.
The Institute was situated at 4 Royal Exchange Buildings (1884-7); 1 St. Michael's House, Cornhill (1887-1930); 37/39 Lime Street (1930-56); 40 Lime Street (1956-86); and 49 Leadenhall Street (1986-98). In 1965 a subsidiary office was opened in Folkestone, to house the Policy Department and accounting centre. In December 1998 the ILU merged with the London International Insurance and Reinsurance Market Association (LIIRMA) to form the International Underwriting Association of London.
In 1953 the Vintners' Company and the Wine and Spirit Association founded the qualification 'Master of Wine', awarded to those who passed a rigorous exam. The aim was to improve the standard of the British wine trade and promote professional excellence. The Institute was founded in 1955 by those who passed the first exam. It is now an independent body which runs the education programme and administers the Master of Wine exams.
The Institute of Meat was formed in 1946 as a membership company which provided the organization and management of the UK meat industry training. It was based at 19-20 Holborn Viaduct, 1946-73, 91-3 Charterhouse Street, 1973-85, 56-60 St John Street, and Butchers' Hall, 1985-94, but also held meetings at other venues. Its training and educational roles were taken over in 1993 by the newly-formed Meat Training Council. The Institute continued as an independent body, changing its name at some point after 1995 to the Worshipful Company of Butchers' Guild to reflect its close association with the livery company.
The Maudsley Hospital Medical School was opened in 1923 as. It was associated to the Maudsley Hospital, which was established in 1914 to treat the mentally ill. It was officially recognised by the University of London in [1933]. In 1948 it became a founder member of the newly formed British Postgraduate Medical Federation and changed its name to the Institute of Psychiatry. Maudsley Hospital amalgamated with the Bethlem Royal Hospital to form a joint teaching hospital in 1948. The Institute of Psychiatry became a school of King's College London in 1997.
The Finance and General Purposes Committee's functions were to advise on financial matters, scrutinise the strategic plan, and assume responsibility for risk assessment. When the Institute became a school of King's College London in Oct 1997 its functions were reduced, it was henceforth known as the Finance Committee.
CUTLASS was an Institute of Psychiatry research study, conducted 1999-2000. Funded by the National Health Service, the study aimed to establish whether the financial cost of new atypical medications for schizophrenia were offset by an increased quality of life for the patient.
Photographs displayed on the walls in a corridor at the Institute of Psychiatry. They were taken down when the Neurology Building in Windsor Walk was opened in 1980.
In 1936 Eliot Slater obtained a Medical Recearch Council grant to set up a twin register. In 1948 that led to a system at the Maudsley Hospital by which every patient was asked if they were born a twin and if they were, their names went on a register. The resulting Maudsley Twin Register formed the basis of much high quality research. This included a key monograph on the genetics of schizophrenia by Irving Gottesman and James (Jerry) Shields as members of the Psychiatric Genetics Unit. They argued the probabilistic rather than deterministic role of gender and were the first to apply a genetic - environmental multifactorial threshold model in modern psychiatry. In 1969 Slater retired and the Psychiatric Genetics Unit closed but research continued under Shields. Following his death in 1978 a section on psychiatric genetics was established within the Department of Psychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry, based at the Maudsley, under the leadership of Professor Robin Murray. Successive studies of adult and child twins, drawing on the Twins Register, have and continue to shed light on the epidemiology and genetic and environmental causes of or impact on schizophrenia and other personality disorders.
The Maudsley Hospital Medical School was opened in 1923 as. It was associated to the Maudsley Hospital, which was established in 1914 to treat the mentally ill. It was officially recognised by the University of London in [1933]. In 1948 it became a founder member of the newly formed British Postgraduate Medical Federation and changed its name to the Institute of Psychiatry. Maudsley Hospital amalgamated with the Bethlem Royal Hospital to form a joint teaching hospital in 1948. The Institute of Psychiatry became a school of King's College London in 1997.
The Academic Board was responsible for the academic policy of the Institute. In Oct 1997, when the Institute became a school of King's College London, the Academic Board was renamed the Institute Board.
The Camberwell Register was set up in 1964 by the Medical Research Council Social Psychiatry Unit led by Dr Lorna Wing, based at the Institute of Psychiatry, now part of King's College London. It began operation in January 1965. Its purpose was to provide an in-depth and cumulative source of data on the users of psychiatric services in a defined geographical area to test various hypotheses concerning the influence of social factors on the onset, course and outcome of psychiatric disorders. Camberwell was chosen as a testing ground because of the vicinity of the Maudsley and Bethlem Royal Hospitals, and it constituted one of a number of such registers to be compiled at this time in the United Kingdom and internationally, most notably at Aberdeen, Cardiff, Worcester, Nottingham and Northampton. It measured contact and monitored changes in the uptake of services and collected social and clinical information on sufferers and included both in-patients and out-patients. Data was initially only accumulated in hard-copy but was later also transferred to temporary electronic storage based at the University of London Computer Centre. Analysis programs were written to provide year by year statistics on the progress of the project. The register evaluated the effectiveness of competing community-based and hospital-based rehabilitation, the value of specialised psychotherapy and long term support, and provided invaluable statistics on the demography, socio-economic breakdown and distribution of the mentally ill, their support and care. The project ended in 1984 but follow-up data has accrued since then.
The Institute of Psychiatry was opened in 1923 as the medical school of the Maudsley Hospital, which was established in 1914 to treat the mentally ill. It was recognised by the University of London and changed its name to the Institute of Psychiatry in 1948, before becoming a school of King's College London in 1997. The Schedules for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry (SCAN) were developed under the auspices of the World Health Organization (WHO) and its International Classification of Diseases as a common set of standards to assess, measure and classify psychiatric disorders. The prototype was devised in 1980 and subsequent components such as training manuals, schedules, results of field trials and glossary were published up until 1998. SCAN is used as a classification and reference tool by psychiatrists and comprises a structured interview, encoding and computer programme to produce a standard diagnostic presentation.
The Conference of University Teachers of German (CUTG) was founded in 1932, with the aim of of meeting annually 'to discuss matters pertaining to the study of German in all its branches, to promote the study thereof, to encourage research, and generally to foster high standards of competence among university teachers of German'. Membership is open to any person who holds a full-time or part-time teaching or research appointment within the field of or including German Studies at a university in Great Britain or Ireland, or at a college within such a university.
Since 1967 the CUTG has published an annual survey of Research in Germanic Studies. In 1986 the Conference established a fund for Postgraduate Travelling Scholarships; further initiatives in recent years include the CUTG website (1996), the CUTG-sponsored e-mail discussion list german-studies (1998), a series of annual publications of proceedings from the meetings of the Conference, and further funds to support Publication Scholarships and an annual Essay Prize.
The inaugural meeting of the committee was held on 14 October 1943. Its object was to advise Government on the interests of insurance companies in post-war settlements. The committee considered all classes of business dealt with by the companies: accident, fire and life insurance. Lloyd's of London had its own War Settlement Committee.
During the retreat and withdrawal of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) from France in May 1940, approximately 100 soldiers from 2 Bn, Royal Norfolk Regt, were taken prisoner when the house in which they were surrounded was overrun by troops of the SS Totenkopf Div. The collection consists of German Army memoranda and witness statements relating to the shooting.
Intensive care developed rapidly in the 1960s and an increasing number of hospitals established units to care for patients requiring more detailed observation and treatment than in standard wards, with a high ratio of medical staff to patients. Anaesthetists emerged as the dominant specialty among consultants in charge of intensive care units (ICUs) in the UK, given their skills in the care of acutely ill patients, in life support and patient comfort, and in caring for other physicians' patients. The Intensive Care Society was founded in 1970 on the initiative of Alan Gilston, Consultative Anaesthetist to the National Heart Hospital, London, having a multi-disciplinary membership. The Intensive Care Society is an organisation of doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals in the United Kingdom, membership of which is open to those with an interest in Intensive Care Medicine. There were over 2,000 members in 2002, largely but not exclusively anaesthetists. Through its Council (which meets six times a year) the Society provides advice to the Department of Health and NHS Executive on aspects of intensive care and to the Royal Colleges on provision of intensive care, staffing and training. Its educational activities include organising national and local meetings. It also produces guidelines on relevant topics and other publications including its Journal.
Lt Col Ferdinand Otto Miksche, 11 Apr 1904-23 Dec 1992, was a soldier and a diplomat, an expert in central European politics, a military strategist, and a prolific writer on military affairs. Miksche's reputation as a military theorist flourished with the publication of Blitzkrieg (Faber and Faber, London, 1941) and Is bombing decisive? (Allen and Unwin, London, 1943). In London, he was a staff officer with Gen Charles André Joseph Marie De Gaulle's Free French forces and a regular military commentator for the London Times. His book Is bombing decisive?, or Contra Seversky as it was known in the United States, attracted attention in Britain and the United States due to its condemnation of the air power theories of Russian-American author Maj Alexander Prokofiev Seversky.
Interessen-Gemeinschaft Farbenindustrie was a German conglomerate of companies formed in 1925 - many produced dyes, but soon later turning to advanced chemistry. IG Farben was founded as a reaction to Germany's defeat in World War One and held a monopoly on chemical production. During the National Socialist regime, it manufactured Zyklon B, a poison used for delousing, and later used as the lethal agent in the gas chambers of the death camps of Auschwitz and Majdanek. The company was a major user of slave labour and as a result 13 directors of IG Farben were sentenced to prison terms between one and eight years before a US military tribunal at the Nuremberg Trials, following the IG Farben Trial (1947-1948). As a result, in 1951, the company was split up into the original constituent companies.
The International Academy of the History of Medicine was founded in 1962.
Dr Noel Poynter was born, 1906; Librarian, 1954-1964; Director of the Wellcome Institute, 1964-1973; founder member and president of the International Academy of the History of Medicine; died, 1979.
The IAI was founded in 1926 as the International Institute of African Languages and Cultures. It is governed by a council representing a balance between African and non African countries. The IAI's principle aim is "to promote the education of the public in the study of Africa and its languages and cultures". Its activities range from supporting seminars and other means of disseminating knowledge within and about Africa, to a range of publications, which include an international journal, monographs by distinguished authorities on African society and edited volumes. In recent years the Institute has extended its activities to encourage projects concerned with stimulating scholarship within Africa.
The decision to establish the International Alliance of Women was taken in Washington in 1902 as part of an annual convention of the National American Women Suffrage Association, although it took some nine months to come to fruition. It was originally named the International Woman Suffrage Committee, with Susan B Anthony as president, Vida Goldstein of Australia as secretary and with a committee of five members. This committee consisted of the secretary, Britain's representative Florence Fenwick Miller, Rachel Avery of the USA, Mrs Antoine Stolle of Germany and Mrs Gundrun Drewson of Norway. At this date, it was envisaged as a central bureau to collect, exchange and disseminate information on suffrage work internationally. Its objects were: (1) To secure enfranchisement for the women of all nations, by the promotion of woman suffrage and all such other reforms as are necessary to establish a real equality of liberties, status and opportunities between men and women, and (2) to urge women to use their rights and influence in public life to ensure that the status of every individual, without distinction of sex, race or creed, shall be based on respect for human personality, the only guarantee for individual freedom. A second conference was held in Berlin in 1904 at which the organisation was formally constituted. A third took place in 1906, the same year that its periodical Jus Suffragii was created. Work progressed despite some dissension produced by conflicts at national level. One such incident occurred that same year when Millicent Fawcett challenged the Women's Social and Political Union's representative Dora Montefiore. However, by June 1911, 24 associations were affiliated. The group continued throughout the First World War, although members' opinions were divided over the issue of pacifism, which led to the creation of another body, the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom in 1915. At the end of the conflict, representatives from its ranks attended the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 to work with some of the special commissions that touched on women's interests internationally. With the extension of the franchise to women in a number of countries after the Great War, there was some discussion of disbanding the organisation. However, it was decided that it should go on after a conference in Geneva in 1920, divided into franchised and non-franchised sections. The next conference three years later took place in Rome where the leadership passed from Carrie Chapman Catt to Margery Corbett Ashby. The organisation of the group was also changed, due to the increased sized of the group (38 affiliated members in 1923). From this point there was an increasing number of special committees on subject areas such as equal pay and the right to work, equal moral standards and the status of wives and mothers. The 1926 conference in Paris responded to this widening of their areas of interest by changing the name of the organisation to the International Alliance of Women for Suffrage and Equal Citizenship. By 1929 the organisation took as its five principles 1. equal suffrage 2. working for peace and human solidarity 3. equal access to education as a means of attaining equality of economic and working rights 4. equality of moral standards 5. equality of legal rights, especially for married women The principle of working for peace and disarmament was an area which would grow in importance throughout the late twenties and into the thirties as contact with the League of Nations grew through joint work on women's status. The outbreak of the Second World War saw the work falter, though not end, and in 1946 the body re-emerged as the International Alliance of Women: Equal Rights - Equal Responsibilities. Since then, it has worked closely with the United Nations. The organisation was among the first of the Non-Governmental Organisations to be accredited with Consultative Status by the Economic and Social Commission (ECOSOC) of the newly established United Nations in 1948 and contributed to work on the Declaration of Human Rights. It also increased its work with individual commissions attached to the larger international group, particularly those on social matters, the status of women, the International Labour Organisation and UNESCO. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, their involvement with organisations based in post-colonial countries increased and with it their focus on issues such as population and family planning. By 1989 the revised objectives were: (a) To secure all such reforms as are necessary to establish a real equality of liberties, status and opportunities between men and women and to work for equal partnership between men and women in all spheres of life (b) To urge women to accept their responsibilities and to use their rights and influence in public life to ensure that the status of every individual without distinction of sex, race or creed, shall be based on respect for the person, the only guarantee for individual freedom (c) To promote a better quality of life and good understanding among peoples Between triennial Congresses, a Board Meeting and an International Meeting are held, each accompanied by a seminar. The official organ of the IAW is the International Women's News Journal. This periodical was taken over for a short period by the Women's Publicity Planning Association between 1940 and 1945. Prior to that it was known as Jus Suffragii.
The International Association of Academies (1899-1913) was an association designed for the purpose of linking the various Academies around the world, of which the first meeting was held in Paris, France, in 1900.
The Internationale Auschwitz Komitee (IAK) was founded in 1952 by former inmates of the death camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau, with the following aims: to bear witness to the crimes of the Nazis in the camp; to fight for compensation for former inmates and their families; to work with the Auschwitz Museum to preserve the site of the camp as a permanent memorial. The IAK became involved in the gathering of statements and testimony against former camp guards and other Nazi personnel. Many of the witnesses who provided testimony later took part in the 'Frankfurt Trial' of perpetrators at Auschwitz.
Hermann Langbein (1912-1995), secretary of the International Auschwitz Committee was an Austrian who fought in the Spanish Civil War with the International Brigades for the Spanish Republicans against the Nationalists under Francisco Franco. He was interned in France after the end of the Spanish Civil War, and then sent to German concentration camps after the fall of France in 1940. Over the next few years he was imprisoned in several different camps (Dachau, Auschwitz and others). He was among the leadership of the International Resistance groups in the camps he was held in. After 1945 he was General Secretary of the International Auschwitz Committee, and later Secretary of the 'Comite' Internationale des Camps'. Hermann Langbein was among those awarded the Righteous Among the Nations status by Yad Vashem.
The Internationale Auschwitz Komitee was founded in 1952 by former inmates of the death camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau, with the following aims: to bear witness to the crimes of the Nazis in the camp; to fight for compensation for former inmates and their families; to work with the Auschwitz Museum to preserve the site of the camp as a permanent memorial. It became involved in the gathering of statements and testimony against former camp guards and other Nazi personnel. Many of the witnesses who provided testimony later took part in the 'Frankfurt Trial' of perpetrators at Auschwitz.
The Information Service of The International Bureau for the Right of Asylum and Aid to Political Refugees was created by the Conférence Internationale pour le Droit d'Asile, held in Paris on June 20-21, 1936. It served as an umbrella organization for all German émigré associations. A major aim of the organisation was to lobby the League of Nations for a more secure refugee status. The organisation's secretary general was Paul Perrin, a left wing deputy, who was also president of the Centre de Liaison des Comités pour le Statut des Immigrés, and one of eight members of a consultative commission, nominated by the French minister of the interior, with the object of screening applicants for refugee status.
The International Bureau for the Suppression of Traffic in Persons (1899-1971) was established at a time when the widespread campaign against the Contagious Diseases Acts had had the effect of focussing attention on the issue of prostitution. This had the result of encouraging the growth of groups like the National Vigilance Association whose aim was to work against the trade and its causes. In 1898, following the precedent of the International Abolitionist Federation, the National Vigilance Association agreed to address concerns about the international aspect of prostitution and began laying the foundations of an international federation of bodies working towards the abolition of the trade which would be known as the International Bureau for Suppression of Traffic in Persons. An international congress was held in London in Jun 1899 attended by ten delegations from European countries and one from the United States of America, as well as representatives of forty-eight local and national societies for the UK. The first meeting of the International Bureau was held in 1900, and throughout its existence the National Vigilance Association provided the premises, secretariat and the major part of the funding for international work, although the International Bureau for the Suppression of Traffic in Persons was always a separate organisation. Its constitution guaranteed that there should be a national committee in each of the partner countries. Each of these would send two representatives to sit on the international committee. The assembled representatives would, along with three other members elected by the National Vigilance Association, form the Bureau of the Congress or the central governing body. The NVA evidently saw the Bureau as the machinery for its international work, which would later lead to some tension with the partners. International work ceased during World War I after 1915 when it was decided that each national committee should continue working in its own way. The first official post-war meeting was held in 1920, but it was not until 1923 that national committees of former enemy countries felt able to re-establish international links. The first post-war Congress was held in Graz, Austria in 1924. The International Bureau for the Suppression of Traffic in Persons became closely involved with the agencies of the newly formed League of Nations which had responsibility for the work towards the suppression of traffic in persons. On the outbreak of World War II in 1939, work was again halted, only fully to resume in 1949 when constituent national committees became particularly active in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Indonesia and the United States of America. Unfortunately, this resumption coincided with a financial crisis within the National Vigilance Association, which was obliged to close down its Travellers' aid work in 1951 and re-assess its role.
After the revision of that organisation's Constitution in 1952-1953 and reappearance as the British Vigilance Association, the International Bureau's work changed. It concentrated on encouraging nation states to ratify the United Nations convention for the suppression of the traffic in persons and of the exploitation of the prostitution of others (2 Dec 1949).
The International Bureau also reported on international travellers' aid work in association with the International Catholic Association of Young Women's Services (ACISJF) and the World Young Women's Christian Association /Amies de la Jeune Fille. In addition, there was particular emphasis on the status of young women working as au pairs. Constituent national committees were particularly active in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Indonesia and the United States of America.
During the latter years of the IBS the organisation was struggling to survive under severe financial restraints and a main preoccupation was retaining its status as a non-governmental organisation with consultative status at the United Nations. The aims of the IBS seemed no longer in tune with the times, and the organisation did not long survive Richard Russell's retirement from ill-health in 1971.
At the end of the nineteenth century, the widespread campaign against the Contagious Diseases Acts had had the effect of focussing attention on the issue of prostitution. This had the result of encouraging the growth of groups like the National Vigilance Association whose aim was to work against the trade and its causes. In 1898, this body agreed to address concerns about the international aspect of prostitution and began laying the foundations of an international federation of bodies, working towards the abolition of the traffic in persons, which came into being in 1899. This International Bureau for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons consisted of representatives from each of the constituent bodies, including five from the National Vigilance Association itself. Subsequently, this core of five became the English National Committee in accordance with the International Bureau's constitution regarding its branches. Subsequently, other British groups and societies were requested to send representatives to their meetings so that in 1907 the organisation became the British National Committee for the Suppression of the White Slave Trade. Six years later, their increasingly broad base may be judged from a list of member associations and societies in 1913: Church Army, Church of England Moral Welfare Society, Association for Moral and Social Hygiene, West London Mission, British Social Hygiene Council, Catholic Women's League, Manchester Moral Welfare Association, Alliance of Honour, National Vigilance Association, Liverpool Hygiene Association, National Vigilance Association of Scotland, Jewish Association for the Protection of Women and Girls, the International Bureau, London Haven for Women and Girls, Missions to Seamen, National Council of Women, Public Morality Council, Central After Care Association for Women and Girls, Presbyterian Church of England, Methodist Church, and the Hull Vigilance Association. During World War I the Committee did not meet between 1915 and 1918 but was reconstituted in 1919 when its name was changed to The British National Committee for the Suppression of the White Slave Traffic and the International Traffic in Women. By 1932, membership was open to all major British organisations doing practical work for the protection of women and children and the group flourished throughout the 1930s. World War II again disrupted international work and in the post-war years membership was widened once more to include societies working for the protection of women and children. The National Vigilance Association's faced financial difficulties after the war, leading to its amalgamation with the British National Committee in 1953. The new body was called The British Vigilance Association and the National Committee for the Suppression of Traffic in Persons, but was generally known as the British Vigilance Association.
At the Second International Conference, which took place in Frankfurt in 1932, 60 Jewish delegates decided to organise a parallel Jewish conference for 1936. The president of the Jewish Conference was Dr M J Karpf, Director of the Graduate School for Jewish Social Work, New York. The central committee for the conference comprised leading figures in the social work field from all over the world. The secretariat was situated in Paris at the offices of the American Joint Distribution Committee. The Third International Conference on Social Work took place in London in July 1936 and was held in conjunction with the International Conference for Jewish Social Work.
The Grain and Feed Trade Association (GAFTA) was founded in 1971 when the London Corn Trade Association merged with the London Cattle Food Trade Association. GAFTA is a trade association for those working in the international grain trade. It came to hold the records of various related organisations which it merged with or acquired. For further information see CLC/B/103.