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On 18th October 1968 Prime Minister Harold Wilson officially opened Girobank - 'the people's bank', or National Giro as it was first known. Part of a Labour Government initiative to provide banking facilities for those people who did not have bank accounts, it was the first bank in the world to be planned and built from its very beginning as a fully computerised unit. The process was overseen by the then Postmaster General, Tony Benn.

Much optimism surrounded the new company and the promotional booklet enthusiastically claimed that, 'Within one or two years the National Giro Centre will be handling the accounts of some 1,200,000 customers, including many large firms and organisations.' At that time there were 23,000 Post Offices in the UK and Girobank provided free banking and credit transfer facilities at each one for six days a week, thereby creating competition for the high street banks. Due to the fact that only 25% of adults had bank accounts the market was considered very penetrable. However, despite its extensive promotion Girobank secured only 110,000 accounts in its first six months and suffered further losses for the next seven years.

Many reasons were put forward as to why the National Giro had not been as successful as predicted. Competition by joint-stock banks and the development of competitive current accounts by other banks had been cited as plausible causes. However, the real issue appeared to be the miscalculation of the difference between the real and actual demands of the customers. Furthermore, the economic growth of the UK had been sluggish since the Second World War and consequently its rate of absorption of new services was painfully slow.

Girobank did, however, benefit greatly from a partnership with the Mercantile Loan Company Ltd. The partnership meant that Giro customers were eligible to apply for Mercantile credit loans and new applications for a Giro account soared as a result.

When the Conservative Government were voted into power in 1970, the future of Girobank looked distinctly shaky as a review of the activities of Girobank was commissioned. By this point Girobank's cumulative losses had reached over £19.7 million and although Giro was granted a reprieve, there was little doubt that it had been a very close call. On 17th November 1971, Christopher Chataway, the Minister for Posts and Telecommunications, declared that Giro should continue but that it must employ a new approach to its practices.

As part of the new approach many structural reforms were implemented during 1972. These included a review of the Tariff structure which doubled the majority of the existing charges and added a charge for debt transactions and later an overhaul of the Rents Scheme, the introduction of the Giro Gold Card, the streamlining of the business, a reduction of the labour force from 3500 to 3000 and a change in the standard 'same day' service to one of a 'next-day' service. The Giro also took on the Postal Order business and began using its International Services to replace the Post Office's own International Money Order Service.

In 1973 a report prepared by Coopers and Lybrand recommended that Giro should implement a formal business planning procedure and annual business plan. The advice was welcomed and the first business plan issued in 1973.

During 1986 postal operations were organised into three separate businesses - Royal Mail Letters, Royal Mail Parcels and Post Office Counters (in addition to National Girobank which remained a separate business unit). National Girobank became independent as a plc in 1988.

Despite the fact that Girobank had managed to overcome its shaky start and that it had grown rapidly to become Britain's sixth biggest bank, it never really shook off its down-market image and, in 1990 it was sold to the Alliance and Leicester Building Society.

The first Post Office packet station was established in the 16th century at Holyhead for the transport of mails to Dublin. Packet boats from Holyhead were soon supplemented by services from Milford Haven to Waterford and Portpatrick in Scotland to Donaghadee. Regular Irish services were established in the 17th and 18th centuries. By the end of the 19th century regular packet services between the mainland and many of the islands around Britain were in operation.

Although the Post Office owned some of the vessels, until the early 19th century the normal practice was to contract for the supply, maintenance and operation of packet boats, paying an allowance to the owner, often the captain, for their hire. The Post Office determined the schedules and rules for handling the mails. Owners made profits from carrying passengers, bullion and freight. The Post Office did not pay for loss or injury to vessels caused by storms but did compensate owners for damage inflicted by enemies of state during times of war and often had to pay ransom money for the return of boats seized by privateers or foreign foes.

In the early 19th century developments in industrialisation led to successful application of steam power to ships. In 1818 a private company, Holmes and Co, established steamboats between Holyhead and Dublin. As a result, the number of passengers on government packets decreased drastically. The Post Office decided to take action in response to protests by packet owners and to stop the illegal transmission of mails by the steam boats. Rather than use the Holyhead company's boats, the Post Office decided to build its own steam packets and the first two, Lightning and Meteor, were placed on the Holyhead station in 1821. Further Post Office steam boats were introduced at Dover in 1822, Milford Haven in 1824, Portpatrick in 1825, Liverpool in 1826 (packet station established there in that year for conveyance of mails to Dublin) and Weymouth in 1827. In 1836 the Post Office had 26 steam packets in operation.

The steam packets were very expensive to build and operate and nearly always made a financial loss, particularly the services from Holyhead and Milford Haven in the 1830s. In 1790 the entire packet fleet had been placed under the supervision of an Inspector of Packets, following severe criticism of their high cost by a government inquiry of 1788. However, by the early 19th century the office was not equipped to manage the expanding fleet. Inefficiency and poor management of both sail and steam packets, was largely due to the Post Office's lack of expertise in maritime affairs.

Post Office awareness of this failing was demonstrated in 1823 when 30 packets at Falmouth were taken over by the Admiralty. The carrying out of repairs to all packet boats at one central workshop in Holyhead was particularly uneconomical. Competition for passengers from private steam boat companies on the Irish routes, particularly from the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company on the Liverpool to Dublin route, turned initial profits into sustained losses. The Post Office soon realised that a system of private contracts may have been preferable to building and owning its own steam boats. Following three critical government inquiries, 1830-1836, an Act of Parliament turned over all packet operations to the Admiralty from 1 Jan 1837, although the Post Office still controlled the schedules.

The Admiralty, which at first intended to carry on the mail service in its own vessels preferred by the end of the 1830s to grant mail contracts to companies that could build large vessels and maintain adequate fleets. The Liverpool to Dublin route was the first to be put out to tender and was run by the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company from 1839. Although the Admiralty increasingly entered into contracts with private steam companies for mail services to Ireland, and the Scotch and English islands, government steam packets continued to sail during the 1840s. The Holyhead to Dublin service was not put out to tender until 1849. In 1850 a ten year contract was signed with the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company. In 1848 and 1849 services between Liverpool and Dublin, Milford Haven and Waterford and Portpatrick and Donaghadee were discontinued. Government packets had disappeared by the end of the 1850s and the policy of relying entirely upon the mercantile marine had been established.

In 1860 control of the packet services was returned to the Post Office and every endeavour was made to lower the high cost of the services run by various steamship companies. The struggle continued until the end of the century when the Post Office began using the services of commercial steamship companies for the conveyance of mails.

William Ryland was appointed Chief Executive and one of two Deputy Chairmen of the new Post Office Corporation on its creation on 1 October 1969, the other Deputy Chairman being Whitney Willard Straight who remained as Deputy Chairman until 1974. Prior to this, from 1967 to 1969, Ryland had been the Managing Director of Telecommunications. The first Chairman of the Corporation was William Hall, 2nd Viscount Hall, who retained the position from 10 October 1969 until standing down in 1970. At this point, Ryland assumed the role of Acting Chairman before being confirmed as Chairman in 1971. He remained Chairman of the Post Office Corporation until 1977, at which point he was succeeded by Sir William Barlow. During his time as Chairman, Ryland also held the role of Chief Executive in addition to other titles.

Ryland assumed these posts at a particularly crucial and difficult time for the new Corporation. His period in office saw several major initiatives designed to reinvigorate the Post Office, such as attempts to introduce greater levels of mechanisation into the postal service. In 1974, the then government requested the production of a wide-ranging report into the possibilities of rationalising postal services and this led to a Select Committee on Nationalised Industries enquiry into the letter post in 1975. Ryland also oversaw the introduction of several new ancillary services, such as Expresspost, and an attempt to achieve a measure of industrial democracy. Perhaps the most significant event of his Chairmanship, though, was the national postal strike of 1971 when, for several weeks, virtually the entire postal service in Great Britain was closed down. Although the strike ended in a partial victory for the Post Office Corporation, Ryland realised that the Corporation would have to modernise to compete in the late twentieth Century. He thus oversaw moves to improve and increase mechanisation within the Post Office and the beginnings of a restructuring programme which would eventually see the privatisation of the telecommunications business.

During his tenure as Chief Executive and Chairman, Ryland made several appearances on television and radio. He was frequently interviewed on news and current affairs programmes, giving In 1970, for instance, an hour long interview in the form of a question and answer session with members of the public on the BBC Radio Four programme It's Your Line. Other media appearances included an interview on BBC Radio Two's Jimmy Young Show in December 1976 and various interviews on news magazine programmes such as Nationwide. Ryland also undertook numerous speaking engagements to organisations as diverse as the Cambridge University Management Group and the Mail Users' Association.

William Ryland was knighted for his services to the Post Office in January 1973.

Inland mails organisation: the Inland Office and the Circulation Department

A separate domestic postal service originated early in the 17th century when a split developed from the foreign service. By the 1670s the General Letter Office in London comprised an Inland Office, with 43 staff, and a Foreign Office, with only four staff. By the end of the decade they were both housed in Lombard Street, as two distinct services with separate staff, although there was a considerable overlapping of work. By the end of the century the staff of the Inland Office greatly increased and the department brought in two-thirds of the GPO's profits. (The staff of the Foreign Office increased to a lesser extent). The Inland Office was managed by a Comptroller and Accomptant and staffed by cashiers, clerks of the roads, an alphabet man, window men, sorters and letter carriers and receivers. By the middle of the 18th century the Inland Office also had a Deputy Comptroller and the outdoor service accounted for most of the staff.

In the early 19th century three overlapping services existed; the Inland Office, Foreign Office and Twopenny Post Office, each with separate staffs. The Inland Office had general charge of the whole postal system for the British Isles, including the mail coaches to and from London. Its staff consisted of a Superintending President, presidents, vice presidents, clerks of the roads, sorters and letter carriers for London. The Foreign Office dealt with mails going to and coming from foreign countries. There was a separate Ship Letter Office and Dead Letter Office. The Bye and Cross Road Letter Office had been absorbed into the Inland Office by this time, (see below).

In 1829 a new central office opened in St Martin's le Grand, to house the General or Inland Office, Foreign Office and Twopenny Post Office. All had distinct letter carriers and their own receiving houses. Foreign Office letter carriers were abolished in the early 1830s. In 1844 the Twopenny Post Office was renamed the London District Post Office.

In the mid-19th century there occurred a gradual amalgamation of all divisions connected with circulation of mail. On 6 April 1840 the Foreign Office was consolidated with the Inland Office and in July 1849 the Ship Letter staff were placed on the Inland Office establishment. By 1850 the Inland Office and London District Post Office were the two departments directly engaged in mail circulation - collecting, sorting, delivering and charging the letters and newspapers in London and its immediate neighbourhood, and in despatching mail to all quarters. The Inland Office was charged with the despatch of mails from London to the provinces or to foreign parts and with the delivery in London of letters received from the country or from abroad. The London District Office was charged with similar duties in respect of the correspondence carried on within London itself and a district around it of 24 miles in diameter, and, sometimes, with the delivery of letters from the Inland Office. This arrangement and duplication of duties meant there was a wastage of manpower. In 1854 proposals were put forward to unite them under one superintendent and consolidate the Dead Letter Office within them. The establishment of the Circulation Department was authorised by the Postmaster General in October 1854. The Circulation Department was managed by a Controller, assisted by a vice controller, and a number of deputies. Below them was a body of clerks and then the sorters and letter carriers. Arrangements for the operation of the new Circulation Department gradually came into force over the next few years.

By 1870 the Circulation Department comprised various branches including the Surveyor and Controllers Office, the Inland, Newspaper, TPO, Foreign and Registered Letter branches, East Central Office and Lombard Street branch.

Bye and Cross Roads Office

In 1660 there were 6 main post roads - North Road to Edinburgh; West Road to Plymouth; Chester or Holyhead Road, Roads to Bristol, Dover and Norwich. Other places were served by branch posts working out of the main roads. Letters between intermediate towns on the main roads were carried by bye-posts. There were no cross posts connecting places on different main roads; the post had to pass through London which caused much delay. By the end of the 17th century a number of cross posts, which did not pass through London, had been established, beginning with a direct post between Bristol and Exeter. The Act of 1711 legalised the cross posts.

In 1720 Ralph Allen was given the contract to farm the Bye and Cross Road posts. He continued in that role for 44 years, until his death, making many important reforms and improvements in the conveyance of letters. Under Ralph Allen the Bye and Cross Road Letter Office was a completely separate part of the postal service. When he died in 1764 it came under the management of the GPO and the Postmasters General. It was governed by a Comptroller, Philip Allan (Ralph Allan's nephew), appointed in 1764. The Office was transferred from Bath to London and housed separately from the Inland Office as a fourth distinctive branch of the GPO - beside the Inland, Foreign and Penny Post offices. Philip Allan managed the Office until his death in the early 1780s when John Staunton took over. The Bye and Cross Road Letter Office became known as the Bye Letter Office by 1788 and remained a separate department for some time until it became essentially a branch of the Inland Office towards the end of the 18th century. By then its distinctiveness had largely ceased, as the network of routes made the difference between a country letter and a by letter and a cross road letter largely meaningless. The office of Comptroller was also abolished toward the end of the century.

London Penny Post, Twopenny Post and London District Post

In 1680 William Dockwra, a London merchant, set up a London Penny Post. It was stopped by the Duke of York in the Courts for infringement of State monopoly and taken over by the Postmaster General in 1682, administered separately from the 'General Post'. This official penny post was also known as the London District Post. The Act of 1711 legalised the London Penny Post. An Act of 1801 abolished the London Penny Post, after an existence of 120 years, and replaced it by what became known as the Twopenny Post (still relating to London and its environs only). In 1805 the limits of the Twopenny Post were restricted to the General Post delivery and letters crossing these bounds became a Threepenny Post. (In 1839 it became a penny post again). In 1844 the Twopenny Post Office became officially known as the London District Post Office. This was amalgamated with the Inland Office and Dead Letter Office in 1854, to form the Circulation Department.

Dead and Returned Letters

The Dead Letter Office was established in London in 1784 to deal with dead and missent letters, when the addressee could not be found. Similar offices in Edinburgh and Dublin opened shortly after. Each was headed by an Inspector. In 1813 a Returned Letter Office was organised to return undelivered letters to writers and collect the postage due. Prior to 1813 the only letters returned were those supposed to contain money or items important enough to escape destruction. During the 19th century the department for dealing with undelivered and returned letters was variously named the Dead Letter Office, Dead and Returned Letter Office and Returned Letter Office. The latter title became gradually more favoured as it prevented any confusion by the public with dead persons and sounded less gruesome. In 1854 it became a branch of the newly formed Circulation Department. By the early 20th century the work of headquarters offices was devolved to separate Returned Letter Offices set up in major towns in Britain.

Mid-19th century revision of rural posts in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland

Although the French had set up the 'poste rurale' in the 1830s, until the mid-19th century the British Post Office was cautious in setting up deliveries in rural districts, only doing so when more than 100 letters a week were received in the village. A major expansion of rural posts throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland took place during the 1850s, under the auspices of Rowland Hill. Appointed secretary to the Postmaster General in 1846 and sole Secretary in 1854, Hill favoured the extension of deliveries to rural districts partly as a means of boosting the gross revenue. Surveyors were already setting up new postal deliveries where conditions justified. Under the revision plan some 700 new posts were set up by 1850, for delivering over 7,500,000 letters a year. A general revision that was begun in 1851 was pretty well complete by 1858. Many revisions of the 1850s included the introduction or enlargement of the free delivery boundary in rural post districts. By 1859 about 93% of mails were delivered free of charge by letter carriers to the houses of the addressees.

One of the most active and enthusiastic workers for these extensions was Surveyor Anthony Trollope, who wanted deliveries where most people were found in a rural district, not where the most influential people lived, and worked to do away with the rural letter carrier's practice of charging for letters delivered. Trollope surveyed of much of Ireland and all of south western England including the Channel Islands. Reports by Trollope can be found in case files POST 14/35, 40, 209, 213, 217, 218, 220 and 221.

The three series on rural revisions in POST 14 provide a detailed record of those changes, covering the establishment, expansion, alteration, preclusion and cessation of postal services and facilities. They also form a comprehensive guide to the rural posts existing in the mid-19th century, including collections, deliveries, routes, sub-offices, receiving houses, posting boxes, sorting offices, letter carriers, letter receivers, sub postmasters, modes of conveyance, facilities, equipment, salaries and allowances.

Rural posts were organised in rural districts under town post offices classified as 'post towns'. All rural routes were served by the post town and its branch or sub-offices. Each town post office, managed by a deputy postmaster, belonged to a national District. Each District was administered by a District Surveyor who reported to the Secretary. The Secretary reported to the Postmaster General. This administrative structure is reflected in the three series on rural post revision.

There were two types of revision: a 'general' revision of the rural posts under one town; or minor alterations to a rural post, often initiated by a petition from the local inhabitants. Decisions were, in practice, mainly made by the Secretary, who submitted them to the Postmaster General for formal sanction. Proposals were normally only rejected if the volume of letters was insufficient to warrant the resources, the Post Office favoured an alternative reform, a minority of local inhabitants desired the alteration, or a guarantee bond was not provided.

The first ever main line railway came into operation between Stockton and Darlington in 1825. The first conveyance of mail by railway took place on 11 November 1830, on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, less than two months after the opening of this second main line (see POST 11/52). The Post Office soon realised the potential for major improvements in mail distribution offered by this new form of transport. The first experimental Travelling Post Office, then known as 'the railway post office', ran between Birmingham and Warrington in January 1838 on the Grand Junction Railway. It consisted of a horse box converted into a primitive sorting carriage, coupled to a train. The experiment proved that mail sorting could be carried out efficiently on board trains, saving both time and money. In April 1838 a regular service started on the newly opened London and Birmingham Railway, with purpose built sorting carriages. By the end of the year through services had been established between London and Preston. Thereafter the TPO network grew rapidly, accelerated by introduction of the Penny Post in 1840, proliferation of new rail routes and railway companies in the 1840s, the increased volume of mail in circulation and general economic expansion. Railway mail services quickly swallowed up the role of the mail coaches. Previously, some sorting of mail was done by mail coach staff and postmasters at coaching inns. However, TPOs enabled large quantities of mail to be sorted and processed on the move.

Despite the rapid expansion of TPOs, the department in charge was known as the Mail Coach Office until 1854. The 1850s and 1860s saw further expansion and by 1867 the TPOs had their own Department at GPO Headquarters in London, headed by a Surveyor of Travelling Post Offices. Overall management of railway services resided in the Inspector General of Mails. Control of TPOs remained based in London which was the focal point of much postal traffic. In 1882 the London Postal Service was created. The post of Chief Superintendent, TPO Section, was established one year later. During the 19th century the Post Office developed an intricate and comprehensive network of Day and Night services covering England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The Act to Provide for the Conveyance of Mails by Railways, 1838, allowed the Postmaster General to compel railway companies, for reasonable remuneration, to carry mails by ordinary or special trains, at such hours as the Postmaster General might direct, together with mail guards and other officers of the Post Office. Companies could also be required to provide carriages fitted up for sorting letters en route. This Act provided the foundation for all future arrangements with private railway companies and British Rail for carrying mails by rail. The first railway mail services were normally carriages attached to passenger services, which provided accommodation for sorting and / or conveying mails. By the mid-1860s a number of special trains run purely for postal requirements with very little or no passenger accommodation, were in operation as part of mail carrying contracts agreed between railway companies and the Post Office. In 1885 special mails, exclusively for Post Office use, were introduced between London Euston and Aberdeen. Known as the Up Special TPO and Down Special, they constituted a major reorganisation of the West Coast route, greatly accelerated TPO services to Scotland and formed the biggest and busiest of the TPOs.

In the years leading up to World War One there were over 130 TPOs in operation throughout the United Kingdom, ranging from the large and prestigious London based services, such as the North Western TPO and Great Western TPO, to small local links, such as the Grimsby and Lincoln Sorting Tender and Brighton and Hastings Sorting Carriage (see POST 18/11-12). After the First World War, 1914-1918, many TPOs and Sorting Carriages which had ceased operating during conflict were not restored (see POST 18/38 for comparison of 1914 and 1922 service lists). Day TPOs and parcel sorting on TPOs were particularly reduced. The slow economic recovery during the 1920s delayed substantial re-investment in TPO rolling stock until the 1930s. During the Second World War all letter sorting on trains ceased and only a few key bag tenders ran. Parcel sorting and day-time TPOs were radically reduced after the War, mainly because the number and frequency of collections and deliveries had been reduced by concentration of processing services. A phased reinstatement began in 1945, but only about 46 services were restored. In 1948 the railways were nationalised and the British Transport Commission, (replaced by the British Railways Board in 1962), took over the TPO contract with Post Office. There was little change to the system from 1950 until 1968, when the Two-Tier letter service was introduced and TPOs began to carry and sort only First Class mails for next day delivery. The resultant drop in overnight business led to the disappearance of some services during the 1970s, including the Plymouth-Bristol and Crewe-Bangor TPOs. The overall size and shape of the network remained largely unchanged until the mid-1980s. Concentration and mechanisation of letter mail handling in addition to faster British Rail services and greater use of road and air facilities, led to a review of East Coast services in 1985, and in 1988 the first major revision since the Second World War occurred. A new timetable was issued for a system of 37 TPOs, some services were combined, others extended and new ones added including services such as the Manchester-Dover TPO, which by-passed London (see POST 18/68). Further large scale revisions and alterations took place in the 1990s to fit in with Royal Mail policies (see POST 18/66-67). By 1994 there was a limited provision of 24 TPOs. However, these were larger and faster trains, operating only at night and using specialised railway rolling stock.

The Post Office (London) Railway was opened for traffic in December 1927. The Post Office first showed an interest in using underground railways to transport mail beneath London in 1854 and in 1893 serious consideration was given to running an electric railway in the pneumatic tunnels. By the turn of the twentieth century, traffic congestion in London had reached the point that cross-London journeys by road took so long that an unnecessary number of vehicles had to be used to carry the ever growing volume of mails between sorting offices and main line termini. In 1905, the Metropolitan Pneumatic Despatch Co presented a bill to Parliament for the construction of a pneumatic line connecting the major railway termini and Post Offices. The Bill was rejected as being too ambitious. In September 1909 the Postmaster General appointed a Committee to examine the practicality of the transmission of mails in London by pneumatic tube or electric railway. The Committee reported in February 1911 in favour of an electric railway between Paddington Station (Great Western Railway) and the Eastern District Post Office in Whitechapel Road, a distance of six and a half miles.

The scheme was submitted by the Postmaster General to the Cabinet in 1912 and power to construct the railway was given to the Postmaster General by the Post Office (London) Railway Act, 1913. The Act made provision for compensation for damage and allowed the Post Office a budget of £1,100,000 to construct the line with stations at Paddington, Western District Office, Western Parcel Office, West Central District Office, Mount Pleasant Sorting Office, King Edward Building, Liverpool Street and East District Office. Tenders for the construction of the tunnel were invited on the 26 August 1914. John Mowland and Co. won the tender to construct the tunnels and build eight stations. The work, although interrupted by the war, was completed in 1917. In parallel with the building work, Post Office engineers built a test track on Plumstead Marshes to experiment with the control systems and rolling stock. However, the war caused the testing to be brought to a premature halt. During the war the stations became a home for exhibits from museums. The cessation of the war enabled the Post Office to proceed with their plans, and in 1919 tenders were issued for the supply and installation of the electrical equipment. Prices proved too expensive for the post war budget and the scheme was held in abeyance until 1923 when tenders were reissued.

In May 1927, work was sufficiently advanced for half the system to be handed over for staff training and in December of that year the scheme received Parliamentary approval and the line became fully operational with parcels traffic running between Mount Pleasant and Paddington. Mount Pleasant to Liverpool Street opened for Christmas parcels from 19-24 December and then for a full parcels service from 28 December. Liverpool Street to Eastern District Office opened for parcels on 2 January 1928. Letter traffic began on 13 February with the opening of West Central District Office station, followed by Western District Office on 12 March. The line proved an immense benefit to the Post Office in the first year of operation, however the high mileage gave the Post Office problems as the cars needed a lot of maintenance. In the early 1930s the rolling stock underwent a gradual change as the cars were replaced by three car trains. These trains were replaced by 34 new trains in 1981 in a £1 million development programme.

In a Press Release, issued by the Post Office PR team on 7 November 2002, Royal Mail announced that unless it could find a new backer, that the Post Office underground railway would close in the near future. The working operation finally ceased on 30 May 2003, but the system has in fact been 'mothballed' in the hope that an alternative use can be found for it.

Post Office Limited (named Post Office Counters Ltd 1987-2001) was established as a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Mail Group plc on 1st September 1987. It inherited functions and services from Royal Mail relating to the management of post office branches in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales and the provision of financial, information and other relevant services through this network.

Thomas Witherings opened the first post office, where members of the public could take mail for posting and collect mail sent to them, in October 1635 in Bishopsgate Street, London. He was acting under a proclamation from King Charles I 'for the settling of the letter office of England and Scotland', authorising him to open the royal domestic mail service to the public to generate revenue for the King. Witherings lost control of the service in 1637, leading to a spirited struggle by several claimants for the right to manage the monopoly (see Robinson, Britain's Post Office, Ch.3). This ended in 1653 when the Government farmed out services to the highest bidder, and the Post Office Acts 1657 and 1660 fixed rates for sending letters and established the legal foundation of the service for the first time. The duties and remuneration of postmasters were confirmed in the Post Office Act 1660, which designated responsibility for postmasters staged throughout England and Scotland to accept and hand-over letters, and provide fresh horses for post-boys on payment of a set fee.

The network of post office branches expanded considerably during the 18th century. Post offices were known as Letter Receiving Houses and were usually housed at inns and run by the innkeeper acting as the postmaster. Postmasters were self-employed and received payments according to the quantity of mail handled. The system was centrally administered through an Inland Office based in Lombard Street, London.

In 1715 six 'Surveyors' were appointed by the Postmaster General to manage postal operations outside of London, and in 1720 Ralph Allen established a business under contract to the Postmaster General to manage and develop the postal network for letters not passing through the London office. Allen managed this until his death in 1764, at which point his business became part of the Inland Office department and was transferred from Bath to London.

In 1854, as services expanded and the need for greater facilities at post office branches increased, the first post offices owned and run by Royal Mail (then named the General Post Office) were opened. These were called crown offices, as opposed to sub-offices run by agents (sub-postmasters). Crown offices were managed by paid employees of the General Post Office and administered with sub-offices through the Inland Office Department (renamed the Circulation Department from 1854-1934). A system of salaried and scale-payment sub-offices, head post offices and regional branch offices was established to provide a range of facilities managed through a network of head postmasters, postmasters and sub-postmasters.

In 1934 the system of district Surveyors and central administration of post office branches through the Circulation Department was replaced by eight regional divisions with devolved powers and a central headquarters function. Crown and sub-post offices were now managed through a series of general postal regions, though paid postmaster and head postmaster in each region still managed all functions (collecting, processing and delivery of mail as well as counter operations).

A 'Counters Services' department was first established in Postal Headquarters in 1981. In 1986 postal operations were organised into three separate businesses - Royal Mail Letters, Royal Mail Parcels and Post Office Counters (in addition to National Girobank which remained a separate business unit until it was sold to the Alliance and Leicester Building Society in 1990). In the Post Office Counters division, 32 district offices reported to four headquarters units: the "territories". Counters managers, each responsible for five to ten main post office branches and a number of sub-offices, supported each district manager. Sub-post offices and sub-postmasters, who were contractors to Royal Mail, were unaffected by this reorganisation.

In 1987 Post Office Counters became a limited company - Post Office Counters Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Mail but with separate audited accounts. This was reorganised in 1993 with seven regions replacing 30 districts and three territories, and three business centres focusing on particular markets: financial, branded and agency development. In 1998 the strategic, policy and administrative functions of Royal Mail were reorganised further with the establishment of 17 different business units operating across all three businesses (counters, mail and parcels). Counter operations and services were focused in four main functions: Post Office Network, Network Banking, Cash Handling and Distribution and Customer Management (Government Unit).

Post Office Ltd was established on 1st October 2001, under new powers granted to Royal Mail by the Post Office Act 2001. Post Office Ltd absorbed Post Office Network, Network Banking, Cash Handling and Distribution, Customer Management (Government Unit) business units in Royal Mail and all of their functions, in addition to the brands, network and functions of Post Office Counters Ltd. Post Office Ltd remains an integral part of Royal Mail Group plc, but stands alone financially and is profit-accountable in its own right. It now contains seven administrative divisions, including Service Delivery, Customer Services and Strategic Alliances responsible respectively for Post Office branches, sales and marketing and key commercial services.

The history of the Inland Letter Post is an important part of the history of modern communications. Since 1635, the General Post Office and its successors has been the progenitor of a number of techniques, organisational innovations and methods of communications distribution that have, in the course of time, been adopted the world over. The development of a modern Inland Letter Post system capable of delivering approximately 30 billion items per annum in Britain has clearly experienced an enormous amount of change over this extremely long period of time. It has been strengthened by centuries of growth, a sustained increase in organisational sophistication and a number of sweeping transformations, such as the introduction of the national Penny Post in the nineteenth century or of postcodes in the twentieth century. In the following passage of writing some of the key developments of the Letter Post service, that form the historical context for the records found within POST 23, will be sketched.

In July 1635, by a Royal Proclamation of Charles I, a new revenue-producing plan to offset the cost of maintaining the Royal Posts was implemented (the Royal Posts date back to the reign of King Henry VIII and were made up of the King's personal messengers, conveying letters on behalf of the court and nobility). For the first time, this allowed the public to use the Royal Posts in return for fixed rates of postage. These rates were based upon the number of sheets of paper making up any given letter, and on the distance it was carried. Posts were carried along the five principal roads of the kingdom, those to Dover, Edinburgh, Holyhead, Plymouth and Bristol, travelling as far as Edinburgh and Dublin, with a number of Post Houses en route to allow collection of letters from intervening towns (see POST 23/1). This service survived the Civil War and was reconfirmed with the 'Charter of The Post Office' in 1660, which established the first London Letter Office. The 'Charter' reinforced the edicts of a 1657 Act of Parliament, which effectively fixed rates for the conveyance of postage across the British Isles. By the end of the seventeenth century, the Crown had secured a state monopoly on the carriage of inland mails and had taken control of the London Penny Post, a public postal service operating within the capital only, for which both those sending and receiving a letter would pay a penny. The establishment of a modest national service was by this time secure and settled and continued to expand at a steady pace.

By the mid eighteenth century, there was a controller of the Inland Office and two clerks for each of the six principal roads that spread from London to the rest of the British Isles. At the Head Office in Lombard Street, there were two Postmaster Generals, a number of other senior figures and approximately 16 sorters, amongst other staff responsible for the daily running of affairs. The outdoor service of the Inland Office was undertaken by nearly 70 letter carriers. In total, the department served over 180 offices nationwide, in addition to the work of the Bye and Cross Road Letter Office, which cared for the local carriage of posts between cross-road towns (See Howard Robinson, 'Britain's Post Office' (OUP, 1953), pp. 68-71). Towards the end of the century, there occurred a wholesale reform of the way letters were carried across Britain, when John Palmer oversaw the introduction of armed mail coaches to replace the boy messengers, from 1785 on. This development meant that the mails could now be carried across Britain faster, more regularly, with more safety and to a far stricter timetable, which in turn led to an expansion of services, revenue and national importance of a burgeoning modern Post Office.

Naturally, the industrial revolution and its attendant technological developments meant that mail coaches would not carry inland mails indefinitely. Travelling Post Offices (TPO), trains that journeyed the length and breadth of Britain carrying staff to sort the mail whilst on the move, began operation in the 1840s and there were over 100 in operation by the end of the nineteenth century. However, the great changes, developments and reforms that unravelled in many spheres of life during the nineteenth century, an ever-growing and increasingly literate populace and the growth of industry and commerce, all contributed to a demand for an inland letter service of ongoing expansion and sophistication. A crucial step in this regard were the reforms to this service that occurred in the 1840s, which are commonly associated with the leading light of British postal history, Sir Rowland Hill (1795-1879).

Hill made a number of proposals for reforming the Post Office, but his major contribution was to change the way people paid for the national letter service, which in turn led to a more affordable service, a substantial growth in postal traffic and therefore to a series of organisational changes. In 1837, he published a pamphlet, 'Post Office Reform: Its Importance and Practicability' (see POST 23/214). Instead of the recipient paying a rate dictated by the mileage involved and the number of sheets of paper in the letter, a system that had become highly criticised, Hill argued for the following. A national rate of one penny, to be pre-paid by the sender by means of an adhesive label (the postage stamp), with charges being made according to weight. This pamphlet was well received. In 1837, a government-appointed select committee looked into the matter and published its final report in March 1839 (see POST 23/202) and it was agreed by Parliament on 12 July of that year. The concept of pre-payment was agreed and new uniform rates were introduced on 10 January 1840, only five weeks after an interim 4d rate had demonstrated its practicality and also due to public pressure. However, it was not until 1897, as part of concessions made for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, that delivery by postmen was extended to every house in the Kingdom. There were changes to the maximum weight that could be posted for one penny in 1871 and 1879 and the national Penny Post kept its eponymous rate right up until 1918 when this charge was finally raised by a half pence (See POST 23/201 for a review of the achievements of the penny post by 1890, written by Rowland Hill's son, Mr. Pearson Hill).

When the national penny post was introduced, the Post Office handled just over 75 million letters per annum. By 1870, this figure had risen to in excess of 860 million and letters remained the dominant means of inland long-distance communication until the telecommunications revolution of the twentieth century (for postal traffic figures see Martin Daunton, 'Royal Mail: The Post Office Since 1840' (London: Athlone Press, 1985), p. 80). The mid-nineteenth century reforms to the way the Post Office went about its business laid the foundations for the way the organisation would administrate the nation's inland letter service well into the twentieth century. However, before concluding with a consideration of the equivalent reforms of this later period, there is one department of the nineteenth century Inland Letter Office that is particularly well represented in POST 23 and therefore worthy of brief comment.

This is the Missing Letter Branch (Sub-Series 3 'Missing Letter Branch Case Papers'). This department conducted investigations into many suspicious cases where inland letters went missing, and was often successful in finding a culprit, usually a sorting clerk or postman. Missing duties were the responsibility of the Solicitor from the first recorded instance in 1793 (see the minute entry Eng321P/1827 in POST 30/21) and in 1816 they were assumed by the Secretary's office (See POST 72). However, in 1839 (when this series begins) the duty became known as the Missing Letter Branch. A number of organisational changes occurred such as the introduction of a Post Office Inspector General in 1848, the replacement of this post ten years later with the detachment to it of four Travelling Officers (investigation officers) and two police constables (assistants) and a number of other travelling officers becoming permanent staff in 1861. In 1883 the Missing Letter Branch was renamed the Confidential Enquiry Branch (CEB), and its head was given the title of Director. These files relate to the period 1839-1859 and contain a wealth of information such as the 500 indexed cases for 1854-1856 that can be found in POST 23/62.

Efforts to revitalise Britain's letter post were redoubled after the Second World War and there were a series of organisational changes to the way the London Postal Region (LPR) was run, with collection and delivery times, circulation objectives and staff working hours coming under the spotlight (See Sub-Series 6 'Post War revision to letter services, London Postal Region'). The major changes that occurred in the post-war period until the 1980s and beyond owed much to technological advancements that, like many sectors of British business and industry, the Post Office Board sought to take full advantage of. The mechanisation of postal sorting gathered pace from 1945 onwards and the automation of many parts of the by now elaborate and very large inland letter system heralded other changes of national importance, such as the introduction of post codes in the early 1960s (See POST 17 in general for issues related to mechanisation and see POST 17 Sub-Series 10 for the introduction of post codes in particular).

One of the landmark developments facilitated by these improvements to the system was the arrival of a two-tier letter service, which was officially introduced on 16 September 1968. The new first class service was charged at 5d and second class letters were charged at 4d. These were liable to deferment in the post and, in general, were delivered about 24 hours later than the equivalent first class service. Long before this service was introduced, letter traffic had been divided into two broad streams with fully paid letters in one stream and printed papers at a lower rate of postage in the other stream in order to ensure prompt delivery of fully paid letters. Late postings had gradually increased over the years, for example, in the Western District Office in London, it increased from 75% in 1956 to 82% in 1967, and so although the new system was sometimes criticised, it was considered to be a necessary adjustment to the way the letter service was run. Reports, memoranda, the proceedings of parliamentary speeches and debates and much else related to the introduction of the two-tier letter service can be found in Sub Series 8 'Two-Tier Inland Letter Service, Correspondence and Reports'.

In 1969, an Act of Parliament made the Post Office a nationalised corporation and the organisation ceased to be a government department for the first time in the modern era. Under the terms of the Act, the organisation was split into two distinct sections: posts and telecommunications. One of the consequences of this legislation was that that the organisation came under increased pressure to remain profitable. With this in mind, marketing plans and long term planning papers were drawn up during the 1970s and 1980s in which the state of the letter system and plans for its future development were discussed, some of which can be found in Sub-Series' 9 and 10. By the early 1980s, the telecommunications side of the business had been separated and was later privatised in 1984, whereas the inland letter service remained under the control of the Post Office. This part of the organisation became separated from counters and parcels under the name 'Royal Mail Letters' in 1986 and reports relating to the establishment of the letters business in this year can be seen in Sub-Series 13, including graphs that show the volumes of inland mail and the relative success/failure at meeting service targets from the 1960s on (POST 23/155 and 199). From 2002, a similar set up remained in place, but with one important difference: Royal Mail (which continued to be a PLC) lost its monopoly for the conveyance of inland letters.

The history of the Post Office monopoly of letter services is very complex and its validity has been a source of political debate throughout the twentieth century. The 1635 proclamation made it unlawful to establish a private post where an official one existed and in 1637 a further proclamation declared a monopoly on carriage of letters between persons within the kingdom. In 1657 an Act established a 'General Post Office' and appointed a 'Postmaster General,' giving him a monopoly on the carriage of letters. Throughout the latter part of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, measures were taken to clarify the application of, and exclusions to, the monopoly, and extend it to other Post Office services. There have been other interesting episodes related to this Post Office monopoly, including an occasion in 1885 when the Postmaster General made an ill-tempered visit to the colleges of Oxford and Cambridge to investigate an independent postal system that had been developed at the universities, producing its own postage stamps, between 1870-1886 (see POST 23/77) and the contentious monopoly continued to be the subject of political debate well into the late twentieth century (see POST 23/142 'The Letter Monopoly: Review, 1979' and Sub-Series 4 'The Post Office Monopoly of Letter Post' for related material). From 1 January 2006, the market was opened up to competition by the postal regulator Postcomm in anticipation of EU rulings concerning postal monopolies. This ended a 350-year period in which the Post Office had maintained this sole right to offer an inland letter service.

Money orders were the first financial service to be supplied by the Post Office, and had their origins in a private business carried on within the department from 1792. A system of 'money letters' was established by six 'Clerks of the Road' with the sanction of the Postmaster General, to give the public the means of safely and economically transmitting small sums of money from any one part of the United Kingdom to any other. The Committee of Revenue Inquiry, which reported on the Post Office in 1829, expressed its disapproval. This profitable system was subsequently taken over by the Postmaster General in 1838, and reductions in poundage, followed by the introduction of the penny post in 1840, led to a rapid increase in traffic from 55,000 orders in 1836 to 1½ million orders in 1841.

The money order system was set up to be confined to areas of the market not covered by commercial banks and geared towards the 'poorer classes' for the transfer of small sums of money. However, most remittances continued to be made by enclosing cash in letters and by the late 1830s attention turned towards a cheap system of registration in order to provide a secure means of delivering cash.

A limited overseas money order service was introduced in 1856 during the Crimean War. This service spread rapidly to many parts of the Empire and, in 1868, the first money order agreement with a foreign country (Switzerland) was signed.

In 1871 a reduction in the poundage rates on inland money orders (under 10s to 1d and under 20s to 2d) led to further considerable increase in the use of such orders. But as the cost of the issue and payment of each order was approximately 3d the money order service was unprofitable as far as the low value orders were concerned, and by 1875 the inland service as a whole was run at a loss. This was despite Rowland Hill's efforts to develop the more profitable traffic in larger sums - the maximum value was increased to £10 in 1862 despite the misgivings of the Treasury which was concerned about creating competition for the banks.

In 1874 George Chetwynd, the Receiver and Accountant General, proposed a cheaper system of postal notes or orders which could be cashed by the bearer on sight, and after meeting concerns voiced by Parliament and an appointed Treasury Committee, the system of postal orders was introduced in 1881. Their usefulness was greatly increased by the permission to make them out for odd amounts by affixing the necessary postage stamps to the face of the order. They proved very popular and by 1885 the Post Office was selling annually over 25 million postal orders. In the twentieth century their use with entries for football pools increased their popularity still further. In 1938 sales reached 350 million per year.

After the outbreak of war in 1914 postal orders were declared legal tender by the government, in an effort to withdraw gold coinage from circulation. The same measure was again taken in 1939, to prevent disruption to coinage circulation by bombing.

This series comprises material relating to Post Office services supplementary to the core activity of the business. It consists of reports, minutes, correspondence and memoranda relating to the introduction, operation and development of individual Post Office ancillary services, their profit and expenditure, recommended improvements and alterations, and information sheets and guides to the services.

Contains some pieces originally in POST 22.

The system of 'minuting' papers submitted to the Postmaster General by the Secretary to the Post Office for a decision (ie numbering the papers, and separately copying a note of the paper as a 'minute' into volumes indexed by subject) was introduced in 1793. It remained in use by the Post Office Headquarters registry until 1973.

Until 1921, several different major minute series were in use: that concerned with the Packet Service (POST 29), and those concerned with England and Wales (POST 30), Ireland (POST 31) and Scotland (POST 32). The Scottish minute series was started in 1842; previously Scottish subjects had been included in the general minute series (POST 30). From 1790 until 1841, parallel 'Report' series were in use by the Secretary (POST 39 & POST 40).

In 1921, the several different minute series were replaced by a single all-embracing series (POST 33). This was suspended in 1941 as a wartime measure when a Decimal Filing system came into use (POST 102), but was resurrected in 1949. In 1955 the registration of Headquarters files began to be decentralised under several local registries serving particular departments, although the 'minuting' of cases considered worthy of preservation, and the assimilation of later cases with earlier existing minuted bundles, continued until 1973.

For further details of how this class relates to the other report and minute classes, see the following section 'Related Material'.

A number of major changes took place during the period covered by this series. From 1 April 1922, Post Office services in Southern Ireland were transferred to the control of the provisional Irish Government. The growth in administration meant that aspects of work relating only to matters of local interest were devolved from central headquarters to district surveyors. In 1934 as part of a general reorganisation of the Post Office, a Director General was appointed to replace the office of Secretary to The Post Office. At the same time a Post Office Board was created under the chairmanship of the Postmaster General. Further changes in 1934 led to the replacement of district surveyors by regional directors, who were given full powers of day-to-day control of local postal and telecommunications affairs in their regions. This reorganisation was complete by the mid-1940s, with an increasing amount of work concerning local affairs being devolved from Headquarters, leaving it to deal only with matters of general policy and those outside the scope of regional authority.

The system of 'minuting' papers submitted to the Postmaster General by the Secretary to the Post Office for a decision (ie numbering the papers, and separately copying a note of the paper as a 'minute' into volumes indexed by subject) was introduced in 1793. It remained in use by the Post Office Headquarters registry until 1973.

Until 1921, several different major minute series were in use: that concerned with the Packet Service (POST 29), and those concerned with England and Wales (POST 30), Ireland (POST 31) and Scotland (POST 32). From 1790 until 1841, parallel 'Report' series were in use by the Secretary (POST 39 and POST 40)

In 1921, the several different minute series were replaced by a single all-embracing series (POST 33). This was suspended in 1941 as a wartime measure when a Decimal Filing system came into use (POST 102), but was resurrected in 1949. In 1955 the registration of Headquarters files began to be decentralised under several local registries serving particular departments, although the 'minuting' of cases considered worthy of preservation, and the assimilation of later cases with earlier existing minuted bundles, continued until 1973.

For further details of how this class relates to the other report and minute classes, see the following section 'Related Material'.

Until 1969 the General Post Office was a government department and its expenditure was controlled by the Treasury. The Receiver General was an independent appointment, designed to remove all responsibilities for cash from the hands of the Postmaster General.

Until 1969 The Post Office was a department of the Civil Service. The Civil Service consequently had a role to play in recruitment matters. Established staff had job security and enjoyed many benefits, such as pensions. Non-Established workers had no such benefits, they tended to be full-time boy messengers and part-time auxiliary postmen and women. In 1849 it was decided that promotion to Establishment should not be expected to result from higher social status. Auxiliaries signed a form which excluded any right to fill a permanent post, however, promotion continued to be an incentive to recruitment and a reward for competent work.

In the first half of the nineteenth century appointments were generally made by patronage, possible recruits were put forward by high ranking employees, although in theory a test still had to be passed. This method of recruitment was severely criticised in the second half of the Nineteenth Century, and in the 'Report upon The Post Office' in 1854, it was suggested that 'The Postmaster General should lay down strict rules for the examination of all candidates for admission, either in the class of Clerks, or into that of Sorters and Letter Carriers, in order to test their capacity, and should take care also to satisfy himself as to their characters, before making any appointment'.

The year 1870 saw the implementation of the open competitive examinations in the Civil Service, and the Post Office was obliged to appoint the clerks in the Secretary's Office from the successful candidates. The open examinations were for the Civil Service as a whole, but there were closed competitive examinations through which existing employees could try for promotion. The examinations were not just used for ensuring that recruits were competent to perform the job. When women joined the Post Office, particularly as clerks, the examination included a foreign language paper. There was no requirement at all for knowledge of a foreign language, however, the examination acted as a guarantee that the women that passed were of the 'proper' social standing.

In 1870 the telegraph services transferred to the Post Office. Initially the staff retained their separate duties but in 1876 the smaller provincial offices amalgamated, and this arrangement extended to larger towns in 1882. It was decided that there should not be a distinction between telegraphists and post office clerks in order to permit a more flexible adjustment of the 'indoor staff' to variations in traffic, and to reduce the threat of disruption from any telegraphist's strike. However, in practice, dual training only worked in the small provincial offices. In larger offices the training was often wasted, as the staff always specialised.

As the Post Office was a Civil Service Department, it was obliged to follow orders. One of these was the order in 1897 to employ ex-servicemen. Prior to that, boy messengers, although being Non-Establishment, usually moved into an Established post within the Post Office at the age of sixteen. The order to employ ex-servicemen meant that these vacancies for boy messengers dried up, and many who would otherwise have stayed in the Post Office were left jobless, and without skills. The Post Office was therefore heavily criticised by the Royal Commission on the Poor Laws and the Relief of Distress. The dilemma of how to keep all parties satisfied continued until the inter-war period, when the Post Office was forced to abandon its traditional practice of utilising part-time labour.

The word 'Establishment' has a number of meanings in the present context. In historical writing about the Post Office, the word is variously used to describe: the Post Office structure as a whole; all Post Office salaried staff; all staff employed in senior positions; and the various buildings and branches themselves, or 'establishments'. However, for the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the word is predominantly used to distinguish between staff that were employed directly by the Post Office, enjoying a yearly salary, benefits and a pension, and those who, though working for the Post Office in some capacity, did not. Discussing this period, one postal historian argues that… 'a firm line was drawn between those who were part of the privileged and protected core 'on the establishment' and the part-time or temporary staff who were denied the benefits and security. Moreover, the established staff were located in a hierarchy which offered advancement and promotion; the Post Office offered not only a job but also the prospect of a career' (Martin Daunton Royal Mail: The Post Office since 1840 (London: Athlone Press, 1985), p. 248). Indeed the benefits of being 'on the establishment' would usually include a retirement age of 60, a pension (after the 1859 Superannuation Act), some paid holiday, and even limited healthcare. As Daunton has noted, in terms of the benefits enjoyed by established staff, the Post Office remained preferable to private employment until the establishment of the welfare state after 1945.

Unestablished staff, particularly in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, remained numerous for a number of reasons. Working for the Post Office has had a longstanding reputation for being 'unsocial work'; that is, the peaks of postal traffic have tended to be in the early morning and early evening. For this reason, there has always been a high demand for part-time workers and in the modern era the Post Office has consequently employed a large proportion of staff who did not find their way onto the Establishment books. Likewise, Sub-Postmasters have often run other businesses from the same premises as a local Post Office branch and were therefore not part of the established staff. It will already be clear that owing to the many changes that have occurred over the centuries and because of the different types of Establishment records that have been generated over this time, neatly defining 'Establishment staff' is problematic. The remaining discussion will illuminate the structure of this class of records by briefly considering the chronology of the emergence of the different sorts of Establishment books within the context of the broader developments of British postal history.

The first Establishment book was produced in 1691. King Charles I had inaugurated an embryonic state postal service in 1635, and having survived the upheavals of the English Civil War, it had gained more of an organisational capacity by the end of that century with the establishment of state control of the London Penny Post, although there are still just 20 established officers named in this record of the early Post Office staff. There were a similarly small number listed in Queen Anne's Establishment book of 1702, in which the Post Office Establishment was one of a number of state Offices and Departments detailed. By 1747, Establishment books began to look a little more like later publications, with staff details of office, title, name, and salary per annum, for the London, Dublin and Edinburgh Establishments, the London Penny Post and details of the Packet Boat service. As the composition of the Post Office structure gradually evolved, new information was recorded in the books. For instance, Branch Commissioners and Postmasters' salaries were included from 1760; the Secretary's Office, Receiver General's Office, Accountant General's Office, Inland Office, tradesmen, pensions, rents and taxes from 1769; and more significant reforms, such as those of 1783, warranted specific descriptive attention in the Establishment books (see POST 59/19, which records revision proposals for the Establishment, its staff and new pay proposals and comparisons).

From 1785, mail coaches were used to convey letters and parcels across Britain and over the next two decades Post Office net revenue increased from £150,000 to £700,000 per annum. The Establishment book for 1792 (POST 59/22) lists establishment developments since the introduction of mail coaches and thereafter an increased number of Deputy Postmasters of provincial towns are listed. Indeed, from 1800 on, a number of reforms and the steady growth of services precipitated the publishing of further types of Establishment books, such as those found in Sub-Series 3 of this class: 'Establishment books and lists of the London Postal Service'. Within these records, an evolution of the organisational structure of a city's postal operations can be traced, from the London Penny Post, which soon became the Twopenny Post, to the introduction of postal regions, to the twentieth century infrastructural advancements such as the Post Office (London) Railway, or 'Mail Rail'. Throughout, this Sub-series of Establishment books detail the various departments, salaries, positions and lists many of the established staff by name.

By the 1800s, the yearly Establishment books recorded a greater volume and variety of information of this sort, in keeping with the concomitant enlargement of Britain's postal processes that occurred in the years and decades that followed the introduction of the mail coach system at the end of the eighteenth century. For instance, the Establishment book for 1832 (POST 59/37) provides details of when an individual was appointed, their name, how much they were paid on the Establishment, the total amount paid, and a narrative account of duties undertaken. Details cover the Board, Secretary's Office, Mail Coach Office, Surveyors' Office, Solicitor's Office, Receiver General's Office, Accountant General's Office, Dead Letter Office, Foreign Office, Inland Office, mail guards, packet agents, post towns in England, and the ships, captains, tons, engines, staff and rate of passage of packet stations. Also included is a report on the way in which mail coaches were supplied and repaired, rules and regulations of horse post contracts, copies of circulars to surveyors, marine mail guard instructions, statements of regulations in operation respecting the whole process of the collection of Post Office revenue, and an abstract of comparative statements of gross revenue at post towns in England 1833-1834.

In many ways, the organisational unfurling of a modern Post Office came after the major reforms initiated by Rowland Hill in the 1840s. The changes brought in by Hill included the introduction of a national Penny Post in which the recipient of a letter or parcel no longer paid for the service. Rather, the sender affixed a pre-paid adhesive stamp, the Penny Black. The subsequent growth in postal services was tremendous and this caused many changes to the quantity and character of Establishment books and Establishment records. POST 59/177 'Report Upon The Post Office' describes the structure of the organisation as it stood in 1854, commenting that 'The Establishment of the Post Office necessarily extends over the kingdom, and indeed all over the British possessions [abroad]…Its Head-quarters are in London; there are Metropolitan Offices in Edinburgh and Dublin; and there are District Offices in every town and almost every village, throughout the country' (p.3). Between 1860 and 1880, the number of full-time (Established) staff rose from 25,192 to 46,956 and whilst in 1890 the total number of full-time and part-time staff stood at 113,541, this had risen to 234,008 in 1920 (Daunton, pp. 195-196).

Naturally, accompanying this growth in staff was a growth in the numbers of physical Post Office Establishments. There were 4,028 in 1840 and 24,354 in 1913 (Daunton, p. 276). The Establishment books in Sub-series 3 'Provincial Establishment books' furnish details for many of the provincial districts within which such branches were located. For instance, POST 59/412-424 offers the particulars for offices in Worcester for the years 1874-1964, providing a wide assortment of details regarding postmen, assistant postmen, messengers and telegraphists, as well as basic information on sub-offices and the pay, pensions and other details of their personnel. The information that can be gathered from these records varies from establishment to establishment and over time, but these are useful resources for garnering facts and figures for many provincial postal areas, particularly for the first half of the twentieth century.

A number of further developments occurred from the late nineteenth century into the mid-twentieth century that affected the way these records were kept and consequently what one can expect to find. These include the acquisition of telegraph and telephone systems, the expansion of the work of the Post Office Engineering Department, the introduction of insurance and banking services and much more. Indeed, in the main Establishment book for 1931 (POST 59/163), the details contained are divided across 17 categories:

Postmaster General and Secretaries; Accountant General's Department; Central Telegraph Office; Engineering Department; London Postal Service; London Telephone Service; Medical Department (London); Money Order Department; Solicitor's Office (London); Stores Department; Surveyor's Department; Postmaster Surveys; Provincial Telephone Staff; Head Postmasters; Assistant Postmasters and Chief Superintendents; and Sub-office Postmasters.

To give some idea of the kind of information held in Establishment books by this time, consider the front page to the section entitled 'Savings Bank Department' in the above-mentioned 1931 Establishment book (p.156). Here, a summary of all male staff in the department can be found (at this time, the information for each department was split into male and female categories) and it can be learnt what wages were being paid to doorkeepers, liftmen, boy messengers, cleaners, foremen and even department firemen (between 30-45 shillings per week), as well as how many of each were employed. It is also stated that the department contained 600 clerks who were paid between £60-£250 per annum. At the top of the page, the numbers and wages of senior staff - from higher-grade clerks right up to the department controller - are listed and on the pages that follow this summary, all of these 306 senior staff members are listed individually. For each of these entries, the details given are date of birth, dates of appointments (listing previous positions held), name and salary. This format of presenting information is roughly followed for the other departments represented in the 1931 Establishment book, with some exceptions. For instance, the passage detailing provincial Establishments lists postal districts in alphabetical order, and provides the numbers of staff for each. This information is presented in table format and is divided into indoor / outdoor staff; male / female staff; and finally into job types such as sorting clerks, telegraphists, postmen and superintendents. For example, on p. 277 it states that there were 529 sorting clerks and 1430 postmen in the Liverpool postal district, amongst a range of other staff figures.

Finally, although this became the dominant format for the main Establishment books that continued to be published annually throughout much of the remaining century, a number of changes occurred after 1969, when the Post Office ceased to be a department of state and became a nationalised industry. From this time, including the subsequent part-privatisation of the business in later decades, the books became known as 'Lists of the Principal Officers in the Post Office'. These publications ceased to provide details of pay, but continued to list senior staff, their dates of birth and their various appointments within the Post Office, by department and also in an alphabetical index at the back of each book.

Not available at present.

Medical officers were first appointed to the Post Office in 1854 after a committee of enquiry decided that all candidates should be examined prior to appointment in order to assess their fitness for public service. The Medical Officer was responsible for overseeing health care in The Post Office and from 1893 he compiled an annual report with sick leave statistics to show the level of staff absence for the different districts and departments. Many of the medical officers to have served over the years also wrote medical articles and, following the work of Dr John Sinclair, were involved with The Post Office Ambulance Corps. The Post Office Ambulance Corps was established in 1902 following a suggestion by a group of employees. Many of the members of this group held first aid certificates but were concerned about the length of time taken for medical assistance to arrive at the scene of an accident and wished to provide a first aid service during this period. However, they were not allowed to provide this service until they had achieved further qualifications from the St John Ambulance Association and there was no provision for such courses to be run at The Post Office. The group therefore sought and received the support of the Chief Medical Officer, Dr John Sinclair, and a course of lectures was set up. From its creation the Corps expanded throughout the organisation and maintained close links with the St John Ambulance Association. Annual competitions evolved as an opportunity for teams to demonstrate their skills in an emergency, and these became increasingly popular. In 1911 courses were arranged for women and two women's branches were formed. In 1928 the name was changed to the Post Office Ambulance Centre and re-organised to enable non-members of the St John Ambulance Brigade to join. The Centre was valuable in both World Wars and provided first aid posts and wards staffed by volunteers from the Corps in some of the most bombed areas of London.

Following the introduction of the first telephone of practical value in 1876-1877, a number of private telephone companies were formed, including The Telephone Company (in 1878) and the Edison Telephone Company (in 1879). Other similar companies also sprang up throughout the country. The Telephone Company and the Edison Telephone Company amalgamated in 1880 to form the United Telephone Company and, in 1889, with other companies, combined with the National Telephone Company. The National Telephone Company swiftly became the most prominent of the telephone companies, although following a ruling in 1880 on the legal powers of the Postmaster General under the Telegraph Act 1869, it operated under licence from the Postmaster General, which also began to operate its own telephone service in competition with the National Telephone Company. In 1896, the Post Office acquired the National Telephone Company's trunk (long distance) network, restricting the company to the provision of a network of local telephone services. In 1905, an agreement was reached between the Postmaster General and the National Telephone Company that the Post Office would purchase the National Telephone Company's system on expiry of its licence in 1911. The entire UK telephone service (with the exception of the service operated by Kingston-upon-Hull Borough Council) passed to Post Office control on 1 January 1912.

Overseas telephonic communication in its early days was mainly confined to services between London and Paris, the North of France, Brussels and Antwerp. The first telephone cable across the Channel was laid in 1891. During the early 1920s services were gradually extended to other European and Scandinavian countries. In 1927 a radio-telephone service was opened between Britain and the United States. The overseas services were developed rapidly during the late 1920s and early 1930s, and communications soon extended to Australia, Canada, South America, Spain, Italy, etc.

The possibility of transmitting signals from one point to another by electrical impulses without a connecting wire had attracted attention since the early days of telegraphy, and the Post Office, among others, conducted experiments in this field. In 1896, the Post Office (through its Engineer-in-Chief, Sir William Preece) provided facilities for Guglielmo Marconi to conduct experiments in the field of wireless telegraphy by means of hertzian waves.

Marconi gave the first demonstration of his new system of wireless telegraphy before members of the Post Office administration on 27 July 1896. With the transmitter on the roof of the Central Telegraph Office in Newgate Street, London, and the receiver on the roof of GPO South in Carter Lane, 300 yards away, signals from the transmitter were satisfactorily recorded. In August, the Post Office permitted Marconi to experiment with wireless equipment on Salisbury plain and elsewhere. The ensuing trials demonstrated the practicality of his system.

The following year Marconi was granted a British patent for his system by which "electrical actions or manifestations are transmitted through the air, earth or water by means of electric oscillations of high frequency". In July of the same year, Marconi parted company with the Post Office and, with other backers, set up the Marconi Wireless Telegraph and Signal Company.

In order to secure the control of wireless telegraphy, the Wireless Telegraph Act was passed in 1904 rendering it illegal for persons to install or work apparatus without a licence from the Postmaster General. In 1918, the Wireless Telegraphy Board was set up to coordinate interference problems in radio communication in the English Channel. The interests of users of radio other than Government departments were represented by the Post Office.

In 1924, the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company entered into an agreement with the British Government for the provision of radio stations to set up an Imperial Wireless Chain in England, Australia, Canada, India and South Africa. From 1929 electrical communications across the Empire were overseen by the Imperial Communications Advisory Committee, on which the Post Office was represented.

Unknown

June M Hopkins raised several orphaned duikers and other animals for the Zoo of the University of Ibadan.

Born, 1897; Norland Place School, 1904-1908; St Paul's Girls' School, 1908–1916; unpaid research assistant British Museum (Natural History), 1917-1919; fellowship of the Zoological Society, 1917; curator, British Museum (Natural History), 1920; fellowship of the Linnean Society, 1923; honorary DSc from the Intercollegiate University, Chicago; curator of reptiles , Zoological Society, 1923-1931; involved in the design of Whipsnade Zoo; died 1931.

The suffrage campaigns of the early twentieth century were marked by a series of sensational cases and legal battles for which campaigners attempted to achieve as much press coverage as possible. When Lloyd George addressed a meeting at Woodford in 1912 certain suffragist hecklers were violently ejected from the meeting. One of these then brought a legal action against several prominent members of the Walthamstow Liberal and Radical Association. Mark Wilks was a teacher and the husband of Elizabeth Wilks (1866?-1956) nie Bennett, physician, suffragist and member of the Tax Resistance League. Elizabeth refused to complete a tax return or to pay taxes herself and informed the tax authorities that as a married woman her tax papers should be forwarded to her husband. He, in turn, claimed that he had neither the means to obtain the necessary information to complete the forms nor to pay his wife's tax bill and was imprisoned for debt. The League took up the case and achieved much publicity for it.

The Cat and Mouse [Temporary Discharge for Ill-health] Act of 1913 became infamous in the suffrage campaigns. Under this legislation a prisoner on hunger-strike and whose health was determined to be endangered by such actions might be released and then re-arrested once their health had improved. Mrs Ellen Mary Taylor (alias Mary Wyan of Reading ) refused release under the Act, claimed complete discharge and declined to give the prison governor any address. When she was conveyed to a nursing home she refused to enter until her full release was granted and continued her strike on a chair in the road outside. The police then removed her to the Kensington Infirmary where she eventually gave up her protest. Eliot Crawshay-Williams (1879-1962) was Lloyd George's Parliamentary Private Secretary in 1910 and MP for Leicester, 1910-1913. Whilst being in favour of women's suffrage, he condemned militant suffragette tactics and as a result organized lobbying against the Conciliation Bill in 1912. T. Smithies Taylor was a supporter of the militant suffragettes based in Leicester. He wrote letters to the national and local press on this and related subjects. Lloyd George addressed a meeting at Llanystumdwy in North Wales in September 1912. He was heckled by suffragists who were then turned upon by the crowd and scenes of violence against the protestors ensued. By three successive decrees in 1864, 1866 and 1869, known as the Contagious Diseases Acts, in certain towns containing military bases, any woman suspected of being a prostitute could be stopped and forced to undergo a genital inspection to discover if she had a venereal disease. If she did not submit willingly, she could be arrested and brought before a magistrate. If she was found to be infected, she could be effectively imprisoned in a 'lock' hospital. Josephine Elizabeth Butler ( 1828-1906 ) feminist and social reformer was one of the most celebrated campaigners against the Acts and the double sexual standard that they enshrined. The Acts were repealed in 1886 but the debate was not over either in Britain or other countries within the Empire.

Beatrice Mary Graves (-1950) née Leake was the daughter of Robert Leake MP of The Dales, Whitefield, Lancashire. In 1882 she married the Hon W Spencer Paget Graves, a Commander in the Royal Navy, and was widowed in 1909. She was, from 1910, Honorary Treasurer of the London Society for Women's Suffrage. She died in 1950.

Unknown.

Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence (1867-1954) was the daughter of West Country businessman Henry Pethick. In 1891 she left her home in Weston-super-Mare to become a volunteer with the Sisterhood of the West London Mission and she subsequently went on, with Mary Neal, to undertake a variety of philanthropic activities with working girls in London. In 1901 she married the newspaper publisher Frederick Lawrence. Emmeline became involved with the activities of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) in 1906, acting as treasurer, and was arrested and imprisoned for the cause. In October 1907 the Pethick-Lawrences founded the suffrage paper Votes for Women to which Emmeline was a regular contributor. In 1912, following a rift with the Pankhursts, the Pethick-Lawrences left the WSPU, although they retained control of Votes for Women (which was henceforward published under the auspices of the Votes for Women Fellowship) and Emmeline continued her suffragist activities. Following the outbreak of the First World War Emmeline became involved in peace campaigning, a cause to which she devoted the rest of her campaigning career. In the inter-war period she was also active in the Women's Freedom League, the Open Door Council and the Six Point Group. She died in 1954.

Lucy Adela Jenner (b.1859) was the only daughter of Sir William Jenner (1815-1898) and Adela Lucy Leman Adey. William Jenner was physician to Queen Victoria. He married in 1858. Lucy was born in 1859, followed by five brothers.

Unknown.

Unknown.

The Women's Freedom League (WFL) (1907-1961) was formed in Nov 1907 by dissenting members of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU). The cause was the WSPU's lack of constitutional democracy, an issue that came to a head on the 10 Sep 1907. Mrs Pankhurst announced the cancellation of the annual conference due on the 12 Oct 1907 and the future governance of the party by a central committee appointed by herself, effectively overturning its original constitution. Several members, including Charlotte Despard, Edith How Martyn, Teresa Billington-Greig, Octavia Lewin, Anna Munro, Alice Schofield and Caroline Hodgeson, broke away and continued with the conference. Here, the new constitution was written which encoded a system of party democracy. Its first committee consisted of Despard as president and honorary treasurer, Billington-Greig as honorary organising secretary, honorary secretary Mrs How Martyn, and Mrs Coates Hanson, Miss Hodgeson, Irene Miller, Miss Fitzherbert, Mrs Drysdale, Miss Abadam, Mrs Winton-Evans, Mrs Dick, Mrs Cobden Sanderson, Mrs Bell, Mrs Holmes and Miss Mansell as members. The following month, they renamed themselves the WFL, having used the title of the WSPU until that time: this had prompted Mrs Pankhurst to add 'National' to the name of her own organisation for this brief spell. They classed themselves as a militant organisation, but refused to attack persons or property other than ballot papers, unlike the WSPU. Their actions included protests in and around the House of Commons and other acts of passive civil disobedience. Their activities in 1908 included attempts to present petitions to the king and have deputations received by cabinet ministers while further protests were held in the House of Commons such as Muriel Matters, Violet Tillard and Helen Fox chaining themselves to the grille in the Ladies gallery.

That same year, they were the only militant group to be invited by the National Union of Women's suffrage Societies to take part in the Hyde Park procession on 13 Jun 1908. Despard was the first woman to refuse to pay taxes as a protest, an action which quickly inspired others to form the Women's Tax Resistance League. These activities were expanded upon in Apr 1911 when women householders either spoilt or failed to complete their census forms. This escalation of action did not prevent them joining a Conciliation Bill committee with other suffrage groups in 1910 in response to Prime Minister Asquith's offer on a free vote on extensions to the franchise. A truce was called with the government until the failure of such a bill for the third time, but by 1912 the organisation had already announced that it would support Labour Party candidates against any of the government's Liberal candidates at elections. This practice of working with other groups was one which the WFL supported, having ongoing links with the International Women's Franchise Club, the International Women Suffrage Alliance and the Suffrage Atelier. During the early part of the First World War, like most of the other suffrage organisations, the League suspended its practical militant political action and began voluntary work, though not the 'war work' of the type advocated by other suffrage groups. The group formed a number of women's police services and a Woman Suffrage National Aid Corps that provided some help to women in financial difficulties and limited day care for children. Furthermore, in 1915, the WFL founded a National Service Organisation to place women in jobs. However, the following year, political activity began again when they joined the WSPU in a picket of the Electoral Reform Conference. When women were granted suffrage after the war, they continued their activities with a change of emphasis. The organisation now called for equality of suffrage between the sexes, women as commissioners of prisons, the opening of all professions to women, equal pay, right of a woman to retain her own nationality on marriage, equal moral standards and representation of female peers in the House of Lords and they continued with this programme of social equality until the dissolution of the group in 1961.

The Women's Freedom League (WFL) (1907-1961) was formed in Nov 1907 by dissenting members of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU). The cause was the WSPU's lack of constitutional democracy, an issue that came to a head on the 10 Sep 1907. Mrs Pankhurst announced the cancellation of the annual conference due on the 12 Oct 1907 and the future governance of the party by a central committee appointed by herself, effectively overturning its original constitution. Several members, including Charlotte Despard, Edith How Martyn, Teresa Billington-Greig, Octavia Lewin, Anna Munro, Alice Schofield and Caroline Hodgeson, broke away and continued with the conference. Here, the new constitution was written which encoded a system of party democracy. Its first committee consisted of Despard as president and honorary treasurer, Billington-Greig as honorary organising secretary, honorary secretary Mrs How Martyn, and Mrs Coates Hanson, Miss Hodgeson, Irene Miller, Miss Fitzherbert, Mrs Drysdale, Miss Abadam, Mrs Winton-Evans, Mrs Dick, Mrs Cobden Sanderson, Mrs Bell, Mrs Holmes and Miss Mansell as members. The following month, they renamed themselves the WFL, having used the title of the WSPU until that time: this had prompted Mrs Pankhurst to add 'National' to the name of her own organisation for this brief spell. They classed themselves as a militant organisation, but refused to attack persons or property other than ballot papers, unlike the WSPU. Their actions included protests in and around the House of Commons and other acts of passive civil disobedience. Their activities in 1908 included attempts to present petitions to the King and have deputations received by cabinet ministers while further protests were held in the House of Commons such as Muriel Matters, Violet Tillard and Helen Fox chaining themselves to the grille in the Ladies gallery. That same year, they were the only militant group to be invited by the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies to take part in the Hyde Park procession on 13 Jun 1908. Despard was the first woman to refuse to pay taxes as a protest, an action which quickly inspired others to form the Women's Tax Resistance League. These activities were expanded upon in Apr 1911 when women householders either spoilt or failed to complete their census forms. This escalation of action did not prevent them joining a Conciliation Bill committee with other suffrage groups in 1910 in response to Prime Minister Asquith's offer on a free vote on extensions to the franchise. A truce was called with the Government until the failure of such a bill for the third time, but by 1912 the organisation had already announced that it would support Labour Party candidates against any of the Government's Liberal candidates at elections. This practice of working with other groups was one which the WFL supported, having ongoing links with the International Women's Franchise Club, the International Women Suffrage Alliance and the Suffrage Atelier. During the early part of the First World War, like most of the other suffrage organisations, the League suspended its practical militant political action and began voluntary work, though not the 'war work' of the type advocated by other suffrage groups. The group formed a number of women's police services and a Woman Suffrage National Aid Corps that provided some help to women in financial difficulties and limited day care for children. Furthermore, in 1915, the WFL founded a National Service Organisation to place women in jobs. However, the following year, political activity began again when they joined the WSPU in a picket of the Electoral Reform Conference. When women were granted suffrage after the war, they continued their activities with a change of emphasis. The organisation now called for equality of suffrage between the sexes, women as commissioners of prisons, the opening of all professions to women, equal pay, right of a woman to retain her own nationality on marriage, equal moral standards and representation of female peers in the House of Lords and they continued with this programme of social equality until the dissolution of the group in 1961.

South African Colonisation Society (1902-1919) was established in a period when British society perceived to have a problem of 'surplus' single women in Britain and several emigration schemes to lessen this number came into existence. The South African Colonisation Society was the inheritor of the South African Expansion Scheme Committee established in 1899. Its purpose had been to act as a provisional subcommittee of the United British Women's Emigration Association, its task, to expand British colonising emigration to South Africa after the Boer War. This administrative framework continued until 1901 when it became a separate committee and by 1902 it had set up it own committees on education, work in counties, drawing room meetings and a shipping sub-committee. In 1903 it became an independent body functioning under the name of the South African Colonisation Society and continued as such until after the First World War. In the immediate post-war period, it helped co-ordinate female emigration as part of the Joint Council of Women's Emigration Societies. This was to be a central body which co-ordinated women's emigration after the war and liased with the government. Full merger of the South African Colonisation Society with the two other organisations did not occur until 1919, after government pressure was applied to centralise funding of the schemes and widen the scope of their activities. The amalgamation resulted in the creation of the Society for the Overseas Settlement of British Women.

The South African Colonisation Society (1902-1919), an offshoot of the United British Women's Emigration Association, was originally founded in 1899 as a South African Subcommittee when the United British Women's Emigration Association became very occupied with furthering emigration to the colonies there. From 1901 the committee was known as the South African Expansion Scheme Committee (SAX). By the end of 1902 the South African Colonisation Society had set up committees for education, work in counties, drawing-room meetings and a Shipping Subcommittee. During World War I there was very little emigration, and the South African Colonisation Society, Colonial Intelligence League and British Women's Emigration Association participated in a Joint Council of Women's Emigration Societies, all dissolving and amalgamating in 1919 as the Society for the Overseas Settlement of British Women.

The period between 1903 and 1914 was one of resurgence in the women's suffrage movement. At this time, the methods by all those involved began to change: although the suffragists' efforts were mainly aimed at forming parliamentary opinion, they also began to engage in public demonstrations and other propaganda activities. The ASL was established in January 1907 in order to assist with the preparations for the 'Mud March' organised by the NUWSS in February of that year. However, it continued with the creation of suffrage propaganda for the NUWSS after this date. Other than the central committee of chairperson, vice-chair and treasurer, the organisation had no traditional formal structure or statement of aims. The body was responsible for the creation of a large number of posters, Christmas cards, postcards and banners designed by artists who included the chairperson Mary Lowndes, Emily Ford, Barbara Forbes, May H Barker, Clara Billing, Dora Meeson Coates, Violet Garrard, Bertha Newcombe, C Hedly Charlton and Emily J Harding. The ASL was responsible for the decoration of the Queens Hall for the celebrations in 1918 that had been organised by the NUWSS.

The Hitchin, Stevenage and District Women's Suffrage Society (1909-1918) was originally established as the North Herts Women's Suffrage Association in 1909 with Lord Lytton as its president and with Lady Constance Lytton and Lady Betty Balfour as members. By 1911 the organisation had expanded to such an extent that it was necessary to split it into two separate bodies: the Hitchin, Stevenage and District Women's Suffrage Society and the Letchworth and District Women's Suffrage Society. Both were affiliated to the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies. This remained the situation until 1918 when the HSDWSS became a Women's Citizenship Association.

This group, initially named the Manchester Committee for the Enfranchisement of Women, was formed in the 1860s, possibly initially to support John Stuart Mill's 1866 suffrage petition. Early members included Elizabeth Wolstenhulme Elmy, Jacob and Ursula Bright, Rev, S.A. Steinthal and Dr. Richard Pankhurst. It was formally re-founded in 1867 to canvass women householders in Manchester to support further suffrage petitions. It became federated to the National Society for Women's Suffrage, changing its name in 1897 to the North of England Society for Women's Suffrage.

The Petersfield Women's Suffrage Society (c 1911-1933) was established sometime prior to Jun 1911 with the Countess of Shelborne as its patron. That same year, it was able to distribute 3000 copies of a free suffrage newspaper in the area. The following year it was affiliated to the Federated Council of Suffrage Societies. It later changed its name to the Petersfield Society for Equal Citizenship and continued its activities until 1933. The St Pancras Society came into being some time before 1927 and continued its work after 1930.

The British Committee of the Continental and General Federation for Abolition of Government Regulation of Prostitution (fl 1880) was founded sometime c 1880. In the 1840s there was an upsurge in concern about prostitution in the United Kingdom. However, only after the 1857 Royal Commission report on the health of the army, and a follow-up report on the level of venereal disease in the military five years later did official tolerance of prostitution came to an end as the question became fused with contemporary concerns over public health. The result was three successive decrees in 1864, 1866 and 1869 known as the Contagious Diseases (CD) Acts. By these, in certain towns containing military bases, any woman suspected of being a prostitute could be stopped and forced to undergo a genital inspection to discover if she had a venereal disease. If she did not submit willingly, she could be arrested and brought before a magistrate. If she was found to be infected, she could be effectively imprisoned in a 'lock' hospital. At a medical Conference in Vienna in 1874, the principle of state regulation of prostitution which the CD Acts embodied was accepted as a valuable contribution to promoting public health and it was proposed that a worldwide league led by Great Britain should be created to achieve this end. The response of those in the United Kingdom who were engaged in anti-Contagious Diseases Acts activity was to try to forestall this, initially by publicising their opinions through European lecture tours by Josephine Butler and other leaders, and then through the creation of a pan-European organisation to support the repeal movement. In Mar 1875 this was formed at a meeting in Liverpool with the name of the British, Continental and General Federation for the Abolition of Government Regulation of Prostitution. The first president of the organisation was James Stansfeld MP, the honorary secretary, Josephine Butler and the corresponding secretary, Henry Joseph Wilson. William Crosfield was later appointed treasurer, while Wilson's place was taken six months later by Professor James Stuart.

When the final constitution was passed in 1878, it set out the final shape of the organisation: it was to consist of a General Meeting, a General Council and an Executive Committee. A General Council had been established since 1876 and contained representatives of the main repeal organisations in the United Kingdom, over thirty private individuals and representatives from India, the Cape of Good Hope, Italy, France, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and the United States. Each country involved maintained its own national branch that worked in its own area while maintaining close links with the other branches. Other representatives were added as more countries became concerned with the issue. Aim Humber was appointed Principle Continental Correspondent and later General Secretary for the Continent after the organisation grew. The Federation established its own journal in Dec 1875, Le Bulletin Continental. The Executive Committee of the British branch of the federation acted for some time as the actual executive committee of the whole organisation. However, when the CD Acts were repealed in the United Kingdom, the British Branch (as it was known) was left in difficulties as supporting organisations such as the National Association for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts dissolved themselves. However, others such as the Ladies National Association decided to continue in their work with enlarged area of interest and this was also the path that the British Branch followed. It changed its title in 1890 to the British Commission for the Abolition of the State Regulation of Vice in India and throughout the British Dominions due to the failure of parliament to repeal the Acts in the sub-continent and the introduction of the Cantonments Act. In this incarnation it continued as the British element of the Federation. In 1897 it revived the journal The Shield to publicise their work. The work of the overall Federation itself continued and in 1898 it was decided to rename the body the International Federation for the Abolition of State Regulation of Prostitution, with the subtitle which as at 1994 continued to be used, the International Abolitionist Federation.

The Lancashire and Cheshire Association for the Abolition of the State Regulation of Vice (1894-1939) began in 1894 as the Manchester and District Association for the Abolition of State Regulation of Vice. It had the status of a committee of the British Commission for the Abolition of the State Regulation of Vice in India and throughout the British Dominions, formerly the British, Continental and General Federation for the Abolition of Government Regulation of Prostitution. Until 1921 it operated as the Manchester and District Association which was formally closed at a meeting in Jan 1923. However, some members believed that there was a continuing need for the organisation, due to the continuation of the state regulation of prostitution in India and therefore the organisation was revived under the name of the Lancashire and Cheshire Association in Oct 1923 with Alison Neilans as Secretary. It continued its work until Mar 1939 when its activities came to an end.

Central Berkshire Equal Opportunities Committee (1976-1978) was founded in 1976. The first meeting of the Central Berkshire Equal Opportunities Committee took place in Wokingham on the 8 Jan 1976. It was a non-party organisation with the following aims: to spread knowledge of recent legislation in the field, to foster awareness of the issues involved in public and private life, to monitor locally the implementation of the new legislation and to help individuals who wished to take advantage of the provisions of the new law. It soon changed its name to the Central Berkshire Equal Opportunities Group on the advice of the Equal Opportunities Commission. The group undertook a series of activities, including providing a panel of speakers to local groups such as the Round Table, the Women's Register and the local branch of the Labour Party. Additionally, it undertook publicity for itself and its aims through radio and newspaper interviews and leaflets and organised an exhibition of photographs on the working lives of women. The main part of its work, however, was responding to government consultative documents, liaising with local authority schools and careers officers to assess the impact of the legislation, and assisting with the establishment of a local branch of the Citizen's Advice Bureau. They were only able to assist in one individual case before ending their activities some time in late 1978 due to declining attendance.

The Feminist and Women's Studies Association (1986-fl 2008) was established in 1986 as the Women's Studies Network. Its aim was to promote feminist research and teaching, and women's studies nationally and internationally. Through its elected executive committee, the Feminist and Women's Studies Association was involved in developing policy on issues of central importance to feminist scholars in further and higher education, supporting postgraduate events and enabling feminist research. Committed to raising awareness of women's studies, feminist research and women-related issues in secondary and tertiary education, the Feminist and Women's Studies Association liaised regularly with other gender-related research and community networks, as well as with policy groups. It organised conferences and produced a regular newsletter.

As at 2008 the organisation was active.

The Girls' Friendly Society (GFS) (1875-fl 2008) was founded in 1875 by Mrs Mary Townsend (1841-1918). Mrs Townsend lived in the countryside and was a committed Christian, two aspects that influenced her work as a reformer. Townsend was concerned about unmarried girls who went from the countryside to work in large towns, often as servants or as factory workers. These girls were cut off from their families and friends and Townsend thought there should be a way to help these girls experience friendship and recreation in a fellowship of Christian love and service. Mrs Townsend initially worked with a rescue organisation in the Anglican Diocese of Winchester. She then put forward her ideas to other Anglicans who were interested in girls' welfare and in May 1874 a meeting was held at Lambeth Palace to discuss her ideas. This meeting was attended by five figures who helped to establish the Society: Mrs Tait, Mrs Harold Browne, Mrs Nassau Senior, the Reverend TV Fosbery and Mrs Townsend. During 1874 some small groups of girls with an 'Associate' leader began to meet and the Society was officially established on 1 Jan 1875. During 1874 the first lodge opened, St. Jude's Servant Home Brixton, and a list of seventy-one Associate members had been compiled. By 1 Jan 1875 work had started in four dioceses. One of the four dioceses was Winchester where Mrs Harold Browne, the wife of the Bishop, was a key supporter and three branches were speedily formed. Two associate members from Winchester Diocese were to become very important to the GFS: Mrs Joyce, who became a pioneer of protected Emigration for girls and women; and Charlotte Yonge, Winchester Diocesan Head of Literature, and a member of Winchester Diocesan Council. From 1875 the Mothers' Union of the Anglican Church became an Associate of the GFS - this began a long-term relationship between the two organisations. By the end of 1875 twenty-five branches had started work in fifteen Dioceses; the Associates numbered one thousand, while there were between two and three thousand Members. By 1878 the Society had branches throughout Britain. Branches were formed in manufacturing cities like Leeds and Manchester, whilst the Archbishop of York consented to become a Patron of the 'Northern Province'. There were also branches in Scotland and Ireland. The Society also spread to America, where it was first started in Nov 1877, by Elizabeth Mason, a rector's daughter in Lowell Massachusetts.

AIMS: The name of the Society was chosen to reflect ideals of Christian fellowship. 'Friendship' was seen as a gift and should be open to every girl or young woman willing to join, whilst as a 'Society', they could resolve that 'the world' should be 'bettered by banded womanhood', through the strong force of united prayer and activity. The objective of the Society was " … to bind together in one society Ladies as Associates and working girls and young men as members for mutual help (religious and secular) for sympathy and for prayer…to encourage purity of life, dutifullness to parents, faithfulness to employers and thrift'". In reality the society solely consisted of women, most of whom were unmarried and relatively young. The 'virtuousness' of character of the members was stressed as of key importance.

STRUCTURE: The structure of the Society began with the 'Branch' the informal groups of members that were led by an 'Associate'. From 1897 younger girls from ages seven to fourteen joined as 'Candidates'. Branches spread rapidly with membership being strongest in the countryside. As membership grew and the functions of the Society became more varied the initial simple, centralised organisation also needed to develop. Initially there were four Departments established at the first Central Meeting in 1877. By 1879 there were six Departments, and a Finance Committee had been appointed. Also in 1879 a conference of branch secretaries considered the necessity of appointing a Secretary of Council to relieve Townsend's workload. The titles of the early 'Departments', reflect the scope of the work: Girls in Factories, Girls in Business, Workhouse Girls, Registries, Industrial Training, Sick Members, Needlework, Literature (including libraries), Lodges and Homes of Rest. These 'Departments' did much work in improving the conditions in which girls worked, in finding jobs, in providing training, living accommodation, books, magazines, in catering for holidays and for girls whose health had broken down. The regional structure of the society reflected that of the Church of England: i.e. the parish and the diocese. A Central Council with London Headquarters led the Society, the offices were originally at Brixton, then Vauxhall Bridge Road, and after two more moves spent forty-eight years in Victoria. As more overseas groups were established, 'Treaties' were made with the various Societies so that in each country the GFS was independent. Also, in England and Wales, though Central Council decided matters of policy and constitution each Diocese had an amount of freedom (and by meeting local needs retained local characteristics).

DEVELOPMENT: As the Society became established resources the Departments and their resources were developed. Equally, as social conditions improved some services ceased to be required. Hence, the Barbazon Home for incurably sick members and the Meath Home for epileptics ceased to be needed when the hospital services improved. The need for books, training courses and employment bureaux came to be provided by the local authority. However, residential hostels and holiday houses continued to be needed, and girls continued to want the opportunity offered by the branch meeting of worshipping, relaxing and giving service together.

CONSTITUTION: The approval of the Constitution followed a lengthy consultation period. The draft constitution was prepared for the Meeting of the Central Council on 4 Jun 1878. It was further considered at meetings and was trialled throughout 1879 with practical feedback from all levels of the Society. The Constitution was then discussed by the Anglican Church, on 1 Feb 1880 it was discussed at a Bishops' meeting held at Lambeth, with special attention to the sections dealing with the relation of the Society to the Church, and the standard of Purity, as essential to membership. During May 1880, the final meetings with regards to the Constitution and amendments were held in the National Society's room in Westminster, the President met with representatives from the twenty-six Dioceses in which the GFS was working at this time. The close link between the Church and the Society was testified to in the opening clauses, which stated that the Archbishops of Canterbury and York should be ex-officio Presidents, and the Bishops of the two Provinces ex-officio Vice-Presidents of the Society. The importance of the Central Rules was indicated and their permanence guaranteed by the last chapter, which contained the clause that they should not be altered without the consent of a majority of Associates and Members of the Society. Over the passing of time this clause was put into operation for various reasons and the Rules, though not altered, were re-affirmed and re-worded. 1880, the year which witnessed the completion of the Constitution was marked also by the consent of Queen Victoria becoming its Patron.

CENTRAL OFFICE: Although the branches were decentralised (in a similar way to the Women's Institute structure) the Central Office carried out key responsibilities. The Central Office started under the charge of Miss Hawkesley in St Jude's Home, Brixton, it was moved in 1877 to 245, Vauxhall Bridge Road, at the close of 1881 it was transferred to 5 Victoria Mansions and again in 1892 to 39 Victoria Street, in 1925 the GFS established in its final home in Townsend House. The increasing amount and variety of the work done within its walls marked each move. In 1911 the Central Council took the step that the Society be registered as a company under the Companies Act. A separate committee was appointed to deal with the subject, and the constitution was revised appropriately. The first meeting of the 'Incorporated Central Council' as its full title became, was held on Nov 1913. The Central Council then met three times a year. The President, Vice-Presidents, Heads of Departments, Correspondents and Elected Members were elected annually by the whole Council. Among the functions of the Central Council was that of key appointments, such as the Society Solicitors, Secretary, the Executive members, and members of the GFS committees.

WARTIME AND INTERWAR: During both World Wars, the GFS hostels housed many girls on war work and in 1914 the hostels in the South took in many women who had returned destitute from jobs on the Continent. There was the 'White Horse' project when an East End London pub was taken over as a social centre. Notices were also posted in railway station ladies-waiting- rooms, giving an address where girls temporarily stranded could apply for help. From the 1920s GFS Summer Camps were the only holiday possible for many girls. In 1922, the Reading Union held a week at Winchester House, Shanklin that foreshadowed the Summer schools held much later in the 1990s - proving the popularity and need for this service. The Princess Mary Caravan, was the first mobile training and publicity unit, established in 1922. A second caravan was bought in 1964 when money became available through the King George V Jubilee Trust. In some areas close links with the Guide movement were made and branches were of GFS Guides and Brownies. The first mixed branch, locally known as the 'G and B', was started during the war of 1939-1945. Yet, apart from that 'White Crusade' the driving sense of purpose seemed lacking during these years and membership numbers reduced.

THE TOWNSEND MEMBER'S FELLOWSHIP: One important decision was made during the period: the creation of the Townsend Member's Fellowship. In England and Wales, members had continued to belong to the Society long after they had ceased to be 'Girls'. In the USA it was agreed that except for leaders and officials there should be no adult members of the Society, but in England and Wales the Townsend Member's Fellowship, later to become the The Townsend Fellowship, was started in 1947. The Townsend Fellowship came to have its own officers, meetings and programme material, but maintained its close link with the GFS.

ACTIVITIES: Holidays for deprived children, story time, hospital visiting - these three services reflect the pattern that developed in the GFS. In the early days of the organisation, members operated for being 'Good', this changed over the years to 'Useful'. An emphasis on leadership training developed: both the training for working as a leader which was needed in a professional society, but also a perceived need for Christian leaders in an increasingly secular world. This was one of the reasons for the development of training course for girls in industry, which was tried experimentally in 1996, and became an important part of the Society's work.

HOSTELS: Winchester House, Shanklin, on the Isle of Wight, was given to the Society in 1893 was particularly important to the Society. For a period it was used as a war convalescent home. Later in the 20th century it was used for Summer schools, as a parish holiday centre and for conferences. In 1955, an International Conference was held there, which led, the following year, to the formation of the Girls' Friendly Society World Council.

WORLD COUNCIL: The first World Council, in 1956, was held in Switzerland: with subsequent meetings in Australia, Ireland, Japan and the USA. These meetings made it possible for officials and members to meet their counterparts from across the world. The Council discussed matters of common interest such as programme material and leadership training, as well as sponsorship of particular projects such as those in Korea, Guyana and the Philippines. The launch of World Day of Prayer, taking place on the 29 September, indicated the importance to members of the GFS as a global Society.

As at 2008 the work done by the GFS was still in great demand. The Society continued to exist under the name 'GFS Platform'. As one of the first charities set up to work with young women in England and Wales, GFS had a valuable history and extensive experience of providing care and support for girls and young women.

Mary Elizabeth Townsend (1841-1918) was the founder of The Girls Friendly Society (GFS). This was the first organised society for women and girls in connection with the Church of England. Mrs Townsend began to think of the Girls Friendly Society during the winter of 1871-1872 but did not approach the leaders of the Church of England until 1874 that definite steps were taken to shape the organisation. The meeting 'of five' took place in May 1874 at Lambeth Palace and included: Mrs Tair, Mrs Harold Browne, Mars Nassau Senior, Mrs Townsend and the Rev TV Fosbery Vicar of St Giles, Reading. They decided that the society should be called the 'The Girl's Friendly Society'. The Girls Friendly Society officially started on 1 Jan 1875, with Mrs Townsend elected President. Mary Townsend edited the journal, Friendly Leaves, first issued quarterly in 1876, but increased to monthly in 1877. Due to overwork Mrs Townsend had a breakdown in health; in Jun 1879 it was proposed that all branch secretaries and council members would subscribe towards the cost of a Travelling Secretary to assist Mrs Townsend. Mrs Townsend was President of the Central Council until 1882 when she gave up the office and the Hon Lady Grey was elected in her place. Mrs Townsend undertook the Department for Members and also the editorship of the Society's magazines for the next five years. Then in 1890, on Lady Grey's resignation she again took up the post of President until 1901 when Mrs Chaloner Chute took over. After her husband, Frederick Townsend, died on 16 Dec 1905 Mrs Townsend excused herself from GFS work for a year, but thereafter returned to assist the organisation. In particular she developed links with Mrs Temple, wife of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Missionary Society . Mrs Townsend also formed a Church Needlework Guild, which was subsequently named "The Guild of Church Needlecrafts". In 1914 Mrs Townsend had an operation which, although successful, took her a long time to recover from. Her health deteriorated (influenza and neuralgia). Mary Elizabeth Townsend died on 14 Jun 1918.

Miss Great Britain (1945-c 1990) was one of several beauty contests introduced in seaside resorts around the country in the years after World War Two. Towns like Eastbourne, Weston-Super-Mare, Great Yarmouth, Cleethorpes and Skegness staged contests, but the main focus was the Lancashire and North Wales coast: Rhyl, New Brighton, Southport, Blackpool, Fleetwood and Morecambe. In Morecambe such beauty contests were staged in the resort in the new Super Swimming Stadium as entertainment spectaculars for the holidaymakers. Morecambe was home to the Miss Great Britain competition between 1956 and 1989. Originally called the Bathing Beauty Queen, the contest began in the Summer of 1945, as the "Bathing Beauty Queen", organised by the Local Council in partnership with the 'Sunday Dispatch' newspaper. The first final was watched by 4,300 people in a continuous downpour. The winner, chosen by the film star Michael Rennie, was an 18 year old Morecambe girl Lydia Reid, a civil service typist, who received a cup and a paltry prize (according to the local paper) of seven guineas as well as a swimsuit. Prize money increased over the years. The contests were a new kind of entertainment for the holiday-maker. Aimed at a family audience organisers hoped that the men would enjoy watching pretty girls, the women would enjoy picking their favourites (or commenting on the others) and the little girls would dream of being bathing beauties when they grew up. The entrants themselves had the promise of cash prizes, as well as possible fame and fortune to follow. In the early days Morecambe and Heysham Council in association with the 'Sunday Dispatch' hosted the competition. As a preliminary to the personal appearance heats at Morecambe, photographic heats held in conjunction with the newspaper attracted contestant from all over the country. In 1946 the first prize was increased by the local authority to £100. Due to the success and popularity of the contest, the prize was further increased in 1947 to £500, and then to £1000 in the fifties. This by any standards was rapid progress, and throughout the years the contest has continued to offer the largest prize fund of any competition run by a municipal authority. The 1950s and 1960s saw the hey-day of the seaside beauty contest, these decades also saw the zenith of the British seaside holiday. Increasing prosperity meant that more and more families could take a fortnight's holiday on the coast and seaside towns were in competition for a growing market. Many seaside towns believed that beauty contests were important in gaining publicity for the town, in Morecambe, beauty contests were seen as second only to the Illuminations as the major tourist attraction. Throughout the 34 years prior to 2004, judges for the heats and finals were selected from personalities from all walks of life. Press and publishers, stars of stage, screen and television, peers and politicians joining sportsmen and a bishop. Over the years the Competition was sponsored by various internationally known companies, in 1978 Pontin's Holidays Ltd were the main sponsors yet previous sponsors included supermarket companies. As the contest grew, heats were held at various ballrooms throughout the country and at events staged in conjunction with other local authorities. The winners of these heats, together with the winners of the weekly seasonal heats held each Wednesday afternoon in Morecambe during the summer, were invited to the Grand Final. The competition was held annually on the last Wednesday afternoon in August, a pattern followed up to and including 1970. Each Grand Final was a parade in swimwear before a panel of judges. The Foreword to the official 1962 Miss Great Britain programme states "when the Morecambe Corporation started the contest in 1945, they introduced to the attractions of the seaside holiday, a new form of entertainment which has now become a big part of Show Business. As the years go by, the size of our audiences shows no signs of diminishing, the standard of our beautiful competitors improves steadily and the Contest remains as popular as ever." But, during the sixties, the British seaside holiday started to lose out to other types of holiday. Increasing car ownership meant that many families had a wider choice of destinations and some families could afford to go abroad for certain sun, rather than taking pot-luck in Southport or Scarborough. And, the girls' names were changing. The Normas, Irenes, Margarets and Maureens of the early years were replaced in the sixties by Judiths, Cheryls, Carols and Sheilas. But the format - and the cliches - of the contests were well established: results in reverse order; mothers apparently entering their daughters without their knowledge; and the judges saying that they were looking for the "friendly, girl-next-door type". Usually over 20 contestants entered the heats. Their jobs were receptionists and models, secretaries and students, young women who either wanted to further their careers in fashion or beauty or who took the opportunity of the difference offered by the seaside scene to make themselves glamorous. 1971 saw a change in this pattern. This was brought about by the involvement of television. After long negotiations agreement was reached between the Council and Yorkshire Television Ltd. for the Grand Final to be recorded and for the event to be broadcast by the whole of the independent television network. It was suggested by Yorkshire Television that the Grand Final for 1971 should be changed in format to create a more spectacular programme for the viewers. The Grand Final was therefore recorded in three parts - Swimwear Parade (at the Super Swimming Stadium), Daywear Parade (at the Promenade Gardens), Evening Wear Parade (from the stage of a local theatre) followed by the presentation and Crowning Ceremony. This format was found to be completely successful and was followed to at least 2004. Prior to 1971 winners of the various preliminary heats automatically qualified to take part in the Grand Final of over 40 finalists. The changes in the Grand Final, the introduction of televised contest winners and the limitation of transmission time necessitated a curtailment of the numbers of Grand Finalists, achieved by introducing a semi-final parade. During more recent years the staging of many more heats throughout the country further enlarged the contest and necessitated the introduction of Regional Finals. In 1978, in co-operation with the main sponsors Pontin's Holidays Ltd. and other subsidiary benefactors, the local authority (now Lancaster City Council) offered a prize-fund of over £10,000 to encourage the most beautiful girls in the country to enter. During her term of office Miss Great Britain was contracted to Lancaster City Council who were her sole agent and she was to be available through them to undertake promotional personal appearances at home or abroad. Past title holders visited countries all over the world carrying out their duties as ambassadors for the resort (and indeed the country). Immediately after her crowning Miss Great Britain undertook a publicity tour of the country, lasting about eight days, making personal appearances and attending press calls. By 2003 this tour was arranged in conjunction with Button Farshaw Group, who lent one of their cars to the winner for her year of office, and Trust House Forte Ltd, who attended to accommodation arrangements. The falling popularity of seaside resorts was later mirrored by a fall in the popularity of beauty contests. In some ways, this was a contradiction since national and international contests were now being covered by television and, indeed, the Miss World contests had high audience figures in the 1970s. However, the British public were seeking more sophisticated forms of holiday entertainment, questions were being asked about what the contests represented and the opportunities open to young women were changing. The eighties saw the end of a number of seaside beauty contests. Rhyl, Great Yarmouth and Morecambe took decisions to end their contests. Other towns moved the contests from the swimming-pools to other venues and, more dramatically, New Brighton finished its contest when the swimming pool was destroyed by winter gales. So, the local councils that had started the contests after the War were now asking themselves whether these were events they should be involved with. The contests were becoming less acceptable and less popular as seaside attractions. But there were still attractive young women - now Debbies, Traceys, Clares and Joannes - interested in entering the contests, there were mothers right there behind them and there were still enough people prepared to watch for a pleasant hour or two.- Please note - the archive dates from 1945-1982 only. At the start of the 1990s, only Southport, Blackpool and Fleetwood were staging traditional seaside beauty contests and that decade saw further decline. There were decreasing numbers of contestants and fewer people wanting to watch. In particular, more young women had better career opportunities than in the past, meaning that fewer had the time to spend summer afternoons entering heats across the country. The seaside towns themselves were also adapting to the different ways in which people used their holidays. They had to re-think their marketing. By the 1990s Southport and Blackpool were able to do this successfully: Morecambe less so. By the end of the 1990s, Southport had finished its contest because it wanted to diversify its afternoon entertainments on the Prom and Blackpool's contest had changed from swimwear in the afternoon into club-wear for the evening. So Miss Wyre at Fleetwood was the only traditional seaside beauty contest to make it into the new century, finishing in 2002, although Miss Blackpool continued successfully in its new format. In the early 1990s the title 'Miss Great Britain' was purchased by new owners, an organisation that became known as 'Miss Great Britain Organisation'. By 2004 Miss Great Britain was still running as a beauty competition and was part of the growing commercialisation and publicity wing of the beauty industry. By 2004 the organisers sourced their own contestants, with applicants filling out a form and sending in a photograph. There were no local heats, rather a panel reduced the number to 60 finalists. The main winner of the Miss Great Britain competition then went on to enter the 'Miss Tourism' competition. Finalists other than the winner were also eligible to enter 'Model of the World', 'Miss Bikini', 'Miss Internet' and 'Model of the Universe', 'Miss Millionaire'. Whilst 'Mr Tourism World' was an equivalent male contest from the same organisation. A separate organisation provided the 'Miss World' competition, illustrating that beauty competitions were continuing well into the new millennium.

LIST OF WINNERS FROM 1945 - 1989

1945 Lydia Read

1946 June Rivers

1947 June Mitchell

1948 Pamela Bayliss

1949 Elaine Pryce

1950 Violet Pretty

1951 Marlene Dee

1952 Dorothy Dawn

1953 Brenda Mee

1954 Patricia Butler

1955 Jennifer Chimes

1956 Iris Waller

1957 Leila Williams

1958 Christine Mayo

1959 Valerie Martin

1960 Eileen Sheridan

1961 Libby Walker

1962 Joy Black

1963 Gillian Taylor

1964 Carole Redhead

1965 Diane Hickinbotham

1966 Carole Fletcher

1967 Jennifer Gurley

1968 Yvonne Ormes

1969 Wendy Anne George

1970 Kathleen Winstanley

1971 Carolyn Moore

1972 Elizabeth Robinson

1973 Gay Spink

1974 Marylin Ward

1975 Susan Cuff

1976 Dinah May

1977 Susan Hempel

1978 Patricia Morgan

1979 TV Strike forced re-timing of contest

1980 Sue Berger

1981 Michelle Hobson

1982 Tracey Dodd / Viviennne Farnen

1983 Rose McGrory

1984 Debbie Greenwood

1985 Jill Saxby

1986 Lesley Ann Musgrave

1987 Linzi Butler

1988 Gillian Bell

1989 Amanda Dyson

See Red Women's Workshop (c 1974-1984) was a screen-print workshop run as a women's collective between c 1974 and 1984. It was a radical campaigning and publicising organisation fully committed to the ideals of the second wave feminist movement. See Red's activities included the designing and printing of their own posters, postcards and calendars, as well as taking on design and print commissions for other organisations. They also gave talks and demonstrations on screen-printing. Their work was distributed through shops and mail order both nationally and internationally. The group varied in number; overall 20 women worked at See Red during its lifetime. After working from home in the early days, the collective progressed to renting shared space with Women in Print, at 16a Iliffe Yard, off Crampton St, London, SE17. The workshop was initially run without grant-aid, and the women contributed up to three working days a week to the workshop while earning a living elsewhere. In the early 1980s the collective was supported by funding from the Greater London Council.

The women were committed to the principles of working as a collective in spite of time and money constraints. They saw themselves as accountable to the Women's Liberation Movement, and wanted to design posters that were cheap and therefore accessible. They were keen to prioritise the strength of the message over slick techniques or beautiful art, making posters that served an urgent purpose that they acknowledged might ultimately be short-lived. The posters carried either a campaigning or a consciousness-raising message, and treated many subjects including: women and sexuality, health, childcare, domestic politics, domestic violence, sexual equality for girls and women, male sexist attitudes, sexist and degrading treatment of women by the media, and oppression of women in a wider political context, both nationally and internationally. The Workshop came to an end in 1984.

Wildcat Cards (1988-1994) was founded in Sep 1988 by the Sheffield-based cartoonist and graphic designer Fi Frances in order to make modern women's art more accessible to the public through the medium of high quality cards produced by women artists to promote images and messages by women for women. It produced greetings cards, postcards and posters designed by women artists and actively sought input from women in a wide range of different life situations (from different classes, ethnic backgrounds, sexualities, abilities, ages and educational and political backgrounds). Some designs were produced as support cards for women's organisations and campaigns. Fi Frances once said 'Paintings depict an aspect of women's experience not normally seen in our world of misleading gloss.' In 1989, the Wildcat Cards Collective was formed, initially in an advisory capacity but with a view to establishing the business collectively in the long term. In 1990, Wildcat Cards was an established collective of four women, namely, Fi Frances, Maya Chowdhry, Mal Finch and Judith Dixon. The Collective increased to seven members by 1991 to include Fi Frances, Maya Chowdhry, Mal Finch, Rose Tanner, Sarah Broughton, Jacquie Burgess and Charlotte [?]. Wildcat Cards remained based in Sheffield and the majority of its business was through mail order. Although the Collective was dissolved in 1992, the business continued to operate until 1994 during which two attempts were made to sell the Collective to women. Fi Frances died in Nov 2001. [Note: a 'Wildcat Card' company was established in 2002 based in Berkshire; this had no link to the feminist card company]

Fi Frances (1940-2001) was born in 1940 to a family of drawing room watercolourists and schoolroom calligraphers. She was a graphic designer and cartoonist living in Sheffield, and worked as a graphic technician at Sheffield City Polytechnic and Sheffield Women's Printing Coop. In 1984 she became self employed. Fi and Caroline Irving formed Hoodwink to promote their skills as women cartoonist, and in 1987 came together as a group with two other women cartoonist, Christine Smith and Debjani Chatterjee to form Graphic Equalizers. In Sep 1988, Fi started the Wildcat Cards project to relate her skills in graphics and cartooning to the politics of feminist and other radical campaigns she was involved in. She operated Wildcat Cards as a Collective until 1992, but the business continued operating until 1994. She became involved with creating an arts policy with the Arts Council and Age Concern on which she wrote an article entitled, Increasing Visibility in the summer of 1999 for the Foundation of Community Dance. Fi Frances died in Nov 2001.

The Wives' Fellowship (1916-fl 2008) is a Christian women's group founded in 1916 within the Church of England, but later was opened to members of all Christian denominations. It aims to bring together married women with a common interest in upholding Christian ideals in marriage, motherhood and community service. It functions as a network of local groups around the UK with a central administrative body run by volunteers. Membership has always been by invitation, with meetings held in members' homes. Annual Days (the yearly celebration of the founding of the Fellowship) and National Conferences are held in different locations around the UK. The group was originally called the Young Wives' Fellowship and aimed to provide companionship to young married women whose husbands were fighting overseas during the First World War. It was initially a sub-committee to the Mothers' Union, with strong links to the Girls' Diocesan Association. In 1921 it became independent under the title The Wives' Fellowship. It remained affiliated to the Mothers' Union until 1937. Most branches at that time were in the dioceses of the Church of England. During the 1920s groups were established in India and Sri Lanka (Ceylon) and, very briefly, in Cairo, Nairobi and Jakarta (Batavia). The Indian groups ceased after Indian independence and the Ceylon groups stopped in 1973. The central administrative body produces magazines, hosts events around the country, and organises the Annual General Meeting. It has always been active in charitable work. The main charities that have been supported are: the Josephine Butler house in Liverpool (funding the training of female social workers) 1921-1974; the St Michael and All Angels Fellowship, 1943-1976; the St Christopher's Hospice (for the terminally ill), 1975-onwards. It also had a 60-year affiliation with the National Council of Women. The Senior Wives' Fellowship was established in 1934 for members over the age of 40. The Wives' Fellowship and the Senior Wives' Fellowship merged on 11 Mar 2004. The organisation was still active in 2008.

Association of Women Clerks and Secretaries (1903-c 1921) was founded in 1903 as women became employed in this sector. At the end of the nineteenth century, there was great opposition to women's employment amongst male employees, in contrast to employers' acceptance of a new workforce who worked for lower wages and was less inclined to industrial agitation. This hostility also affected the male-dominated trades unions of the period, especially those concerned with the Civil Service. This meant that women civil servants of the time continued to occupy separate and lower grades than those of men, and a marriage bar prevented them continuing to work after they became wives. It was not until the turn of the century that female trade union agitation for equal pay and conditions with the male workforce began. The Association of Shorthand Writers was established in 1903 and was subsequently renamed the Association of Women Clerks and Secretaries. Unlike the Federation of Women Civil Servants at this stage, which represented only permanent and established female public servants, the Association dealt with staff that had been recruited on a temporary basis. The Association, along with most of the civil service trades unions, were involved in efforts to introduce arbitration and militated for what would become Whitley Councils. After the end of the First World War such action helped bring about a major restructuring of the service. Grades that had been unique to each of the departments were now merged across the entire service to form four basic bands. This resulted in the merger of unions that had previously been structured around specific departments. When women were finally assimilated into the general grading system in 1920 as part of the restructuring, the Association found itself weakened as members left for larger mixed unions that were better represented on the Whitley Councils and this was one of the reason why, in 1921, it joined with several mixed trades unions, as well as the Civil Service Typists Association to form the Civil Service Clerical Association. However, membership later became a problem when the Federation of Women Civil Servants changed its rules to allow temporary workers to join. This was exacerbated in 1930 when many of traditionally temporary contracts were made permanent and abortive moves were made to amalgamate with the National Union of Clerks. Later, in 1932 it went on to merge with the Federation to create the National Association of Women Civil servants. In Mar 1940, the Association finally joined the National Union of Clerks and Administrative Workers under the new title of The Clerical and Administrative Workers Union.

The Equal Pay Campaign Committee (1941-1956) (EPCC) was founded in 1941. During the 1920s, a number of women's organisations had begun to campaign for equal pay for women, only for the Depression to see women workers blamed for unemployment amongst men and many trades unions consequently become hostile to the issue. The onset of the Second World War saw this inequality of pay mirrored in the settlements offered by 1941's Personal Injuries (Civilians) Scheme to those rendered unable to work. This scheme was opposed by women's organisations and action was co-ordinated by the National Association of Women Civil servants and the British Federation of Business and Professional Women. A committee was instituted, firstly on an ad-hoc and then a permanent basis, with representatives from the Women Power Committee, The National Association of Women Civil Servants, the British Federation of Business and Professional Women, the National Council of Women, the Women's Publicity Planning Association and later the Women's Freedom League. The chair was Mavis Tate MP. A select committee was subsequently instituted which overturned the existing legislation and resulted in equal compensation rates being paid in 1943. With this achieved, attention was extending the work to equal pay more generally and a new committee was appointed under the title of the Equal Pay Campaign Committee, with a sister branch in Scotland and an attached advisory council. It also was chaired by Tate, who approached the Joint Committee on Women in the Civil Service to provide basic information from which to proceed. The National Association of Women Civil Servants provided accommodation and services for the new committee and the Association's general secretary, Miss Hart, acted as honorary secretary. It quickly instigated parliamentary debates and a Royal Commission on Equal Pay was announced largely due to its efforts.

The Commission's report was issued in Oct 1946 and the Equal Pay Campaign Committee organised publicity and public meetings to support its findings. A meeting was organised in the Public Hall at Westminster with the co-operation of the Status of Women Committee and a national campaign was organised with Nina Popplewell as the new honorary secretary in 1947. The work for the meeting was to be done by a sub-committee established for this role, which eventually took over the running of the group between meetings of the parent committee. The Committee itself was supported by an Advisory Committee that, unlike the parent committee, could have political aims. Consequently, both the Fabian and the Women's Communist Party were invited to join (although the latter later declined). Activities reached a peak during 1948-1949 with publications and a newsletter being created to increase publicity. A film was also made by Jill Craigie on their behalf: 'To Be A Woman', which was screened in 1951. In 1954 an approach was made to the Local Authorities' representatives on the Burnham Committee regarding government pay in public services through which the Committee influenced the final report. This recommended gradual implementation of equal pay in the Civil Service, a move which was accepted by the National Whitley Council and eventually also applied to women teachers. The following year, the committee took the decision to wind up its activities, a process that was completed in Feb 1956.

The Writers' Club [for Women] (1892-fl.1920) was founded in 1892 by the journalist Frances Low at 10 Norfolk Street, near Fleet Street, London. It claimed to be unique in being the only club devoted to women of one profession. Entry, which was limited to 300, was based on evidence of literary or journalistic work. Entrance fee was one guinea for town members and the same amount for the annual subscription. Many well -known authors were members and a quiet room was reserved for writing. The suite included a writing room, dining room, kitchen, cloakroom and two reception rooms. 'At Homes' were held every Friday afternoon when guests (including men) could be invited to tea. No residential accommodation was provided and silence was enforced in the Writing Room. In the early 1900s a group of members, dissatisfied with the Club's lack of physical amenities, broke away under the leadership of Constance Smedley, to form the Lyceum Club. The Writers' Club was still in existence in the 1920s.