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The Women's Suffrage Petition Committee (1865-1866) was founded to support the work of John Stuart Mill. In 1865 John Stuart Mill who had avowed his belief in Women's Suffrage in his election address, was elected to Parliament. Some of the leading figures in the Women's Suffrage movement asked him whether he would present a Petition to Parliament on behalf of the movement. He agreed to do so if a reasonable number of signatures could be obtained. In Nov-Dec 1865 Madame Bodichon and Emily Davies enlisted the help of Miss Jessie Boucherett, Rosamund Hill and Elizabeth Garrett to form a small informal committee to promote the Petition. They met at the house of Elizabeth Garrett and became known as the 'Kensington Committee'. Madame Bodichon, Jessie Boucherett and Emily Davies drafted the Petition and during the first months of 1866 they obtained the support of many leading women who between them secured eventually 1,499 signatures to the Petition from all parts of the British Isles. The signatories included many prominent women who made subsequently a significant contribution to the Suffrage movement.

On 7 Jun 1866 Mill presented the Petition to Parliament which was at that time considering the Reform Bill. As Madame Bodichon was ill, Miss Emily Davies accompanied by Miss Garrett took the Petition to the House of Commons. At the Oct Congress of the National Association for the Promotion of Social Sciences held at Manchester, Madame Bodichon read a paper 'On the Extension of the Suffrage to Women'. (Transactions of the National Association for the Promotion of Social Sciences, Manchester Congress 1866, 1867, p.794).

The Women's Suffrage Provisional Committee [London Branch] (1866-1867) was formed in 1866. Soon after the Congress at Manchester, The Women's Suffrage Petition Committee decided to transform the informal Petition Committee into a more formal organisation, and the Women's Suffrage Provisional Committee was formed. The members of this London Committee were - Dean Alford (Canterbury), Miss Jessie Boucherett, Professor John Elliot Cairnes, the Rev. WL Clay, Miss Emily Davies, Lady Goldsmid, George Hastings, James Haywood, Mrs Hunt (Isa Craig), Miss Munning and Mrs Hensleigh Wedgwood. Mrs Peter Taylor was the Honorary Treasurer and at first Emily Davies acted as Honorary Secretary. Mrs JW Smith (a Garrett sister) soon acted as Secretary but she died in 1867 and Caroline Biggs, who was to edit the 'Englishwoman's Review' for nearly twenty years succeeded her. The Committee met at Mrs PA Taylor's home, Aubrey House, from which the petitions in 1867 were organised. ('Englishwoman's Review', 14 Sep 1889, p. 386 (Helen Blackburn's obituary for Miss Caroline Biggs). On 5 Jul 1867 the Women's Suffrage Provisional Committee in London dissolved itself and reformed as the 'National Society for obtaining Political Rights for Women' (1867), but was re-named within a short time as the 'London National Society for Women's Suffrage'.

The National Society for Obtaining Political Rights for Women (1867) was formed on 5 Jul 1867 when the Women's Suffrage Provisional Committee in London dissolved itself and reformed with this name. It was re-named again within a short time as the 'London National Society for Women's Suffrage'.

The London [National] Society for Women's Suffrage (1867-1871) was founded in 1867. On 5 Jul 1867 the Women's Suffrage Provisional Committee in London dissolved itself and reformed as the 'National Society for obtaining Political Rights for Women' (1867), but was re-named within a short time as the 'London National Society for Women's Suffrage'. There is a tradition that Mill was responsible for the change of name. (The Executive Committee comprised:- Miss Frances Power Cobbe, Mrs Fawcett, Miss Hampson, Miss Lloyd, Mrs Lucas, Mrs Stansfeld and Mrs PA Taylor who acted as Treasurer. Mrs Smith the Honorary Secretary died soon after the Committee was formed and Caroline Biggs took over, Mrs Taylor having acted until Miss Biggs' appointment.) In 1871 there was an organisational split into two separate bodies: 1) The London National Society for Women's Suffrage (1871-1877); 2) The Central Committee of the National Society for Women's Suffrage (1871-1877). The former appears to have been subsumed into the Central Committee of the National Society for Women's Suffrage in 1877.

The Central Committee of the National Society for Women's Suffrage (1871-1877) (CNSWS) was formed after Jacob Bright at the Nov 1871 annual general meeting of the Manchester National Society for Women's Suffrage called for the creation of a central committee in London to co-ordinate the suffrage lobbying of MPs. Sure of solid support in the provinces, the Women's Suffrage Provisional Committee called a General Meeting at the Langham Hotel on 17 Jan 1872 at which Jacob Bright presided. (Notice of the meeting on 17 Jan 1872 and its purpose appeared in the 'Women's Suffrage Journal', 1 Jan 1872, p.13. A full report of the meeting in the journal's issue 1 Feb 1872, pp.21-3. Another good report, substantially the same, appeared in 'Englishwoman's Review', Apr 1872, pp. 113 'et seq'. Both journals gave a list of the Committees who had placed themselves in connection with the Central Committee.) This meeting passed the following Resolutions:- '1. That this meeting approves the general course pursued by the Central Committee of the National Society for Women's Suffrage. 2. That an Executive Committee be constituted with all necessary powers for promoting the movement subject to the control of the Central Committee.' The Executive Committee was to consist of the following persons elected:- Professor Sheldon Amos, Mrs Amos, Mr R Arthur Arnold, Mrs Arthur Arnold, Mr Ashurst, Mr Edwin Arnold, Miss Caroline Biggs, Mrs Jabob Bright, Mr Percy Bunting, Mrs Chesson, Miss Courtenay, Miss Frances Power Cobbe, Miss Agnes Garrett, Miss Rhoda Garrett, Miss Katherine Hill, Mr Frederic Hill, Mr Henry Hoare, Mrs Duncan M'Laren, Mr W Malleson, Mrs W. Malleson, Mrs Frederick Pennington, Mr Edwin Pears, Mrs Pochin, Mrs Peter Rylands, Dr Humphrey Sandwith, Mrs James Stansfeld, Mrs Venturi, Miss Williams and the following ex-officio members:- 1) All members of Parliament who are members of the Central Committee. 2) Such delegates as the Committees in connection with the Central may appoint (both reports contain names of 13 already appointed by Committees). 3) All members of Executive Committees in connection with the Central Committee. About half of those elected were already playing a leading role in the Repeal Movement. The structure of the Executive Committee fulfilled the need for such a standing Central Committee representing all Suffrage Societies as Jacob Bright had advocated at the meeting in Manchester on the previous 8 Nov. It was the dismantling of this closely knit structure with was one of the main reasons for the Schism in 1888. The Central Committee took offices at 9 Berners Street, the premises of the Berners Club for Women, and in summer 1874 it moved to 294 Regent Street (Langham Place). During the first half of 1872 the Executive Committee pursued an intensive campaign of public meetings and lectures, issued several pamphlets and endeavoured to increase their support among M.P.s and the press. ('The Women's Suffrage Journal' and the 'Englishwoman's Review' gave very good coverage of the activities of the Central Committee, including details of provincial committees and their officers as these were either reorganised or newly established in affiliation with the Central Committee.) Meanwhile the three temporary Honorary Secretaries had the services of a paid Secretary, Miss Emma A. Smith who was later retained on a permanent basis. The first Annual Meeting was held on 17 Jul 1872. (For accounts of the meeting, see 'Women's Suffrage Journal' 1 Aug 1872, pp.108-110 and 'Englishwoman's Review' Oct 1872, pp. 271 'et seq'. As the Editors of these journals, Miss Becker and Miss Biggs, were in the inner councils of the Committee, both journals gave extensive coverage of meetings, Petitions and provincial committees throughout the United Kingdom as these were established. The 'Women's Suffrage Journal' is particularly important for details of Committee membership and officers, in all issues.) To this meeting the Executive Committee presented its 'First Report', which contained a brief account of the events leading to the formation of the Central Committee. As the three Honorary Secretaries had intimated at the Executive meeting held on 12 Jun that they did not wish to continue beyond the Annual Meeting, Miss Caroline Biggs and Miss Agnes Garrett were appointed Honorary Secretaries for the time being. Miss Smith was appointed then on a permanent basis and Mr Henry Hoare was re-elected as Honorary Treasurer. Mrs Fawcett had remained with the London National but she later became exasperated with dissensions in the Society and joined the Central Committee. In 1877 the two London Societies (Central Committee of the National Society for Women's Suffrage; 1871-1877 and the London National Society for Women's Suffrage) merged to become the Central Committee of the National Society for Women's Suffrage (1877-1888) and Lydia Becker became the parliamentary agent.

The London National Society For Women's Suffrage (LNSWS) (1871-1877) continued after the split in the London Society for Women's Suffrage (1867-1871) at the end of 1871, as a smaller Society. It mainly represented London as the larger and influential provincial societies had affiliated to the Central Committee. John Mill remained as its President, but he died on 8 Apr 1873. (Coverage of the London Society was small in the two Suffrage journals although all important meetings were well reported.) Outside London the Society arranged a few public meetings in those areas which had remained connected with it and the membership followed the established pattern of raising Petitions in their areas and supported the current leader of the Bill in the Commons. The London National Society For Women's Suffrage (1871-1877) appears to have been subsumed into the Central Committee of the National Society for Women's Suffrage in 1877.

The Central Committee of the National Society for Women's Suffrage (1871-1877) (CNSWS) was formed after Jacob Bright at the Nov 1871 annual general meeting of the Manchester National Society for Women's Suffrage called for the creation of a central committee in London to co-ordinate the suffrage lobbying of MPs. Sure of solid support in the provinces, the Women's Suffrage Provisional Committee called a General Meeting at the Langham Hotel on 17 Jan 1872 at which Jacob Bright presided. (Notice of the meeting on 17 Jan 1872 and its purpose appeared in the 'Women's Suffrage Journal', 1 Jan 1872, p.13. A full report of the meeting in the journal's issue 1 Feb 1872, pp.21-3. Another good report, substantially the same, appeared in 'Englishwoman's Review', Apr 1872, pp. 113 'et seq'. Both journals gave a list of the Committees who had placed themselves in connection with the Central Committee.) This meeting passed the following Resolutions:- '1. That this meeting approves the general course pursued by the Central Committee of the National Society for Women's Suffrage. 2. That an Executive Committee be constituted with all necessary powers for promoting the movement subject to the control of the Central Committee.' The Executive Committee was to consist of the following persons elected:- Professor Sheldon Amos, Mrs Amos, Mr R Arthur Arnold, Mrs Arthur Arnold, Mr Ashurst, Mr Edwin Arnold, Miss Caroline Biggs, Mrs Jabob Bright, Mr Percy Bunting, Mrs Chesson, Miss Courtenay, Miss Frances Power Cobbe, Miss Agnes Garrett, Miss Rhoda Garrett, Miss Katherine Hill, Mr Frederic Hill, Mr Henry Hoare, Mrs Duncan M'Laren, Mr W Malleson, Mrs W. Malleson, Mrs Frederick Pennington, Mr Edwin Pears, Mrs Pochin, Mrs Peter Rylands, Dr Humphrey Sandwith, Mrs James Stansfeld, Mrs Venturi, Miss Williams and the following ex-officio members:- 1) All members of Parliament who are members of the Central Committee. 2) Such delegates as the Committees in connection with the Central may appoint (both reports contain names of 13 already appointed by Committees). 3) All members of Executive Committees in connection with the Central Committee. About half of those elected were already playing a leading role in the Repeal Movement. The structure of the Executive Committee fulfilled the need for such a standing Central Committee representing all Suffrage Societies as Jacob Bright had advocated at the meeting in Manchester on the previous 8 Nov. It was the dismantling of this closely knit structure with was one of the main reasons for the Schism in 1888. The Central Committee took offices at 9 Berners Street, the premises of the Berners Club for Women, and in summer 1874 it moved to 294 Regent Street (Langham Place). During the first half of 1872 the Executive Committee pursued an intensive campaign of public meetings and lectures, issued several pamphlets and endeavoured to increase their support among M.P.s and the press. ('The Women's Suffrage Journal' and the 'Englishwoman's Review' gave very good coverage of the activities of the Central Committee, including details of provincial committees and their officers as these were either reorganised or newly established in affiliation with the Central Committee.) Meanwhile the three temporary Honorary Secretaries had the services of a paid Secretary, Miss Emma A. Smith who was later retained on a permanent basis. The first Annual Meeting was held on 17 Jul 1872. (For accounts of the meeting, see 'Women's Suffrage Journal' 1 Aug 1872, pp.108-110 and 'Englishwoman's Review' Oct 1872, pp. 271 'et seq'. As the Editors of these journals, Miss Becker and Miss Biggs, were in the inner councils of the Committee, both journals gave extensive coverage of meetings, Petitions and provincial committees throughout the United Kingdom as these were established. The 'Women's Suffrage Journal' is particularly important for details of Committee membership and officers, in all issues.) To this meeting the Executive Committee presented its 'First Report', which contained a brief account of the events leading to the formation of the Central Committee. As the three Honorary Secretaries had intimated at the Executive meeting held on 12 Jun that they did not wish to continue beyond the Annual Meeting, Miss Caroline Biggs and Miss Agnes Garrett were appointed Honorary Secretaries for the time being. Miss Smith was appointed then on a permanent basis and Mr Henry Hoare was re-elected as Honorary Treasurer. Mrs Fawcett had remained with the London National but she later became exasperated with dissensions in the Society and joined the Central Committee. In 1877 the two London Societies (Central Committee of the National Society for Women's Suffrage; 1871-1877 and the London National Society for Women's Suffrage) merged to become the Central Committee of the National Society for Women's Suffrage (1877-1888) and Lydia Becker became the parliamentary agent.

The Central Committee of the National Society for Women's Suffrage (CCNSWS) (1888-1897) was formed in 1888 when the Central Committee of the National Society for Women's Suffrage (CNSWS) (1871-1877) split into two factions over the issue of political affiliation, i.e. whether suffrage was a cross party issue. This group retained the name 'Central Committee of the National Society for Women's Suffrage (1888-1897)' the other became the 'Central National Society for Women's Suffrage' (1888-1897). The Central Committee of the National Society for Women's Suffrage (1888-1897) was also known in this period as the 'Great College Street Society'. The committee included Mrs Fawcett, Miss Becker, Miss Courtnay, Helen Blackburn, Mrs Haslem and Frederic Hill amongst others. In Oct 1896 after a conference in Birmingham of all the suffrage societies, it was agreed that the country should be divided into regions. Thus the name changed in Sep 1897 to the 'Central and East of England Society for Women's Suffrage' (1897-1900).

The Central National Society for Women's Suffrage (CNSWS) (1888-1897) was formed in 1888. In 1888 the Central Committee of the National Society for Women's Suffrage (1871-1877) split into two factions over the issue of political affiliation, i.e. whether suffrage was a cross party issue. This group became the 'Central National Society for Women's Suffrage' (1888-1897); the other group retained the name 'Central Committee of the National Society for Women's Suffrage (1888-1897)'. This group, which had party affiliation, had largely placed its faith in the Liberal Party to achieve Women's Suffrage. It was also known as 'The Parliament Street Society' (although it later moved premises to Victoria Street). In 1889 the Central National Society for Women's Suffrage lost members to the 'Women's Franchise League (1889-1897)' as would not expressly include married women in the aims of being eligible to vote. Members of the Central National Society included the McLaren family,Anna Maria Priestman, Mary Bateson and Jane Cobden. Between 1888-1896 the Central National Society was most active in the west country. In Oct 1896 after a conference in Birmingham of all the suffrage societies, it was agreed that the country should be divided into regions. Thus the name changed in 1897 to the Central and Western Society for Women's Suffrage' when their activities in the West of England were 'officially' recognised.

The Central & East of England Society for Women's Suffrage (1897-1900) was formed in Oct 1896 after a conference in Birmingham of all the suffrage societies, it was agreed that the country should be divided into regions. Thus the name changed in Sep 1897 from the 'Central Committee of the National Society for Women's Suffrage' (1888-1897) to the 'Central and East of England Society for Women's Suffrage'. In 1900 the Central & Western Society for Women's Suffrage (1897-1900) merged with the Central & East of England Society for Women's Suffrage (1897-1900) to become the 'Central Society for Women's Suffrage' (1900-1907).

The Central & Western Society for Women's Suffrage (1897-1900) was formed in Oct 1896 after a conference in Birmingham of all the suffrage societies, it was agreed that the country should be divided into regions. Thus the name changed in 1897 from 'Central National Society for Women's Suffrage' (1888-1897) to the Central & Western Society for Women's Suffrage' when the West of England was added to its sphere of activity. In 1900 the Central and Western Society for Women's Suffrage (1897-1900) merged with the Central and East of England Society for Women's Suffrage (1897-1900) to become the 'Central Society for Women's Suffrage' (1900-1907).

The Central Society for Women's Suffrage (1900-1907) was formed in 1900 from a merger between the Central & Western Society for Women's Suffrage (1897-1900) and the Central & East of England Society for Women's Suffrage (1897-1900). In 1907 the Central Society for Women's Suffrage (1900-1907) became the London Society for Women's Suffrage (1907-1919).

The London Society for Women's Suffrage (1907-1919) was established in 1907 out of the Central Society for Women's Suffrage (1900-1907). 'The Women's Service Department': At the outbreak of the First World War, the London Society suspended its political work and placed its offices, its large staff of trained organisers and its branch organisation at the service of the nation. It opened the Women's Service Department whose work during the first months was to provide information to enquirers as to openings for voluntary work and supplied during that period over 1500 voluntary workers for countless organisations including major societies such as the Soldiers' and Sailors' Families Association the Invalid Children Aid Association, the Women's Patrols, the Belgian Committee and Soldiers' Canteens. It also opened 6 emergency workrooms for women thrown out of work, 9 clubs for soldiers' and sailors' wives and families, 2 clubs for girls, 7 hostels for Belgian Refugees, 3 centres for infant consultations and 2 clothing depots. The society's branches supported and worked with Mayor's Committees in many metropolitan boroughs. The Society also made a major contribution to the work of the Scottish Women's Hospitals, raised London Units and supplied special ambulances. 'Training Women For War Work': By mid 1915, the need for voluntary work diminished but there was a growing demand for trained women to replacement who had joined the armed forces as well as women for the increasing number of new jobs created by the expansion of production of war weapons and materials to meet the needs of the war effort. The Society's Service Department co-operated in the compilation of the Board of Trade's War Register for Women and also set about providing all kinds of technical training for women for entry to factories. Classes were established for such important work as acetylene welding, tracers for mechanical drawings and micrometer and vernier viewing. As the war progressed and the Society was able to raise quite considerable sums of money through appeals and fund raising activities, this work expanded greatly. 'The Women's Employment Department': Having made a major contribution to the training and placing of women in war work, as the war was drawing to a close the Society, with its very experienced organisation, turned its attention and resources to planning to meet the problems that women would face in seeking employment in the post-war period. Having briefly turned its attention, to political activity over the electoral bill which gave women a limited franchise in 1918, the Society re-thought its post-war policy and decided that apart from the battle to secure the franchise for women on the same terms as men, the 1918 Act enabled it to concentrate now more on obtaining equal rights and in this field employment was the major field for its activities. The Society therefore replaced the Women's Services Department by an Employment Department with an Employment Committee, organised with seven Sections. One of these was a Women's Services Section, the other six being Industrial, Political, Training, Publicity, Professional, Commercial and Civil Service Sections. These changes were made early in 1919 and a Resolution of the Executive Committee, 5 Mar 1919, gave effect to a Report of an ad hoc Committee on Advisors, by setting up a Council of Advisers which would consist of representatives of the seven existing Sections. The Executive Committee was empowered to call in representatives of any section for advice when discussing matters concerning subjects dealt with by that Section. A Report of a Sub-Committee on Public meeting, 9 Apr 1919, recommended the Employment Committee to sponsor a public meeting to be held in the last week in May in the Queen's Hall, to publicise the new policy and organisation. Women's Service Leaflet No.2, Apr 1919, was prepared, headed 'The Open Door' to serve the same purpose. The Employment Committee's staff carried out an extensive and intensive survey of occupations that might be suitable for women, interviewing a large and wide range of firms. A Bureau was established to which employers could notify vacancies which the Bureau's staff then tried to fill from those women who contacted them in their search for employment. Eventually, as the work expanded, this activity was taken over by a new organisation that was established by the co-operation of many women's organisations, namely the Women's Employment Federation. In 1919 the name changed to the London Society for Women's Service (1919-1926).

The London Society for Women's Service (1919-1926) was created in 1919 through the renaming of the London Society for Women's Suffrage (1907-1919). The name change reflected the shift in emphasis of the Society's Objects, due to the Act giving women the franchise and also to the fact that the Society had added to its Objects a broader service to women as a result of its contribution to the prosecution of the 1914-1918 war. The London Society for Women's Suffrage had acquired a deep knowledge and experience of the broader aspects of the social and economic needs of women during its intensive contribution to the war effort, through its Women's Service Department. Once the limited franchise had been granted, the leaders and many members of the Society felt that in the post war years, while the Society should continue to work for the granting of the franchise to women on the same terms as men, there was a great deal of work which could be done to secure equal citizenship for women. It was therefore proposed that the aims of the Society should be broadened and that the name of the Society should also be changed to reflect this change of emphasis.

The discussions in the Executive Committee resulted finally in the passing of the following resolutions at the General Meeting held 24 Feb 1919: 1) 'That the Society continue to stand for equal suffrage and equal opportunities for women, but resolve to concentrate its efforts for the present on obtaining economic equality for women.'; 2) 'That the Society resolve to promote this object by means of propaganda, political work, the collection and distribution of information with regard to employment, the promotion of training, opening up of occupations, and such other practical steps as may from time to time seem advisable.'('The Common Cause', vol xi, No. 524, 25 Apr 1919, p.17. The Executive and Annual Meeting Minutes and papers for the transition period are missing, and therefore it is necessary to rely upon the report in 'Common Cause'.). It was also decided to change the title of the Society to 'The London Society for Women's Service'. In a letter that was sent out to all members announcing these changes, the following was added - 'The Committee believe that the struggle to secure equality of opportunity for men and women in the wage-earning work is the next great step towards the full enfranchisement of women; they believe moreover that the forces which threaten the economic position of women to-day are of a most serious and menacing nature and that action is immediately needed to the protection of women workers.' 'They are convinced that a non-party of men and women who are united in principle and experience in practice will be able to give immediate support to the demobilised women, and that by building up public opinion and focussing political action on this group of subjects, they can best serve the cause for which the London Society for Women's Suffrage was originally called into being.' (The Common Cause, vol xi, No. 524, 25 Apr 1919, p.17. The Executive and Annual Meeting Minutes and papers for the transition period are missing, and therefore it is necessary to rely upon the report in 'Common Cause'.)

Two weeks later, the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies changed their constitution and title for the same reasons. The change of Object of the Union now allowed any societies having the equality of men and women as one of their objects to affiliate to the Union. This changed the relationship between the National Union of Societies for Equal Citizenship and the London Society as the latter's Annual Report presented at the Society's Annual Meeting on 16 Dec 1919 explained - 'That decision (i.e. by NUWSS) has fundamentally altered the relation of the Society to the Union of which it has been so ardent a promoter and supporter. Until last year, the London Society for Women's Suffrage Societies (sic) was the representative of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies in the Metropolitan area. Now the London Society for Women's Service is but one of several London Societies affiliated to the National Union of Societies for Equal Citizenship, each carrying out a different part of the Union's programme. This new relationship, which is no less harmonious than the old, results in a different form of co-operation and is perhaps best exemplified by the fact that the National Union may now properly hold meetings in London without reference to the London Society, while the London Society may carry on its work in co-operation with any other Society sympathetic to is special aspects of equality, without reference to the National Union.' (ibid., No. 560, 2 Jan 1919, p.503.) The report also referred to the rather pressing financial problems of the Society and after referring to the great work of the London Unit of the Scottish Women's Hospitals, hinted that it may have to close down that activity in the near future. The President, Miss Philippa Fawcett, in commenting on this problem, appealed for donations as well as subscriptions to enable the Society to carry out fully its aims. In 1926 the society was renamed the London & National Society for Women's Service.

The London & National Society for Women's Service (1926-1953) was created in 1926 and was the renamed London Society for Women's Service (1919-1926). The name change reflected the shift in becoming the national body campaigning for women in employment. In 1953 it was renamed The Fawcett Society.

The Fawcett Society (1953-fl.2008) was created in 1953, out of a series of predecessor bodies dating back to 1865 and the campaigns for women's suffrage. Best known as 'London National Society for Women's Suffrage' later the 'London Society for Women's Service' the organisation went through many name changes between 1865 and 1953 when it became known as The Fawcett Society. The name changed in 1953 from London & National Society for Women's Service (1926-1953) to The Fawcett Society in honour of Dame Millicent Garrett Fawcett, the leader of the constitutional campaign for women's suffrage, and the president of several of the Fawcett Society's predecessor bodies. The Fawcett Society became the United Kingdom's leading campaign for equality between women and men, at work, at home and in public life. They campaigned on on women's representation in politics and public life; pay, pensions and poverty; valuing caring work; and the treatment of women in the justice system. They raised the profile of these issues by creating awareness, leading debate, lobbying politicians and policy makers, and driving change. They influenced developments such as: a change in the law to allow political parties to use all-women shortlists to increase the number of women MPs; the reform of the rape law; and a new duty on public bodies to promote equality between women and men. As at 2008 the Fawcett Society was still active.

Millicent Garrett Fawcett (1847-1929) was born in Suffolk in 1847, the daughter of Newson and Louisa Garrett and the sister of Samuel Garrett, Agnes Garrett, Louise Smith and Elizabeth Garrett Anderson. The sisters' early interest in the issue of women's suffrage and commitment to the Liberal party were heightened after attending a speech given in London by John Stuart Mill in Jul 1865. Though considered too young to sign the petition in favour of votes for women, which was presented to the House of Commons in 1866, Millicent attended the debate on the issue in May 1867. This occurred a month after she married the professor of political economy and radical Liberal MP for Brighton, Henry Fawcett. Throughout their marriage, the future cabinet minister supported his wife's activities while she acted as his secretary due to his blindness. Their only child, Philippa Fawcett, was born the following year and that same month Millicent Garrett Fawcett published her first article, on the education of women. In Jul 1867, Millicent Garrett Fawcett was asked to join the executive committee of the London National Society for Women's Suffrage and was one of the speakers at its first public meeting two years later. She continued her work with the London National Society until after the death of John Stuart Mill in 1874, when she left the organisation to work with the Central Committee for Women's Suffrage. This was a step which she had avoided taking when the latter was formed in 1871 due to its public identification with the campaign for the repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts. Fawcett, despite her support for the movement's actions, had initially believed that the suffrage movement might be damaged by identification with such controversial work. However, the two groups later merged in 1877 as the new Central Committee for Women's Suffrage and a new executive committee was formed which included Fawcett herself. Her influence helped guide the group towards support for moderate policies and methods. She did little public speaking during this period but after the death of her husband in 1884 and a subsequent period of depression, she was persuaded to become a touring speaker once more in 1886 and began to devote her time to the work of the women's suffrage movement. In addition to women's suffrage Millicent Garrett Fawcett also became involved in the newly created National Vigilance Association, established in 1885, alongside campaigners such as J Stansfeld MP, Mr WT Stead, Mrs Mitchell, and Josephine Butler. In 1894 Fawcett's interest in public morality led her to vigorously campaign against the candidature of Henry Cust as Conservative MP for North Manchester. Cust, who had been known to have had several affairs, had seduced a young woman. Despite marrying Cust's marriage in 1893, after pressure from Balfour, Fawcett felt Cust was unfit for public office. Fawcett's campaign persisted until Cust's resignation in 1895, with some suffrage supporters concerned by Fawcett's doggedness in what they felt was a divisive campaign. In the late nineteenth century, the women's suffrage movement was closely identified with the Liberal Party through its traditional support for their work and the affiliation of many workers such as Fawcett herself. However, the party was, at this time, split over the issue of Home Rule for Ireland. Fawcett herself left the party to become a Liberal Unionist and helped lead the Women's Liberal Unionist Association. When it was proposed that the Central Committee's constitution should be changed to allow political organisations, and principally the Women's Liberal Federation, to affiliate, Fawcett opposed this and became the Honorary Treasurer when the majority of members left to form the Central National Society for Women's Suffrage. However, in 1893 she became one of the leading members of the Special Appeal Committee that was formed to repair the divisions in the movement. On the 19 Oct 1896 she was asked to preside over the joint meetings of the suffrage societies, which resulted in the geographical division of the country and the formation of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies. She was appointed as the honorary secretary of the Central and Eastern Society that year and became a member of the parliamentary committee of the NUWSS itself. It was not until the parent group's reorganisation in 1907 that she was elected president of the National Union, a position that she would retain until 1919. By 1901, she was already eminent enough to be one of the first women appointed to sit on a Commission of Inquiry into the concentration camps created for Boer civilians by the British during the Boer War. Despite this, her work for suffrage never slackened and she was one of the leaders of the Mud March held in Feb 1907 as well as of the NUWSS procession from Embankment to the Albert Hall in Jun 1908. She became one of the Fighting Fund Committee in 1912 and managed the aftermath of the introduction of the policy, in particular during the North West Durham by-election in 1914, when other members opposed a step that effectively meant supporting the Labour Party when an anti-suffrage Liberal candidate was standing in a constituency. When the First World War broke out in Aug 1914, Fawcett called for the suspension of the NUWSS' political work and a change in activities to facilitate war work. This stance led to divisions in the organisation. The majority of its officers and ten of the executive committee resigned when she vetoed their attendance of a Women's Peace Congress in the Hague in 1915. However, she retained her position in the group. During the war, she also found time to become involved in the issue of women's social, political and educational status in India, an area in which she had become interested through her husband and retained after the conflict came to an end. She remained at the head of the NUWSS when the women's suffrage clause was added to the Representation of the People Act in 1918 and attended the Women's Peace Conference in Paris before lobbying the governments assembled there for the Peace Conference in 1919. She retired in Mar 1919 when the NUWSS became the National Union of Societies for Equal Citizenship but remained on its executive committee. She also continued her activities as the vice-president of the International Woman Suffrage Alliance, to which she had been elected in 1902, for another year. After this she became the Chair of the journal, the 'Women's Leader', and appointed a Dame of the British Empire in 1925. It was in that year that she resigned from both NUSEC and the newspaper's board after opposing the organisation's policy in support of family allowances. She remained active until the end of her life, undertaking a trip to the Far East with her sister Agnes only a short time before her death in 1929.

The history of the Museum Collection as a discrete collection within The Women's Library is less easy to trace than the Archive and Printed Collections. Fawcett Library members and related organisations often deposited objects with the Library, either as part of personal and organisational archives or as individual 'iconic' items. This ad-hoc collection continued after the transfer of the collections to the University in 1977, although several projects, including exhibitions, were carried out to highlight the importance of the visual material. In 1980-1981 The Fawcett Society deposited objects, including banners, with a number of museums (including the Fawcett Library). In 1984 the Mary Evans Picture Library became The Women's Library Commercial Picture Library partner. By the 1990s a contract Visual Materials Curator was appointed and it appears that the groupings by object type were made in this period as were some object descriptions. In Sep 1995 a project to identify, package and inventory objects from the museum and archives collection was begun; with the first museum accessions register started in 1998. Towards the end of the 1990s the Library was part of the JISC Image Digitisation Initiative (JIDI). This created digital images of the banner collection which were posted on the web as part of the Visual Arts Data Service, VADS (later the Arts and Humanities Data Service (AHDS)) by the end of 2001. Between 2000-2001 there was also a project to document objects held within archive collections.

With the move to the new building in 2002 the importance of visual material (initially focusing on the banner collection) was formally recognised by the inclusion of an Exhibition Hall in the building. Initially this was designed for a 'permanent' exhibition of the suffrage banners and other treasures. However, the actual move to the building saw a change in the Library's audience development. This, together with a recognition that the banners could not be on permanent display due to conservation concerns, resulted in a programme of exhibitions. For the first few years a programme of 3 exhibitions per year was carried out. However, this was later reduced to 2 exhibitions per year in order to develop a more interactive public, university and schools programme of events. External curators are often appointed to work with the Special Collections Curator to bring specific expertise to the exhibition.

Alongside the move to the new premises in 2002 The Women's Library agreed to meet the standards for Museum Registration, and later Museums' Accreditation. A three-year project, 2002-2005 documented the museum objects, with funding provided by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. Some 3500 objects were described on the archive-museum catalogue CALM to comply with minimum SPECTRUM standards and rehoused as part of this project. Subsequent to this the majority of museum catalogue entries were edited and made available to the public via the online catalogue (by 2008). As part of the 2002-2005 project, a template for cataloguing objects in CALM was produced, together with best practice guidance for rehousing specific types of objects held in the collections. This was used for subsequent deposits, including objects within archives (for which a SPECTRUM/ISAD(G) template was agreed). As part of the retroconversion project of archive catalogues, existing descriptions of objects in archives were edited to be more consistent with the 2002-2005 project.

*

Cuthbert Coates Smith of Herne Hill, engineer, and Bernard Edgar Aylwn of West End Lane, then Middlesex, engineer, traded as The Vaal Motor and Launch Company and were based at Eel Pie Island, Twickenham.

The US Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) committee was the principal US inter-service body which, together with the British Chiefs of Staff, formed the Combined Chiefs of Staff committee, the supreme Anglo- American military strategic and operational authority, 1942-1945. With the formation of the Combined Chiefs of Staff (CCS) in Dec 1941 it became necessary to form an American agency with comparable decision making structure to that of the British Chiefs of Staff (COS). This was formally inaugurated in Feb 1942 as the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) committee, its first members being Gen George Catlett Marshall, US Army Chief of Staff , Adm Harold Raynsford Stark and Adm Ernest Joseph King, US Navy, and Lt Gen Henry H 'Hap' Arnold, US Army Air Forces. In Jul 1942, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt appointed Adm William D Leahy as his political and military representative and Chief of Staff of the Joint Chiefs of Staff committee. Unlike the British Chiefs of Staff (COS), which was integrated into the British Cabinet system, the US Joint Chiefs of Staff was responsible primarily to the President of the United States as Commander-in-Chief of the US Armed Forces. Under Leahy's leadership, the Joint Chiefs of Staff became the centre of the US executive command structure during World War Two and was responsible for operational strategy in the Pacific, the co-ordination of US military operations in the Far East, and the planning and co-ordination of US operational strategy elsewhere. In addition, the US Joint Chiefs of Staff and the British Chiefs of Staff functioned together under the auspices of the Combined Chiefs of Staff to plan Allied strategic and operational efforts in Europe, North Africa, and the Far East. Following World War Two, the need for a formal structure of US joint command was apparent and the wartime Joint Chiefs of Staff offered a workable model. The first legislative step was the passage of the National Security Act in 1947, which formally established the Joint Chiefs of Staff. On 10 Aug 1949 the Joint Chiefs of Staff became a US statutory agency and the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS), became the principal military advisor to the President, the Secretary of Defense, and the National Security Council. The other members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff included the Chief of Staff, US Army, the Chief of Naval Operations, the Chief of Staff, US Air Force, and the Commandant, US Marine Corps. The chiefs were able to respond to a request or voluntarily submit, through the Chairman, advice or opinion to the President, the Secretary of State, or the National Security Council, but they had no executive authority to commit combatant forces. In addition to their responsibilities on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the military service chiefs were responsible to the secretaries of their military departments for management of the services as they prepared and directed unified and other combat commands under the Secretary of Defense.

The US Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) committee was the principal US inter-service body which, together with the British Chiefs of Staff, formed the Combined Chiefs of Staff committee, the supreme Anglo- American military strategic and operational authority, 1942-1945. With the formation of the Combined Chiefs of Staff (CCS) in Dec 1941 it became necessary to form an American agency with comparable decision making structure to that of the British Chiefs of Staff (COS). This was formally inaugurated in Feb 1942 as the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) committee, its first members being Gen George Catlett Marshall, US Army Chief of Staff, Adm Harold Raynsford Stark and Adm Ernest Joseph King, US Navy, and Lt Gen Henry H 'Hap' Arnold, US Army Air Forces. In Jul 1942, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt appointed Adm William D Leahy as his political and military representative and Chief of Staff of the Joint Chiefs of Staff committee. Unlike the British Chiefs of Staff (COS), which was integrated into the British Cabinet system, the US Joint Chiefs of Staff was responsible primarily to the President of the United States as Commander-in-Chief of the US Armed Forces. Under Leahy's leadership, the Joint Chiefs of Staff became the centre of the US executive command structure during World War Two and was responsible for operational strategy in the Pacific, the co-ordination of US military operations in the Far East, and the planning and co-ordination of US operational strategy elsewhere. In addition, the US Joint Chiefs of Staff and the British Chiefs of Staff functioned together under the auspices of the Combined Chiefs of Staff to plan Allied strategic and operational efforts in Europe, North Africa, and the Far East.

The Trade Union Centre for German Workers in Great Britain (TUCGWGB) was founded just before the outbreak of the Second World War, but did not begin its work in earnest until the release of many of the German exiles, who were interned at the outbreak of war. The chairman of the TUCGWGB, Hans Gottfurcht, had for many years been an active trade unionist in Germany, where he helped establish a number of illegal trade unions under the Nazis. The establishment of the TUCGWGB was regarded as necessary because of the particular situation brought about by the large influx of refugees and exiles. Whereas it would normally have been expected for these new arrivals to join existing British trade unions (which they did as well), there was always a sense that their stay in Great Britain would only ever be temporary, and that they needed a representative organisation that would reflect their particular interests. After the war and the demise of the TUCGWGB, Hans Gottfurcht went on to become a pivotal figure as liaison between the newly formed Deutsche Gewerkschaftsbund and the occupying British authorities.

The Times is a daily newspaper published in Britain since 1785.

The "Star Property Guide" was a magazine containing sales particulars of properties in the London area.

Founded 1856 as The Association of Metropolitan Medical Officers of Health.

In 1871 the report of the Royal Sanitary Commission (appointed 1869) recommended consolidation of public health measures under one sanitary law and proposed a Minister of Health.

In 1873 the name changed to The Society of Medical Officers of Health. The aims of the Society were to promote public health and increase the education and knowledge of Medical Officers of Health (MOHs), the medical profession and the general public in this field. Its main activities were holding meetings, lectures and conferences; organising training courses; publishing the journal Public Health; promoting research and the publication of books, pamphlets and papers relating to public health; acting as an advisory body to Government and other organisations; and awarding prizes for work and study in public health.

In 1891 the Society was incorporated under the Companies Act and the name changed to The Incorporated Society of Medical Officers of Health.

In 1929 the Local Government Act meant that MOHs were responsible for water supply; sewage disposal; food control and hygiene; public health aspects of housing; control and prevention of infectious diseases; maternity and child welfare clinics; midwives and health visitors; tuberculosis clinics and venereal disease clinics; and school health services and local hospitals.

In 1969 the Society registered as a Charity.

In 1973 the name changed to The Society of Community Medicine.

In 1974 the National Health Service Reorganisation Act meant that the role of MOHs no longer existed.

In 1976 internal administrative and financial problems almost resulted in the end of the Society.

In 1989 the name changed to The Society of Public Health Limited.

In 1993 the name changed to The Society of Public Health.

In 1997 the name changed to The Royal Institute of Public Health and Hygiene and Society of Public Health following a merger.

The Shabbaton Choir is a voluntary male-voice choir, drawn from the ranks of several synagogue choirs. It was formed in 1986 under the musical direction of Stephen Glass, and performed for the first time in the Wigmore Hall under its founding name the B'nai Brith Festival Singers.

The choir performs at concerts and synagogue services throughout the UK and undertakes concert tours abroad. It has recorded many times for the BBC and has featured regularly on radio and television broadcasts in the UK and abroad. It has also recorded several albums of its music.

The group's hallmark is its innovative choral arrangements. Its aim is to bring out clearly the mood and meaning of the words, thus making orthodox services more meaningful. Arrangements and new compositions are undertaken the musical director, originally in partnership with Chazan Lionel Rosenfeld.

In 1990 the group was renamed the Shabbaton Choir and Stephen Levey took over as musical director in 1991.

Since 2003 the choir has visited Israel regularly to perform, under the title Solidarity Through Song, where they sing at hospitals and medical centres and to victims of terrorist attacks. The choir has also visited Germany and sung at the sites of concentration camps.

In 1983, Lina Prokofiev created the Serge Prokofiev Foundation, a British Charitable Trust, which in turn set up the Serge Prokofiev Archive in 1994. The Archive is funded and owned by the Serge Prokofiev Foundation and is housed at the Goldsmiths College, University of London. It is the only archival repository to be exclusively dedicated to Prokofiev studies, and has an active acquisition policy, with the view of regrouping all extant material and facilitating research by connecting all identified repositories of original sources.

The Royal Indian Navy's foundation dates from a squadron of ships that was sent out by the East Indies Company to the Swally, Surat on 5 September 1612, under the command of Captain Thomas Bast, to protect British trading interests from the Portuguese. Until 1686, this force was known as the Honourable East Indies Company's Marine, with headquarters initially in Surat, and then Bombay, to where the Company formally transferring its interests in 1685. From 1686 the force became known as the Bombay Marine.

On 1 May 1830, the Bombay Marine became the Indian Navy by Government Order. The Indian Navy was abolished in 1863 and the naval protection of Indian Waters was taken over by the Admiralty. From 1863-1877 the Service was again known as the Bombay Marine, and acted in a non-combatant role, trooping and laying submarine telegraph cables from Bombay to Suez, and Karachi to Basra.

In 1877 the Service was reorganised by Admiral Bythesea, NC, and became Her Majesty's Indian Marine, divided into Eastern and Western Divisions, with dockyards at Calcutta and Bombay. Its duties included: the transportation of troops and stores; maintenance of Station ships and gunboats; building, repair and maintenance of all Indian Government vessels; and marine survey. The HMIM took part in the Abyssinian War of 1871, the Egyptian campaigns 1882 and 1885, the 3rd Burmese War 1885, and the Chin-hushai Expedition in Burma 1889.

These years as a trooping/ surveying organisation earned the Service Royal recognition and in 1892 Queen Victoria authorised the name to be changed to the Royal Indian Marine. The RIM participated in the Suakin Expedition 1896, an Expedition to Mkwelo in East Africa 1897, the Boer War, the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, and a Somaliland Expedition 1902-4. From 1909-14, the RIM was engaged in the suppression of gun-running in the Persian Gulf. After extensive service in World War I, the RIM returned to trooping/ surveying duties and the Service reached its lowest ebb in 1925 as a result of the Inchcape Report. A committee, formed under the Chair of Lord Rawlinson, C-in-C, India (Rawlinson Committee), put foward proposals for reconstituting the Service on a combatant footing, and in 1928 the White Ensign was hoisted onboard all RIM ships.

On 8 September 1934, the Indian Navy (Discipline) Bill received Governor-General's assent and HM King George V conferred the title of Royal Indian Navy on the Service. In February 1939, the Chatfield Committee made recommendations for the RIN taking over increased responsibility for the naval defence of India. Shortly before the outbreak of World War II, the RIN began to establish reserves - the Royal Indian Naval Reserve, recruited from serving officers in the Mercantile Marine; and the Royal Indian Naval Volunteer Reserve, recruited from the general public and given intensive training, mainly in Bombay. In addition to the ordinary Continuous Service Ratings, the RIN recruited Special Service Ratings who served for 5 years and then transferred to the Fleet Reserve for 10 years.

On 15 August 1947, the subdivision of India and Pakistan brought about division of the Navy into the Royal Pakistan and Royal Indian Navies. When India abrogated her Dominion status to become a Republic within the Commonwealth on 26 January 1950, the Navy became the Indian Navy.

In 1745 a split in the Company of Barber-Surgeons [est. 1540] led to the formation of The Company of Surgeons. The Company of Surgeons obtained a Royal Charter in 1800 and became the Royal College of Surgeons of London. A new charter in 1843 led to the current name The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

The Company of Surgeons started by keeping the bylaws of the Barber-Surgeons, which mean that they elected a Court of Assistants consisting of twenty one members including a Master and two wardens. From the Court of Assistants was chosen a ten member Court of Examiners testing students at the end of their apprenticeship. Despite a change in the bylaws of Apr 1748 stipulating that the Court of Assistants should meet every month this did not happen and the Assistants rarely met and so until 1799 the Company was under the effective control of the Master, Wardens and Examiners. The Examiners remained in post for life. The examinations were well administered but the running of the Company was subject to much criticism without a proper lecture theatre, or library. A Royal Charter was obtained in 1800 changing the name of the Company but the administration was still basically the same. Proposed changes in the constitution were delayed by failure of the College to gain control of surgical education in the wake of the Apothecaries Act of 1815 and it was only in 1822, William IV agreed to allow amendments to the charter and from that time on the College was controlled by a President, two Vice Presidents and a Council.

The Council discussed all aspects of policy, membership and its members also sat on a number of committees to cover the main activities of the College relating to finance, examinations, library, museums, discipline, building projects etc.

The day to day running of the College was given to a Secretary - there have only been eight incumbents of this role since 1800. Two Assistant Secretaries were created after the Second World War- one of whom was in control of finance. The other principal employees were Conservator of the museums from 1800; Librarian from 1828 and Secretary to the Conjoint Examining Board from 1888 [to administer the examinations system which was jointly run with the Royal College of Physicians].

From 1931 the College supported a research institute called the Buckston Browne Research Farm at Darwin's former home at Downe in Kent and laboratories were also built in extensions to the College's buildings at Lincoln's Inn Fields between from 1937 until the 1950s. The title of the Conservator was changed in 1933 to include Conservator and Director of Research. These posts were separated in 1941 with the creation of the Bernhard Baron Research Professorship, and the following year chairs were created in anatomy and pathology - each chair had a well equipped laboratory and post graduate teaching was established as part of the Institute of Basic Medical Research [IBMS]. The IBMS was a constituent part of the British Postgraduate Medical Federation of the University of London and had its own committee of Management, Academic Board and Dean and received funding from the University of London. By 1959, there were six Scientific departments in the IBMS - anatomy, physiology, pathology, pharmacology, opthalmology, and biochemistry. Two other Research Departments, of Dental Surgery and Anaesthetics, were part of the corresponding Faculties of the College with more independence than the other departments. The Faculty of Anaesthetists broke away entirely in 1988 with the formation of a separate Royal College of Anaesthetists. In 1986 the IBMS was dissolved but many of the research departments continued under a newly created Hunterian Institute, funded entirely by the College. Work at the Buckston Browne Research Farm was also drastically reduced at this time, with a complete cessation of all research at Downe by 1989. A decision was taken in 1992 for the Hunterian Institute to come to an end, and an Education department was formed in 1993 to take over the post graduate training courses for surgeons, dental surgeons and general practitioners. In 1996, the last research department of the Hunterian Institute based at the College - the Pharmacology department - was closed.

In 1990, the structure of administration of the College was revised with the creation of five boards - External Affairs, Training, Finance, Academic and Internal Affairs - with several specialised committees e.g. Regional Training Committee reporting to the appropriate Board and the Boards themselves reporting the Council. Also created were a Presidential Board of Surgical Specialities and a Welsh Board. By 1992 the Academic Board had gone to be replaced by an Examinations Board, Research Board and an Education Board and in 1997 the Internal Affairs Board was abolished.

From 1746 the Company of Surgeons leased a site at the Old Bailey next to Newgate Prison and George Dance built them a hall between 1847 and 1851. The Company was not a guild and the connection with the city lessened and it was thought better to move further west and in 1797 number 41 Lincoln's Inn Fields was purchased followed by number 42 in 1802. At one time the College the owned numbers 35 to 49 Lincoln's Inn Fields but in 1967 numbers 47-49 were sold to the Imperial Cancer Research Fund.

Between 1886 and 1908 the conjoint MRCS examinations were run from a purpose built building on The Embankment, which was then sold to the Institute of Electrical Engineers. New premises were found at 8-11 Queen's Square, Bloomsbury until 1993 when examinations moved back to Lincoln's Inn Fields.

The Ritz was built for the Blackpool Building and Vendor Company Ltd on the site of the Walsingham House and Bath Hotels in Piccadilly, to the specifications of Swiss Hotelier Cesar Ritz. The hotel opened on 24th May 1906.

The first recorded Mayor of London was Henry Fitz-Ailwyn in 1189. Since then, some 700 men and one woman have over the centuries held the position of chief officer of the City of London. The most famous of them all is Dick Whittington, who held office three times, in 1397, 1406 and 1419.

The Lord Mayor has throughout the centuries played a vital role in the life of the City of London and continues to do so today. In the City, the Lord Mayor ranks immediately after the sovereign and acts as the capital's host in Guildhall and Mansion House, his official residence. On behalf of the City and the nation he carries out numerous engagements at home and abroad.

The right of citizens to elect their own Mayor dates from the Charter granted by King John to the City in 1215. The election of Lord Mayor is held at the end of September each year in Guildhall. The assembly, known as Common Hall, consists of all liverymen of at least one year's standing together with certain high officers of the City. All aldermen who have served the office of sheriff and who have not already been Lord Mayor are eligible.

The first recorded Mayor of London was Henry Fitz-Ailwyn in 1189. Since then, some 700 men and one woman have over the centuries held the position of chief officer of the City of London. The most famous of them all is Dick Whittington, who held office three times, in 1397, 1406 and 1419.

The Lord Mayor has throughout the centuries played a vital role in the life of the City of London and continues to do so today. In the City, the Lord Mayor ranks immediately after the sovereign and acts as the capital's host in Guildhall and Mansion House, his official residence. On behalf of the City and the nation he carries out numerous engagements at home and abroad.

The right of citizens to elect their own Mayor dates from the Charter granted by King John to the City in 1215. The election of Lord Mayor is held at the end of September each year in Guildhall. The assembly, known as Common Hall, consists of all liverymen of at least one year's standing together with certain high officers of the City. All aldermen who have served the office of sheriff and who have not already been Lord Mayor are eligible.

The organisation known as "The Ranyard Mission and Ranyard Nurses" originated as "The London Bible and Domestic Female Mission" - a lay group of Anglican bible women founded in 1857 by Mrs L. N. Ranyard. In 1868 a nursing branch was added, and the title was changed to the "London Biblewomen and Nurses Mission". In 1952 the headquarters was moved from Holborn to Kennington and the organisation was then known by the title of "Ranyard Mission and Ranyard Nurses."

"The South Lee Benevolent Society and Nurses Fund" (see A/RNY/75-84) was supplied with the services of a nurse by the Ranyard Mission. In 1965 the nurses were taken over by the Boroughs, but the Home at Lewisham is still run by trustees.

The following information was sent to the Record Office in 1976, by Mr R. Crosfield Harris, Treasurer of the Ranyard Mission Fund:-

"In 1958 the Ranyard Memorial Charitable Trust was set up by an admirer of the work of the Ranyard Nurses, Mr A.C. Parker of Lewisham, for the building of a Nursing Home for terminal illness. With assistance from the Ogilvie Charities and other donors the Ranyard Memorial Nursing Home was built in Blessington Road, Lewisham, on land leased from the Merchant Taylors Company. It is managed by a committee responsible to the Trustees of the Ranyard Memorial Charitable Trust. These Trustees also administer the Ranyard Mission Fund - the funds of the Ranyard Mission and the Ranyard Nurses - under a Scheme of the Charity Commission. The income of this Fund, after paying pensions to retired members of the staff of the Ranyard Mission and Ranyard Nurses, is available towards the maintenance of the Home".

The Prout Club was started by Hugh Baron (Secretary) and Michael Hobsley (Treasurer) as a dining club for people interested in the secretions of the stomach, in 1972; the inaugural meeting was held in conjunction with the British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG); membership was limited to 50; the committee did not actually ever meet, but conducted its business by correspondence; Hobsley retired and was succeeded by David Ralphs in 1994; Baron retired and was suceeded by Roy Pounder in 1996.

The insurance policy was taken out with The North China Insurance Company Limited, of 78 Cornhill, London.

The Wipers Times was first produced in Feb 1916 in Ypres, Belgium. Apart from occasional gaps when some of the larger battles of the Western Front were being fought, it ran until Dec 1918. Except for the final number, the paper was never printed out of the front area and at one time the printing press was within 700 yards of the front line and above ground. The founder and editor of the paper was Capt F J Roberts, 12 Bn Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regt), 24 Div, British Armies in France. On 4 Sep 1914 24 Div was concentrated between St Pol and Etaple and for the remainder of the war it served on the Western Front in France and Belgium. Shortly after the Battle of Loos, Sep 1915, 24 Div moved to the Ypres Salient, where the Wipers Times was founded. From 1916 to 1918, the Wipers Times incorporated the New Church Times, the Kemmel Times, the Somme Times, the BEF Times, and the Better Times, each of which consisted of lampoons and reflections, poems and 'advertisements' satirising the military and political situation of World War One

The Cowdray Club was established in 1922 and remained in existence until 1974 when it merged with the Naval and Military Club in Piccadilly. Its original name was The Nation's Nurses and Professional Women's Club Ltd, and its accounts and legal agreements used this name throughout. The First Viscountess Cowdray did much to promote the nursing profession. As Annie Pearson, the wife of Weetmar Dickinson Pearson, a successful engineering contractor (Pearson and Son), her life had taken her to Spain, Mexico, New York, Egypt and Malta. She left her mark in her humane care for her husband's employees and in the gift of Cowdray Hospital to Mexico City. She was a supporter of district nursing, being associated with the Queen's Institute of District Nursing, and active in establishing nursing services in many rural districts of England and Scotland. She provided seven Queen's Nurses at her own expense.

Following the creation of the College of Nursing in 1916, Viscountess Cowdray became involved with fundraising for The Nation's Fund for Nurses for the Creation of a Benevolent Fund for Nurses and the endowment of the College of Nursing. This involvement led to the idea of a gift of a social club for nurses and professional women which "should provide a centre for intercourse and recreation and which should also furnish some of those creature comforts which we associate with the word 'Home'". To this end the Cowdrays purchased 20 Cavendish Square from Mr and Mrs Asquith.

The house was originally built in 1703 and possessed a staircase decorated by Sir James Thornhill. It was converted into a club by Sir Edwin Cooper and later given a new facade after the purchase of neighbouring properties by the College of Nursing in 1928-1930. The building belonged to the College of Nursing and was leased to the club.

The membership of the club was on a basis of 55 per cent nurses, 35 per cent professional women and 10 per cent women without professional qualifications. The College of Nursing had a 50 per cent representation on the council of the club. For much of its existence, the club had over 4,000 members.

The National Women's Register; 1960-fl.2007 was established in 1960 by Maureen Nicol. Nicol was a Wirral housewife who wrote in response to an article in The Guardian, 'perhaps housebound wives with liberal interests and a desire to remain individuals could form a national register so that whenever one moves one can contact like-minded friends?' This became the 'Liberal-minded Housebound Wives' Register', quickly renamed the 'Housebound Wives' Register' with Nicol as the first national organiser. Local groups were formed which organised activities autonomously but which were administered on a regional basis. A national newsletter was published giving news of group activities, spread of membership and profiles of members. When the second national organiser, Brenda Prys-Jones, took over in 1962, the organisation had grown in size but remained financially unstable. It was not until 1966 that the organisation became known as the National Housewives' Register and it was 1967 before the first National Conference was held in Buxton. The following year the first overseas groups were created in Australia and Canada. By 1970 there were 15,000 members, making it necessary to appoint joint paid National Organisers. In 1973 the Register began to undertake a process which led to the election of the first National Group at the Bristol Conference in 1976 by which time there were 800 groups and 19,000 members. 1977 saw the launch of the overseas Newsletter, 'Register Worldwide' and in 1980 the group was granted Charitable Status with: Maureen Nicol, Betty Jerman and Mary Stott appointed as trustees. That same year membership rose to 22,000 and an international conference was held in Buckinghamshire. The following year Betty Jerman published 'The Lively-Minded Women', a history of the first 20 years of NHR and by 1982 28 countries had affiliated groups. Four years later the NHR became a Charitable Company limited by guarantee while the Research Bank and the subsidised workshop scheme were also established. The organisation's name was changed to the National Women's Register in 1987 following a postal ballot of all members. However, the late 1980s saw the beginning of a gradual fall in membership that was to continue through the following decade. To combat this a process of regionalisation began which continued into the mid-1990s. By 1998 it became necessary to organise consultation days to discuss future directions which only 24% of affiliated groups attended. The choice offered was between (a) winding down, (b) appointing a professional Executive Officer or (c) a board of 5 Trustee Directors and 2/3 National Co-ordinators, with larger honoraria and the use of consultants. Option (c) was chosen by the 39% of members who returned their voting slips. The following year the lack of enough co-ordinating volunteers to maintain the National Group made it necessary to appoint paid staff to this function and the National Group was dissolved at the AGM held at the National Conference in Exeter. In 2001 Membership stood at around 7,800.

The National Security Act of 1947 and the Reorganization Plan of 1949 defined the composition and function of the National Security Council (NSC). Chaired by the President of the United States, the NSC consists of statutory members (the Vice President and the secretaries of State and Defense), statutory advisers (the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency), the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, and professional staff members who are on temporary assignment from the armed forces, the Central Intelligence Agency, elsewhere in the government, or who have been recruited from universities and think tanks. The statutory function of the NSC is to advise the President with respect to the integration of domestic, foreign, and military policies relating to national security. Since 1947 the NSC has evolved as a key foreign policy making arm of the president under such advisers as McGeorge Bundy, Dr Henry Albert Kissinger and Zbigniew Brzezinski.During the administrations of Harry S Truman and Dwight David Eisenhower, the NSC produced a series of formal policy papers whose purpose it was to analyse current and potential national security issues and make policy recommendations to deal with those issues. These policy papers were prepared by the NSC staff and occasionally by members of the NSC in response to requests by the NSC to study specific issues. When completed, these policy papers (NSCPP) were distributed to the NSC for study and comment. If the NSC decided to alter a policy paper, a revised draft would be produced. Once approved, the paper became the official (and usually secret) policy of the United States government. National Security Council Policy Papers Background Documents (NSCPPBD) consists of the background documentation used by NSC staff in preparing policy papers. These files contain memoranda, correspondence, minutes of meetings and reports by NSC members. Procedure files, 'P' files, and 'Mill' files were created during the Truman and Eisenhower presidencies as a policy paper series separate and distinct from the formal NSCPP series and working papers respectively. The studies contained in the 'P' files deal with issues that required an accelerated procedure of review and action. 'Mill' papers were the working files for proposed NSC studies. National Security Council Actions (NSCA) were the records of actions, directives, and decisions made by the NSC. National Security Action Memoranda (NSAM) were formal presidential directives dealing with the security affairs during the administrations of John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1961-1963) and Lyndon Baines Johnson (1963-1969). National Security Study Memoranda (NSSM) was used during the administrations of Richard Milhous Nixon (1969-1974) and Gerald Rudolph Ford (1974-1977). Presidential Review Memoranda (PRM) was used during the administration of James Earl (Jimmy) Carter, Jr (1977-1981) to direct that reviews and analyses be undertaken by federal departments and agencies in regard to national security matters, while Presidential Directives (PD) were used to promulgate presidential decisions. During the presidency of Ronald Wilson Reagan (1981-1989) National Security Decision Directives (NSDD) were used to promulgate presidential decisions and National Security Study Directives (NSSD) were used to direct that studies be undertaken involving national security policy and objectives. National Security Directives (NSD) were used during the administration of George Herbert Walker Bush (1989-1993) to promulgate national security decisions. Finally, National Security Council Intelligence Directives (NSCID) emerged in 1947 to provide guidance to the entire United States intelligence community. These directives outline the organisation, procedure, and relationships of the numerous intelligence organisations within the federal government.

The National Security Act of 1947 and the Reorganization Plan of 1949 defined the composition and function of the National Security Council (NSC). Chaired by the President of the United States, the NSC consisted of statutory members (the Vice President and the secretaries of State and Defense), statutory advisers (the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency), the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, and professional staff members on temporary assignment from the armed forces, the Central Intelligence Agency, elsewhere in the government, or who had been recruited from universities and think tanks. The statutory function of the NSC was, and is, to advise the President with respect to the integration of domestic, foreign, and military policies relating to national security. Since 1947 the NSC has evolved as a key foreign policy making arm of the president under such advisers as McGeorge Bundy, Dr Henry Alfred Kissinger and Zbigniew Brzezinski. During the administrations of Harry S Truman and Dwight David Eisenhower, 1945-1953 and 1953 to 1961 respectively, the NSC met to analyse current and potential national security issues, and to formulate for the President Special Advisory reports. Special Advisory Reports were prepared by NSC staff to study specific national security issues or perceived threats to the security of the United States or to assess the domestic and political situation of individual nations. When completed, these reports were distributed to the entire National Security Council for study and comment, and were then were delivered to the President of the United States for action.

The US Nuclear History: Nuclear Arms and Politics in the Missile Age, 1955-1968 collection documents US nuclear policy decision making during the presidential administrations of Dwight David Eisenhower, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, and Lyndon Baines Johnson. Through multi- billion dollar expenditures of strategic nuclear forces, command and control and communications, these administrations sought to deter threats to professed vital political and strategic interests. Between 1955 and 1968 the US strategic nuclear program grew rapidly as Washington invested billions of dollars in delivery systems designed to project thermonuclear weapons towards targets in the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China. Much of the nuclear build-up was in the areas of Boeing B-52 Stratofortress bomber construction, the development, production and deployment of nuclear-tipped Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) and Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBMs) designed for striking targets within minutes of launching. During the 1955-1968 period, the United States undertook its heaviest and most sustained nuclear force build-up and developed the 'overkill' capability that it, along with the Soviet Union, would maintain throughout the Cold War. By 1968, the United States had deployed more than 1,000 ICBMs in concrete silos in the Midwest States and over 640 Lockheed-built Polaris Fleet Ballistic Missiles in 41 submarines; the US Air Force was successfully testing Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicles (MIRVs) that would significantly augment the capability of ICBMs and SLBMs; and, the US Strategic Air Command fielded a bomber force of more than 600 nuclear-armed Boeing B-52 Stratofortress bombers. Moreover, during the 1950s and 1960s, the US government supplemented its strategic forces by deploying 7,000 tactical nuclear weapons in Western Europe. Developments in the US nuclear posture from 1955 to 1968 also included methods of command and control. To integrate the strategic plans of the US Army, Air Force and Navy, the US Department of Defense developed the Joint Strategic Target Planning Staff (JSTPS) to prepare a Single Integrated Operational Plan (SIOP). Finally, to co-ordinate nuclear strike and post-strike operations, the US Air Force and the US Department of Defense developed communications and control systems linking civilian and military decision makers to incoming missile or bomber attacks. By 1968, however, the Soviet Union had deployed formidable tactical nuclear forces in Eastern Europe and eroded the US lead in strategic missiles, thus leading President Lyndon Baines Johnson to press for US-Soviet arms control negotiations.

From 1945 to 1991, the Soviet Union represented the primary target for the United States intelligence community. Recruiting agents in the Soviet bloc was the primary task of the Central Intelligence Agency's Directorate of Operations. Meanwhile, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and other technical collection agencies devised and deployed ground stations, aircraft, and satellites with the principal purpose of collecting intelligence to guide US decision makers in dealing with the Soviet Union and to assist the US military prepare for a possible war. Much of the product of those activities was reflected in the huge number of analytical documents produced by the CIA and other intelligence production units over the course of the Cold War. The key production organisations included the CIA (and its predecessor the Central Intelligence Group), the US State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research, the Defense Intelligence Agency (from 1961), and the analytical units of the armed services. The collective focus of the US intelligence community on the Soviet Union was in five areas: foreign policy, military forces and policy, the economy, science and technology, and the domestic situation. Intelligence production in these areas came in a variety of forms. The best known were National Intelligence Estimates (NIEs) and Special National Intelligence Estimates (SNIEs). NIEs were regularly scheduled products that covered a number of subjects, the majority of which concerned military matters. SNIEs were commissioned in reaction to specific events or the emergence of specific concerns. As with the NIEs they were co-ordinated among the representatives of the intelligence agencies who served on the Intelligence Advisory Committee (until 1958), the United States Intelligence Board (until 1976), and the National Foreign Intelligence Board. NIEs and SNIEs attempted to estimate how events would develop. Other products, including Interagency Intelligence Memoranda (IIM) have also contributed intelligence based on highly technical matters. In addition to the production of national intelligence documents, each of the intelligence organisations produced studies which were not co- ordinated with other agencies. Thus, the Central Intelligence Group (1946-1948) and then the CIA produced an immense number of intelligence assessments and reports within various offices of the CIA's Directorate of Intelligence. Similarly, the Defense Intelligence Agency produced thousands of studies concerning Soviet matters, including studies of military doctrine, nuclear targeting policy, specific weapons, command, control and communications, and force deployment. Meanwhile, US State Department reports primarily included Soviet foreign policy and economic matters. At the armed service level, Soviet-related intelligence studies focused both on general military developments as well as technical studies of Soviet weapons systems. The former studies were conducted by organisations including the Office of Naval Intelligence, the Army Intelligence and Threat Analysis Center, and the Air Force Intelligence Agency. Organisations including the Naval Intelligence Support Center and the Air Force Technology Division concentrated on issues of design, operation and capabilities of tanks, submarines, and aerospace vehicles.

On 2 May 1946, the Research and Development Corporation (later RAND Corporation), a US non-partisan government policy guidance institution, produced a report commissioned by the US Air Force entitled 'Preliminary Design for an Experimental World Circling Spaceship'. It focused on the utility of a satellite for gathering scientific information on cosmic and terrestrial features. The report also identified potential military missions for a satellite: missile guidance, weapons delivery, weather reconnaissance, communications, attack assessment and observation. The RAND study was followed by further studies and, in the late 1950s and early 1960s, by the research and development of military space systems which centred on the provision of intelligence, launch detection, weather and navigation data and communications links. By 1991 the US military space program had developed distinct components: military space support systems, space weaponry, launch systems and launch centres, ground control facilities and the organisations for the formation and implementation of policy concerning military space operations. Military support systems represent the major component, both currently and historically, of US military space operations. The systems are used to support military and national security operations by the provision of data or establishment of vital communications links. Specific military space support functions include imaging, signals intelligence, ocean surveillance, missile launch detection, navigation, nuclear detonation detection, meteorology, geodesy, and communications and data relay relating to Soviet Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) fields, command, control, and communications centres, shipyards, ports, missile launch sites and military developments in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America. Satellites included the CORONA imaging satellite in 1960; the KH-11 electro-optical imaging satellite in 1976; ocean surveillance PARCAE satellites, 1976-1989; and, missile early warning Missile Defense Alarm System (MIDAS) satellites. While military support systems represent the main emphasis of the US military space program, two types of space weaponry have been under development since 1945: anti-satellite weapons and anti- missile weapons, including the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). SDI emerged under US President Ronald Wilson Reagan in 1983 and from the outset of the program, the functions of the SDI system were to identify ballistic missile launches, discriminate between warheads and decoys, track missiles, and point and fire the necessary weapons at the missiles and warheads. An element in placing military payloads in orbit is the launch system that can carry the payload and deploy it. From 1945 to 1989, the US relied on expendable launch vehicles (ELVs), and from 1990-1991 on space shuttle orbiters. US ground control consisted of inter-agency tracking and monitoring of satellite location and telemetry in ground control centres such as the Consolidated Space Test Center, Sunnyvale, CA, and the Consolidated Space Operations Center, Colorado Springs, CO. As for all areas of national security operations, the US National Security Council (NSC) was, and is, the policy making body with respect to space activity. Since 1958 it has reviewed space matters in committees and has issued policy decisions concerning military and civilian space activities. These decisions were represented by the respective Presidential, National Security Decision and National Security Directives on national space policy issued during the administrations of James Earl 'Jimmy' Carter, Jr, Ronald Wilson Reagan, and George Herbert Walker Bush. Below the NSC, organisations such as the National Reconnaissance Executive Committee were responsible for making policy decisions regarding the types of US reconnaissance satellites to be developed and their capabilities, the US Department of Defense considered matters specifically related to military space activity, and, in 1985, each of the military services formed a space organisation, under the US Space Command, to deal with space policy and operations, launch satellites, monitor foreign and US space activities and operate satellite systems.

Documents included in the collection relate to the US government's internal decision making process during the Berlin Crisis, 1958-1962. The collection is primarily a record of executive decision making during the presidential administrations of Dwight David Eisenhower and John Fitzgerald Kennedy, and includes material generated by a broad range of agencies within the US national security bureaucracy. Particularly significant are those materials that chronicle the actions of the primary decision making bodies in the US government during the Berlin Crisis, 1958-1962, the Office of the White House, the US Department of State, the US Department of Defense, and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). During the Eisenhower administration the Department of State played a central role in policy making because of the president's close working relationship with Secretary of State John Foster Dulles and his successor, Christian Archibald Herter. During the Kennedy administration, the State Department's role became more operational while the direction of Berlin and German policy shifted to the White House and the national security adviser, McGeorge Bundy. As the co-ordinating and policy making structure for the US military, the US Department of Defense was responsible for developing US nuclear and conventional force structures. During the Eisenhower administration, Secretaries of Defense Neil McElroy and Thomas S(overeign) Gates worked with the Joint Chiefs of Staff in providing recommendations on contingency planning which the President and the Secretary of State could synchronise with budget priorities. Under the Kennedy administration, Secretary of Defense Robert Strange McNamara worked to integrate conventional forces options into Allied military planning on Berlin as well as to ensure more centralised control over US nuclear weapons in Western Europe in order to prevent accidental use. After the US occupation of West Berlin, the Central Intelligence Agency used the city as a base for intelligence operations and covert activities aimed at the Soviet bloc. The CIA tasked its Office of National Estimates (ONE) and Office of Current Intelligence (OCI) with analysing and reporting on German and Berlin developments. ONE prepared National Intelligence Estimates and Special National Intelligence Estimates on the Berlin situation which were circulated among senior officials at the Departments of State and Defense and the White House. OCI prepared weekly intelligence reports that were less analytical and included reporting on recent Berlin-related developments.

The documents included in the collection were generated by a broad range of agencies within the US national security bureaucracy. Particularly significant are those materials that chronicle the actions of the primary decision making body in the US government during the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (NSC). Reports describing world-wide military and political developments originating from the US State Department, US embassies abroad, the Central Intelligence Agency, the armed forces intelligence organisation, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and the US State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research are also prominent in the collection. In addition, US Defense Department, US Joint Chiefs of Staff, and US armed forces internal military reports are included. Finally, records from independent organisations involved in the events of 1962 form a part of the collection, and include papers from the UN and the Organisation of American States (OAS).

The microfiche collection focuses on US foreign policy towards Iran and events in Iran, 20 Jan 1977-29 Jan 1980. This period coincides with the beginning of the relationship between Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, and the US administration under President James Earl 'Jimmy' Carter, Jr, through to the failure of American policy efforts towards the revolutionary Iranian government, which became symbolised by the seizing of the US Embassy in Teheran, Iran, in which 66 Americans were taken hostage by followers of Shiite cleric Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, 4 Nov 1979. As a result of the embassy seizure, President Carter asked Cyrus Roberts Vance, US Secretary of State, to co-ordinate a secret inter-agency appraisal of US involvement in Iran since 1945. The resulting report, known as the 'White Paper', and its 12,000 pages of supporting documentation, provided the White House with an overview of US relations with an allied Iran, 1945-1978. The microfiche collection ends 29 Jan 1980, the date on which the 'White Paper' was transmitted to Zbigniew Brzezinski, US National Security Adviser, by the US State Department's Policy Planning Staff.This document collection originated from investigations done by newspaper reporter Scott Armstrong for his five-part series entitled 'The Fall of the Shah of Iran', published in the Washington Post, 25-30 Oct 1980. This newspaper series first revealed the existence of the so-called 'White Paper'. With the revelation of its existence, then researchers filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for the 'White Paper' itself and for the background documents used in its preparation. In addition, the Iranians who seized the US Embassy in Teheran captured material therein including official foreign policy memoranda and cables relating to declining relations between the US and Iran. These documents were subsequently published in Teheran, where they became known collectively as 'The Documents From the Den of Espionage', smuggled into the US, and eventually brought to the attention of Armstrong. Armstrong's subsequent five-part series of articles in the Washington Post entitled 'Iran Documents Give Rare Glimpse of a CIA Enterprise', beginning 31 Jan 1982, revealed to the public for the first time the nature of US foreign policy making in Iran 1977-1980. Documents in this microfiche collection are also from US government sources, including the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Finally, the US State Department's 'White Paper' and 700 supporting documents detailing US foreign policy decision making is included as are reports originating from the US Department of Defense, the US Department of Justice, the US Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, and the US Army, Navy, and Air Force

The National Gallery houses the national collection of Western European painting from the 13th to the 19th centuries. The Gallery's aim is to care for the collection, to enhance it for future generations, primarily by acquisition, and to study it, while encouraging access to the pictures for the education and enjoyment of the widest possible public now and in the future.

The Gallery was established in 1824 when the Government purchased the picture collection of the late banker, John Julius Angerstein. The collection of 38 paintings was placed on public display at Angerstein’s house in Pall Mall. The Gallery was managed by the Keeper, William Seguier, who reported to a 'Committee of six gentlemen'. Both the Keeper and the Committee (which later evolved into the Board of Trustees) were appointed by the Treasury but their exact responsibilities were left undefined. Dissatisfaction with this situation and public criticism of the Gallery’s management led to the appointment of a Select Committee of the House of Commons in 1853. Its report resulted in the reform of the Gallery’s administration as defined in a Treasury Minute of 27 March 1855. The minute created a new post of Director with wide powers to acquire paintings for the collection. The Director was assisted by a Keeper who managed the day-to-day affairs of the Gallery. The Board of Trustees was retained ‘to keep up a connexion between cultivated lovers of art and the institution, and to form an indirect channel of communication [with] the Government.’ The reforms improved the administration of the Gallery and, from this time on, annual reports were presented to the Treasury detailing the management of the Gallery and Collection, including pictures purchased and cleaned or repaired. This system of governance continued until 1894 when the balance of power shifted in favour of the Board of Trustees following the so-called Rosebery Minute that altered the Gallery’s constitution. This did not affect the two acts of parliament passed during the 19th century that specifically related to the Gallery and concerned de-accessioning and loans: the National Gallery Act 1856 and the National Gallery (Loan) Act 1883.

In 1897 the National Gallery assumed responsibility for the newly opened Tate Gallery. In the years that followed the division of the national collection between the two galleries was vigorously debated and led to a committee of inquiry headed by Lord Curzon. The ensuing Curzon Report of 1915 recommended that the Tate should house the collection of British and modern foreign art while the National Gallery should retain the collection of Old Master paintings. The Tate became partially independent from the National Gallery in 1917 when it acquired its own Board of Trustees; however, it was not until 1955 and the implementation of the National Gallery and Tate Gallery Act 1954 that the Tate became fully independent. The post-war period also saw an increase in the range of activities carried out by the Gallery and a growing professionalisation of those activities. In the late 1980s responsibility for managing the buildings was transferred to the Gallery and it acquired the freehold of the site in 1992. In the second half of the 20th century the Gallery developed a range of specialised departments: Conservation, Scientific, Curatorial, Framing, Education, Photographic, Library and Archive, Art Handling, Audio-Visual, Development, Finance, Human Resources, Buildings, Design, Digital Media, Marketing, Exhibitions, Information, Information Systems, Press, Registrars, Visitor Services and Security. The governance of the Gallery was further changed by the Museums and Galleries Act 1992 which incorporated the Board of Trustees and provides the current constitution of the National Gallery.

Saint George's was constructed in 1909 to the designs of J S Alder. It originated in a mission established to reach the growing suburbs in this area.

The church of Saint Luke is the ancient parish church of Charlton.

The National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies organises volunteers to act as church recorders, who inventory the contents of churches and write up their findings, including detailed descriptions and histories.

See http://www.nadfas.org.uk for more information (accessed July 2010).

The Museum Of was a series of temporary "museums" housed in the Bargehouse building at Oxo Tower Wharf on London's South Bank; a building owned by the Coin Street Community Builders that had been derelict for the previous forty years. Beginning in October 1998 and ending in July 2001, The Museum Of ran five temporary "Museum" projects: The Museum of Collectors (Nov 1998 - Mar 1999), The Museum of Me (May 1999 - Oct 1999), The Museum of Emotions (Feb 2000 - Jun 2000), The Museum of the Unknown (Oct 2000 - Feb 2001) and The Museum of The River Thames (Mar 2001 - Jul 2001). The aim was to explore and question the place of museums in our culture, our experience of them and what we might want from them in the future. The project also aimed to encourage new audiences, commission new work, animate the building and surrounding area and create possibilites for innovative collaboration and partnership with a lasting legacy.

The core values of The Museum Of:
Question - At the heart of The Museum Of's concept lies a question about museums. What is a museum? Why do we visit? What do we want from a "museum" experience?
Participation - The five temporary "museum" projects that made up The Museum Of involved the participation of a broad range of people both in the creative process, as visitors to the museums and as decision makers, shaping the future of the project and regeneration of the area. The project encompassed the ideas and aspirations of people who lived and worked in the area together with local schools, colleges, arts and business organisations. Participation in the project and access to the museum was free.
Innovation - The Museum Of commissioned new work, created new partnerships and encouraged new audiences. The work explored and challenged our relationship with museums and culture in a different way from a "traditional" arts event and animated the interior and exterior of a disused building.
Collaboration - Each "museum" invited the contribution of artists, performers, local people, museum professionals, anthropologists, businesses, schools and audience members. Since the launch of the project The Museum Of has collaborated with: The Central School of Speech and Drama, The Horniman Museum, University College London, The Social Sculpture Unit at Oxford Brookes University, The Poetry Society, Wimbledon School of Art, The London Contemporary Dance School, Scarabeus Theatre Company, Primitive Science Theatre Company, Shunt Theatre Company, Crazy Horse Theatre Company, The London School of Fashion, The Actors Centre, Trinity College of Music, and numerous residents and business people.

The Museum Of has received support from: Coin Street Community Builders, The South Bank Employers Group, Erco lighting, Mills and Allen, The Poetry Society, The Body Shop, The Sirat Trust, The Arts Council of England, NESTA, London Arts, Bloomberg and Thames Water.

The Mothers' Hospital traces its origins to the work for unmarried mothers begun in the earliest days of the Salvation Army. 'Refuge Homes' for poor and destitute women were provided in private houses in various parts of London. As part of this scheme the Salvation Army established a home at Ivy House, Mare Street, Hackney in 1884. Many of the women seeking shelter there were pregnant, and in 1888 the Salvation Army decided to dedicate Ivy House to the confinement of unmarried mothers. Although maternity hospitals had existed in this country since the eighteenth century, these were almost entirely reserved for married mothers only. This was the first time that maternity hospital facilities had been combined with a 'Home of Refuge'.

The Hospital trained its first student midwife in 1889 and more than 250 pupil midwives graduated from the school during its eighteen year existence at Ivy House. During this period, the Hospital continued to expand and more buildings were bought. One of the later developments was a mother-and-baby home called Cotland, based at 11 Springfield Road, Upper Clapton. It existed between 1912 and 1920, and many of the women mentioned in the records of the Mothers' Hospital gave Cotland as an address. Finally, the Salvation Army purchased land in Lower Clapton Road, London E5 in order to build a hospital dedicated to unmarried mothers. In 1912, the foundation stone for the new Mothers' Hospital was laid by Princess Louise, daughter to Queen Victoria, and the Hospital was officially opened in 1913. Designed for 600 births per year, it soon outgrew its facilities and various extensions were made over the years. The new Hospital continued to uphold the teaching tradition of Ivy House and midwives were trained to the standards of the London Obstetrical Society and of the Central Midwives Board (CMB). Pupils attended classes for Parts I and II of the examinations of the CMB and gained experience both on the wards and in District work.

The First World War meant that the Hospital opened its doors to both married and unmarried women. Soldiers could not always send sufficient money to their families and the loss of many lives often caused acute poverty. Therefore, it was decided that the Hospital would be allowed to admit married women whose husbands were in the Army or Navy, or had been killed. Since that time the Hospital accepted both married and unmarried mothers. Between the two world wars, many improvements and additions were made. In 1921, the new nurses' home and theatre were opened by Queen Mary. By the 1930s, the number of births had risen to 2,000 per annum. The Hospital suffered damage during the Second World War, but fortunately there was no great loss of life. Arrangements were made for evacuation to Willersley Castle in Matlock, Derbyshire and to Bragborough Hall, Northamptonshire. However, the Hospital remained in service throughout the war for those who did not leave London. In all, 6,587 babies were born there between September 1939 and August 1945.

Research and innovation were always encouraged at the Mothers' Hospital. One interesting experiment which foreshadowed modern techniques of nursing was dictated by wartime conditions. In defiance of current practice, patients were made ambulant on the second day after delivery. The purpose of this carefully controlled experiment was to facilitate the orderly transfer of patients to the air-raid shelter and make more shelter space available. Margaret Basden, consultant obstetrician in residence during the war, recorded 'from personal experience how smoothly the scheme works, how well the patients stand it, and how striking has been the absence of any confusion or panic'.

With the creation of the National Health Service in 1948, the Hospital was given over to the Minister for Health and was later administered as part of the Hackney Group of Hospitals. However, Health Service Authorities agreed that a proportion of the staff should be members of the Salvation Army and thus the Hospital was able to maintain its individuality. In 1952, Lorne House was acquired opposite the Hospital and used as a training centre and home for 24 nurses. There was also a visiting service provided for mothers giving birth in their own homes. Between 1948 and 1974, the Mothers' Hospital belonged to the Hackney Group Hospital Management Committee and on 1 April 1974, the Group became part of the City and Hackney Health District. The Mothers' Hospital was closed in 1986, and all obstetric services were transferred to the Homerton Hospital.

The Moot was a private discussion group convened in 1939 by Joseph Houldsworth Oldham (1874-1969) in order to consider postwar social reconstruction within a Christian framework. It was composed of eminent philosophers and intellectuals such as T.S. Eliot, Karl Mannheim, R.H. Tawney and Sir Fred Clarke. Membership overlapped with the Council of the Churches on the Christian Faith and the Common Life. Individual members circulated papers for comment by correspondence and for discussion in meetings held three or four times a year..

The charity was established in January 1883 as The Mitchell City of London Charity, whereby an endowment of c £120,000, bequeathed in the will of Thomas Alexander Mitchell M.P. (d 1875), was to be used for charitable purposes benefiting the City of London, providing educational grants and pensions for the elderly.

The fund was administered as The Mitchell City of London Charity until 1906, when by an Order of the Charity Commissioners part of the endowment was specifically assigned to educational purposes and the remainder assigned to eleemosynary (charity) purposes. The portion of the endowment set aside for educational purposes was to be administered under the title of the Mitchell City of London Educational Foundation. By 1939 the two aspects of the Foundation had rejoined under the title Mitchell City of London Charity and Educational Foundation. The Foundation is still active (2007) and continues to award grants.

The Drapers' Company was formally founded in 1361, though there appears to have been an informal association of Drapers as early as 1180. A Brotherhood of Drapers, a religious fraternity attached to the church of St. Mary Bethlehem in Bishopsgate, is also known to have existed in the 1360s.

The Company's first Royal Charter given in 1364, states that the brothers and sisters were to meet four times a year, pay their fees, hold feasts and assist one another. In 1438 a Charter of Incorporation was given, which recognized the Drapers as a legal corporate fraternity, a Company which has perpetual succession and a Common seal. The original privileges granted by Royal Charter have been confirmed and amended by successive monarchs. The current acting Charter is that granted by James I in 1607, amended by three Supplemental Charters, most recently in 1964.

In the 1420s the Company built a Hall to house its headquarters and offices, in St Swithin's Lane. In 1543 they moved to the former mansion of Thomas Cromwell in Old Broad St (now Throgmorton St), and leased the old Hall. This mansion along with the old Hall were destroyed during the Great Fire of London in 1666, and a new Hall was built to a plan designed by Edward Jarman (d.1668) and completed by Thomas Cartwright. The present Hall has undergone successive alterations by John Gorham following damage by a fire in 1772, and has had further alterations by Herbert Williams in the 1860s, and Sir Thomas Jackson, 1897-1900.

Members of the Company's governing body were first called Assistants in 1521, and the Court of Assistants has controlled the administration of the Company since the early 16th century. In 1601, the Company was reincorporated by a Charter which required at least twelve governors. Assistants numbering between 26 and 53, were co-opted mainly from the Livery, and the Wardens were ex-officio court members. The Court of Council of Assistants originally met on quarter days, but moved to monthly meetings by 1819. In the 19th century, the Company administration was increasingly delegated to committees made up of 6 or 7 members of the Court, elected annually. Business of both the Committees and the Council of Wardens was submitted to the full Court for approval.

There were four methods of admission to the Company. Apprenticeship, was the main method and involved the master draper paying an annual fee to the Wardens for an apprentice. Apprenticeship normally lasted 7 years, and on payment of a further fee the apprentice was given entry into the Freedom. Redemption was a method of entry from the 1420s onward for those wishing to avoid the apprenticeship term. Entry via Patrimony instituted as early as 1481, was restricted to children born after their father had been admitted. All Freeman were required to pay Quarterage, for which the Livery in return was expected to provide four dinners annually.
Initially membership primarily consisted of drapers, by the end of the 16th century members included porters, tailors, solicitors and schoolmasters, as well as drapers.
Admission is currently by redemption (interview) or patrimony (by virtue of a parent being a Draper).

In the 16th century, benefactions to the Company led to the founding of almshouses, schools or hospitals, the donation of pensions to the old and distressed poor of the City of London.

The Drapers' were one of the City Livery Companies who took part in the colonization of Ulster along with the Irish Society in 1610. They acquired 38 800 acres of the barony of Loughinsholin in County Londonderry, comprising the Divisions of Moneymore, Brackagh, Slieve Gallion, and Ballinascreen. This estate was mostly sold between 1872 and 1900.

The London Jewish Hospital was first planned in 1907 and opened in 1919. It was extended in 1926 and 1927, and in 1928 had 92 beds. In 1948 it ceased to be a Voluntary Hospital and became part of the National Health Service as a general hospital of 130 beds. From 1948 to 1966 it was managed by the Stepney Group Hospital Management Committee, and from 1966 to 1974 by the East London Group. The London Jewish Hospital was closed in 1979. Records survived the destruction of the office by a bomb during the Second World War.

The Workhouse on the Bancroft Road site was built by the Board of Guardians of Mile End Old Town in 1858-1859. The foundation stone of the new Infirmary, erected under the powers conferred by the Metropolitan Poor Act, 1867, was laid in February 1881, and it was opened in March 1883. A Nurse Training School was established in 1892. The institution was taken over by the military authorities during the First World War; during the military occupation, the facilities of the hospital were considerably improved. In 1930, when the Hospital passed to the control of the London County Council, it had 550 beds. With the introduction of the National Health Service in 1948, the Hospital became part of the Stepney Group; the Stepney Group Hospital Management Committee was merged with the Central Group in 1966 to form the East London Group. In 1968, Mile End Hospital, together with Saint Clement's Hospital, was transferred to the management of the Board of Governors of the London Hospital. Its designation was changed to the London Hospital (Mile End). As a result of the re-organisation in 1974, it became part of Tower Hamlets Health District.

The Linoleum Manufacturing Company was established in 1864. The basic principle behind the manufacturing process was discovered by Frederick Walton at Staines where the company had premises. In 1929 the company merged with the firm Barry Ostlero and Shepherd Limited and continued trading under the name of Barry and Staines Linoleum Limited.

Linoleum stopped being made in Staines in 1969. The plant was transferred to Newborough -Tyneside floor coverings.

The Lambeth Group of Hospitals was formed in June 1948 by the South West Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board to be responsible for the management of Lambeth hospital (ref. H01/L), the South London Hospital for Women and Children (ref. H24), Annie McCall Maternity Hospital (ref. H24) and the South Western hospital ref. H15/SW).

In October 1956 the group was enlarged by the addition of the Royal Eye Hospital, Southwark and its branch at Surbiton (ref. H15/RE). Holmhurst Home, a halfway house for elderly patients (ref. H15/HH), was opened in 1952, by the King's Fund and attached to the Lambeth Group. Records of all these hospital are held by the London Metropolitan Archives.

On 1 July 1964 Lambeth Hospital was transferred to the Saint Thomas' Hospital Group. Lambeth Group Hospital Management Committee amalgamated with Wandsworth Hospital Management Committee to form the South West London Hospital Group Hospital Management Committee. All other hospitals in the Lambeth Group also became part of the new group. In 1968 the South Western Hospital was transferred across to the Saint Thomas' Hospital Group.

Kilburn Brewery, established on the Mapesbury estate at Edgware Road by William and George Verey in 1832, employed 22 men in 1851 and 66 in 1919, a year before it closed.

From: 'Willesden: Economic history', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 7: Acton, Chiswick, Ealing and Brentford, West Twyford, Willesden (1982), pp. 220-228 (available online).

The Jewish Community in Berlin resumed work in December 1945 under Hans-Erich Fabian; in 1949 Heinz Galinski was made chairman of the organisation. The division into an east and west community took place in 1953.

The Japan Society of London was founded at a meeting of the Japanese Section of the International Congress of Orientalists held in London on 9 September 1891, when a resolution was passed calling for the formation of a society 'for the encouragement of Japanese studies and for the purpose of bringing together all those in the United Kingdom and throughout the world who are interested in Japanese matters'.

The proposal of Arthur Diosy was warmly supported by members of the Section, and Diosy along with Diagoro Goh, Chancellor of the Imperial Japanese Consulate General in London, were appointed its initial honorary secretaries. The societies objectives were the encouragement of the study of Japanese language, literature, history and folk-lore, art, science and industries, of the social life and economic condition of the Japanese people, past and present, and all Japanese matters. Diosy, Goh and Francis T Piggott (former Legal Advisor to the Japanese Cabinet) formed an organizing council which met in the Royal Society of Arts in Dec 1891. Professor William Anderson FRCS (formerly medical doctor to the Naval Medical College, Tokyo, and medical officer to the British Legation) was elected the first chairman. There were 124 original members and two corresponding members.

In 1896, the Society was involved in collecting money for the relief of sufferers in Japan from the tidal wave that struck the north-east coat of Japan, Jun 1896 - raising a total of £3, 872. It also provided some £3,000 for the Red Cross Society of Japan in 1904.

By 1897, the Society had 803 members. The Society prospered in the climate engendered by the Anglo Japanese Alliance, 1902. Their lectures proved popular with an average attendance of 200 in 1905. There was general admiration for the Japanese exploits in the Russo-Japanese was, 1904-1905, and in 1910 the Society participated in the Japan British Exhibition was held at Shepherds Bush.

The society was also involved with the visits of a number of Japanese princes and statesmen, including Marquis (later Prince) Hirobumi Ito in January 1902, Count Masayoshi Matsukata former prime minister and finance minister, with his wife in May 1902, Prince Akihito Komatsu, brother of the Emperor, in July 1902, Prince Arisugawa in July 1905, Prince Fushimi in May 1907, Prince Morimasa Nashimoto and Princess Nashimoto, in 1909, and Prince Yorihito Higashi-Fushimi and Princess Higashi-Fushimi in 1910.

The outbreak of World War One in 1914 led to a decrease in membership through resignations and death of members killed in action, as well as a general curtailment of activities. While their programme was revived following the war, membership did not reach pre-war levels and by 1930 total membership numbered 674. In 1919, the lease on the premises occupied by the society was not renewed, and the office moved to 22 Russell Square, while continuing to hold its lectures at 20 Hanover Square. The Crown Prince of Japan and the Edward, Prince of Wales, became patrons of the Society around 1921, a position which they both gave up on accession to their respective thrones.

Despite the Society's apolitical character, the lack of British public support for the policies of the Japanese government, particularly in China, during the 1930s, contributed to the decline in the Society's membership numbers. The Society's activities continued however, until suspended by a meeting of the Council 1 April 1942. The lease on the Society's offices was given up, the library put in storage and publication of the Transactions ceased, though the Society was to remain in being.
The Society was revived in 1949 at an Extraordinary General Meeting held at the Royal Society of the Arts. They produced a new publication Bulletin, in June 1950 giving news on the Society and its members. The Society welcomed the signing of the Peace Treaty with Japan, 8 Sep 1951 in San Francisco, however during the 1950s UK-Japan relations did not run smoothly in the wake of war-time atrocities and new resentments over trade, however membership gradually increased from 657 in 1956 to over 1000 in 1964-5. A new constitution was adopted in 1958 with the objective of the promotion of mutual understanding and good feeling between the British and Japanese peoples. This same year corporate membership was instituted.
The Society had a number of committees catering for interests of the members, including a Social, Programme, Library, House Entertainment, Publications, Finance and Garden Committee. In 1961, the Garden Committee established the Bonsaikai, which eventually separated from the Society in 1988. There was also a stamp group, and Ikebana group (formed 1964), two separate art circles, an Otomodachi-kai - an information group of English and Japanese ladies (formed 1961).
In 1959, the Wakatakekai was formed independently to cater for the interests of younger people who had visited Japan or were interested in its culture, as well as a growing number of young Japanese coming to work in the UK. In 1962, this independent group became the junior section of the Society.

The Society's constitution was amended between 1986-1988, removing the time limit for service of the Chairman, altering the name to The Japan Society, and rewriting its objectives to emphasise its Charitable status and purposes. The Society's centenary in 1991 was marked by The Japan Festival - over 300 events held throughout the UK.

The Society is governed by a Constitution (Articles of Association) and by decisions taken at the Annual General Meeting. The AGM also elects the Chairman and Members of its Council, which manages the affairs of the Society. The Society became a Company Limited by Guarantee in 1998.