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Born in 1893; educated at Stranraer and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich; entered Royal Navy, 1911; commissioned into Royal Garrison Artillery, 1915; served in World War One, on the Western Front, in France and Belgium, 1916-1918; served in 130 Heavy Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, at the Battle of the Somme, 1916; wounded Aug 1916; served in 119 HeavyBattery, 9 Bde Royal Garrison Artillery, 1916-1917; at the Battle of the Ancre, 1916; Headquarters, 9 Bde Royal Garrison Artillery 1917; Lt 1917; commanded 242 Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, 1917; acting Maj 1917; acting Capt, 1917; Reconnaissance Officer - Staff Lt 1 Class, with Australian Corps Heavy Artillery, 1917-1918; acting Capt (special appointment grade FF for intelligence duties) 1918; Acting Bde Maj (temporary Capt), France, 1918-1919; Acting Capt, commanded 70 Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, Germany 1919; served with British Military Mission to South Russia, 1919-1920; Special Appointment (Class HH), Allied Police Commission,Constantinople, Turkey; General Staff Officer, Grade 3, War Office, 1923-1924; Bde Maj Royal Artillery, Southern Command, UK, 1925-1926; specially employed, War Office, 1926-1927; General Staff Officer, Grade 2, War Office, 1927-1929; Capt 1927; Brevet Maj 1930; General Staff Officer Grade 2, Staff College, 1931-1934; local Lt Col 1931-1933; General Staff Officer Grade 2 War Office, 1934-1936; Brevet Lt Col 1934; Maj 1936; Brevet Col 1938; substantive Col 1938; Deputy Director of Military Operations, War Office, 1938; temporary Brig 1938-1939; served in World War Two, 1939-1945; Director of Plans, 1939; commanded 52 Div, Royal Artillery, France, 1940; BrigadierGeneral Staff, Northern Ireland, 1940; temporary Brig 1940; Director of Military Operations and Plans, War Office, 1940-1943; acting Maj Gen 1940; Maj Gen 1941; Assistant Chief of the Imperial General Staff, War Office, (Operations and Intelligence), 1943-1945; retired 1946; Governor of Southern Rhodesia, 1946-1954; Chairman, Central African Council, 1946-1953; Col Commandant, Royal Artillery, 1948-1958; Chairman, Central African Defence Committee, 1950-1953; Chairman, National Convention of Southern Rhodesia, 1960; died 1970.Publications: The business of war (Hutchinson, London, 1957).

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The Post Office began to consider the benefits of introducing automatic data processing (ADP) in the 1950s. The first large scale application of a computerised system to Post Office operations was the introduction of the LEAPS system (London Electronic Agency for Pay and Statistics) in 1958. Prior to this, computers had been used in remittance work and postmaster balancing work, as well as in the Post Office Savings Bank.

The LEAPS system was introduced to replace the manual preparation of pay. Two Elliot 405 computers were developed and used for payroll, pensions and statistical work; this meant that the Post Office was now one of the largest users of ADP equipment in the UK.

Gradually, computer applications and ADP systems were proposed and introduced throughout the organisation. In 1961, the Post Office looked at ten areas of Head Post Office work where ADP could be applied. The areas considered were: mail circulation; delivery and collection planning; motor transport scheduling; payroll and staff; postal staff planning and control; cash accounting by counter machine; broadcast receiving licences; postal costing; income and expenditure accounting. A review was undertaken and it was decided to proceed with computer application in all these areas. Eventually, ADP and the use of computer applications and systems were applied to all aspects of postal work.

Several factors had to be considered each time a new proposal for a computer application/system was thought up - the Post Office had to consider whether or not it was profitable to introduce the new system and if there was an urgent need for it, as well as the practicialities of implementation and optimum timing. They also had to think about the effect it would have on the public and on Post Office staff as, inevitably, the introduction of ADP and computer applications meant that fewer staff were needed.

Up until 1969, the Post Office was a government department. Its change of status brought in legislation, namely the Post Office Data Processing Act, 1967 (see related material) which enabled the establishment of the Data Processing Service. The Data Processing Service had two arms - the Post Office Data Processing Service (PODPS) which provided ADP services and support to the Post Office and the National Data Processing Service which worked for external customers.

While the 1960s saw the Post Office considering ways of introducing ADP, the following decades saw the increasing use of computers in Post Office work, particularly in the 1980s with various plans to implement and improve computer systems for data capture and streamlining data processing methods. The counter automation project in the 1980s (which looked at the possibility of introducing a computer system to record cash transactions at local offices) is just one example.

The 1980s also saw the Post Office's Information Technology Department informing people of their work and developing IT strategies; the work resulted in the introduction of several computer systems to assist with the day to day running of the Post Office.

Around 1990 the Information Technology Business of the Post Office became known as 'iT'.

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In the following passage of writing, a selection of the major Acts of Parliament that have affected the Post Office over the centuries, and that can be found within this class of records, are described in a little more detail.

An Act for the Settling of the Postage of England, Scotland and Ireland 1657 (POST 114/1):

In 1635, Charles I made the Royal Posts officially available for public use for the first time. Unlike Charles, this service survived the Civil War and in 1657, Oliver Cromwell's parliament passed an Act that established a number of important principles that would guide the early Post Office during its subsequent expansion. On the second page of the Act is the following passage: 'Be it enacted by his highness the Lord Protector and the parliament… that from henceforth there be one general office to be called and known by the name of the Post Office of England'. And so the General Post Office (GPO) came into being. The Act established the position of Postmaster General (which remained the head Post Office position until the role was eventually abolished with the Post Office Act of 1969) and rates of postage were also set forth. To send one letter anywhere within 80 miles of London cost two pence; to Scotland, four pence; and to send a letter as far as towns in France, or even to Constantinople, cost one shilling. Finally, the Act claimed for the Crown the sole right to offer a postal service within the British Isles, establishing a state monopoly that would survive until the new millennium. Any person or organisation found to be offering postal services without the proper authority could be fined £1000 for each month the service was active (p.10). There have been numerous subsequent Acts of parliament that have modified the terms of this monopoly, such as the 1837 Post Office Management Act and Post Office Offences Act (POST 114/5).

Conveyance of Mail Acts: Mail Coaches (1790) and Railways (1838) (POST 114/52 and 53):

In the last quarter of the eighteenth century, the Post Office introduced a new method of conveying letters and parcels across Britain that greatly contributed to a growth and improvement of postal services and an expansion of the organisation. A system of mail coaches was developed that became the principal method of conveyance of mails until trains came to dominate from the 1840s onwards. The Stage Coach Act of 1790 laid down rules for the new system. Turnpike charges, the number of horses per carriage, the number of passengers per carriage, fines for mail guards who unnecessarily fired their issued guns and other details were set forth. The champion of the new mail coaches was John Palmer who was the first to see that armed mail coaches travelling on improved roads according to a precise timetable could make postal communications more efficient. This it did, and it was the first of a number of significant transportation changes that would facilitate great leaps in the growth of mail volumes that could be effectively handled by the Post Office. The mail coach system eventually passed away as the trains of the industrial revolution became the prime method of transporting the mails over distance. The Conveyance of Mails by railways Act of 1838 gave the Postmaster General the authority to require railway companies to carry mails at the direction of the Post Office in return for suitable payment, with fines imposed upon companies who refused. The Royal Arms were to be painted on these carriages and from the early 1840s, Travelling Post Offices (TPO) - trains that would carry the mails and staff to sort them whilst in transit - began to run, with over 100 in operation by the end of the century. Further Railway Acts with various amendments were passed in 1844 and 1868.

Superannuation Act 1859 (Post 114/105)

State pensions could be claimed at the age of 70 from 1908 and this marked the beginning of improved welfare provisions in Britain aimed at tackling the poverty and hardships that had been perennially associated with old age. For much of the nineteenth century, those who became too old to work had to rely on the meagre provisions of family, charity and the Poor Law to survive and in this respect, the Superannuation Act of 19 April 1859 meant that working for the Post Office as an established employee became a vocation coveted for the financial securities it offered later in life. From this date, pensions were paid to employees after at least ten years service at one-sixtieth of retirement pay, rising to a maximum of four-sixths. Those who retired earlier than age 60 for health reasons could expect to receive one month's pay for each year of service. Further pensions acts were passed by parliament through the nineteenth century (also reproduced in this volume; see also POST 114/106), which expanded upon the provisions of the landmark 1859 act and added various adjustments to pension and gratuity entitlement. From 1909, standard pension entitlement was slightly reduced, but a lump sum to the value of one-thirtieth of retirement pay was added, in addition to other entitlements such as a gratuity worth one year's wages paid to the family of an employee who died in service.

Savings Bank Act 1861 (POST 114/89)

By the mid-nineteenth century the debate about the role the state should play in the country's personal banking had grown in importance. The old Trustee Savings Banks handed their takings to the government for investment and received a fixed yearly dividend in return. This system did not facilitate small savings and depositors often had to travel a great distance to use such services. Although Rowland Hill, who was still secretary of the Post Office at the end of the 1850s, opposed further state (Post Office) intervention into financial services, others such as Frank Scudamore and John Tilley favoured the introduction of a set of reforms that would see the department take primary responsibility in administrating a personal savings facility. In 1861, having been introduced by Chancellor of the Exchequer William Gladstone, the Savings Bank Act was passed by the Palmerston Government and business began on 16 September. What was new about the service was that it was state-run and therefore enjoyed high security; deposits and withdrawals could be made at different post offices for one account by using a 'depositor's book'; small sums under one pound could be deposited; and account holders received a dividend equivalent to the value of interest accrued by state investment of their money, rather than a fixed rate. This meant that poorer people could now more easily use such services and the Post Office Savings Bank grew rapidly. In 1862, 178,000 accounts held £1.7m and by the turn of the century these figures had risen to 8.5m accounts and £136m in deposits (note that many people, as well as clubs and societies, held numerous accounts). Banking services remained an important part of the Post Office. In 1969, the service became known as National Savings.

Post Office Act 1969 (POST 114/14)

The Post Office Act of 1969 is one of the landmark events in the history of the organisation during the twentieth century. By this time, the Post Office, still a department of government, had acquired full responsibility for running an array of national services including postal communications, the ever-growing telephone system, a national savings bank (including National GIRO, introduced in 1968), pensions and much else besides. When the 1969 legislation came into effect on 1 October, it made a number of significant changes. Firstly, the Post Office ceased to be a government department and became a public corporation with all of its shares owned by the government. Organisational changes to this effect had been underway since the beginning of the decade and by 1969 it had been generally accepted that the new corporate status was necessary for the organisation to become a profitable entity in the post-war economy. This meant that the historic position of Postmaster General was abolished and a new Post Office Board reported to the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, a newly established ministerial position. Secondly, this legislation effectively divided the organisation into two distinct businesses: posts and telecommunications. It was felt that this would ensure a more efficient service for both and facilitate the ongoing modernisation that it was hoped would improve the profit margins of the Post Office as a whole. In reality, the Post Office Act of 1969 paved the way for the telecommunications side of the business to be separated from Post Office management entirely and it was eventually privatised in the early 1980s. The Act itself is 264 pages long and addresses other issues such as finance, banking, pensions, stamps and the status of the Post Office's postal and telecommunications monopoly.

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The Children's Society was founded in 1881 by Edward De Mountjoie Rudolf, a young Sunday school teacher and civil servant. Two of his Sunday School pupils were found begging on the streets after their father had died. Their plight highlighted the fact that there were no Church of England Homes capable of taking children at short notice and without payment.

Rudolf gained support from within the Church of England (including the Archbishop of Canterbury) and the Church of England Central Home for Waifs and Strays was founded in 1881. The original intention was to provide Receiving Homes for boys and girls in each diocese, prior to finding them suitable permanent homes. The Society intended to board out (foster) the children "under guarantees for their proper maintenance and education in the principles of the Church of England." However, this quickly evolved into providing longer term Homes and in November 1883 the new name was adopted: Church of England Central Society for Providing Homes for Waifs and Strays.

The Society underwent two further name changes. In 1893, it became the Church of England Incorporated Society for Providing Homes for Waifs and Strays (commonly known as the Waifs and Strays Society). Then, in 1946, the name was changed to The Church of England Children's Society (commonly known as The Children's Society). In 1982, while its legal title remained the same, the name The Children's Society was formally adopted by the organisation.

By the last quarter of the twentieth century social attitudes had changed considerably from those which were prevalent when Edward Rudolf set up The Children's Society. Because of this, The Children's Society made major changes to the way it worked: it closed many children's homes, moving away from adoption and fostering and instead focusing on helping young people solve their own problems.

In 1969 The Children's Society opened its first day-care centre, Foulkes House in south London. The centre was successful and The Children's Society opened more across the country, often on the sites of its former residential nurseries.

In the 1990s, The Children's Society also began focusing working for social justice. This included new projects, lobbying to change legislation and welfare provision, and allowing young people to speak and act for themselves so they could shape their own lives.

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Born in 1889; attended Royal Military College, Sandhurst, 1908-1909; joined 2 Battalion, The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), 1909; served in Malta with Scottish Rifles, 1911-1912; Signal Officer of 22 Brigade, 7 Division, 1914; appointed Captain; command of 7 Division Signal Company, 1915; Brigade Major, 91 Brigade in 7 Division, 1916; Brigade Major, 185 Brigade in 62 Division, 1917; appointed temporary Lt Col and command of 2 Infantry Battalion, Honourable Artillery Company, 7 Division, 1917; capture of Grave di Papadopoli, River Piave in Italy, 1918; attended Staff College, Camberley, 1920; Brigade Major, Experimental Brigade, 1921; Adjutant, The Cameronians, 1924; Company Commander, Sandhurst, 1925-1927; Instructor, Staff College in Camberley, 1927-1929; service with 1 Battalion, The Cameronians in Egypt, 1930; service in Lucknow, India, 1931-1932; General Staff Officer, Grade 2, War Office, 1932-1934; Imperial Defence College, London, 1935; command of Peshawar Brigade, North West Frontier Province, India, 1936-1938; command of 7 Infantry Division and Military Governor in Palestine, 1938-1939; 7 Division HQ transferred to Mersa Matruh, Egypt, 1939; Commander, Western Desert Force in Egypt, 1940; General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, British Troops in Egypt, 1941; captured and imprisoned in Castle Vincigliata, Italy, 1941; escape and arrival in England, 1943; command of 8 Corps, North West Europe, 1944; General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Command in India, 1945; Gen, 1945; General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, North Western Army, India, 1945-1946; Adjutant General to the Forces, 1946; ADC General to the King, 1946; resigned as Adjutant General, 1947; Knight Grand Cross of the Bath, 1947; retired, 1948; Commandant of the Army Cadet Force, Scotland, 1948-1959; Colonel of the Cameronians, 1951-1954; Justice of the Peace, Ross and Cromarty, 1952; Lord Lieutenant for Ross and Cromarty, 1955-1964; Lord High Commissioner, Church of Scotland General Assembly, 1964; Knight of the Thistle, Jun 1971; died in 1981.

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