Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1888-2008 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
0.38 linear metres.
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
May Matilda Hartle was born in Worcestershire on 16 September 1891. In 1901, at the age of 12, May moved to London. Her first job was working at a Chinese laundry on the Barking Road. In 1909, May married Archibald Flack and moved to Limehouse, East London. During the late 19th Century and early 20th Century, Limehouse had a large Chinese community. May set up a boarding house for foreign seamen and became a very prominent figure in the area. She saw first hand many of the changes to London's Chinatown in Limehouse.
In 1932, The People newspaper picked up on her story and proclaimed her the 'White Woman Ruler of Chinatown'. The story of her life in Chinatown was serialised weekly in the Sunday People.
May Flack died in 1954.
Repository
Archival history
GB 0074 LMA/4507 1888-2008 Collection 0.38 linear metres. Flack , May , 1891-1954 , boarding house owner
May Matilda Hartle was born in Worcestershire on 16 September 1891. In 1901, at the age of 12, May moved to London. Her first job was working at a Chinese laundry on the Barking Road. In 1909, May married Archibald Flack and moved to Limehouse, East London. During the late 19th Century and early 20th Century, Limehouse had a large Chinese community. May set up a boarding house for foreign seamen and became a very prominent figure in the area. She saw first hand many of the changes to London's Chinatown in Limehouse.
In 1932, The People newspaper picked up on her story and proclaimed her the 'White Woman Ruler of Chinatown'. The story of her life in Chinatown was serialised weekly in the Sunday People.
May Flack died in 1954.
This collection was acquired in 2008 as part of the 'Footprints of the Dragon' Heritage Lottery Fund project led by the Chinese National Healthy Living Centre.
Personal papers of May Flack, owner of a boarding house for the Chinese community in Limehouse, including birth, marriage and death certificates; papers relating to members of Flack's family such as National Service cards, medical cards, letters and so on; family trees and an ancestry by DNA test; family photographs and newspaper cuttings relating to May Flack and Chinatown in Limehouse.
Listed in accordance with LMA Listing guidelines and classification scheme introduced October 2007. Arranged by series then into subseries; thereafter files are listed in chronological order by creation date.
These records are available for public inspection, although records containing personal information are subject to access restrictions under the UK Data Protection Act, 1998.
Copyright to this collection rests with the depositor.
English
Please see online catalogues at: http://search.lma.gov.uk/opac_lma/index.htm
The following Chinese community collections were acquired as part of 'Footprints of the Dragon' Heritage Lottery Fund project led by Chinese National Healthy Living Centre: LMA/4497-4515, 4518, 4520
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.
Records prepared May to September 2011. National identity Chinese (cultural identity) Information sources Documents Primary documents Personal papers Family records Construction engineering Building design Building standards Accommodation Boarding houses Cultural nationalism Cultural identity Family archives Flack , May , 1891-1954 , boarding house owner Limehouse Tower Hamlets London England UK Western Europe Europe
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
This collection was acquired in 2008 as part of the 'Footprints of the Dragon' Heritage Lottery Fund project led by the Chinese National Healthy Living Centre.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Personal papers of May Flack, owner of a boarding house for the Chinese community in Limehouse, including birth, marriage and death certificates; papers relating to members of Flack's family such as National Service cards, medical cards, letters and so on; family trees and an ancestry by DNA test; family photographs and newspaper cuttings relating to May Flack and Chinatown in Limehouse.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Listed in accordance with LMA Listing guidelines and classification scheme introduced October 2007. Arranged by series then into subseries; thereafter files are listed in chronological order by creation date.
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
These records are available for public inspection, although records containing personal information are subject to access restrictions under the UK Data Protection Act, 1998.
Conditions governing reproduction
Copyright to this collection rests with the depositor.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
- Latin
Language and script notes
English
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
The following Chinese community collections were acquired as part of 'Footprints of the Dragon' Heritage Lottery Fund project led by Chinese National Healthy Living Centre: LMA/4497-4515, 4518, 4520
Finding aids
Please see online catalogues at: http://search.lma.gov.uk/opac_lma/index.htm
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
- Cultural identity » Cultural nationalism » National identity
- Information sources
- Documents
- Documents » Primary documents
- Construction engineering
- Construction engineering » Building design
- Construction engineering » Building design » Building standards
- Cultural identity » Cultural nationalism
- Cultural identity
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Language(s)
- English