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Records of HM Prison, Wandsworth. The records relate to prison administration, the prisoners, and, to a much a lesser extent, the prison staff. The earliest records are a minute and letter book, 1847-1850, and a letter book, 1848-1852, of the Committee for building a new prison in Surrey (ACC/3444/AD/01/001-002).

With regard to records relating to prisoners, the main series is the nominal registers (ACC/3444/PR/01), giving details of the name, age, trade, education, and religion of the prisoner, the date of committal, details of the offence and sentence and the date of discharge. These are in chronological order and run from 1879 to 1956, with several volumes produced each year. Unfortunately, there are only a few indexes to these registers. Those that survive run from 1940 to 1956 only (ACC/3444/PR/02).

The other important series giving details about individual prisoners are the registers of executions, 1892-1961 (ACC/3444/PR/03), and files on condemned prisoners, 1933-1954 (ACC/3444/PR/04).

Also of interest is a series of glass plates of prison officers and prisoners from 1920 to the 1930s.

PLEASE NOTE: In accordance with Home Office regulations, the entire collection is subject to a 30 year closure period, with the exception of some particularly sensitive series, which are subject to longer closure periods. These are all marked on the catalogue.

This collection is divided into two sections. Section one contains material on capital punishment and the death penalty, against which Hewitt campaigned. Section two covers material concerned with obscene publications and other forms of media, including censorship, Obscene Publications Acts and other allied topics. The papers contain many printed examples of C H Rolph's articles and materials by organisation such as the Howard League for Penal Reform and the National League for the Abolition of the Death Penalty. Infamous legal cases such as the obscenity trials in the 1960s relating to 'Oz' magazine and Hubert Selby's novel 'Last Exit to Brooklyn' are discussed.

Papers of 'Breda' war criminals comprise transcript of a radio interview, which deals with misunderstandings concerning the Germans still imprisoned in Breda, 1955; press release of the Dutch embassy (in Germany) regarding the Breda prisoners including lists of the following categories of prisoners: those originally sentenced to death and later commuted to life (with details of their offences); those sentenced to death (with details of their offences); those sentenced to 20 years (with details of their offences); those released in 1952 after serving two thirds of their sentences.

The majority of this collection consists of correspondence between Vyvyan Adams other politicians, his constituents and letters regarding his candidacy. The collection is divided into eight sections: Section 1: Correspondence, 1924-1951; Section 2: Miscellaneous papers, 1895-1941; Section 3: Articles and transcripts, 1912-1944; Section 4: Speeches, 1933-1939; Section 5: Pamphlets and printed materials, 1914-1953; Section 6: Capital punishment, 1929-1949; Section 7: Press cuttings, 1933-1950; Section 8: Coronation souvenirs, 1937. The political correspondence and the ordered files correspondence reflects his opposition to appeasment policies and the general themes of the time. Articles and transcripts relate to political figures of the time and the publication of Right Honourable Gentlemen. Speeches cover miscellaneous topics. Pamphlets and printed material cover international issues. The capital punishment file contains miscellaneous material relating to capital punishment. Press cuttings relate to political affairs. Coronation souvenirs contain miscellaneous items relating to the 1936 coronation of Edward VIII.