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The papers include laboratory notebooks dealing with Bawden's research on various plant viruses, and in particular his collaborative work with N.W. Pirie and with A.A.P. Kleczkowski. There is also a detailed exchange of correspondence with Pirie on research in progress, 1937-1940. (Pirie moved to Rothamsted as Virus Physiologist in 1940 when Bawden became Head of the Plant Physiology Department.) There is a wide range of correspondence, with individuals and institutions. It deals with scientific research and problems including viral nomenclature, lectures, conferences, publications, Bawden's reports on research projects, grant applications and appointments. The correspondence relating to Bawden's overseas visits as adviser or lecturer is mainly after 1958 and is sometimes accompanied by Bawden's reports.

The papers are extensive, relating to almost every aspect of Blackett's career in science and public life. There is biographical and personal material including large numbers of letters of congratulation received on the occasion of the various scientific and public awards and honours with which Blackett's achievements were recognised. There are records of his work on particle disintegration, cosmic rays, astrophysics and magnetism in the form of laboratory notebooks, working papers, correspondence, lectures, publications and broadcasts. There is documentation of his activities on various defence projects and as a member of government committees before, during and after the Second World War. Blackett's political interests are represented by material relating to the Association of Scientific Workers, Labour Party discussion groups on science and technology policy and the Ministry of Technology instituted after the Party's 1964 electoral victory. There are records of a wide range of science-related interests such as the history of science and technology, science, education and government, and nuclear weapons and disarmament, and of his overseas activities including material relating specifically to India and that concerned with matters more generally affecting developing countries.

A few lacunae in the surviving material have been identified. There are no documents relative to Blackett's service with the National Research and Development Corporation or the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research and, of his correspondence during the Second World War, only that for 1942 survives.

Letters and other Papers of the Hon Robert Boyle. The Letters cover Boyle's correspondence; in addition to the letters by scientists such as Hartlib, Beale, Southwell, Wallis and Cole, the series contains letters from members of Boyle's family (Viscountess Ranelagh in particular). There are 37 letters of Boyle's preserved, and substantial blocks of papers from religious figures such as Robert Sharrock. The Papers cover his philosophical, scientific, theological and other interests, and cover most aspects of his life and works.

The correspondence, papers and scientific notebooks of Sir George Lindor Brown. The majority of notebooks relate to the investigations of Brown and his co-workers (notably Feldberg, Harvey and Maycock) at the National Institute for Medical Research, Hampstead, into neuromuscular transmission. The correspondence and remaining papers cover Brown's administrative work in the decades from the 1950's. His relationships with the Royal Society and the Medical Research Council are well represented. The papers include personal files, correspondence with institutions and individuals, working scientific notes and sets of slides.

Extensive papers of Howard Walter Florey, Baron Florey, relating to almost every aspect of his career in science and public life. The scientific materials include a complete run of laboratory notebooks, 1924-1968, files on the work for which Florey is best known, penicillin and antibiotics, 1940-1962, together with papers, research notes and photographs on mucus secretion, traumatic shock and electron microscopy. Florey's writings are preserved in the form of drafts and proofs of published items, together with relevant correspondence. His correspondence indicates the depth of his involvement in the affairs of particular organisations, notably the Oxford University School of Pathology and the Royal Society. The work of Ethel Florey (née Hayter) and Margaret Augusta Florey (née Fremantle) is also present.

Working papers and correspondence of Sir John Henry Gaddum. The scientific material in the collection centres on a run of student and laboratory notebooks for 1922-1965, together with files of notes and calculations on biological assay and other topics. Further papers concentrate on Gaddum's teaching and publications in the form of lecture scripts, typescripts of articles and related correspondence. Material on his administrative work includes correspondence on conferences and organizations, with some Royal Society papers, but also Physiological Society letters, 1936-1941. Non-paper records such as slides and personal souvenirs are also preserved.

The papers are not extensive and consist almost entirely of laboratory notebooks and working papers relating to his early work on molecular reactions and gas reactions, 1919-1938. There are also notes and reports of work on respirator design undertaken by Hinshelwood and his team for the Chemical Defence Board, Ministry of Supply, during the Second World War.

Letters from Sir Robert Moray to his friend Alexander Bruce, Earl of Kincardine, also known as 'The Kincardine Papers'. Bruce was sick of the ague in Bremen for part of this time, and the letters were written to alleviate the tedium of of Bruce's illness, hence ranging over topics which might not otherwise have been the subjects of correspondence. They include accounts of chemical experiments in his laboratory, his interest in magnetism, medicine in all its aspects, horticulture, fuel, whale fishing, its risks and profits, coal mining, water wheels and tide mills, stone quarrying and the various qualities of different stones, the pumping works needed for undersea coal mines at Bruce's home at Culross in Fifeshire, even to the trees whose wood was best for pipelines, and the diameter of the bore best suited to the purpose. Familiarity is shown with mathematical and surveying instruments, with music, and all sorts of mechanical devices and especially clocks and watches, more particularly the taking out of a patent in respect of a clock for use at sea for finding longitude. Bruce is advised on the choice of books over a wide range of subjects. Moray includes anecdotes to amuse his ailing correspondent; he describes his quiet life and is enthusiastic about many of his chemical experiments. Notable at the end of the letters Moray added what he described as his Masonic signature - a pentagram which also occurs in his crest.

Reports on scientific papers submitted for publication to the Royal Society from 1832 to date (Peer Review). The referees were appointed to advise the Committee of Papers, and were drawn from appropriate subject disciplines within the Fellowship. Referees Reports vary in content between terse notes recommending acceptance or rejection to long monographs devoted to the subject under review. Much of their interest derives from the comment of one scientist on the work of another, for example Michael Faraday on J P Joule (RR.3.154,158) or Sir Oliver Lodge on Ernest Rutherford (RR.13.106).

Robinson's volatile temperament and his impatience with administration and routine have seriously affected the survival of material. Thus little survives of his correspondence which he usually wrote in longhand and without copies, or of his public life, service on committees, advisory boards, learned societies, and in the launching of new journals. There are, however, many manuscript notes in varying lengths of sequence and a few notebooks relating to research topics. Examples are a sequence of ideas on the possible structure of strychnine, tentatively dated 1945-1947 by J.W. Cornforth, and from a later period two relatively extensive sequences of research and correspondence, on the origins of petroleum and on drug research. Lacunae in the collection are to some extent compensated for by the autobiographical material. There are the background material and corrected proofs for the first volume of his memoirs published in 1976, and substantial typescript drafts of the second volume which was unfinished at his death together with narratives, correspondence and photographs sent to him by colleagues. There are also tape-recordings of conversations with colleagues covering similar types of recollections.

Identifications and field notes by Edred John Henry Corner and Wee Lek Chew from the Royal Society's expeditions to Kinabalu, North Borneo, 1961 and 1964; with a preliminary report on the Cambridge expedition to Mount Kinabalu, 1965.

Working papers and correspondence of Sir Francis (Franz) Eugene Simon. Scientific notebooks in the collection date from 1919-1934, largely the period of Simon's researches on low temperature physics at the Physikalisch-Chemisches Institut of Berlin University, and subsequently at Breslau. Other notes and manuscripts for lectures and articles are post 1930, while a large group of correspondence files are from the years 1922-1956, providing a full account of Simon's dealings with many fellow scientists and scientific organisations. Individual letter files concern V.M. Goldsmidt, Max Born, Gwyn Owain Jones and Nevill Mott among many other notable figures. Details of Simon's involvement in atomic energy development are to be found in papers on uranium isotope separation (MAUD Committee notes) and UK Atomic Energy Authority correspondence. Simon's professional appointments as head of the Clarendon Laboratory and as science correspondent to the Financial Times are represented by substantial groups of letters. There are twelve notebooks with some associated papers; the series also includes files of lectures, articles, cuttings and souvenirs, including photographs, with files of correspondence. Two later additions to the collection consist of correspondence and files highlighting Simon's contacts with industrial firms, universities and international organisations.

Laboratory notebooks and records of C T R Wilson.