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Papers of the Boddington family of London, including commonplace book; memorandum book (including notes on travel in the Levant, 1712-25); journals and correspondence.

Personal papers of Reverend Charles John Todd, navy chaplain, comprising certificates of ordination as a deacon and priest, 1878-79; commission as a Navy chaplain, 1881; letters written home from Navy ships from Zanzibar, Suez, Sudan, India, Ceylon [Sri Lanka], and Japan; diaries and notebooks describing hunting expeditions in Ceylon and East Africa; diary of a diplomatic mission to King John of Abyssinia [Ethiopia], 1884; newspaper cuttings; photographs of Todd; and a description of Todd's Navy service, 1976.

Journals of William Baird, 1823-1833, comprising journal of voyages to the West Indies, South America, East Indies and China, Cape of Good Hope and St Helena, from 1823 to 1831, in the Barque Charles and H C Ship Berwickshire and voyage to and from China, in H C Ship Berwickshire, in 1832 and 1833.

Much of the collection is made up of diaries and notebooks relating to expeditions sent to Africa by the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine to study diseases such as malaria and trypanosomiasis. From Todd's subsequent career there is also material on journeys to Western Canada to study Swamp Fever in horses and to Poland to study Typhus, some general notes on tropical diseases, a laboratory notebook on experiments with fever ticks and a paper on the Congo Free State as a political unit. The dates covered are 1901-1920. A final block of material consists of letters and loose papers including sketches, covering 1890-1949.

Journals of holiday tours in the years 1868-1892. In general the destination was Switzerland, the journey there and back from England taking in, at various times, parts of Belgium, Germany, Austria-Hungary (specifically Bohemia and the Tyrol), Italy and France. Exceptions are MS.4507, documenting a tour taking Sewell to South-West France; MS.4508, taking him to the United States and Canada; MS.4512, taking him to Norway; MS.4513, taking him to Northern England, Scotland and Ireland; and MS.4515, taking him to Southern England and the Isle of Wight. The journals are illustrated with inset material such as advertisments, photographs and folding maps.

Morrison and Hobson family papers, 1807-1963. The papers are the product of a period of considerable spiritual, cultural and political change in China. They are a significant source for study of the development of Protestant missions in China (in particular the role of the medical mission and the introduction of Western medicine), and also provide evidence of the involvement of the missionaries with issues of British trade and diplomacy.

MSS. 5827-5852: correspondence and papers, especially of the Revd Robert Morrison (1782-1834), missionary in China, 1807-1834; John Robert Morrison (1814-1843), Chinese interpreter, Colonial Secretary of the Hong Kong government; and Dr Benjamin Hobson (1816-1873), medical missionary in China, 1839-1859. The majority comprise personal and domestic correspondence of the Morrison and Hobson families and their friends, with less emphasis on official papers, although the collection includes letters on the Peacock expedition to Siam and Cochin China led by Edmund Roberts (1784-1836), United States merchant and diplomat, 1832 (MS.5830), and letters to Benjamin Hobson from leading missionaries. 1843-1862 (MS.5839). Insight into missionary work in China can be gained in particular from the letters of the Revd. Robert Morrison. MS. 7127: 'Domestic Memoir of Mrs Morrison', by the Revd. Robert Morrison, addressed to his children Mary Rebecca and John Robert Morrison (1814-1843), 5-7 January 1824. Mary Morrison, Robert's first wife, died of cholera at Macao on 10 June 1821. This memoir was compiled by Robert Morrison during the voyage home from China aboard H.E.I.C.S. Waterloo.

Correspondence, papers and journals of Charles Tilstone Beke, 1824-1910, principally relating to Abyssinia and the Middle East, with papers of his wife Emily Beke (née Alston). The collection holds information on all aspects of Beke's career, from his early legal training to the search for employment and financial security of his final years. His intervening travels, geographical and biblical studies and resulting publications are documented by journals, notebooks and printed material. Correspondence includes that generated during Beke's secretaryship of the National Association for the Protection of Industry and Capital throughout the British Empire; and generally reflects a wide range of scholarly acquaintance and interests. Supplementary papers of Emily Beke record her championing of C.T. Beke's posthumous reputation, and her attempts to gain recompense for his occasional government service.

Although the collection is by no means comprehensive, there are interesting records of many aspects of Wilson's career.

Section A. Biographical: Brings together material relating to obituaries, tributes, honours and awards. Includes Wilson's account of his First World War experiences and his assessment of his scientific publications. Section B. Research: Although not extensive, provides documentation of a number of Wilson's principal interests including the Salmonella group of bacteria and milk hygiene. There are three laboratory notebooks with experimental data covering the period 1919-45. Section C. Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS): Relates chiefly to the unpublished history written by Wilson after his retirement as Director of the PHLS. There is also a little material relating to laboratory design and equipment and PHLS personnel. Section D. Lectures and publications: The most substantial in the collection. There are records of Wilson's lectures for a period of forty years from 1944, extensive documentation of the later editions of Principles of bacteriology and immunity, and editorial correspondence and papers for the British Journal of Experimental Pathology and the Journal of Hygiene. Section E. Societies and organisations: Documentation of Wilson's association with ten British organisations including the Medical Research Club, Medical Research Council and Veterinary Club. The Medical Research Council material relates to the Working Party on Tristan da Cunha which was set up to supervise medical investigations when the inhabitants were evacuated to Britain after the island's volcano erupted in 1961. There is also material relating to the Research Foundation, Chicago, which specialised in tuberculosis research, on whose medical advisory committee Wilson served. Section F. Visits and conferences: Records of a number of overseas trips in an advisory capacity for the World Health Organisation, including to Ethiopia 1964, Iraq 1965, Iran, Sudan and Egypt 1971 and the Philippines 1972, and records of international microbiology congresses. Section G. Correspondence: Although not extensive, includes a chronological sequence of scientific correspondence, 1930-1987, Wilson's collection of autograph letters addressed to Topley and himself, and references and recommendations. Section H. Photographs: Photographic records of Wilson, colleagues, conferences and PHLS laboratories. Section J. 'Biographical History of Bacteriology': Manuscript of Wilson's history, with correspondence about publication.

Louisa Martindale collection, 1872-1964. The collection consists of Section A: a little personal correspondence, papers, articles, speeches and lectures by Louisa Martindale, and some personal material including notes on the glaucoma which eventually blinded her, 1872-1960; and Section B: papers concerning the Medical Women's International Association (founded 1919) of which Miss Martindale was President from 1937 to 1947. As well as her own correspondence in this capacity, 1937-1946, there is one file of the correspondence of Mme Montreuil-Strauss, Secretary of the Medical Women's International Association at his period. (Louisa Martindale destroyed the vast bulk of her case records at the time of her retirement from practice around 1950, those remaining were destroyed by her executors after her death).

The majority of the collection is made up of journals kept by Buckle during the years 1866-1870, during which he travelled to South America, South Africa and Australia (there are also periods during which he was stationed at Portsmouth). There are some lacunae in the sequence of diaries. There is also one autograph album kept by Buckle relating partly to his own affairs (his application to become House Surgeon at the West Norfolk and Lynn Hospital, 1863-1864) but also including older material predating his birth.

MSS.1456-1499 comprise chiefly drafts of essays and papers by Cantlie, spanning his entire career but with the bulk (MSS.1461-1486) dating from his years in Hong Kong. The subject is generally tropical medicine; diseases discussed include leprosy, dropsy, kala-azar, beri-beri, cholera and malaria, with particular emphasis upon leprosy. Worth individual notice are MSS.1456, in which Cantlie describes a case of blood poisoning that he acquired in the dissecting room at Charing Cross Hospital; MS.1459, commemorating the military surgeon Paul Bennett Conolly (died at Khartoum on the Gordon Relief Expedition of 1885); 1461, 1466 and 1463, two diaries and a cashbook respectively to do with his Hong Kong medical practice; 1469, a fragment of a register of patients in the Hong Kong Hospital; 1480-1481, casebooks compiled in Hong Kong; 1489, a dummy copy of the first edition of the Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, founded by Cantlie; and 1499, a collection of questionnaire responses relating to the life history of Eurasian "half-castes" in which Cantlie is one of many respondents drawn from the western fringes of the Pacific (China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand). MSS.6931-6941 contain correspondence, personal and travel papers, medical notes, printed material (including much material relating to papers published in the Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene), illustrative material and certificates, the last also including items relating to other members of Cantlie's family.

Papers of Isaac Henry Burkil (1892-1966) comprising the preparatory notes and typescripts for Burkill's studies and publications (11 boxes), also one volume and one folder of correspondence, one folder of personnal papers, botanical journals and journals of Burkill's tours in Asia (18 volumes) and 23 boxes of index cards.

Papers of Arthur Francis George Kerr, 1906-c 1940, comprising 28 diaries, some relating to his daily life and others are expedition diaries retracing various itnieraries, including field diaries from Siam and the Siam-Burman border; photographs of landscapes, people, vegetation and other subjects, chiefly on trips within Siam; plant records including 158 plant tag books mentioning their numbers and the areas covered; typescript and manuscript lists recording plants collected by others on behalf of Kerr; 16 files and volumes relating to the flora of Siam, some are for specific regions such as Bangkok or Kaw Tao and some for specific plants such as orchids; volumes containing Siamese local plant names; twenty three notebooks of notes taken from various Herbaria, namely Geneva, Kew, Paris and the British Museum (Natural History Museum); records of other collectors including some commissioned by Kerr; records of plants from Siam for the publication of Flora Siamensis Enumeratio; notes and correspondence relating to Siamese drugs and medicinal plants; slips for various plant groups; 11 files of correspondence, mainly related to botanical matters including the publishing of Florae Siamensis Enumeratio, one with Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and seven relating to ferns, including correspondence and fern lists from Eryl Smith; and publications including reprints from The Record and reports on Botanical Tours undertaken in Siam as well as crops such as cotton and various other plants, published by The Botanical Section, Ministry of Commerce, Bangkok and volume of sketches of Orchids from Chengmai.

Bound typewritten journal subtitled 'The trivial record of a journey taken in 1934 by way of Nürnberg, Vienna, Budapest, Prague, Cracow and the free city of Danzig with 94 illustrations'.

Stafford's journal gives detailed impressions of his first flight, the places that he and his wife visited in Central Europe, the people they met, as well as occasionally giving his opinions on the political situation. He writes that 'we packed more into twenty-four days than our elders would advise'. The journal includes 94 photographs taken using a 2A folding Brownie camera.

The archive consists of manuscript diaries (1912-1914, 1950-1956), manuscript notebooks which include some of her own poetry (1900-1922), publications by Adams and photographs of visits to Paris (1906, 1915).

Letters sent from Iris Murdoch to her friend and fellow author Brigid Brophy. Murdoch and Brophy met in 1954 and maintained a friendship from then until Brophy's death in 1995. The period of the mid-1950s to the end of the 1960s was a time when the two were particularly close, although the letters do show the passionate nature of the relationship as Brophy sometimes sent accusing or angry letters to Murdoch, and these letters show Murdoch responding in kind. The letters also cover Murdoch's work and travels, plus views on current events, music, literature and art.

The letters are split into 7 files- the first three are letters from Murdoch which Brophy had separated out into a filing cabinet, and the fourth are letters from Murdoch to Michael Levey with a selection of other items such as photographs. File 5 contains dated letters arranged in chronological order, File 6 previously undated letters, and File 7 postcards and lettercards.

Notebooks and other items belonging to Iris Murdoch from her home at Charlbury Road, Oxford. Includes:

1) File containing typed draft of paper 'Evil is to Love, what Mystery is to Intelligence' by Martin Andic dated 26 Feb 1995, plus typed text draft of the opening pages of John Bayley's 'Iris: A Memoir of Iris Murdoch'

2) Bundle containing handwritten notes by Iris Murdoch on Martin Heidegger, plus typed notes on philosophy with handwritten annotations by Murdoch c. early 1990s

3) 16 notebooks containing notes on the Greek language 1960s- 1980s

4) 4 notebooks with planning notes for the novel 'The Good Apprentice'

5) Notebook with notes on 'The Message to the Planet'

6) Notebook with notes on 'The Book and the Brotherhood'

7) 8 notebooks with notes on philosophy, including notes on the Gifford Lectures and 'Metaphysics as a Guide to Morals'

8) 2 notebooks from Iris Murdoch's trip to China 1979

9) Notebook from trip to India/ Australia 1967

10) Appointment diaries 1978 and 1980

11) 2 notebooks on unknown subjects (possibly philosophy)

12) Notebook on Hebrew 1979

13) Indexed notebook with topics noted in top right hand corner, possibly for Greek words. However pages are empty.

14) Notebook dated 26 Jan 1954- first few pages have been removed, otherwise the notebook is empty

15) Notebook dated 1955- 1958. One page of notes on ethics in the back, and several pages have been ripped out from the front. Otherwise empty. Possibly originally used as a journal?

16) Notebook noted as belonging to Iris Murdoch at HM Treasury dated 12 Mar 1944. Several pages have been ripped out from the front. Otherwise empty. Possibly originally used as a journal?

17) Blank nature notebook

18) 2 photographs of Iris Murdoch's desk, labelled on reverse by John Bayley 'Iris Murdoch's table'

19) Piece of blotting paper used by Iris Murdoch when writing letters

20) 23 empty envelopes either addressed to Iris Murdoch and / or John Bayley, or addressed by Iris Murdoch to other people

21) 3 pieces of Berkeley Department of English Headed Paper, one with beginnings of a letter written by Iris Murdoch to unknown recipient

22) 5 blank postcards from St Catherine's College, and 3 blank pieces of notepaper. Murdoch has written the Cedar Lodge address on the back of one of the postcards.

23) 2 blank postcards

24) Blank postcards with Reynold Stone's name and address at the top

24) Blank notepaper with La Valencia Hotel printed at the top

25) Two blank pre-printed invitation cards

26) 5 blank pieces of notepaper printed with the Conservation Society logo

27) Blank postcard from New College Oxford

28) Postcard advertising opening of an exhibition by Lesley Foxcroft at the Riverside Studios

29) Invitation to Iris Murdoch and John Bayley to attend an event at Parker and Son Ltd 14 Nov 1984

30) Invitation to cocktails at Timothy Dwight College 28 Feb 1983

31) Blank black notebook

32) Blank Basildon Bond notepad

33) 3 blank WH Smith notebooks

Archives of the London Mathematical Society, 1853-1994, the bulk comprising c500 letters to Thomas Archer Hirst, 1853-1892, mainly in his capacity as a member of the LMS, including a letter inviting him to the first meeting of the Society, and also reflecting his travels in Europe, including letters from prominent European mathematicians. The letters include several from Henry M Bompas, 1865, 1874-1879; Arthur Cayley, 1858-1891 and undated; Michel Chasles, 1858-1871 and undated; Luigi Cremona, 1864-1892 and undated; Augustus De Morgan, 1861-1869; Georges-Henri Halphen, 1875-1879; Amédée Mannheim, 1866-1891; Julius Plücker, 1866-1868; William Roberts, 1859-1865 and undated; George Salmon, 1858-1878; [Hermann Cäsar Hannibal?] Schubert, 1877-1884; Henry John Stephen Smith, 1865-1876 and undated; William Spottiswoode, 1862, 1865, 1883; Cyparissos Stephanos, 1877-1887; Rudolf Sturm, 1874-1892; James Joseph Sylvester, 1859-1888 and undated; Barnaba Tortolini, 1858-1863; Richard Townsend, 1865-1878; John Van Voorst, 1864-1867; and there are a few letters from Hirst himself. The archive also includes a bound notebook containing a manuscript catalogue of the LMS library by R A Sampson, 1891-1893; miscellaneous administrative correspondence and papers, 1964-1975; membership lists, 1966-1972; binder of papers of H T J Norton on mathematics, with correspondence, largely to E H Neville, regarding their disposition in the LMS archive in c1938, and also including bibliographical material on elliptic functions, apparently compiled by Neville [1930s-1950s]; miscellaneous letters and papers on research, 1986, 1992-1994.

Manuscript journal of George Caley, entitled 'Remarks on the weather &c', containing a travel diary, 1811-1817, describing a canal journey from London to Manchester and a journey to St Vincent in the West Indies.

Papers of Hamburg-Amerika linie, 1939, comprise of a notice from the Breslau office of the Hamburg Amerika Linie, travel company, regarding sailings and prices for illegal emigration to Palestine.

Papers of Helmut Strauss, 1945-1948, comprise an identity card (Kennkarte) Deutsches Reich of Helmut Strauss, issued in May 1945 in Halle/Saale; temporary travel document in lieu of passport of Helmut Strauss, issued in March 1948 by the military government of Germany containing exit permit and visa for Switzerland.

Journals of Sir Charles Bell's tour of Italy in 1840. Volumes contain notes and watercolour sketches.

Manuscript bill of expenses incurred by Charles Frotté for a journey from Istanbul (Constantinople) to London for King George III during July, 1801. With a receipt for £420.2.6. dated November 16th, 1801, and signed by Frotté.

Manuscript travel journals, 1784-1790, comprising part of a 'Journal of an 8 month's [sic] tour on the Continent', 25 Apr-10 May 1784, describing the final phase of a tour from Sedan to Calais and London which lasted from October 1783 to May 1784, and including an itinerary of the whole voyage through Picardy, Paris, Burgundy, Switzerland and Belgium, and an anecdote concerning Voltaire; a 'Journal of a tour to the West in the summer 1788', describing a journey from London through Berkshire, Hampshire, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall; and an unfinished 'Journal of a tour into Sussex', Jul 1790.

The correspondence, papers and diaries of Sir Charles Blagden. Blagden's papers are interesting on several levels, generally for his close contact with European men of learning, and his relationship with Sir Joseph Banks. Blagden's professional researches are represented by medical notes in the boxed sequence. These are grouped with papers on other subject interests, including linguistics, e.g. a draft Tahitian-English dictionary, compiled from conversations with Omai, whom Blagden inoculated after Omai's voyage to England with James Cook. Blagden's interest in antiquities and travel is documented by diary entries, as is his intercourse with fellow scientists, particularly those associated with the founding of the Royal Institution.

Papers of Arnold Danvers Power, 1904-1939, chiefly comprising a series of typescript illustrated travel notebooks arranged into sections as follows:

'Lagos and back', 1921-1922, 'Nigeria and Cameroons', 1934-1935, northern Nigeria, 1929-1930, 'west coast ports and southern Nigeria', 1932-1933.

Australia, Canada and the USA, 1904, USA, Philippines and Ceylon, 1910-1911 and Tangier and Algiers, 1912.

Spanish Main, 1925-1926, Palestine, 1927, Argentine, 1927

Uganda, 1928-1929, Amazon, 1923, Scandanavia, 1929; Cape Town, 1922-1923 and Algeria and Tunisia, 1924-1925.

British Guinea, 1930; Polar regions, 1931; Angola and Cape Town, 1931-1932; Adriatic Cruise, 1932; West Indies, 1934; 'Nigeria and Cameroons', 1934-1935.

Australasia and Dutch east Indies, 1935-1936; Jamaica and British Honduras, 1936-1937.

Southern Rhodesia, East Africa, Basutoland and South West Africa, 1938-1939 and Chilie and Peru, 1937-1938.

Also comprising duplicate copies of these notebooks without illustratuions; typescript notes describing travels in North and South Africa and Palestine; letters to Lillian and Florence Power, 1912 and 1922-1923 and printed and typescript copies of travel articles, 1930s.

Journals, notebooks, papers and letters of Maj Dixon Denham, 1815-1827, chiefly relating to the Denham / Clapperton / Oudney expedition from Tripoli to Bornu 1821-1825; also including diaries kept during the Waterloo campaign and subsequent travels around Europe; papers relating to Ensign Tootle and to the Sahara expedition of 1822-1824.

Edith A James' personal journals of world tours, typescript and illustrated with postcards and photographs including Italy Switzerland and Germany, Jan-Jul 1900; world tour on board SS FRANCONIA, England to Egypt, India, Java, Sumatra, China, Japan and USA, 1925-1926; Egypt, Palestine and Rome, 1925; Switzerland and Belgium, 1914-1920; South Africa to the Victoria Falls, 1926-1927; world tour on board SS DUCHESS OF ATHOLL including the West Indies, South America and South Africa, 1929; Morocco, 1927-1928; world tour including New Zealand, the Pacific and Fiji 1929-1931 and the southern hemisphere, 1934.

Papers of Col George Adam Beazeley with photographs and maps interspersed throughout including papers relating to Kashmir; papers entitled "My experiences", 1900-1901 and "My Somaliland Diary".

Papers of Herbert Arthur Richards including copy of a letter to a friend, 1929, describing hie travels and experiences in Mesopotamia, 1889-1906; photographs of people and places in Persia with notes on Persia, 1889-1896 including typed report on the road Ahwaz to Ispahan, Apr 1896, map of journeys and notes on Ispahan to the Caspian Sea; photographs on a journey from Tehran to Bushire, 1904 and family and personal photographs.

Copies of the travel journals of Sir David Wedderburn, 1866-1892, including Vol 1: 1866, United States, Canada, Atlantic passages; Vol 1A: 1868, Ireland; 1873, France, Germany, Luxembourg; Vol 2: 1869, Hungary, Turkey, Syria, Palestine, Egypt; Vol 3: 1870-1871, France, Spain, Gibraltar; 1873, Algeria; Vol 3A: 1871-1872, France, Switzerland, Italy; Vol 3B: 1872-1873 Austria, Channel Islands; Vol 4: 1874, Ceylon. Australia; Vol 5: 1874, Australia, and New Zealand; Vol 6: (Missing); Vol 7: 1876-1877 India; Vol 8: 1877-1878, Ceylon, Java, China, Japan; Vol 9: 1877, Japan and USA, June 1878 Iceland; Vol 10: 1878 Denmark, Russia, Greece, Italy: Vol 11: 1880, Brittany, Ireland, Russia, Pyrenees; Vol 12: 1881-1882 South Africa and a 'Life Sketch' of Sir David Wedderburn 1835-1882, by D A Percival.

Journal of William Alley describing fourteen voyages to India, Malaya and the East Indies in several ships. The typescripts cover most of the journal's text and include material from the records of the East India Company reporting Alley's activities.

Papers of Capt William John Gill, 1874-1884, including travel diary in Constantinople, 1879; travel diary in India (the Marri expedition at the close of the second Afghan War), Persia and Russia, 1880-1881; press cuttings chiefly relating to Indian affairs, 1874-1884; travel diary in Tripoli, Oct 1881-Jun 1882; travel diaries in China, 1876-1877 and 1877-1878, and notes on Chinese characters and place names, 1877.

Papers of Sir Augustus Wall Callcott, 1786-1837, comprising travel journals and papers largely from Callcott's honeymoon in Europe in 1827-1828, notably including lists, descriptions and sketches of pictures from various art collections visited in Italy, Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia.

Records, 1920-1963, of the Christian Literature Bureau for Africa and its succession by the ICCLA (International Committee on Christian Literature for Africa, part of the International Missionary Council), comprising early papers, 1920-1929, including correspondence; minutes, 1929-1958; records of the American Section, 1924-1959; accounts and related papers, 1928-1958; finance papers, 1948-1959; policy papers, 1929-1959, including its winding-up; papers relating to personnel, 1947-1956; papers relating to Secretarial travel by Margaret Wrong and C de Mestral in Africa, Europe and north America, 1933-1959; photographs of West Africa, 1933, and Southern Africa [1936]; papers of Margaret Wrong (Secretary), 1935-1947, including notes for addresses, reviews, articles on subjects including colonial development, personal photographs, letters, and papers, 1949-1965, relating to her death (c1949) and memorial fund; reports, surveys, etc, 1923-1957; papers relating to Books for Africa series and to Listen, 1931-1963; papers relating to the publication Daystar, 1948-1957; lists of books received, especially vernacular, 1930-1957; African language publications, 1930-1951; papers relating to Christian literature for Muslims, 1932-1959; papers relating to school service book, 1938-1953; manuscripts received, 1933-1957; papers relating to hymns publication, 1957-1963; papers relating to literacy [1935]-1959; papers on territorial series, 1927-1959; complete set of Books for Africa series, 1931-1963; complete set of Listen, 1932-1957; series (some incomplete) of published works: Little Books for Africa, African Home Library (comprising texts on the Bible and Christian faith, biography, allegories and stories, family, health and land, government and industry, countries and customs, science and education), and the French edition Bibliotheque de la Famille Africaine, and African Features; specimen periodicals published in Africa, 1950s; card index to titles for Books for Africa books reviewed and card index to titles and authors in the ICCLA library.

Records, 1744-1976, documenting the work of the Methodist Missionary Society (from the Methodist Union of 1932), and the work of its predecessor missionary societies prior to 1932 - the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society, Primitive Methodist Missionary Society, and the missionary societies of the churches that formed the United Methodist Church - and covering overseas missionary work in Europe, North America, West Indies, Africa, India, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), China, Burma and Australasia.

The main series for the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society/Methodist Missionary Society include material from the home organisation in London, which directed overseas missionary affairs, including Committee minutes and papers, candidates papers, 1829-1869, finance papers, 1817-1945, and outgoing correspondence. However, the bulk of the material comprises Synod minutes and correspondence send to London from missionaries in the overseas districts, including Europe, North America, West Indies, West Africa, Central Africa, South Africa, Kenya, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Southern India, Northern India, Burma, China & South East Asia, and Australasia/South Seas. Special series include biographical material of missionaries from all denominations; missionary ships' logs and papers; and a miscellaneous assortment of notes, typescripts, unpublished articles and histories. There are approximately 2500 photographs, which cover India, Burma, Ceylon, Australasia, Africa, China and the West Indies.

The collection also includes minutes of Conference for the Wesleyan Methodist Church, 1744-1976.

Photocopies of journals, 1887-1889, of A J Mounteney Jephson, comprising Books One to Four, giving a detailed description of activities of H M Stanley's expedition to relieve Emin Pasha, including the journey via Zanzibar, and the hardships faced. Book Three includes copies of some of Stanley's correspondence. Book Four, covering April to [October] 1889, is less detailed than Books One to Three, and less accurately dated. With typescript transcriptions of the journals [1960s] for Dorothy Middleton's published edition.

Papers, 1929-1936, of Helen Maxwell Newham, comprising correspondence and other material relating to her time in Ovamboland and Zululand, South West Africa.

Papers, 1866-1906, of and about John Boden Thomson and his wife Elizabeth, comprising letters, documents and press cuttings, relating to his education, work in Matabeleland and the Ujiji Mission.

Miscellaneous papers, 1915-1973, of Mabel Shaw, including her correspondence (1930-1973) and circular letters; personal papers; prayer texts and poems; reports, including Decenial Report on the Women's and Girl's Work in Mbereshi (1930-1940); and miscellaneous photographs from Mbereshi.

Photocopies of papers, 1891-1892 and undated, of Walter Collins, comprising his journal, 1891-1892, covering his journey by sea and the overland journey to Lake Victoria, and his work around Kampala delivering goods to various missions, also describing the political situation and fighting between tribes, and the homeward journey; notebook, 1891, containing poems by Collins inspired by Biblical verses; undated notebook containing notes by Collins on Uganda; two books produced by the Church Missionary Society, 1892 and undated, on Uganda and its history, including published sketches; undated printed songs or hymns.

Manuscript journals, Aug 1946-Sep 1948, of Philip Rounds, including the period while he worked for the teak merchants McGregor & Co in Toungoo, Burma (Myanmar), containing detailed daily entries including religious reflections, his preparations and journey to Burma, work and life there, and trip home via Africa, also including notes of letters sent and finances. Also includes miscellaneous inserted ephemera, some undated, including invitations, advertisements for hotels, and press cuttings.

Typescript copy, 1991, by Elizabeth Mardel of journal (1891) of William Walmsley, chronicling his journey to Zanzibar, everyday events, his impressions of customs and life in Zanzibar, including slavery, and his illness. The diary stops a few days before Walmsley's death.

Typescript transcripts [1992] of circular letters of Harry Scott sent to relatives and friends in England while missionary at Murray Island, Torres Straits, New Guinea, 1884-1887, with his later additions [1935-1936], giving a detailed account of life there, including his missionary work and Biblical translations, the landscape, and local customs.

Papers, 1835-c1975, of and relating to the Rev Thomas Pyne, comprising correspondence and accounts, 1839-1845 and undated, documenting Pyne's guardianship of (John) Ossoo Ansah and (William) Quanti Massah in England (1840), associated expenses, and aspects of their trip including invitations to dinner, entrance permits to London Zoo and to George Heriot's Hospital [School], Edinburgh, undated plan of a breakwater, Falmouth(?), undated print of Brighton Pavilion and other ephemera relating to places visited, photographs of paintings of the princes, and various visiting cards; other correspondence and papers of Pyne, 1835-1873 and undated, including printed Thanksgiving sermon preached at St Peter's Church, New York, including anti-slavery sentiments, 1835, pamphlets by Pyne on peace, 1844 and undated, and astronomy, 1852, a letter from L'Institut d'Afrique to Pyne concerning honorary membership, 1843, miscellaneous pamphlets relating to African affairs, and a photograph of Pyne, 1870; correspondence, notes, transcripts from original documents, and other papers, 1950-1953, c1975 and undated, concerning Pyne and his papers, and the two princes, including their portraits.

Photocopies of 13 letters, 1882-1899, from Alexander Russell to his sister, Barbara Russell, recounting trips on missionary and other vessels in the South Pacific, including visits to Sydney (Australia) and Fiji.

Papers of Sir Laurence Kirwan, 1933-1998, dating mainly from the 1960s-1970s, comprising collected cuttings, offprints and publications, 1933-1995, including newspapers, magazines, and academic journals, on archaeology and related subjects in Africa, largely east Africa, and Arabia, including some by Sir Laurence Kirwan; slides and photographs, 1960s-1970s (some undated), showing artefacts, archaeological finds and other subjects relating to archaeology, including some from Kirwan's tours of Ethiopia, east Africa and Arabia; papers, 1967-1974, including lecture notes, maps, itineraries, correspondence and printed information, relating to a series of lectures delivered as a guest lecturer on a Swan's tour of Ethiopia (1973); miscellaneous reports and correspondence, 1997-1998, relating to Kirwan's report on archaeology in Aden (1939); notebook [1960s] on the excavations at Axum (Aksum), including miscellaneous inserted notes, photographs, correspondence and maps, 1960-1974 (some undated).

Papers, 1919-1979, of and relating to Emily Godfrey, comprising a record of her missionary work and biographical information, 1921-1978; copy certificate as founder member of the Royal College of Nursing, undated; her testimony when applying to be a missionary, 1919, and typescript copy; letters and papers, 1919-1921, relating to her appointment by the Primitive Methodist Missionary Society (PMMS); PMMS congratulations on receiving the Royal Red Cross medal for war work, undated; printed papers relating to Methodist activities, mainly in England, some relating to addresses by Emily Godfrey, 1921-1937; printed and typescript reports on her work in Nigeria, 1922-[1934]; letters received from various correspondents, 1922-1954, the subjects including her missionary work and retirement (1944); letters, 1942-1946, from German missionaries who were interned in Nigeria and England during World War Two; papers relating to pensions, 1937-1964; leaflet appealing for funds for the Methodist Hospital, Ama Achara, Nigeria, c1976; typescript accounts by Emily Godfrey of her work in Nigeria, one made from a tape recording (since lost), undated; printed and typescript items on her death, including obituaries and a letter of condolence, 1978-1979.

Cassette copies and transcripts of recordings of unedited interviews assembled, 1972-1974, for the radio series 'Plain Tales from the Raj', including material not included in the broadcast programmes, and comprising c200 hours of material. The 82 subjects interviewed, including men, women, adults and children, lived and worked in India from the late 19th century to Independence (1947) and the interviews cover a wide range of civilian and military experience between 1876 and 1949. Military personnel range from the Commander in Chief of the Army in India to Army privates. Civil servants of various ranks and members of the business and commercial world, for example tea planters, are also included. Women mainly comprise wives and daughters, but also include a few nurses and governesses. The project covered the lives of the British in India and, although the material touches upon the effect of the Raj on India and its indigenous inhabitants, only a small number of Indians and Eurasians were interviewed. Subjects covered include accommodation and living conditions; daily routine; social life and recreation; health and sanitation; the effects of India postings on family life; relations between the British, other Europeans, Indians and Eurasians in social and work environments; events such as riots and earthquakes; the fauna and landscape of India; and political events. Full typescript transcripts (including inaccuracies in some cases) exist for most, but not all, of the recordings.

Papers, 1918-1978, of and relating to Malcolm Guthrie, including personal material; field data, grammar and vocabulary notes on over 180 Bantu languages (major section on Bemba); notes on his comparative work on the Bantu languages; early drafts of the four volumes of Comparative Bantu; and general notes on the features of Bantu grammar.