GB 0102 PP MS 56 - Noakes, Diane

4 boxes

GB 0102 PP MS 56 Created 1911-1984 Collection (fonds) 4 boxes Noakes , Mary Elizabeth Diane , 1911-1983 , née Bixby , political activist
Mary Elizabeth (Diane) Noakes (née Bixby) was born on 30 December 1911 in Mile End, East London. She had a number of secretarial jobs, including working for the Toynbee Hall Settlement. In 1941 she volunteered into the Women's Royal Air Force, where she carried out welfare, educational and administrative duties, and attained the position of Sergeant. After the War she trained as a teacher at Borthwick Teacher Training College, London, and worked from 1947-1949 at Peckham Secondary School for Girls teaching commercial subjects.

In 1951, Diane Noakes was invited by the Ugandan African Farmers' Union to help resolve disputes. She was already Secretary of the Working Party of the Congress of Peoples Against Imperialism (later amalgamated with other organisations to become the Movement for Colonial Freedom), and went to Uganda in this capacity. She reached agreement over cotton ginning and established the Abalini Co-operative for farmers; she established a school and clinic, and a weaving factory was also set up for women. Although the Abalini Cooperative folded, the Abesigwa Coffee Co. Ltd. was established. In 1965 Diane Noakes was appointed to the paid position of Executive Secretary of the Central Council of the Indian Associations in Uganda. She was also involved with the establishment of the Uganda Children's Welfare Society.

Following her return from Uganda in 1958, she gained employment at the Kellogg International Corporation in London, and advanced to the position of Assistant Metallurgist. Socially, she was a member of the Labour Party and Political Education Officer for Thornton Ward, and was involved with the running of the Kellogg Corporation photography club. She retired in 1971 and bought a house near Shap, in the Lake District, where amongst other things she campaigned for 'Cumbrians for Peace'. Diane Noakes died on 21 November 1983, following a period of illness.

Donated in January 1995.

Diaries, correspondence, photographs and papers, 1911-1984, of Diane Noakes. The majority of the papers relate to her life in England, but some relate to her work in Uganda (1951-1958).

The collection has been arranged into the following sections: diaries; correspondence; materials relating to Uganda; Labour Party papers; miscellaneous papers; and photographs.

Unrestricted.

No publication without written permission. Apply to archivist in the first instance.
English

Unpublished handlist.

The School of Oriental and African Studies holds records of the Movement for Colonial Freedom (now Liberation) (Ref: MCF).

16 May 2000 Abesigwa Coffee Company , Uganda African cultures Child welfare Colonial countries Diaries Documents East Africa Educational personnel England Europe Information sources Internal politics Kellogg International Corporation Labour Party Literary forms and genres Literature London National cultures Noakes , Mary Elizabeth Diane , 1911-1983 , née Bixby , political activist x Noakes , Diane x Bixby , Diane x Bixby , Mary Elizabeth Diane Nonfiction Photographs Political behaviour Political leadership Political participation Political parties Political sociology Political systems Politicians Primary documents Prose Shap Social welfare Teachers Travel Travel abroad Uganda Uganda Children's Welfare Society UK Visual materials Wandsworth Western Europe Westmorland Women in politics Women teachers WRAF , Women's Royal Air Force x Women's Royal Air Force Personnel People by occupation People

Donated in January 1995.

Diaries, correspondence, photographs and papers, 1911-1984, of Diane Noakes. The majority of the papers relate to her life in England, but some relate to her work in Uganda (1951-1958).

The collection has been arranged into the following sections: diaries; correspondence; materials relating to Uganda; Labour Party papers; miscellaneous papers; and photographs.

Unrestricted.

No publication without written permission. Apply to archivist in the first instance.

• English

• Latin

English

The School of Oriental and African Studies holds records of the Movement for Colonial Freedom (now Liberation) (Ref: MCF).

Unpublished handlist.

• English