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.

Papers of Sir William Henry Bragg include: (Box1) pocket diaries 1924-1942 relating to day to day engagements. (Box2-Box11) Miscellaneous correspondence and notes c1898-1962, relate to various topics such as letters of praise over his lectures and addresses; his work on and observations of crystals and x-rays; his papers and books; honours and meetings. (Box26) Bragg-Rutherford correspondence 1904-1935, relates to letters and discussions between William Henry Bragg and Ernest Rutherford on his work; chairmanships; lectures and publications. (Box28) Father/Son correspondence and autobiography, relates to letters between William Henry Bragg and Lawrence Bragg discussing lectures; laboratory work; working together on research; also contains letters to other correspondents such as H Young and Kathleen Lonsdale; autobiographical notes. (Box37) A B Wood correspondence 1917-1962, relates to William Henry Bragg's work for the Admiralty and continual contact with A B Wood; also includes correspondence between Lawrence Bragg and others on biographical information 1962-1969. (Box12) Research notebooks c1900-1930 relate to his lectures, abstracts of literature and notes by Lawrence Bragg. (Box13) General files on scientific work relate to notes on sound and light; colours from plants; anthracene (under Lawrence Bragg); clay; crystals; paramagnetism and diamagnetism. (Box14-Box16) General files on crystallography relate to various aspects of his work on the subject such as, anthracene and naphthalene; proteins; liquid crystals; diamonds; calcium carbide as well as proofs on the Story of Electromagnetism; draft autobiography and biography; notes for a lecture on the solid state of matter and some correspondence on his research for the Admiralty in the First World War. (Box17) General files on research relate to studies in radioactivity; notes on topics such as focal conics, fluid crystals, nematic liquids and optics; correspondence on topics such as crystallised substances, x-rays, density values and publications. (Box18) Miscellaneous scientific notes and correspondence relate to discussions and drafts for the books Crystallography and X-Rays and Crystal Structure; discussions on other scientists' views for example Debye's 'relaxation time' argument. (Box19) Press cuttings and draft lectures relate to drafts for articles and papers as well as correspondence between Lawrence Bragg and Kathleen Lonsdale on the biography of William Henry Bragg. (Box20-Box24) Reprints 1891-1944 and synopses and reprints of lectures 1931-1942, relate to various publications by William Henry Bragg in journals such as Transactions Royal Society South Australia, Philosophical Magazine and Nature; also includes some articles about William Henry and Lawrence Bragg. (Box25) Medals 1887-1939. (Box27) Royal Institution administrative files 1923-1941, relate to correspondence regarding pupils, studentships, lectures, funding, laboratory work, bye-laws and the Bragg-Paul pulsator, an iron lung to aid artificial respiration (Robert W. Paul). (Box29) Lectures, manuscripts (MSS) and proofs 1938-1941; (Box30, Box32-Box34) lectures and articles 1920-1940; (Box31) lecture notes 1886-1888, relate to lectures, speeches and addresses given by William Henry Bragg at various locations for instance the Royal Society, the RI and those given in Adelaide, Australia, on subjects such as x-ray analysis, crystals, Count Rumford, acoustics and elementary physics; also includes proofs and drafts of articles for journals such as Nature. (Box35) Broadcast scripts 1928-1942, relate to scripts for radio broadcasts on topics such as Michael Faraday, crystals and x-rays. (Box36) Letters of condolence to Lawrence Bragg on the death of William Henry Bragg, Mar-Jun 1942. Notebooks 1904-1913, relate to topics such as radioactivity and x-ray crystallography. Newspaper cuttings (6 volumes) 1913-1940.

Papers of Sir James Dewar include: (DI-DII) correspondence and general papers relating to membership of institutions, scientific work and the views of individuals, written papers. (DIII) Biographical papers and cuttings 1911-1925 and personal and (DB11) biographical papers c.1891-1924, relate to Dewar and his work. (DIII) Photographs 1890-1894, relate to various aspects such as rooms in the Royal Institution of Great Britain (RI) and apparatus; (DE15) photographs and reprints including discourses 1875-1923 include an album of photographs of soap films, reprints of Dewar lectures at the RI, notes on courses and lectures by Dewar and others such as John Tyndall. Notebooks relate to (DIII) experimental observations 1907-1909; (DB4) notebooks on radiation, dissociation, analyses; (DB5) low temperature work 1874-1919, notebooks and other papers; (DB6) spectroscopy notebooks 1879-1912; (DB7) rare gases 1885-1923, notebooks and papers; (DB8) laboratory apparatus notebooks, 1881-1905; (DB9) notebooks and papers on bubbles, 1917-1923; (DB10) notebooks on the work of Marcellin Berthelot and Henri Moissan, 1907; (DE10) lecture notebooks and experimental notes 1869-1918, relate to topics such as hydrogen, thermal values, latent heat and decomposition of gases. Notes on lectures include (DIV) lecture notes and lists 1878-1891, relates to soap bubbles, and Christmas lectures at the RI; (DB3) lecture notes 1877-1906, relates to lectures at the RI; (DE16) lecture notes and correspondence 1885-1940, relates to lectures at the RI including Christmas lectures and correspondence of various recipients particularly with William J. Green. (DE14) Discourses 1894-1923, relate to the Friday Evening Discourses at the RI as well as other notes on experiments. Various forms of notes include: (DB1) general laboratory notes 1864-1923, on temperature, thermo electric properties, analysis of water; (DB2) sound experiments; (DV) notes on scientists and scientific work 1845-1903, relate to Dewar; (DE1) experimental notes 1904-1922 and (DE2) 1919-1923, relate to topics such as dielectric constants of liquid hydrogen, soap films, vacuum tubes, radium, low temperature and radiation from the sky; (DE3) laboratory notes 1897-1930, (DE4) 1914-1920, (DE7) pre-1900 and (DE8) 1875-1910, relate to topics such as silvered vacuum flasks, specific heats, diffusion, apparatus, charcoal absorption and spectroscopic examination of gases; (DE5) bubble measurements 1815-1822, notes and observations; (DE13) experimental notes and correspondence 1893-1922, relate to topics such as densities at low temperature, charcoal, soap film and gases; (DE6) miscellaneous experimental notes 1878-1922 and (DE9) miscellaneous notes 1871-1925, relate to topics such as critical temperature of gases, radiation curves and bubbles. (DE11) Reprints 1866-1913, relate to issues such as Friday Evening Discourses at the RI, the Michael Faraday Centenary of 1891, Christmas lectures at the RI and notes and reports on experiments. (DE12) Royal Institution 1885-1924, relates to messages and letters to, from or concerning Dewar, his role at the RI and general administrative issues. (DE17) Diplomas, drawings and graphs relate to Dewar's Fullerian Professorship at the RI, apparatus and experiments. (DG1-DG3) W. J. Green papers include correspondence, notes, photographs and notebooks on experimental discussions and personal issues such as health. (DCI) Scott controversy 1911, Gordon case 1912-1917, (DCII) early Scott case 1891-1892 and Ruhemann controversy 1890-1891, correspondence and papers. (DVI) J. E. Petavel papers - St Louis exhibition 1904, relates to the reproduction of Dewar's low temperature work for the exhibition with notes on the exhibition. (DVII) War work 1915-1918, includes letter and papers on work for the war effort, World War One.

Collections of reprints, 1891-1945, on topics including basal metabolism, temperature, radiation, hygiene, thermal adjustment and barometric pressure. These reprints were collected by Sir Charles Martin, although very little of the reprints were written by him. Many of the files contain manuscript notes by Martin, usually on other articles. Some of the reprints have been annotated.

Records of the National Radium Commission (NRC) comprising;

minutes of the National Radium Commission 1929-1948; NRC Executive Committee, 1934-1941; NRC Technical Committee, 1943-1948; NRC Statistical Committee 1933-1948; NRC Radon Committee, 1942-1948; NRC Emergency Measures Committee, 1939;

Index to minutes 1929-1943;

British X-ray and Radium Protection Committee, printed report, 1921-1937 Preliminary Report of the X-Ray and Radium Protection Committee, 1921;

The Radium Commission, a short history of its origin and work 1929-1948, compiled by F G Spear and K Griffiths, HMSO, 1951.

Papers relating to Outteridge's teaching work at King's College London, 1950-1982, notably teaching and tutorial notes on subjects mainly relating to radiation physics and radiation protection, 1965-1972; texts of lectures on radiation physics written for the Borough Polytechnic, London, 1954-1957 and 1960-[1967]; copies of exam papers for physics and electronics subjects at King's College London, 1969-1982; papers concerning research grants and students, [1970-1980], including a PhD thesis by B L Diffey on 'The spectral distribution of X rays and gamma radiation resulting from multiple Compton scattering', Jun 1973; notes on various computer programmes, and work undertaken with them, [1978]; copies of articles and lectures by Outteridge and others, notably 'A print-out system for scaling units using neon indicators' with K C Lightowlers, 'Photon fluences resulting from multiple Compton scattering' with B L Diffey of Kent and Canterbury Hospital, and articles, 1950-1957, on the conductivity and electron counting properties of diamonds, mainly by Frank Clive Champion, Wheatstone Physics Laboratory; minutes and agendas of the Faculty of Natural Science, 1970-1981, and the Non-Professional Staff Committee, 1975-1978. Papers, 1952-1954, relating to Outteridge's work at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Harwell, notably press cuttings relating to work done there, 1952-1953, a teaching manual written by Outteridge on 'The Isotope School Experimental Course in Radioisotope Techniques', 1954, and a set of articles written by Outteridge whilst at Harwell. Papers relating to Outteridge's work as Radiation Protection Officer for King's College, [1971-1988], including information files regarding his duties, 1984-1985; working papers, [1971]-1982; reports from the British Radiation Protection Association, the British Radiological Protection Association and the Institute of Radiological Protection, [1971-1986]; papers and reports, 1962-[1988], of the Association of University Radiation Protection Officers (AURPO), including rules, constitution, AGM papers and newsletters.

Minute book and an account book for the Poors Piece Charity, Hanwell.