The material in this collection is presented in the order given in the list of contents. It covers the period from the late 1920s to 1994. The bulk of the material dates from the 1950s to the 1970s and the collection is dominated by Research material. Section A, Biographical, is slight. It includes two obituaries, incomplete lists of publications, and a little material relating to Read's early career in New Zealand. There are also some undergraduate notes from Derby Technical College and University College Nottingham from the late 1920s to 1931. Section B, Research, is by far the largest component of the collection. It is also the most comprehensive, covering Read's entire research career from his postgraduate study at Caltech, work with L.H. Gray at the Mount Vernon Hospital in London and research while Hospital Physicist at the London Hospital, to his move to New Zealand in 1950 and ongoing work up to retirement in 1974. Following Read's own arrangement, the section is divided into a number of sequences. In addition to postgraduate notes from the early 1930s, there is a run of notebooks for the period 1936-1974. The notebook entries are detailed, with dates and often times of experiments, descriptions of techniques and results.
The largest component of the section is Read's chronological sequence of folders identified by year and (generally) also by topic. The contents of the folders may include manuscript data, drafts of publications, correspondence on work in progress, supply of chemicals, figures, calculations and graphs. The remainder of the section comprises Read's alphabetical sequence of folders, chiefly extensive notes on the literature; a general series of folders arranged by research topic - mostly undated research notes and data; documentation of research on E. Coli carried out with C. Cowell, 1965-1967; and a little miscellaneous material. Section C, Publications, includes documentation relating to Read's book Radiation Biology of Vicia Faba in relation to the General Problem (Oxford, 1959), a number of miscellaneous drafts and a set of his offprints 1934-1976. Section D, Lectures, is not extensive. The material, drafts and notes relating to lectures delivered, is from the 1960s. It includes 'The physics of radiotherapy and radiation biology in the early 1930s', Read's John Strong Memorial Lecture of 1961 and a sequence of numbered lectures, probably relating to a course of seminars in radiobiology delivered in 1962. Few of the other drafts have any indication of occasion upon which they were delivered or of intended audience. Section E, Societies and organisations, is also slight. There is material relating to nine, mostly New Zealand, organisations. They include the British Empire Cancer Campaign Society, with material chiefly relating to terms of employment; the New Zealand Department of Health Dominion X-ray and Radium Laboratory, with papers and correspondence on radiological equipment, supply of radioactive substances, monitoring of radioactivity etc; and the New Zealand Medical Physicists Association, of which Read was chairman in the early 1970s.
Section F, Correspondence, presents an alphabetical sequence of correspondence with individuals and companies, covering a wide range of topics, including laboratory equipment and chemicals, progress of research, visits, the launch of new journals, as well as social and personal news. There are a few extended sequences. Correspondence of particular note is that with L.H. Gray, G.E. Roth and H.C. Sutton, and companies including George W Wilton and Co Ltd, Kempthorne Prosser and Co. and W and R Smallbone Ltd. The correspondence postdates Read's relocation to New Zealand and continues up to retirement in 1974. There is also an index of correspondents.
