̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - Allen Packwood

Churchill Archives Centre shares digitised treasures to celebrate 50 years

ta385 — Tue, 25 Jul 2023 11:10:39 +0000

̽��ֱ��Churchill Archives Centre is a world-leading collection of 20th century history, holding a wide-range of documents generated by more than 570 political, military & scientific luminary figures from the Churchill era and beyond. To mark its 50th anniversary, the Centre has launched a free Access Portal which allows researchers to explore archival material which is being shared online for the first time.

This material includes Clementine Churchill's photo albums, plus a selection of her letters to Winston Churchill, such as one hurriedly written in crayon in 1914, where Clementine begged Winston not to fly (Image 8 of 48). Like many of her letters, she signed it off with a doodle of a cat.

̽��ֱ��Access Portal is open to all, and a useful resource for researchers, teachers and anyone looking to examine British history from mid-twentieth century onward. It provides a window into the collections of the Archives Centre, which includes digital images of documents, photo albums, correspondence, alongside oral history interviews and video footage.

̽��ֱ��Access Portal also shares a lifetime of letters from Sarah Churchill to her mother, Clementine, from childhood and schooldays to her career as a dancer and actress, including a wartime interlude in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force when she accompanied her father, Winston, to the Yalta Conference.

Visitors can also find a selection of private diaries penned by diplomat Alexander Cadogan, dating from the 1930s and 40s, where he wrote about colleagues and foreign policy making in characteristically brisk and candid style.

Recordings of the biennial Roskill Lecture, a lecture series, have also been added to the Portal. Covering topics such as international security, foreign policy, war, public policy, and the history of science, the series was initially set up to honour the Senior Research Fellow and historian, Captain Stephen Roskill, who played a vital role in setting up the Archives Centre.

They are joined by over 100 podcast interviews with female MPs, which were originally broadcast on Women’s Parliamentary Radio, covering subjects such as the centenary of women’s suffrage to debates over Brexit.

Over the coming months, the team will be adding more material to the Access Portal, which supplements a range of other freely access historical documents, including documents relating to Margaret Thatcher via the Margaret Thatcher Foundation, as well as classroom-ready resources centered on the Churchill era via the Churchill Archives for Schools website.

Professor Dame Athene Donald, Master of Churchill College, said: “Since joining the College, I have found the Archives Centre to be a special place, offering so much to individuals at every stage of their career. I am grateful to all here at Churchill College who have contributed to its inception, growth and continuing success. It is a truly unique resource for the study of so many aspects of our recent past.”

Allen Packwood, Director of the Churchill Archives Centre said: “ ̽��ֱ��main challenge of our first half century was to create something sustainable: to gather the collections, to build the Archives Centre and to put in place the funding to secure the operation for the longer term. Going forward, we will need to be imaginative in growing access, widening participation, embracing new technologies and providing more remote services. In that sense, the Access Portal is a very real link between the past and the future, a vital first step in helping to take the raw material of history to a wider audience.”

̽��ֱ��Access Portal launch is part of a year of celebrations to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Churchill Archives Centre. ̽��ֱ��team have also launched its ‘50 stories for 50 years’ series which spotlights stories told by researchers, staff, and volunteers about their experiences at the Archives Centre.

̽��ֱ��highlight of the Anniversary celebrations will be a free 2-day conference on the 25th and 26th September 2023, open to the public and featuring a range of high-profile speakers and researchers. It will be held in-person and streamed online and will explore the history of the Archives Centre, its impact, and what the future of Archives might look like. More information and booking a place.

Letters sent to Winston Churchill by his wife are among an array of fascinating historic papers and recordings which can now be explored via the Archive Centre's new Access Portal.

̽��ֱ��Access Portal is a very real link between the past and the future, a vital first step in helping to take the raw material of history to a wider audience

Allen Packwood

Jane Liechty photography

Entrance to the Churchill Archives Centre

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – as here, on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

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̽��ֱ��archive of Professor Sir Robert Edwards, IVF pioneer, reveals his personal struggles: for recognition of an unsung female colleague and fair access to treatment for all

ehs33 — Sun, 09 Jun 2019 23:01:00 +0000

̽��ֱ��private papers of IVF pioneer, Professor Sir Robert Edwards, opened to the public at Cambridge ̽��ֱ��’s Churchill Archives Centre on Monday 10 June 2019.

Robert Edwards worked for over a decade on the research that led to the success of in vitro fertilisation to treat infertility. ̽��ֱ��big breakthrough came with the birth of the world’s first IVF baby, Louise Brown in 1978. Thereafter he established the world’s first IVF clinic, Bourn Hall in Cambridgeshire, in 1980. Throughout he worked alongside medical doctor, Patrick Steptoe, and clinical embryologist Jean Purdy. Since then it has been estimated that six million babies have been born through IVF all over the world.

Edwards was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2010 for the development of in vitro fertilisation, and was knighted in 2011. Neither award can be made posthumously, so acknowledgment came too late for Purdy and Steptoe who died in 1985 and 1988 respectively - but the discovery was a team effort.

Newly released letters from Edwards’ archive show his personal battle as he repeatedly fought for official recognition of Jean Purdy’s equal contribution towards the discovery of IVF. Her work as a woman in science has gone largely unrecognised when compared to Edwards and Steptoe.

In correspondence released between Edwards and Oldham Health Authority in the lead up to the unveiling of an official plaque to mark the birth of Louise Brown, Edwards argues numerous times for the inclusion of Jean Purdy’s name to sit alongside his own and that of Patrick Steptoe.

He writes arguing for fair recognition and states that Jean Purdy ‘travelled to Oldham with me for 10 years and contributed as much as I did to the project. Indeed, I regard her as an equal contributor to Patrick Steptoe and myself.’ Unfortunately his repeated appeals fell on deaf ears and Oldham Health Authority did not take on board his request and her name went unrecognised on the official plaque.

Purdy joined Edwards in 1968 and worked closely with him, travelling to California in 1969 to undertake key research on follicular fluid. She continued to be instrumental in enabling the continued trials of IVF and in locating and organizing the adaptation of Bourn Hall as the world’s first IVF clinic. Meanwhile, as letters reveal, the National Health Service repeatedly declined to support IVF work, despite the numerous ways Edwards presented the case.

In a letter dated November 1974, Edwards writes to the Department of Health pointing out, ‘Our major concern is to help the many patients who could benefit by the rapid development of this method, for it could avoid many operations now carried out, which could become unnecessary.’

Again in Oct 1981 he writes to the Local Health Authority questioning the ethics and legality of withholding treatment because of lack of financial support: ‘…these patients have paid their contribution to the NHS and, now they want treatment, they are not being allowed to receive it. I cannot allow this situation to rest as it is, especially since, at long last you have been advised that it is professionally accepted that our approach offers the only hope of conception for some women… I cannot see any excuse for excluding one group of patients from the correct form of treatment.’

Cambridgeshire Health Authority replied to Edwards’ appeals for support, ‘Our current allocation is insufficient to maintain the service that we already provide. There is, therefore, no way in which the Health Authority can meet the expense of NHS patients attending your clinic.’

With the ethics and funding of IVF and other assisted reproductive technologies still open for discussion today - such as the cut in NHS funding for IVF treatment- the Edwards archive could add valuable context to the debate.

̽��ֱ��papers will be invaluable for researchers in the history of science, but also in the history of ethics, social implications of medical developments, and political and media history. Edwards engaged with the ethics of IVF and there is a wealth of information in the archive on these matters.

̽��ֱ��cataloguing of the Edwards' papers has been generously funded by Wellcome.

Sir Robert Edwards' archive catalogue is available online

Researchers can book an appointment at Churchill Archives Centre to view the papers.

Robert Edwards Archive

IVF trio with Louise Brown and her mother at 1st Birthday

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – as here, on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

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1989: ̽��ֱ��year Margaret Thatcher’s apparent mastery slipped away

ehs33 — Sat, 09 Mar 2019 00:00:01 +0000

Forty thousand pages of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s personal and political papers from 1989 are being opened to the public at the Churchill Archives Centre and online at the website of the Margaret Thatcher Foundation.

In 1989, the arrival of Alan Walters had an incendiary effect. Chancellor of the Exchequer Nigel Lawson's fundamental disagreements with the views and actions of Walters, Margaret Thatcher’s economics adviser, led to the watershed resignation of both men on 26 October 1989.

Lawson’s decision to resign after over six years as a key figure in Thatcher’s government was a pivotal moment in the events which would lead to the downfall of the Prime Minister.
For the first time, Thatcher’s extraordinary handwritten letter to Walters – written in the aftermath of both their resignations – gives profound insight and confirms Thatcher’s true sentiment and affiliation to Walters over Lawson as her Chancellor, a split that divided the Conservative party.

Across four pages Thatcher underlines her words and states she was "truly appalled" at Lawson’s request to sack Walters for undermining his authority and regarded it as "totally unjust and shocking". Her gratitude to Walters is evident saying “the work you did during our first administration was the foundation of our later success’ adding “I fervently believe you’re right”.
Thatcher bemoans the legacy of her longstanding Chancellor in a way she could not do in public. “As you know he has left us with high inflation, a very high trade deficit, not to mention the very high interest rate”.

Contained in an off the record interview with Kelvin McKenzie Editor of the Sun, released for the first time, her emotional reaction to events is powerfully present. She recalls her children’s consoling phone calls on the evening of the Lawson resignation – “Mum are you alright? don’t worry, you know we love you”. She describes their support as “meaning more than anything in the world”.

This event, combined with the highlights of the previously unseen material, opened the door to the end of Thatcherism before another year was out. Documents released for the first time include:

Startling confidential reports on the effects of the poll tax – some only sent to the Prime Minister – forewarning her of its unfairness and adverse impact on Tory marginal seats, including Thatcher’s own Finchley constituency. Thatcher was clearly warned from numerous sources about the ratio of losers to winners amongst Conservative voters and the consequent likely political damage, yet despite all this, pressed ahead. This flagship Thatcherite policy, would not be possible to abolish while Thatcher was still Prime Minister;
Thatcher’s private notes on the 'Madrid ambush', the ultimatum from Nigel Lawson and Geoffrey Howe that she issue a date to join the ERM goes to the very heart of the story of the Thatcher government in its last years – both men had once been among her closes political allies;
Mrs Thatcher’s personal fondness for health cures in the form of her correspondence with the novelist Barbara Cartland offering her “golden acorns”, perhaps nutrimental supplements she might have taken in combination with living off black coffee and describing eggs and bacon as “quite the best thing, British peoples culinary gift to the world”;
̽��ֱ��first use of the ‘royal we' in Thatcher's statement to the press on the birth of her first grandchild, Mark Thatcher's son Michael caused huge negative public reaction. ̽��ֱ��term had previously been restricted to royalty. Its use by a mere prime minister alongside Thatcher's imperious personal manner were the source of considerable disdain at the time. Thatcher's apparent conceit led to her being described as “a legend in her own imagination”.

Allen Packwood, Director of the Churchill Archives Centre, said: “Whatever our politics we have to recognise Margaret Thatcher as a major historical figure. ̽��ֱ��material released today will further inform our understanding of these historic events during 1989. There is huge research interest in her as a political figure and in the events of her life and premiership, the material will inform further study, discussion and debate.”

̽��ֱ��Churchill Archives Centre is open to researchers five days a week for about fifty weeks each year. ̽��ֱ��Centre provides free access for all potential visitors, subject only to prior booking of a space in its reading room.

̽��ֱ��archive can be viewed at the Margaret Thatcher Foundation website and will be made available to view at the Churchill Archives Centre from Monday 11 March.

Whatever our politics we have to recognise Margaret Thatcher as a major historical figure

Allen Packwood

Reproduced by kind permission of the family of Srdja Djukanovic

Margaret Thatcher 1989

Yes

How Churchill Waged War

sjr81 — Wed, 21 Nov 2018 09:24:05 +0000

Read our full Shorthand story here.

A newly-published book by Churchill Archives Centre Director Allen Packwood illuminates the agonising decisions faced by the Prime Minister during some of the darkest and most uncertain moments of the Second World War.

Imperial War Museum

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Cambridge people named in the Queen's Birthday Honours list 2016

pbh25 — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 21:32:00 +0000

Polly Courtice becomes a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for services to sustainability leadership.

Founding Director of the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, Dame Polly has built and led a team which has over 25 years catalysed significant action towards more sustainable practice in business and government.

In response to the announcement Dame Polly said: “This is a wonderful recognition of the work of the Institute, its brilliant and dedicated staff and associates, and its global network of over 7,000 alumni. I’m delighted to be recognised for having built an institute that in many ways has pioneered leadership efforts to tackle global sustainability challenges.”

“In recent decades there has been an important shift in the way many businesses have come to view their impact on society and the environment and we are glad to have played a small part in that.

Professor Susan Gathercole, Director of the Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at the Medical Research Council is appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to Psychology and Education.

Gathercole is a cognitive psychologist with interests in memory and learning including the causes of specific learning difficulties in children and how they might be overcome. She has held academic posts at Lancaster, Bristol, Durham, and York. Since 2011 she has been Director of the Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at Cambridge and holds a professorial chair at the ̽��ֱ��. Current projects examine the cognitive mechanisms of working memory and how they might be modified through training, and investigate through a new research clinic the dimensions of cognition and the brain that can be impaired in children with problems in attention, learning and memory. She is a Fellow of the British Academy.

Gathercole said: “I’m delighted and surprised in equal parts. It’s wonderful to receive this recognition of research that crosses the boundary between psychology and education. Engaging with education professionals who work on a daily basis with struggling learners has enriched the research of our excellent team immeasurably, and we will continue to build on this in coming years with the aim of improving children’s learning.”

Allen Packwood, Director of the Churchill Archives Centre at Churchill College since 2002 and a Fellow of the College is also appointed OBE for services to archives and scholarship.

Packwood, who is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, was co-curator of 'Churchill and the Great Republic' at the Library of Congress and of 'Churchill: ̽��ֱ��Power of Words' at the Morgan Library in New York. He has lectured extensively on Churchill in the United Kingdom and the United States.

He said: “Like all recipients I feel honoured, delighted and surprised in equal measure. I would certainly not be receiving this award without the support of all my wonderful colleagues in the Archives Centre, College and ̽��ֱ��”.

Fiona Duncan, Departmental Administrator at the Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience receives the British Empire Medal for services to higher education. Having worked in higher education since 1982, she has worked in the same department for 20 years, contributing to the merging of the Departments of Anatomy and Physiology to create the current structure.

Commenting on the award she said: “When I received the letter from the Cabinet Office I thought it was probably something about the Referendum, but I was delighted and surprised in equal measure to read its contents. This is an interesting and varied job. I am fortunate to work with academic and support staff, whom I like as people and respect as colleagues. They are committed to delivering world-class teaching and research.”

Raspberry Pi Founder Dr Eben Upton receives an CBE for services to business and education.

Several members of the ̽��ֱ�� have been named in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list announced today.

I am fortunate to work with academic and support staff, whom I like as people and respect as colleagues. They are committed to delivering world-class teaching and research.

Fiona Duncan, Departmental Administrator at the Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience

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Diaries of Captain Scott's widow secured by Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Library

sjr81 — Tue, 26 Apr 2016 16:30:26 +0000

Kathleen Scott, the sculptor and widow of Captain Robert Falcon Scott, married journalist and politician Hilton Young, 1st Baron Kennet, in 1922. Her papers include diaries covering a period of over 35 years, records of her sculpture and exhibitions as well as other writings. These include a major series of significant letters from some of the most distinguished and powerful politicans, writers, artists and explorers of her generation.

Of particular importance are the papers and letters relating to her first husband Captain Robert Falcon Scott. Together with her diaries covering the period of Scott's last Antarctic expedition, the material is of the utmost interest for our understanding of the legendary explorer.

̽��ֱ��papers also reflect the fascinating careers, interests and connections of Lord and Lady Kennet and are of importance for the study of British military and political history, as well as of literary and cultural attitudes and concerns during the first half of the 20th century.

Edward Hilton Young was a British politician and writer. He embarked on a career in financial journalism, working for various papers including ̽��ֱ��Economist and the Morning Post prior to serving for the Royal Navy in World War One, where he was awarded a Distinguished Service Order and Distinguished Service Cross.

He entered Parliament in 1915 as a Liberal MP, becoming Financial Secretary to the Treasury in 1921. After the 1922 election, he became Chief Whip for Lloyd George's Liberal Party and in 1926 joined the Conservatives, serving as Minister for Export Credits and then as Minister of Health. In 1935, Hilton Young accepted a peerage as Lord Kennet of the Dene. ̽��ֱ��archive at Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Library includes his wartime diaries and logbooks and his political papers and correspondence.

Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Librarian Anne Jarvis said: “It’s a particular pleasure, as we celebrate our 600th Anniversary, to welcome this exceptional archive to the ̽��ֱ�� Library. Lord and Lady Kennet led fascinating lives and these papers will be of great interest to researchers.”

Also accepted were the papers of Wayland Hilton Young, 2nd Baron Kennet (1923-2009) which have been allocated to ̽��ֱ��Churchill Archives Centre at Churchill College.

Wayland Young’s papers detail his political career in both the Labour and Social Democratic parties. ̽��ֱ��files include working drafts, fragments of memoirs, notes for speeches and articles, and substantial correspondence and papers for Europe Plus Thirty, the EEC project he chaired in 1974-1975 forecasting how Europe would look in 30 years.

Allen Packwood, Director of ̽��ֱ��Churchill Archives Centre, said: “ ̽��ֱ��Churchill Archives Centre holds the personal papers of figures from across the political spectrum, and is pleased to offer a home to Wayland Young, who was an independent thinker and a lifelong campaigner.”

̽��ֱ��acceptance of the collected material settled £402,500 of tax. ̽��ֱ��Acceptance in Lieu scheme is administered by the Arts Council. ̽��ֱ��Acceptance in Lieu Panel, chaired by Edward Harley, advises Ministers on whether property offered in lieu is of suitable importance, offered at a value which is fair to both nation and taxpayer and whether an allocation wish or condition is appropriate. AIL enables taxpayers to pay inheritance tax by transferring important works of art and other important heritage objects into public ownership. ̽��ֱ��taxpayer is given the full open market value of the item, which then becomes the property of a public museum, archive or library. In the last decade the scheme has bought over £250m of cultural property into public collections.

̽��ֱ��diaries of Captain Scott’s widow – and the papers of her second husband, Lord Kennet – will be made accessible to researchers at Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Library following their acceptance in lieu of inheritance tax.

Lord and Lady Kennet led fascinating lives and these papers will be of great interest to researchers.

Anne Jarvis

̽��ֱ��National Library of New Zealand

Kathleen Scott pictured with her husband Captain Robert Falcon Scott, 1910

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Churchill Papers added to UNESCO’s list of the world’s greatest cultural treasures

sjr81 — Mon, 30 Nov 2015 01:00:01 +0000

Held at Cambridge ̽��ֱ��’s Churchill College, the Churchill Papers contain a priceless collection of more than one million documents written by or belonging to the former British Prime Minister, who was born 141 years ago today.

̽��ֱ��Churchill Papers now joins treasures such as the UK’s Magna Carta, France’s Bayeux Tapestry and Iran’s Persian epic poem, the Shahnameh in being added to the Memory of the World Register.

̽��ֱ��Memory of the World Project is an international initiative to safeguard the documentary heritage of humanity against collective amnesia, neglect, the ravages of time and climatic conditions, and wilful and deliberate destruction. It calls for the preservation of valuable archive, library and private collections all over the world, as well as the reconstitution of dispersed or displaced documentary heritage, and the increased accessibility to and dissemination of these items.

Sir Winston Churchill has become a global icon and his stand against fascism in 1940 is widely seen as a critical moment in 20th century history. ̽��ֱ��archive in Cambridge contains a wealth of unique drafts, letters and papers that are not duplicated elsewhere.

Allen Packwood, Director of the Churchill Archives Centre, said: “ ̽��ֱ��archive of Sir Winston Churchill is unique and irreplaceable. It is the evidence that underpins the story of one of the most remarkable leaders of the modern era, whose stand against fascism in 1940 helped shape the world of today.

“It includes his original annotated notes for his famous international broadcasts and correspondence with the great politicians, military leaders, authors, scientists and thinkers of his age.”

Churchill’s post-1945 papers were passed to Churchill College in 1969 by his widow Clementine Churchill. ̽��ֱ��college built and opened the Churchill Archives Centre in 1973 and Sir Winston’s pre-1945 papers were transferred to the Centre from Oxford’s Bodleian Library in 1974-75.

̽��ֱ��archive allows unrivalled access into the life, times and mind of Churchill; from his early correspondence with his family, right through to letters from the 1950s where he called for a summit with the Soviet Union.

But it is the material related to his stand against Hitler and fascism that represents the heart of the collection. Among the notes and drafts for his many great speeches are his annotated copies of his ‘finest hour’ speech in June 1940.

Packwood said: “ ̽��ֱ��page is covered with his handwritten annotations in red and blue ink. It highlights how much care and attention Churchill put into this speech. He knew how much was riding on this. ̽��ֱ��country was facing a huge national crisis. France had capitulated and Britain was facing the prospect of attack and invasion.

“As you move from first draft to finished speaking notes the speech undergoes a transformation. ̽��ֱ��final note is set out in a blank verse format, set out like the Book of Psalms. It looks like poetry, it brings it to life, it gives him, I think, the rhythm, it enables that great Churchill oratory. Nowhere is that more evident in this speech than in the very final page, that great crescendo.”

All images are reproduced with the permission of the Sir Winston Churchill Archive Trust. Images of the speech and childhood letter are also copyright of the Estate of Winston S Churchill courtesy of Curtis Brown, London.

Other treasures of the archive include his speeches on the rise of Nazism and Munich in 1938, his opposition of communist domination of Eastern Europe in 1946 – including the speech where he coined the term ‘iron curtain’ – and letters where he wrestled with the destructive power of the hydrogen bomb.

̽��ֱ��Churchill Papers also contain material relating to political reform and social change in Britain, British policy in India, the shaping of the Middle East and Europe and the rise of the United States as a global power.

As well as his letters to US Presidents Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower, the archive holds letters to Charles De Gaulle, Stalin, six British Prime Ministers, Gandhi, Nehru and writers, painters and actors such as HG Wells, Walter Sickert and Laurence Olivier.

Dr Alice Prochaska, Chair of the Sir Winston Churchill Archive Trust, which owns the papers for the nation, said: “It is a fantastic privilege and a very great pleasure to see the Sir Winston Churchill Archive inscribed at as part of the Memory of the World. This amazing documentary resource brings benefit to scholars, schools and citizens: a legacy to future generations from one of the world’s greatest leaders; and a source of endless fascination and inspiration for students and citizens in every nation.”

Winston Churchill’s vast archive – including his wartime speeches, letters to Stalin and three US Presidents – has been added to UNESCO’s International Memory of the World Register.

̽��ֱ��archive of Sir Winston Churchill is unique and irreplaceable.

Allen Packwood

reproduced with the permission of the Sir Winston Churchill Archive Trust

Sir Winston Churchill, 1945

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. For image use please see separate credits above.

Yes

Archive of Margaret Thatcher acquired for the nation

sjr81 — Thu, 18 Jun 2015 14:40:17 +0000

Written over Easter 1983, almost exactly a year after the Argentine invasion, the handwritten memoir gives profound insights into her handling of the war, particularly her relationships with colleagues and allies including the United States. Probably the single most significant historical document Thatcher ever wrote, her emotional reaction to events is also powerfully present.

̽��ֱ��memoir, along with other personal papers, now complement and complete the rich materials already gifted to the Nation and held at the Churchill Archives Centre, Churchill College, Cambridge.

Centre Director Allen Packwood said: “ ̽��ֱ��Churchill Archives Centre is delighted that this important material has been secured in perpetuity, and that it will form part of Lady Thatcher’s personal archive, sitting alongside the papers that she donated during her lifetime. As the reaction to this news shows, there is huge research interest in her as a political figure and in the events of her life and premiership, and the material accepted today will inform further study, discussion and debate. It is an important part of the story of our recent past.”

̽��ֱ��papers accepted complement and complete the rich materials already gifted to the Nation. In 1997, just over six years after leaving office, Baroness Thatcher generously gifted the bulk of her personal and political files to the Margaret Thatcher Archive Trust, stressing that she had always wanted her archive to stay in the United Kingdom and to be a resource for students and scholars.

̽��ֱ��collection deposited in Cambridge contains material from her earliest life right the way through her time as an MP (1959-92), Conservative party leader (1975-90), Prime Minister (1979-90), and beyond. She kept possession of some key personal papers and of much post 1990 material which is now accepted in lieu and which completes the archive.

Sir Peter Bazalgette, Chair, Arts Council England, said: "Whatever our politics we have to recognise Margaret Thatcher as a major historical figure. Her papers will now join those of Churchill and be available to scholars of the 20th century."

̽��ֱ��collection accepted in lieu of tax contains her most personal papers relating to crucial episodes in her time as Prime Minister and include:A second previously unpublished memoir gives her personal account of the Fontainebleau European summit in June 1984 which finally settled the five year battle to reform the EC budget and “get her money back”.

A third memoir tells of her visit to Moscow for the funeral of Soviet President Chernenko in March 1985, where she renewed her acquaintance with his successor - Mikhail Gorbachev.

Other significant items include:

̽��ֱ��final draft of her remarks in Downing Street when she became Prime Minister in May 1979 – it seems she had planned to talk of the ‘song’ of St. Francis, perhaps because she herself was uneasy with the idea of a prayer.
̽��ֱ��text from which she delivered her ‘Not for turning’ speech at the Oct 1980 Conservative Party Conference.

Many other personal papers on the Falklands, most of which have already been released within the archive – including Lord Carrington’s letter explaining his decision to resign as Foreign Secretary; her handwritten notes on conversations with Harold Macmillan, US Secretary of State Al Haig; reports from the Chief Whip on Conservative backbench doubts about the war.

Her engagement diaries for 1952-59, 1961-62 & 1964. In addition there is a quantity of personal and political papers she collected between 1979 and 1990.

Access to the papers accepted will follow existing arrangements for the core collection of Thatcher papers held by the Churchill Archives Centre. ̽��ֱ��papers already donated by Margaret Thatcher are generally being opened in parallel with official material held at the UK’s National Archives. Currently the majority of papers up to the end of 1984 are available, subject only to occasional closures recommended by the Cabinet Secretary for sensitive official material and any closures necessary to comply with the Data Protection Act.

Certain papers accepted (generally those dated before 1985) are already available at the Archives Centre and online at the Thatcher Foundation’s website. Further materials will continue to be added to the website on their release.

Later materials accepted are still being sorted and catalogued but include significant materials relating to the 1990 Conservative Leadership election.

̽��ֱ��acceptance of Margaret Thatcher’s papers settled £1,013,250 of tax.

̽��ֱ��relevant papers will be freely available at Churchill Archives Centre with selections online at www.margaretthatcher.org, the website of the Margaret Thatcher Foundation.

Margaret Thatcher’s previously unpublished memoir of the Falklands War has been acquired for the nation - after Arts Council England today announced the acceptance in lieu of inheritance tax of papers from the estate of the former Prime Minister.

There is huge research interest in her as a political figure.

Allen Packwood

Margaret Thatcher Foundation

Margaret Thatcher

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. For image use please see separate credits above.

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