L is for Livingstone

The next instalment in our A-Z series is ‘L’ for Livingstone, as this week we explore the papers of the Rev Isaac Livingstone (1885-1979), who was visiting Minister at Aldershot, 1907-8; Minister at Bradford, 1909-16; and Minister at Golders Green, 1916-53. He was secretary of the Union of Anglo-Jewish Preachers from 1925 onwards and a member of the council of Jews’ College, London, and of the Anglo-Jewish Association. Livingstone was Jewish representative on the National and London Council of Social Services and a member of the executive committee of the London Society of Jews and Christians.

The earliest sermons we have for Revd Livingstone date from his time at Aldershot and include his sermon delivered for the first day of Rosh Hashanah [the Jewish New Year] on Saturday 26^th September, 5669 [1908 in the Gregorian calendar]. In this sermon Livingstone reflects upon the fleeting nature of time: “We are now on the threshold of a New Year. The year that has passed gone for ever. It cannot be recalled. Time indeed flies […] ‘We are strangers and sojourners: our days on earth are as a shadow'(1 Chronicles 29:15)”. He then quotes the psalmists’ words: “As for man, his days are as grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth, for the wind passeth over it, and it is gone, and the place thereof shall know it no more” (Ps 103, 15, 16).

Livingstone notes that in the course of the preceding year, some in his audience have attended services with an ‘unmistakeable zeal and earnestness’ and he regrets that one amongst them is leaving town and will be absent in the following year. But he goes on to ask: “Will not some of those whose attendance has not been so regular make some endeavour to rectify their omission, so that the next Rosh Hashana […] has afforded an opportunity for the making of new resolutions which have been fulfilled.”

This year Rosh Hashanah will be celebrated from sundown on Sunday, 25 September 2022 and ends at nightfall on Tuesday, 27 September.

Whilst Minister at Bradford, Livingstone gave a sermon at the outset of the First World War:

“Since the last occasion on which this pulpit was occupied events have occurred which can only be described as terrible beyond words. To this momentous European crisis surely more than a word of reference should be made in our synagogues. Alas! that in this century of so-called civilisation the teachings of the pulpit – the teachings of religion, of morality, of love, of ethics are known to the dogs of war! Alas civilisations and creeds which preach the doctrine of peace and goodwill should in these days of peace conferences and peace societies, of international race congresses and arbitration leagues, find themselves compelled to settle their differences not by peaceable measures, but by killing and slaying, by bringing infinite suffering, ruin and desolation upon their fellowmen!”

Livingstone notes that although people will rejoice at each of their victories, they should not lose sight of the terrible suffering that each victory will bring. Despite his revulsion at the prospect of fighting, Livingstone (like many of his contemporaries) argued that the blame for the war was not England’s, for whom it was a defensive struggle fought for their independence and the defence of the liberty of smaller nations from ‘the tyranny of a great military despotism’. Later in his sermon Livingstone noted the shift in public opinion that had occurred in just a few weeks; whereas once some people were more ambivalent about Britain intervening in the conflict, since the invasion of Belgium almost everyone acknowledged the need to resist ‘a brutal policy which tramples upon small peoples, breaks treaties and forces the fearful business of war upon its neighbours’.

‘So You’re Being Called Up?’, advice booklet written by Basil Henriques (MS176/AJ276/21/10/18)

Livingstone asks his congregation what their duties as Jews should be amidst ‘what may prove to be the fiercest conflict in the history of the human race’. He notes that the children of Israel who have found a home in one country will be pitted against their co-religionists in another and he acknowledges that Britain has allied itself to other nations whose treatment of their own Jewish citizens has been un-exemplary. He urges the Jews of Britain to keep in mind the blessings of peace as well as the evils of war.

“And yet – in spite of all this, in spite of the anomalous position in which Jews as a race may find themselves, it is manifestly our duty to seek the welfare of the country of our own birth or adoption (as the case may be). It is obviously nothing more than a fulfilment of our rightful obligations to make what sacrifices we can on behalf of this country’s cause.”

Livingstone tells his congregation that it is a religious obligation to be loyal to the British cause without at the same time diminishing their racial pride and self-respect: “It is therefore with a large measure of gratification that we view the voluntary enrolment of hundreds of co-religionists in London, Leeds, Manchester and elsewhere, willing to fight for this country’s interests.” Livingstone mentions his visit to the provincial regiment of the Jewish Lads Brigade, many of whom had responded to the call to arms. He encourages his congregation to give to the National Relief Fund, to avoid hoarding, and to volunteer in the manufacture of garments and bandages.

He admonishes those who attack German nationals in Britain:

“England’s conflict is not with the German people. This city [Bradford] in particular owes to them a great part of the mercantile structure of the West Riding. The progress of this city has been in great measure to German energy and skill […] our patriotic fervour ought not to degenerate into a chauvinistic hatred of the peoples of other countries […] The citizens of Bradford should treat with respect those [of German extraction] who as citizens have lived peacefully here – many of them for long years, and are not guilty of any acts of enmity.”

It was during the Great War that Livingstone’s ministry moved to Golders Green in London and he in fact gave a short address, as the representative of the Jewish community, at the formal unveiling by HRH Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, of the Golders Green war memorial on 21^st April 1923.

Order of Ceremonies for the 1923 Golders Green war memorial unveiling [MS176/AJ276/1/4]

During the interwar period Livingstone became more involved with Christian-Jewish engagement and he became a member of the executive committee of the London Society of Jews and Christians. In a discussion at a meeting of the Union of Anglo-Jewish Preachers on 16^th May, 1930 the Rev Livingstone noted that although all members were committed to the idea of brotherhood and fellowship amongst faiths, there was often reticence when any definite plans for engagement between the faiths was proposed. Livingstone contests the notion that Christian-Jewish engagement was the preserve of Reform Jews only, noting that cooperation with Christians was also part of Orthodox Jewish teaching. He notes the concern in the Jewish community that some Christians used interfaith engagement as a smokescreen for missionary activity. There is, he notes, too much ignorance about Jews and Judaism amongst Christians and this tended towards prejudice and ill feeling. For his part, Livingstone had been able to remove such ignorance and prejudice by engaging with non-Jews at Rotary clubs and elsewhere.

‘One God: the way he is worshipped and served’: booklet produced by the Council of Citizens of East London and published and distributed by the Council of Christians and Jews [MS176/AJ276/22]

On Monday, 17^th February, 1930 Livingstone spoke at a mass meeting of protest against religious persecution in Russia at the King Edward Hall, Finchley. A newspaper clipping reporting on the event tells us that the meeting was crowded and unanimously passed a resolution protesting against Soviet persecution of religion. The Rev. S.F.L. Bernays, Rector of Finchley, presided. The resolution was proposed by the Rev. Clement Parsons (North Finchley Catholic Church) and was seconded by Rev. Isaac Livingstone (Golders Green Synagogue): “Mr Livingstone was telling the audience of the large number of bishops and clergy who had been put to death in Russia without trial, when a woman at the back of the hall interrupted, and she was removed.”

Livingstone noted in his speech to the crowd that there are those who argue that the Russian government is entitled to do what it likes in its own country, and that outsiders should not interfere. He likens these people to the character in the Talmud who bores a hole into the bottom of his sailing boat and tells the other passengers aboard not to interfere in his business. What befalls our fellow man affects all of us.

Flyer for a protest meeting against religious persecution in Russia, held at King Edward Hall, Finchley, 17 February 1930 [MS176/AJ276/22/23]

In September 1939 Livingstone delivered a sermon to the Golders Green Synagogue, which included a special prayer, in which reference was made to the ‘spirit of perverseness’ which had come over the rulers of Germany, to their ‘idolatry of race and blood’ and the fact that they ‘violated the boundaries of nations’. He urged his listeners to obey in the letter and spirit all the instructions given for the public safety. Echoing his sentiments of 1914, he reminds his congregants that the new war was not a war against a people, but against a system and a regime of its leaders, and against the forces of evil which they had unleashed. Services at the synagogue would cease earlier than usual in order to comply with the new blackout regulations.

In the 1940s Livingstone continued to engage in Jewish-Christian dialogue, acting as a point of contact between the two communities in their discussions of the post-War world that they hoped for. In a letter dated 28^th July 1941, Livingstone responds to the Rev Dr A.C. Craig of Hertfordshire on the ‘Social and Economic Reconstruction Statement’ circulated to Jewish ministers by the Commission of the Churches for International Friendship and Social Responsibility. Livingstone notes the reservations of one of his colleagues that, “…however spiritual and elevated their religious outlook may be, clergymen of any denomination are hardly the best builders of state systems.” This colleague also noted that the document seemed to envisage a “purely socialistic state in which private enterprise would not be allowed to exist” and that, whilst Jewish religious teaching is all in favour of opportunity and a radical improvement in social conditions, the statement goes far beyond this. Another of Livingstone’s colleagues noted that the plan of action called for in the document could only be realised through political action, and that there was a tendency in party-systems for one side to obstruct any proposal adopted by the other. Only a nation that is united behind a course of action can achieve social and economic reconstruction. 

For his part, Livingstone makes the following, rather admirable and prescient, points:

“It may well be pointed out also that leaders of other civilised communities, besides Jews and Christians, have a strong sense of the need for social justice, human rights, and the fulfilment of responsibilities, and that what is wanted is a Brotherhood of Nations – an international and even inter-religious friendship and fellowship […] there should be no racial or religious tests, nor should colour or creed become a bar.”

Livingstone lived until 1979 and was, therefore, a witness to many noble attempts to live up to these hopes expressed during the dark days of the Second World War: the creation of the United Nations (the ‘Brotherhood of Nations’), and the growth of the human rights and social justice movements, as well as attempts to build a more tolerant and ecumenical post-war world.

Text of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights issued by the UN Information Office, London, 22 December 1948 (MS176/AJ276/23)

When he wasn’t engaging directly with the political and social issues of the day, Livingstone’s sermons focused on Jewish life and practices. In a sermon given in 1953 Livingstone reflected on the meanings that can be drawn from traditional practices and rites:

“Furthermore, whilst emphasising the fact that there is a primary disciplinary value in the observance of Jewish laws and customs, which we regard as having a divine origin, it is surely helpful if the reasons for some of the observances are understood and appreciated.”

Such an approach to questions was taken by Livingstone in 1953 when, as part of an article on the theme of ‘Questions and Answers’, he called upon the reflections of other rabbis and scholars on the history and symbolism of the breaking of the glass at Jewish wedding ceremonies. He noted that the late Chief Rabbi Dr. J.H. Hertz said that ‘the glass is broken by the bridegroom as a reminder of the Destruction of Jerusalem’ and he added the following symbolisation of the rite – ‘even as one step shatters the glass, so will one act of unfaithfulness for ever destroy the happiness of the home.’

Livingstone also notes the story of Mar b. Rabina, who made a marriage feast for his son and when he observed that the Rabbis who were present were in an uproarious mood, so he seized a costly vase and broke it before them, to curb their spirits.

Livingstone was giving sermons from the pulpit at Golders Green until 1953 but thereafter he returned to give occasional sermons on special occasions, including his grandchildren’s bar mitzvahs. Amongst his papers are also the transcripts of speeches he gave to various bodies, including a speech given on 6^th July 1961 to the Conference of Anglo-Jewish Preachers, as part of a remembrance service for the 50^th anniversary of the death of the Chief Rabbi Dr Hermann Adler (1839-1911). Livingstone noted that, in 1961, he was one of only five surviving people of the 94 who were present at their first conference held in 1909, which also included Dr Adler.

Livingstone acknowledges Adler’s beautifully phrased and inspiringly delivered sermons and who set before himself the ideal of a Jewish pastor: “to mediate on the needs of his community; to be sensitive to all that might redound to Israel’s honour or besmirch its fair name”. He recollects that he first met Adler shortly after his own Bar-Mitzvah, when Harris Cohen, the Minister whom he had admired so much in his boyhood, sent him to go from Nottingham to London to be examined by Dr Adler, to see if he would be a suitable pupil for Aria College in Portsmouth. Livingstone recounts how he was inwardly shaking in awe and trembling in Adler’s presence, yet the man’s kind words of encouragement prompted him to take up the opportunities at Aria College and later at Jews’ College, London, in order to prepare him for his vocation in Jewish ministry.

Here in Southampton we hold many other collections featuring the sermons of Jewish ministers, including: the Papers of Rabbi Lerner of Hamburg; the sermons of Rabbi Dr Abraham Cohen of Birmingham; the sermons of Dr E.I. Spiers; as well as the papers of the Chief Rabbis Hermann Adler, Sir Israel Brodie, and J.H. Hertz.

Southampton in the 1950s

In the last of our 1950s blog posts, we look at life in Southampton as it recovered from the Second World War.

For students new to the town in 1952, the effects of the war were still plain to see. Air-raids had destroyed almost 5,000 buildings and seriously damaged a further 11,000, leaving the centre of the town devastated.

The Dolphin Hotel and the ruins of Holy Rood Church facing a bombsite on the other side of the High Street (1953) Rare Books Cope ph 3091

Rebuilding work was under way, but Government restrictions on capital expenditure and shortages of materials and labour made this a slow process. Many of those who had lost their homes were living in prefabs (prefabricated bungalows) whilst huts at the former prisoner of war camp on the Common and others used by the Americans in Houndwell Park were also pressed into service. In the town centre, shops and businesses were trading from temporary single storey buildings.

Above Bar Street, showing C&A Modes, Rego Clothiers, Embassy Restaurant; Hampshire Furnishing Co., Van Allen, Lennards Shoe Shop, H. Verity, Optician (c.1951) Rare Books Cope ph 2812

As early as 1942, Southampton Borough Council had been planning for post-war redevelopment but the grand circus at the top of Above Bar was never to be. Instead, it was a plan drawn up in the early 1950s, owing much to James Matthews, Chair of the Town Planning and Development Committee 1945-1967, which mapped out Southampton’s future. The plan aimed to maintain Southampton’s importance as a port, improve the road system, reconstruct and improve shopping facilities, increase the provision of housing and schools, create new sites for industry, safeguard access to open space and open up the river frontage to the public.

Southampton Development Plan (1952) Cope quarto SOU 71

An article by D. Rigby Childs and D.A.C.A. Boyne on the reconstruction of Southampton in the April 1953 issue of the Architect’s Journal, describes how the town appeared at that time. The authors were struck by its cleanliness, there being little smoke and dirt apart from around the power station and Pirelli’s factory, and the pre-war housing estates and even the prefabs were admired for their layout. On the character of the town, they remarked that there was no “marked atmosphere of coarseness and rowdiness so often associated with ports”, that there was a strong element of local pride and suggested that Southampton was still a potentially attractive town for the tourist.     

As the fifties progressed elements of the Development Plan came to fruition. The Council had taken on responsibility for most of the house building and the extension of the borough in 1954 provided enough land at Millbrook for a further development of just over 3,000 homes. Across the town, houses were also built at Harefield and Thornhill. To serve the new communities, new schools were needed, the plan allowing for four new infant schools and four secondary moderns.

Programme for the official opening of Moorhill Infants’ School (1953) Cope SOU 32.5

The emphasis on building houses delayed the redevelopment of the town centre which began in the lower part of Above Bar and moved northwards, Tyrrell & Green’s new building opening in 1956. Again, building work was under the control of the Council, much of the area having been subject to compulsory purchase orders. A block development pattern was followed, with service roads at the rear, a form of building which allowed for the use of prefabricated components and reduced construction time. The lower part of Above Bar has been described as reflecting the austerity of the times.

A view of Above Bar Street showing the popular Cadena Cafe on the right Cook postcard pc 1717

The port maintained its position as the country’s premier passenger port and in 1950, the Ocean Terminal opened to much acclaim. Designed to handle the 2,000 passengers travelling on the Queen Mary and the Queen Elizabeth, it had a range of passenger facilities on the upper floor which also featured telescopic gangways to enable passengers to board the ships. A new terminal was also built for the Ocean Castle Line in 1956, serving the passengers of the Canberra and the Oriana.

Ocean Terminal, Southampton Docks (1950) Cope SOU 43.12

In terms of cargo handling, Southampton was ranked fourth in value of freight trade, and specialised in perishable cargoes, including fruit from South Africa, meat, butter and eggs from Australia and New Zealand and bananas from the West Indies, West Africa and the Canary Islands.

Unloading crates of oranges at Southampton Docks Rare Books Cope ph 1453

At the start of the 1950s, Southampton’s reputation as a “gateway” to the world was enhanced by the flying boat service. Aquila Airways, which had routes to the Canary Islands, the Italian Riviera, Majorca and Lake Geneva was taken over by P&O in 1953 but closed five years later after failing to compete with land aircraft.

The Development Plan had recognised the need to make the local economy less dependent on the port and land was set aside for industrial development at Northam and Millbrook. Although the associated industries of shipbuilding and ship repair continued to be important – Thorneycroft and Harland & Wolf being two of the largest employers – the Millbrook Industrial Estate became home to Mullard Radios, Goodyear Tyres and Dimplex, amongst others. Elsewhere in Southampton, large employers included Ford’s which had taken over Brigg’s Motor Bodies in 1953, Auguste Pellerin, manufacturer of Sundew Margarine and processed cheese, the Solent Carpet Company and British American Tobacco. Southampton also benefitted from the opening of the Esso Oil Refinery at Fawley in 1951 and development of associated petro-chemical industries.

Solent Carpet Company c.1950 Rare Books Cope ph 2443

Out of working hours, according to the local guidebooks, 1950s residents of Southampton could enjoy a wide range of leisure activities. There were the parks to visit, with features such as the Rock Garden, the Aviary and the open-air brass band concerts in the summer. The Sports Centre “the finest of its kind in the Commonwealth”, the Lido “among the largest and most attractive in the country” and the Ice Rink provided opportunities for a variety of sporting activities – users of the Lido being reassured that the public analyst examined the water, chemically and bacteriologically, weekly. At the Stadium, spectators enjoyed speedway, greyhound racing and horse jumping shows and there were also ice hockey and speed matches staged at the Ice Rink. The nearby cricket ground in Northlands Road was home to Hampshire County Cricket Team and at the Dell, Saints spent much of the 1950s trying to get out of the Third Division.

The Stadium by C.R. Bayley (1992) Cope SOU 79.3

Concerts, receptions and dances were held at the Guildhall, which also hosted a Dance Festival, whilst the Royal Pier’s Pavilion put on wrestling matches as well as holding its own popular dances and concerts.  Other venues included the Marlands Hall and the Avenue Hall, which was often used for amateur theatrical productions. The Grand Theatre put on a variety of entertainments and London productions visited the Gaumont (now the Mayflower), which towards the end of the decade staged concerts by Eddie Cochrane and Bill Haley and the Comets.

Grand Theatre, Civic Centre Road (1959) Rare Books Cope ph 2682

Annual events included the Town Regatta held off Royal Pier, the Woolston Regatta held off Weston Shore and the Southampton Show, which took place on the Common each July. The Common was also the venue for circuses and fairs which often visited at Bank Holidays.

The early years of the 1950s also saw a number of special events, the decade opening with The Festival of Britain in 1951, marked by the creation of a museum at the Bargate and a Pageant of Womanhood at the Guildhall. The following year brought the accession to the throne of Queen Elizabeth II, from whom the University of Southampton received its royal charter on 29 April 1952 – making it the first university of the new Elizabethan age and making 2022 a year of double platinum anniversaries.

Official Programme of Celebrations and Events in Southampton (1953) Cope SOU 08

The stories they tell: the Southampton Fifth

On 8 October 1942, eighty young men assembled for a dinner at Connaught Hall in Swaythling. They were attendees of the Fifth RAF Short Course run at University College, Southampton, and this week’s blog will look at the archives relating to this cohort.

On the outbreak of war in September 1939, Parliament introduced a National Service (Armed Forces) Act imposing military service on men between the age of 18 and 41 years. Cadet schemes were introduced to encourage men to volunteer for initial training. In partnership with a number of universities, the Air Ministry launched a scheme where candidates considered suitable for air crew training could spend six months at a University pursuing an academic syllabus whilst also undergoing basic training. Cambridge, Oxford and Durham were some of the other institutions that hosted such courses. The first course at Southampton was held in October 1940 and the final one was completed in 1946. However, it is believed the Southampton Fifth was the only one to document its membership and record their experiences. The archive relating to the course forms collection MS303.

Group photograph of cadets on the Southampton Fifth RAF Short Course, 1942-3 [MS303 A1058/4/1]

The young men on the course were enrolled in the RAF Volunteer Reserve and issued with RAF uniforms with a white “flash” in the caps indicating Air Crew under training.  The RAF training, provided by RAF officers and instructors, was held on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesday afternoons and Saturday morning and included drill, morse code, physical training and classroom instruction on aircraft recognition and theory of flight. Cadets also gained some flying experience in a Tiger Moth. They wore their uniform and were under service discipline whilst attending this training. For the rest of the week the cadets, attired in civilian clothes, studied either an Arts or Science syllabus at the University College and engaged in the full range of student activities, playing sports, joining societies, contributing to the student publications and attending dances and other social events.

At the end of the course at Southampton the cadets were transferred for further training, which was often completed overseas: only two were to complete their training in the UK. Most of those on the course were not to see each other again, although they kept in touch through the Southampton Fifth Newsletter.

North American edition of Southampton Fifth Newsletter, no. 1, October 1943 [MS303 A1058/3]

The terms of reference for the newsletter, was written by Dominic McDonnell for the first edition, but was not included.

“On October 8 1942 `We’ were a nondescript band of youths from all walks of life, gathered together by authority for an important purpose – the motive was distant but none the less insistent. Time has shown us that this purpose was well and fully achieved. From a purely utilitarian standpoint – that of authority – our course was successful as any course could be. What more was to be expected?

…But now, since the exigencies of service have largely divided us, the need for preservation of an intellectual companionship is an urgent matter. This newsletter is an attempt to meet the situation… For all its shortcomings we hope it may achieve its primary purpose: to recall to your memory that grand and gallant company of which you were once a member and remind you of those lavishly happy days when we were guests of the Senate and students of University College Southampton.”

[MS303 A1058/1]

For David Hart, who was to return to Southampton after the war to undertake further study, the Short Course provided him with a welcome opportunity to decide his future direction. He noted “had I not had a Short Course plus time in the RAF to think about what I wanted/thought I ought to do with my life, it is likely that I would have given myself a far narrower range of choice”.

Two others, Bert Gurmin and Jeffery Turner recalled their callow youthful selves.

Bert A.Gurmin saw himself as “very much the country lad in the big city… It was my first time away from home on my own and for a good deal of the time I’m quite sure I was completely overwhelmed by the whole thing. I think to this day that I asked for the wrong course of study (I did ‘C’ Flight Physics Met. and Astro Nav.) While the knowledge I gained was useful not only subsequently in the RAF but in a school staff-room. I know now that the Rev. Kenneth Vickers… was quite right. He said to me ‘Young man, change now… From what I hear from Dr Potter you should be studying the Humanities…’ I didn’t of course (at 18 one knows best!) so I’ve taught maths for 32 years… but my greatest joy in my spare time now is reading social and economic history”.

Jeffery Turner, standing on the right in the back row [MS303 A1058/4/1]

For Jeffrey Turner it was the sense he was “the odd one out in that I didn’t have benefit of an Air Training Corps education. I joined the OTC in 1938 (no uniform, khaki belt and a Lee Enfield, learning to`form fours’ in those days)”. On arriving at Waterloo station on 8 October he spotted someone who lived a quarter of a mile from his home. “I shared a room with Leslie Savage in Connaught, a comfortable association although our interests tended to follow different paths. Within ten minutes I found that a near neighbour was the captain of rowing at the school I had left, and I was signed up for college rowing before I could say `Hello’.”

Although not altogether impressed with the University course “in Mathematics we were taught about `Vectors’, a dry-as-dust subject on its own, and with an uninspired presentation”, but made up for it by “completing a failed physics subject in the London Intermediate Engineering exam, which provided sufficient brownie points to make a mark”. It was, however, “the interaction with the many and varied folk that one met, seemingly with every positive view of life, was an inspiration that contrasted with the rather pedestrian formal education that I had previously endured”.

This Southampton Fifth collection provides an insight into both one aspect of the University’s activity during the Second World War and the personalities who attended the course. This was only one of the wartime courses and we would be interested to hear about anyone attending others during this time.

 

User perspectives: Louie Kesby – Reflections on my time in the Archives

Back in the halcyon days before the lockdown, we were joined in February by Louie Kesby, a year 10 student from Redbridge School in Southampton. Louie, who has a keen interest in history, had asked to spend part of his work experience week in the Hartley Library in the Special Collections. Here he shares his reflections on his time with us.

My time here, at the archive, was very enjoyable and informative. I arrived and was shown through the storage rooms and was able to hold a legitimate letter from Queen Victoria which was breath-taking. I was then set to work on a computer where I had to read and list documents focused on Jewry in the 1940s-50s.

Archives strongroom

The documents were very interesting in finding out information about the political and social side of Jewry. It revealed a lot of ways Jews were being treated across the world post-war. It took me around two hours to completely read and write up the reports on the ephemera. I learned a lot from that task and now I have a nice printed copy of the list in a folder.

Following that I was set to read the Newsletters from the Southampton Fifth RAF Short Course at the University College, Southampton, sent to servicemen around the globe. It included accounts from airmen in a number of different issues, along with a roll of honour and descriptions of places that servicemen were stationed. I enjoyed this task as I love learning about life in war time and extra information on the life of airmen in conflict zones. This task took me a very long time, as there were a dozen newsletters that mostly took around the fifteen minute mark to read and around five minutes to write up.

Southampton Fifth Newsletter Supplement Number Three, c.1945 [MS303 A1058/3]

I was never short of work during my time in the Archives. If I had completed the reports on the Southampton Fifth I would have moved on to document images from the University that were taken years ago.

I was also shown where documents are cleaned and restored, which was very interesting to see. In addition, I received a tour of the room where exhibitions are held, I discovered how they are put together and what information is used. It’s very interesting to see the behind the scenes here at the Archives.

I thoroughly enjoyed my experience here at the Archives. Not only have I discovered new information about a number of subjects, I have also learned how everything works in this establishment. My gratitude goes to the staff who have treated me very well and allowed me this experience. All of the staff are extremely friendly and welcoming, which is very good.

Thank you to Louie for his reflections on his time in the Archives. Join us for next week’s blog when we explore one of the collections on which he worked – the Southampton Fifth archive – in more detail.

The stories they tell: the “Model” Resolution of the Council of Christians and Jews

In this week’s “The stories they tell” blog post, we focus on a “Models” Resolution document as part of the Council of Christians and Jews (CCJ) archive.

CCJ “Model” Resolution document, 1942 [MS65 A755/2/1/14]

The CCJ was founded in 1942. The organisation held its first meeting on 20 March of this year with William W. Simpson as its chairman. Its creation was stimulated by the nature of Jewish-Christian relations during the nineteenth century, and the need to identify the causes of anti-Semitism, and to combat them.

The foundations of the organisation grew from the development of a Youth Council on Jewish Christian Relationships in 1934. This Council aimed to inform Christian youth about the perils of anti-Semitism, and to support them making amiable relations with those in the Jewish population. In 1940 this organisation was incorporated into the CCJ.

The Council’s presidents were the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Archbishop of Westminster, the Moderator of the Church of Scotland, the Moderator of the Free Church Federal Council and the Chief Rabbi. Mrs Kathleen Freeman was valuable in gathering all possible supporters for the organisation through her association with the Society of Jews and Christians. Local Councils were established and meetings and conferences of mainly an educational nature were arranged. Publications were all also provisioned and circulated, such as “Common Ground’, which is still published today and features articles written by eminent figures in the Jewish and Christian communities.

CCJ Common Ground magazine issues

Lectures were also conducted, such as the Robert Waley Cohen memorial lectures, which focused on themes such as the nature of tolerance. This series of lectures was formed to honour the Council’s treasurer during the first 10 years of the organisation’s existence. The Council also coordinated international conferences. The first one took place in Oxford in August 1946 under the joint authorities of the British Council of Christians and Jews and its American equivalent, the National Conference of Christians and Jews, which formed in 1928. The principal theme of this conference was to create and protect freedom, justice, and responsibility. Two pivotal recommendations were also made. The first one was for an emergency conference to be held on anti-Semitism immediately, and the second one was for steps to be taken to set up an International Council of Christians and Jews. This organisation was later established in 1974.

At a time when the United Kingdom was receiving an influx of refugees from Nazi persecution, following Hitler’s implementation of his ‘Final Solution of the Jewish Problem’ in the 1940s, it was more crucial than ever for Jewish and Christian organisations to cooperate with each other.

The “Model” resolution document is part of the CCJ’s Executive Minute book dating 1941-43.  It reveals the organisation’s deep concern with the treatment of Christians and Jews in Germany, and its recognition for the need to promote and develop positive relations between Christians and Jews and to combat ”all forms of racial and religious intolerance”. [“Model” Resolution document, CCJ, MS65 A755/2/1/14]

The Archives of the CCJ also contain minute books for the board of management of the Christian Council of Refugees, 1940-51, and the minutes of the Christian Council of Refugees from Germany and Europe Continuation Committee, 1951-3. Along with papers on the Association of Nazi Camp Survivors, 1960-67, these primary sources are valuable for researching the response of Anglo-Jewish associations to the treatment of Jews in Germany, and how they helped support them when they arrived in this country.

The CCJ continues to exist today, and still maintains its original objectives of facilitating Christian-Jewish engagement, and conducting educational activities with particular focus on Antisemitism; the Holocaust; and Israel and Israel/Palestine. You can find out more about the organisation’s work at present here:

http://www.ccj.org.uk

The CCJ today

“While you are in England…”: refugees in Britain in the twentieth century

A particular strength of our holdings is collections relating to refugees; in this blog post we will focus on our twentieth century material. The bulk of our material concerns Jewish refugees from the Second World War period. However, there is also material from the turn of the century relative to individuals fleeing Eastern Europe plus more recent collections which sheds light on Spanish children evacuated during the civil war.

Documents created by the Board of Guardians for the Relief of the Jewish Poor relate to the immigration of Jews from Russian and Eastern Europe in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Photograph from a file relating to the adoption of orphaned immigrant children from Russia. Their names (starting at the back on the left) are: Zipporah Pokotilow, Sische Charitanski, Hannah Levene, Rebecca Katz, Bejamin Charitanski, Hyman Schneier, Hyman Borodkin, Dora Katz, Boris Pokosilow, Aron Katz, Isaac Levene, Boris Levene, Mendel Schneier, Isaac Borodkin, Bessie Levene, Fanny Levene, Eva Schneier and Sarah Charitanski [MS 173/1/5/6]

This material is now part of the Jewish Care collection. A significant portion of the minute books concern emigration and the administration of relief. The Russo-Jewish and Jewish Board of Guardians conjoint committee was formed in 1891, on the exhaustion of the Mansion House Fund for the victims of Russian persecution, that had been established approximately ten years earlier. The collection contains five editions of the periodical Darkest Russia: a record of persecution from 1891 plus press cuttings about Jewry in Russia for 1904-9.

A related collection, the papers of Carl Stettauer, give details of pogroms against Jewish communities in Russia during this period.

The collections of archives relating to Jewish refugees in the 1930s and 1940s vary considerably in size and scope, from simply one file to hundreds of boxes. Examples of smaller collections include minute books of the Board of Management of the Christian Council of Refugees from Germany, 1940-51.

Notes on “refugee pastors and their families” from September 1945 [MS 65/1/1]

The Council of Refugees was part of the Council of Christians and Jews (CCJ). This was founded in 1942 to combat religious and racial intolerance and to promote mutual understanding and good-will between Christians and Jews, especially in connection with the conditions created by the war.

Another collection of interest is the papers of Diana Silberstein, a native of Sarajevo (formerly part of Yugoslavia and now Bosnia and Herzegovina), who came to Britain as a refugee via Germany. Her papers include official documents and correspondence dating from 1936-46.

A copy of a letter from Diana Silberstein to the Home Office requesting permission to work [MS 93]

We have a personal account in the form of the typescript autobiography of Dr D.Fuerst, a refugee dentist from Nazi Austria. The following account gives some details of his reception in the UK:

The Refugee Committee in Bloomsbury House and later in Woburn House was a blessing to us. The mostly voluntary worker did an admirable job and no praise is high enough to appreciate the patient and sympathetic way in which they managed to deal with us. We were not easy customers. The variety of our problems were incredible and all of them were urgent and very important. The first person who found her feet was our daughter Lilian. I had to take her the day after we arrived to the nearest primary school in Salisbury Road, Kilburn. She was very happy there and made some friends. At the end of the school year in June she was at the top of the class. Her teacher talked to us about scholarships in the future but we could not make it out what she meant until some years later. (She is a University professor and author of several books).

[MS 116/68]

Cissi Z.Rosenfelder was honorary secretary of the Golders Green Beth Hamedrash Refugee Aid Committee in 1938 and 1939. Her papers include lists of children from Germany and correspondence with refugee committees.

Jakob Israel (aged 4), Johanna Israel (aged 6) and Gustav Israel (aged 5) [MS116/157]

This photograph was enclosed with a letter from Frederich Israel, a Jewish doctor living in Germany, dated August 1939, asking for help in placing his children in a liberal Jewish or Christian home in the UK to enable him to prepare for emigration to the U.S.A. He explained how it was necessary for his family to move from Germany as he was now only permitted to treat a part of the Jewish population which was not sufficient to get even a moderate income.

Cecil and Joan Stott, of Letchmore Heath, Hertfordshire, assisted Jewish refugees during the Second World War, including Sigmund Adler (brother of the psychologist, Alfred Adler) and his sons, Kurt and Ernst, from Vienna.

Ernst and Trudi Adler with Trudi’s mother and other Jewish refugees, settled in Australia [MS 293 A1015/3]

Their papers include correspondence with the German Jewish Aid Committee and the Germany Emergency Committee as well as letters about and with the Adler family and about other refugees.

Larger collections held by the Archives and Manuscripts include the papers of the Polish Jewish Refugee Fund. This archive is composed of case files relating to several hundred individuals and provides details of individual’s name, place of birth, family, address in Great Britain, date of arrival in the Great Britain and their place of origin, education and qualifications.

Excerpt from While you are in England: helpful information and guidance for every refugee issued by the German Jewish Aid Committee and the Jewish Board of Deputies [MS 293 A1015/8]

The Chief Rabbi’s Religious Emergency Council was an organisation of the Orthodox Jewish community. The archive contains a great deal on the administration and organisation of its work in the field of both the rescue and support of refugees, particularly child refugees, 1938-49. Amongst the papers are numerous lists of refugees (from Central and Eastern Europe) compiled by the Council, working closely with other relief organisations. These include not just lists of refugees present in Central and Eastern Europe, but of those brought over to Great Britain by the Council, of those given accommodation and assistance by the Council, and of those given assistance to emigrate from Great Britain by the Council. These often quite detailed lists contain much more information besides the names of individuals, such as their date and place of birth, their address, family details and, in some cases, their occupation.

Post-war Kinder, c. 1946-7 [MS 183/1006/1/2]

For refugees brought over to Great Britain by the Council, further information can be found in the form of photographs, biographical profiles, correspondence and refugee fund assistance cards. Landing cards and identity cards complement the block passport and other mass travel documents which exist for child refugees who travelled with the Council. After the arrival of refugees in Great Britain, there are further Council papers relating to their support, such as refugee fund assistance cards or a file of registration forms for the North London Refugee Home, 1938-40. Finally, there are lists, forms, photographs and travel documents relating to those who emigrated from Great Britain.

The Archives and Manuscripts also holds audio-visual material relative to refugees and Holocaust survivors. The Fortunoff Video Collection is a small collection of filmed testimonials of Holocaust survivors from the collection at Yale University.

Refugee Voices is an electronic resource consisting of a collection of 150 filmed interviews with Jewish refugees and Holocaust survivors who made their home in Great Britain. The refugees describe their experiences prior to coming to this country and the ways in which they adapted to life in Britain. It was created by the Association of Jewish Refugees.

Photograph from the ‘colony’ of Basque child refugees at Cambria House, Caerleon in South Wales c. 1937-9 [MS 370/3 A3046/16]

The Archives has more recently acquired collections relating to the Basque evacuee children from the Spanish Civil War including oral testimonials and interviews of Los Niños. You can learn more about these collections in last week’s blog by Dr Edward Packard.

A second more recent acquisition are transcripts of interviews conducted by Tony Kusher and Katherine Knox in the mid-1990s with refugees from Chile, Czechoslovakie, Hungary, Poland, Spain, Uganda and Vietman. [MS 401]

We feel privileged to house these collections in our strongrooms. The stories they tell – while sometimes difficult – are important to preserve and make available for future generations.

75th anniversary of D-Day: 6 June

Today, we commemorate the 75th anniversary of ‘D-Day’, the largest seaborne invasion in history. Codenamed Operation Neptune, this Allied invasion of Normandy commenced on 6 June 1944 as part of Operation Overlord, during World War II. The operation began the liberation of German-occupied France (and later Europe) from Nazi control, and laid the foundations of the Allied victory on the Western Front.

Colonel James O’Donald Mays pictured with fellow Georgian Lt. James Polhill, part of the American Navy’s logistical operations which provided landing craft and other vessels for the war effort [MS 379/3 A4024/10]

We will take a look at Southampton’s role in the operations through the papers and photographs collected by American Colonel James O’Donald Mays [MS 379/3 A4024], whose Army Port unit was assigned to Southampton to direct American military activities for the preparation for D-Day and its follow-up.  He later worked as a diplomat, journalist and author.

During the ensuing summer days and nights, Southampton witnessed a sight unparalleled in all its long momentous history. The military traffic, chiefly U.S.A., roared on in an unending torrent.

Almost every road and street carried its weight of vehicles, two and sometimes three a breast; trucks swept by loaded with soldiers, huge petrol tanks, jeeps, searchlights, DUKWs, great guns, tank-transporters and tanks without number, the giant Shermans roaring and grinding past, shaking the houses as they went.

Local historian Elsie M.Sandell writing for a 40th anniversary commemorative magazine produced by the Evening Echo, June 1984

Southampton was all but taken over by the military in the lead up to D-Day. Southampton Common accommodated large numbers of Allied troops and the foundations of their huts are still visible after long spells of dry weather. The Bargate in the shopping centre was a Military Police post.

Southampton was chosen as the chief supply and troop movement centre for the American army, known as the 14th Major Port of the US Army Transportation Corps. It was the centre of marine operations as the first shipment point for American men and supplies from the UK to the Continent. Southampton was essential in discharging of cargo before D-Day, loading of landing craft and other assault vessels for the European invasion and build up, and shipping of United states-bound troops under the re-deployment programme.

The administrative offices of the 14th Port [MS 379/3 A4024/10]

The 14th Port staff arrived in the United Kingdom on 16 July 1943 and three days later began operations at London, Southampton and Plymouth. Up to 1 February 1944, Port Headquarters were in London. When Allied strategists selected Southampton as the chief loading point for troops and war materials for the invasion, headquarters were moved to Southampton Civic Centre; offices were later relocated to Houndwell Park.

The port of Southampton was selected because of its strategic location. The “double tide” effected by the position of the Isle of Wight at the bottom of The Solent meant the port was perfectly suited for mass loading and sailing of vessels. It also benefited from a huge anchorage space off Cowes as well as deep water docking facilities and spacious loading sheds.

Members of a U.S. Navy beach Battalion medical unit stow their gear on the deck of an Landing Craft, Infantry (Large). They took park in an invasion rehearsal. [MS379/3 A4024/1]

Some impressive statistics for the period include that 8,300 ships passed through the harbour. Approximately 2,500,000 men were transported to and from the Continent and the United States and 3,000,000 tons of goods were carried to European ports and beaches.

The operation naturally had a huge impact on the city and its civilian population. Three Southampton schools were used as billets for United States Army troops. Swaythling Infant (Mayfield), Taunton’s and Ascupart Road. 

American soldiers boarding a Landing Craft, Infantry (Large) as part of an invasion rehearsal  [MS 379/3 A4024/10] Credit: U.S. Navy Photograph Public Relations Section, London

This huge flow of men and vehicles required co-ordination. Military police escorts were required and checkpoints established and a checking system was instigated to help prevent congestion in Southampton’s streets. Routes were planned to interfere as little as possible with civilian transport.

The Army Transportation Corps Harbour Craft Companies were attached to the 14th Port and it was their job to operate the hundreds of small tug-boats, floating cranes and other harbour craft assigned to the Port. One of the key vessels was the LST – Landing Ship Tank – a “lifeline” to supply Europe. It was capable of carrying 50 to 75 vehicles; 2,539 LSTs were loaded at Southampton.

D-Day marked a key victory in the Second World War: it prevented Hitler launching his new V-weapons against British cities in a last-minute effort to save Germany. For more on Southampton’s role in this momentous event, see the Library’s Cope Collection for additional resources.

Highfield Campus 100: 1940s

The Second World War was a period of both anxiety and opportunity for University College, Southampton. The decision not to evacuate the Highfield site allowed the College to play a full part in wartime training and education, and to undertake research related to the war effort but meant that students and staff were potentially at risk from enemy action.

Above Bar, looking south. December 1940 [Cope photograph SOU 91.5 ABO ph2809]

Lying on the outskirts of Southampton, the College escaped the destruction seen in the town centre and port area, where approximately 2,630 bombs and 31,000 incendiaries killed 631 people and wounded a further 1,882. At Highfield, precautions against enemy attack included nine air raid shelters, blast walls and several static water tanks, with a fire truck standing by for the twenty-four hour fire patrol. Inevitably, the College suffered some damage; in 1940 an incendiary bomb set fire to one of the First World War huts, Highfield Hall received widespread blast damage on two occasions in 1941, South Stoneham House was damaged when bombs fell nearby and on 15 May 1944 the most serious damage was caused when a bomb landed close to the Zoology and Geology Building. Rumour had it that the exhibits from the Geology Museum were swept up with the rest of the rubble.

University College, Southampton A.R.P. Handbook (1941) [Univ. Coll. LF 785.8]

The war saw the College expand. It was urged to take as many undergraduates in science and engineering as possible, courses being reduced to two years, the maximum period of deferment prior to call-up and the period for which new Government bursaries were awarded. At the same time the number of technical students taking certificate and diploma courses also increased. The marine engineering courses and those of the new School of Radio-Telegraphy, which supplied engineers and wireless operators to the Merchant Navy, were particularly important in the war effort. Officers, British and Polish were trained at the Department of Navigation, based at South Stoneham House. In a new departure, training was also provided for the armed services, 2,146 trainees having participated in courses by July 1942. The College was also one of only four university institutions to host intensive six month cadet courses for the Royal Air Force.

Teaching a three year course in two years placed a heavy burden on staff in some departments but in others student numbers fell, with Law and Theology closing. A demand for adult education kept many staff busy. The bulk of the work, undertaken alongside the Workers’ Educational Association, proved to be in providing lectures, short courses and classes on a range of subjects to members of the armed forces stationed locally. By 1943/44 the combined number of extra-mural civilian and service students reached 2,864.

Key members of staff were seconded to the war effort, including Professor Betts of History who advised the BBC on Czech broadcasting, Professor Cave-Browne-Cave of Engineering who went to the Ministry of Home Security as Director of Camouflage, whilst Dr Zepler of Physics moved to the Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge. Research directly related to the war continued, including methods of water recovery for desert vehicles, design of assault bridges, equipment for testing gyro navigation instruments and investigations related to poison gases and defence against their use.

New Engineering Building [MS1/Phot/ 22/5/1 p.14]

With all this activity, pressure on space increased and the College was fortunate in having been allowed to complete the new Engineering Building in 1939 and the Union and Refectory in 1940. Wartime spirit saw temporary accommodation offered to others, including the Southampton Food Office and staff from Supermarine, who were housed briefly in the old Refectory and the Geography Hut when the Woolston factory was bombed in September 1940. Halls of residence welcomed, amongst others, French soldiers after Dunkirk, students from University College, London and nurses bombed out of the Royal South Hants Hospital.

The new Union and Refectory Building c.1941 [MS1/Phot/11/4]

For students, the war brought intensive study and a more restricted life. Male students on full-time courses were required to join the Senior Training Corps or the University Air Squadron, the teaching day being extended to accommodate the STC’s daily lunchtime parade. Pressure on time led some student societies to close, whilst travel difficulties affected sporting fixtures. One unforeseen effect of the war was the sanctioning of the first mixed hall of residence, when shortage of space saw men admitted to the women’s Highfield Hall.

Entertainments continued as far as possible, although the Annual Report of 1941 noted ‘considerable feeling’ in the Union about dances ending at 8.30. Presumably this did not apply to the dance held to mark the end of the war which Senate ‘very kindly consented to  … as the most pleasant way of celebration.’

Senior Training Corps on parade outside the Union [MS1/2/4/11]

Many students had contributed directly to the war effort by working with the A.R.P., the Women’s Voluntary Service and Southampton Information Service, where they acted as messengers, drivers, typists and loud-speaker van announcers. Students had also raised funds for the International Student Service which was engaged in relief work with refugee students and prisoners of war. Some twenty-three refugee students had received free tuition at the College, a Committee having been set up in February 1939 to provide assistance to refugee scholars.

Sixty-eight of those who passed through the College prior to armed service lost their lives in the conflict. They are commemorated on the War Memorial Tablet, unveiled by Sir Samuel Gurney-Dixon, Chairman of Council,  on 7th November 1948.

Sir Samuel Gurney-Dixon unveiling the War Memorial Tablet,  University of Southampton Press Cuttings v.2 [Rare Books Univ. Coll. LF 787.62]

As an institution, University College, Southampton had had ‘a good war’ and was certainly in a better financial  position in 1945 than it had been in 1939. Revenue from student fees, a bequest from Professor Lyttel of History and an increase in the County Council grant meant that at the end of war its deficit had decreased from a pre-war figure of £39,000 to £14,000.

The College’s post-war success owed much to forward planning. A 1942 publication, Looking Forward Looking Back, spoke of its aspirations as an educational institution – the importance of independent work in laboratory and library, the need to avoid increases in tuition fees and of promoting a ‘corporate life’ based on knowledge and understanding of the aims and objects of the College. In contrast, The Needs of University College Southampton in the Post-War Period (1944) gave a list of objectives, costed and divided into three phases. The first would see a general strengthening of academic departments, the acquisition of land, extensions to existing buildings, a new Assembly Hall and new Chemistry building, and would require capital expenditure of £258,110. Later phases would bring additional staff, further development of the Highfield site and more halls of residence.

With these ambitious plans, the College found itself pushing against an open door in terms of Government support. There was a scheme of further education for ex-service personnel, a policy of increasing the number of graduates, especially in science and engineering, and financial support available for such activities.

Sir Robert Wood  [MS1/Phot/39/ph 3125]

In 1946 the Principal, Kenneth Vickers, retired and was replaced by Sir Robert Wood, a civil servant, whose skills were well suited to the new era. When the University Grants Committee (which on a visit had commented on the poor accommodation and extremely low academic salaries) requested a statement of needs and proposals, the College was ready with its plan. The number of full-time undergraduates would increase to 1,000 to 1,300 (the current figure being 586) and the related building programme would require £650,000-£700,000 in capital expenditure.

The proposals ultimately proved too ambitious in post-war Britain, but during the next three years the College did receive around £360,000 in capital grants allowing it to achieve many of its goals. It acquired the disused brickfield behind the Union and Refectory Building and the Glen Eyre Estate at Bassett, earmarked for halls of residence. The new Assembly Hall was completed by March 1949, the Institute of Education Building being finished later the same year as were the first student houses at Glen Eyre. The new Chemistry Building was opened in stages between 1948 and 1952.

View of Glen Eyre Wessex News (1st November, 1949) [Univ. Coll. per LF 789.9]

Steps were taken to improve academic departments in part by reducing the number of technical courses and freeing staff time for university work. From the session of 1947/48 basic courses were transferred to Southampton Education Authority, leading to a reduction in number of technical students, which in 1946/7 had stood at almost 3,000 compared with 586 undergraduates.

The College had received a special commendation for its contribution to the war effort in terms of electronics and radio-technology and in 1947 Electronics was recognised as a department in its own right. In 1949, Dr Zepler, who returned from Cambridge after the war, became the department’s first Professor. Both Philosophy and Geography became independent departments, whilst those of Law and Theology were revived. The social sciences faculty envisaged by Professor Percy Ford came closer to realisation with the introduction of courses in public administration, accountancy and social work. The College also became home to the new Institute of Education which was to provide for the organisation of the teacher training in the area, in cooperation with the local education authorities and training colleges.

Institute of Education Building [MS/1/ Phot/22/5/1 p.16]

By 1948, the number of undergraduates had grown from a pre-war figure of 325 to 892. Despite South Stoneham reverting to a men’s hall of residence on the Department of Navigation’s move to Warsash, the College could no longer accommodate its students and by 1947 appeals for approved lodgings for 300 students had to be made in the local press.

Student societies thrived, the Dramatic and Choral being two of the most successful. The session of 1948/49 saw the new Assembly Hall in use for a production of Twelfth Night, as a venue for the Debating Society and for badminton, gym and boxing. Wessex News, which had ceased publication in June 1944, was revived in 1946 carrying all the news of student life.

1947/48 brought the revival of the College Rag – suspended in 1930 for being too riotous. The Rag Procession of around 700 students took place on 10 February 1948, other highlights being the ‘Gaslight Gaieties’ show on the Royal Pier, a Rag Ball and the Goblio, a rag magazine, full of jokes which have not necessarily stood the test of time. After this, Rag once again became a regular event.

Goblio (1949) [Univ. Coll. per LF 789.9]

Goblio (1948) [Univ. Coll. per LF 789.9]

At the end of 1940s the College’s past lingered in the ‘shanty-town’ of First World War huts which remained at Highfield but the new redbrick buildings were a sign of progress. In June 1949 Sir Robert Wood achieved a major breakthrough in the quest for independent University status, when London University agreed to a ‘special relationship’ between the two institutions. This allowed College staff, appointed by London, to cooperate in setting and marking exams in order to establish academic standards prior to Southampton awarding its own degrees. Following the agreement, degrees were conferred for the first time, not in London but in Southampton, at the Presentation Day held at the Guildhall on 5 November 1949.

Find out how ‘the College’ became ‘the University’ next month as we reach the 1950s.

Article on the importance of Presentation Day by Sir Robert Wood Wessex News 1st November 1949 [Univ. Coll. per LF 789.9]

Many digitised sources for the history of the University are available at Internet Archive

Accessions Registers reveal library wartime cooperation

The news that the University Library is contributing to the programme to help restock the ransacked Library of the University of Mosul confirms the longstanding tradition of cooperation amongst libraries in times of crisis. By coincidence, an earlier example of this recently came to light in the Library’s accessions registers, where amongst the usual entries of ‘lost’ and ‘withdrawn’ some notes were found which recorded the transfer of books to other libraries. In this case the libraries were Plymouth Public Library and Birkbeck College Library and the dates were 1941 and 1942.

Extract from Library Accession Register

It is clear from this, that in addition to the many other ways in which University College, Southampton supported the war effort, it also played its part in helping to restock libraries devastated by enemy action during the Second World War. Plymouth Public Library had been destroyed in March 1941 with the loss of over 72,000 books and Birkbeck Library had suffered a direct hit. With many other libraries suffering the same fate, appeals were made for books to restock those most severely damaged.

The notes in the accessions registers suggest that transferring the books was also advantageous to the Library, enabling it to remove duplicates and free up space – sufficient space being the often unachievable ambition of most librarians. Library Annual Reports confirm that an overhaul of stock had begun in 1940/41 and in response to an appeal from the Universities Bureau of the British Empire, a list of 400 duplicates had already been offered to University College, London, which had lost 100,000 books as a result of fire and water damage following air raids.

The Annual Reports also record the involvement of Library staff in another wartime initiative, the National Book Recovery Appeal which began in 1943. The Appeal had developed from concerns that important books and documents might be destroyed as a result of the Ministry of Supply’s paper salvage campaign which was designed to alleviate the paper shortage caused by the cessation of imports. A Central Committee of Scrutiny was set up to oversee the process and local committees were established to run the ‘Book Drives’. Miss M.I. Henderson, the Librarian of University College, Southampton was appointed as one of the members of Southampton’s Scrutiny Committee and also assisted the New Forest’s Salvage Committee.

National Book Salvage Campaign. Books being examined by Miss H.M. Swift, Mr H.W. Belmore and Miss M. I. Henderson, February 1943.

Southampton’s first Book Drive ran from 6th-20th February 1943, with others being held in Winchester, Basingstoke, Portsmouth and Fareham. Book collection points were established in schools and shops with a central depot at Albion Hall, St Mary’s Street. Books brought in were to be sorted into those suitable for restocking devastated libraries, books for H.M. Forces and those which could be pulped without any loss to scholarship and society. Southampton’s Book Drive yielded over 160,000 books, which took about three weeks to sort. Of these, 3,188 were sent to the Inter-Allied Book Centre for restocking libraries, 16,581 were sent to H.M. Forces, for both recreation and instruction and 141,731 were pulped.

Detail of engraved title page of: John Britton The History and Antiquities of the See and Cathedral Church of Winchester (1817) Rare Books Cope q WIN 26

As an incentive to libraries to get involved in Book Drives, up to 5% of the total number of books collected could be retained locally and the accessions registers reveal that a number of books did make their way into the University Library’s collections. Amongst these was an 1817 edition of John Britton’s The History and Antiquities of the See and Cathedral Church of Winchester, which was added to the Cope Collection, as was C.R. Acton’s Sport and Sportsmen of the New Forest, which still bears a bookplate recording its presentation by Lyndhurst Salvage Committee in August 1943.

From: C.R. Acton Sport and Sportsmen of the New Forest (1936) Cope 97.794

 

 

‘Doc’ Suffern at Titchfield Haven

 

Titchfield Haven, Fareham (J.G.Romans)

This week, as we look forward to spring, we highlight the work of a celebrated Hampshire naturalist. Dr Canning Suffern (1892-1978) made a significant contribution to ornithology in the county and is perhaps most famous for his association with the nature reserve at Titchfield Haven, near Fareham.  His research papers, held in Special Collections, reflect his wide interests in the field of natural history, and include his scientific notes, records of observations and working papers.

Dr Canning Suffern (1892-1978), courtesy of Dr S Dent, Titchfield Haven National Nature Reserve

Canning Suffern grew up in Worcestershire and developed a keen interest in the natural history of his county, particularly in the area around Rubery, near Birmingham. As a boy he was an enthusiastic birdwatcher and throughout his life he kept detailed records of his observations.  He began reading medicine at Cambridge in 1911 but his studies were interrupted by World War I, in which he served in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, as a surgeon probationer.  He completed his medical studies at St Thomas’s, London, and held posts in a number of hospitals before turning to medical journalism.  He later joined the staff of The Lancet as a sub-editor.  During World War II, he served as a controller (operations officer) in the RAF and from 1943-5 was stationed in India. His papers include reminiscences of his war-time service – ‘The log of a loblolly boy at sea, 1915-17′ about WWI – and several chapters on his time in India in WWII (MS 205 A523/1/1-2).

Dr Suffern visited Titchfield Haven for the first time in 1921, while staying with his parents, who lived across the road at the site now occupied by Hill Head Sailing Club. His studies in natural history switched to Hampshire and his ornithological work around Titchfield Haven acted as a catalyst for further collaborative study after World War II.  It was shortly after the war that he began taking parties of birdwatchers around the marshes at the Haven with the permission of the owner, Colonel Alston.  Throughout his life he worked to encourage an interest in ornithology, particularly among young people, teaching them not only to identify birds and other wildlife but to accurately record their sightings. Under his guidance, birdwatchers produced the records which highlighted the Haven’s importance as a wetland habit for birds. This data helped lead to the declaration of over three hundred acres of the Lower Meon Valley, including Titchfield Haven, as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in 1959.

Dr Suffern’s research interests were wide. In Hampshire, in addition to birds, he observed and recorded dragonflies, butterflies, and moths, particularly at Hill Head, Fareham, and Titchfield Haven.

Sketchbook of dragonflies – folio 1 Agrion Splendens

This drawing from Canning Suffern’s sketchbook of dragonflies is embellished with original dragonfly wings. It was part of his research into dragonflies at a pool at Hill Head in 1950. (MS 205 A517/3/4).

MS 205 A517/1/1 Diaries, 1940, 1947, 1950 (open) and 1951

His diaries are a working record of the weather, detailing sunshine, rainfall, type and density of cloud cover, and atmospheric pressure. In the summer of 1950, Suffern discovered a relationship between high pressure and the number of S. striolatum emerging at the pool — the peak occurred on 9 July, when he counted 417 in a single day. His research excited the interest of other naturalists and was published in one of the earliest volumes of the Entomologist’s Gazette.

Dr Suffern’s papers include articles from natural history magazines and journals, and related notes; there are manuscripts of his literary works as a naturalist, as well as his reminiscences. His significant ornithological archive – covering several decades of field work – forms part of the papers of the Hampshire Ornithological Society at the Hampshire Record Office, Winchester (HRO 75M94/C1), which also holds notes for his book The birds of Titchfield in relation to those of Hampshire and of Great Britain historically considered, or, A conspectus of birds mainly with reference to T H [Titchfield Haven].

To this day, Doc Suffern is fondly remembered at Titchfield Haven for his 50-year association with the nature reserve. During the 1960s, as an elected member of Fareham District Council, he fought for the future of the Haven. He lived to see the purchase of the estate by Hampshire County Council and the opening of the reserve for visits in 1975. The ‘Suffern Hide’ is named in his memory – a physical reminder of his life’s work.

Canning Suffern’s research papers, MS 205, are freely available in Special Collections at the University of Southampton – a significant legacy for the natural history of Hampshire.

For information on Titchfield Haven National Nature Reserve go to:

https://www.hants.gov.uk/thingstodo/countryparks/titchfield/visit

For information on Canning Suffern’s ornithological papers at the Hampshire Record Office:

http://www3.hants.gov.uk/archives

We acknowledge with grateful thanks the assistance of the staff and volunteers of the Titchfield Haven National Nature Reserve, and of the Hampshire Record Office. The photograph of Canning Suffern is courtesy of Dr Sue Dent and colleagues at Titchfield Haven. Any errors are those of the author.