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CPGB London District Archives
The London District CPGB Archives have now been largely catalogued and are added to the central CPGB Archives at the National Museum of Labour History (Ref CP/LON). Thanks to a grant by the Barry Amiel and Norman Melburn Trust, the capital's records are now available for students' use.
The main categories into which they fall are London District Congresses, District Secretariat, District Committees, Bulletins and Circulars, Finance, Advisory Committees, Events, Industry, Membership. At the time of going to press, the categories still to be sorted include correspondence, elections, miscellaneous. While most of the material is post-WW2, there are some leaflets and congress programmes and documents that go back to the 1920s. While most of the files tail off after 1984, there are some remaining miscellaneous files including secretariat minutes up to 1990.
By no means are all the records there. If it was not for Max Egelnick, a former District Organiser, the collection would only be half as full. Some of his papers will be placed in a special Max Egelnick collection to be sorted later and covering mainly North West London activities in the 1950s-60s, when he was Area Organiser.
Some of the most interesting files to me are the Advisory Committee files or the topic files on race. Much Greek Cypriot material exists, especially a relation to the party newspaper Vema and the Cypriot Advisory Committee. While the minutes of the West Indian Advisory Committee are sparse, there are enormous files of newspaper cuttings and publications on race and racism for the 1950s, probably collected by Kay Beauchamp who at one time worked in the organisation department and later at Liberation.
Women's activity within London district CPGB is less well documented. While there is biographical data for the first women's schools in the 1950s, most of the material is associated with the 1970s and 1980s women's liberation movement.
Some membership records are closed, because they refer to sexual and criminal allegations or activities. But material about the 1980s split in the party and the expulsion or suspension of many leading London comrades is available in Membership and District Committee files.
