LTB 582/18 – CWU HISTORY AND HERITAGE PROJECT
No: 582/18
15th October 2018
To: All Branches
Dear Colleague
CWU History and Heritage Project
Further to LTBs 300/18 and 541/18 regarding the preservation of the Union’s important Branch historical records and archives. Following discussions with the Research Department it has been agreed that the most practical way of moving this issue forward is to approach it from a Regional perspective. In line with this Bill Taylor, Head of Research, will be seeking an opportunity to meet the Regional Secretaries and the Education and Training Department to discuss the best way to deliver this.
We will be making contact with a University in Scotland who have already agreed to store some Scottish Branch archives on its premises, to see if this facility can be extended to other Branches in Scotland. A pilot scheme will begin in the London Region with a view to providing a safe and secure facility for London Branches to store their historical archives. Although progress has been slow it is apparent from the enquiries and contacts that there is a great deal of interest in this subject. Once we have had the meetings with the Regional Secretaries and Education and Training Department we will inform Branches of the outcome and progress made with this issue.
Branch Records/Archives: Scoping
In the meantime, we are running a short survey to establish what historical Branch materials are currently held by Branches and what steps have been taken to organise and preserve this material.
We are aware that some Branches may have been proactive on this and have already made archival arrangements locally, whilst others have yet to do so. Whatever the circumstances, we are keen to hear from you to help guide us in taking the CWU history and heritage project forward.
Please return your completed questionnaire by email to: dlenihan@cwu.org
Q1:
Does your Branch have historic records from the CWU or any predecessor union? [These might be old minute books, branch accounts, local campaign literature etc]
Q2:
If your Branch does have such records, has the Branch made any arrangements for their storage? (At local archives for example) or are they kept at Branch premises?
Q3:
If your Branch does have such records still at Branch premises, could you give an indication of the quantity of historical records at the premises? An estimate of the physical size overall would also be useful?
Q4:
Can you identify any Branch activists who might be interested in taking a lead on a Branch-records archiving project?
Any comments or queries please do get in touch with the CWU Information Manager in the first instance
Denis Lenihan, Data Protection Officer & Information Manager
CWU Research Department
CWU Head Office, 150 The Broadway, Wimbledon, London, SW19 1RX.
020 8971 7279
Any enquiries regarding this LTB should be sent to gsoffice@cwu.org.
Yours sincerely
Dave Ward
General Secretary