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Senate House Library, University of London

Clinton, Alan Michael


IDENTITY STATEMENT

Reference code(s): GB 0096 MS 1114

Held at: Senate House Library, University of London

Title: Clinton, Alan Michael

Date(s): circa 1918-1990

Level of description: Collection

Extent: c50 boxes

Name of creator(s): Clinton | Alan Michael | 1943-2005 | historian and socialist

CONTEXT

Administrative/Biographical history:

Born Dublin, June 1943; came to England with his family when he was 11; studied at Xaverian College, Manchester, and read history at Merton College, Oxford, where he became actively involved with politics as a member of the Labour Party and also joined several socialist and Trotskyite groupings. Clinton gained his PhD at Chelsea College, University of London, researching trades council activity (under Ralph Miliband) and industrial relations were to remain his main intellectual interest, publishing the book The Trade Union Rank And File: Trades Councils in Britain 1900-1940 in 1977. In the 1980s, Clinton wrote books on printed ephemera, libraries, unions, housing and safety at work. His large work, Post Office Workers: A Trade Union And Social History was published in 1984. During the 1970s, Clinton was instrumental in setting up the Workers' Socialist League and devoted much time to its campaigning and publications. In 1982, he was elected to Islington council and almost immediately became chief whip; in 1986, he became deputy leader to Margaret Hodge, and leader himself, 1994-1997. As well as politics, Clinton also taught widely, holding temporary posts at Leeds University, the Bodleian Library, Oxford, Imperial College, South Bank Polytechnic, the Institute of Housing, the Irish Studies Centre and North London Polytechnic. In 1988, he took more permanent employment as a history lecturer at Bristol Polytechnic (subsequently the University of the West of England). Clinton's last work Jean Moulin, 1899-1943: The French Resistance And The Republic was published in 2001. He died in January 2005.

CONTENT

Scope and content/abstract:

The collection comprises correspondence, research notes, publications and drafts compiled by Alan Clinton during research for his book Printed Ephemera: Collection, Organisation, Access published by Clive Bingley in 1981 (1976-1980); Correspondence, organisational documents, ephemera, handwritten notes and other material regarding Clinton's involvement with the Oxford University Labour Club and other groupings, including the Socialist Labour League, his time serving on Islington Council, various publications and articles (1964-1990), Trotskyist and other left-wing pamphlets and journals, 1960s-1980s, including Workers Press and Newsline.

ACCESS AND USE

Language/scripts of material: English

System of arrangement:

Divided into pamphlets (MS1114/1/1/1-), serials (MS1114/1/2/1-) and subject files. Subject files divided into ephemera project (MS1114/2/1-), other academic projects MS1114/3/1-), political activism (MS1114/4/1-), personal (MS1114/5/1-).

Conditions governing access:

Open for research although at least a working day's notice should be given. Access to some files might be restricted under the Freedom of Information Act. Please contact the University Archivist for details.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Physical characteristics:

Finding aids:

A pdf catalogue is attached to the online description

Detailed catalogue

ARCHIVAL INFORMATION

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information:

Accruals:

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

Gifted to Senate House Library by Owen Clinton and Alison Appleby in April 2005.

ALLIED MATERIALS

Existence and location of originals:

Existence and location of copies:

Related material:

Alan Clinton's papers are also held at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick (ref. MSS.539). These mainly comprise archives of Trotskyist organisations such as the Workers' Socialist League, circa 1970s-1980s.

Publication note:

DESCRIPTION NOTES

Note:

Archivist's note: Compiled by Stefan Dickers on behalf of the RSLP AIM25 Project.

Rules or conventions: Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Date(s) of descriptions: April 2005. Updated by Richard Temple, May 2006.


INDEX ENTRIES
Subjects
Socialism | Collectivism | Political doctrines
Student organizations | Educational associations | Educational administrative structure | Educational organizations
Information processing

Personal names
Clinton | Alan Michael | 1943-2005 | historian and socialist

Corporate names
Islington Council
Oxford University Labour Club
Socialist Labour League

Places