Correspondence with the Colonial Office and other ministries, 1942-1962
Consumers' co-operation, monopolies, and restrictive practices, constitutional development, labour relations and conditions, housing and education, racial discrimination, land utilisation, and settlement: these are some of the diverse range of subjects dealt with in the correspondence (MSS. Brit. Emp. s. 365/25 and MSS. Brit. Emp. s. 365/26). The views of the Bureau were not always in line with those of the Colonial Office, but many suggestions were acted upon, either in whole or in part, and many measures that the Bureau opposed were reconsidered by the Colonial Office. There can be no doubt that so productive and prolonged an interchange of ideas between a pressure group and a minister is without parallel in recent political history.
Correspondence with the Dominions Office and Commonwealth Relations Office (MSS. Brit. Emp. s. 365/27) is concerned with Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and the High Commission Territories (Lesotho, Botswana, and Eswatini), in particular with two deputations from the Bureau in 1946 and 1947 regarding racial discrimination and indigenous policy in Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe). MSS. Brit. Emp. s. 365/28 contains monthly lists, issued during the same period by the Crown Agents for the Colonies and the Colonial Office, of publications relating to the Colonies.
In the following boxes, unless otherwise indicated, the Bureau's letters are from Rita Hinden (Rita Hinden). In 1945, Marjorie Nicholson (Marjorie Nicholson) became Assistant Secretary to the Bureau, and in 1950 took Rita Hinden's place as Secretary.
Below is given a list of Secretaries and Under-Secretaries of State for the Colonies and Ministers for Colonial Affairs who held office during the period, and an alphabetical list of members of the Colonial Office staff with whom the Bureau corresponded or to whom reference is made:
THE COLONIAL OFFICE
Secretaries of State for the Colonies:
- Viscount Cranborne, Feb 1942
- O.F.G. Stanley, Nov 1942
- G.H. Hall, Aug 1945
- A. Creech Jones, Oct 1946
- James Griffiths, Mar 1950
- Oliver Lyttelton, Oct 1951.
Ministers of State for Colonial Affairs, 1948-1953:
- the Earl of Listowel, Jan 1948
- John Dugdale, Mar 1950
- Alan T. Lennox-Boyd, Nov 1951
- Henry Hopkinson, May 1952.
Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State for the Colonies:
- Harold Macmillan, 1942
- the Duke of Devonshire, 1943
- A. Creech Jones, 1945
- Ivor Thomas, 1946
- D.R. Rees-Williams, 1947
- T.F. Cook, 1950
- the Earl of Munster, 1951.
Colonial Office Staff with whom the Bureau corresponded:
- Armitage-Smith, J.N.A.: Principal, Finance Department
- Baldwin, T.H.: Assistant Educational Adviser
- Beckett, H.: Head of West Indian Department
- Blackburne, K.W.: Asst. U-S/S, Director of Information Services
- Campbell, A.: Principal
- Canham, Peter H.: Research Council
- Carstairs, C.Y.: Assistant Secretary
- Cartland, G.B.: Principal, West African Department
- Chamberlain, G.: Colonial Service Officer (seconded)
- Chamier, A.: Principal, Welfare Department
- Clark, W.W.: Senior Executive Officer
- Cohen, (Sir) Andrew B.: Asst. U-S/S, Africa
- Cox, Christopher W.M.: Educational Adviser
- Creasy, Gerald: Asst. U-S/S, Africa
- Crook, W.V.: Liaison Officer for East African Students
- Cruchley, I.H.: Principal, Social Service Department (B)
- Cummings, Ivor G.: Principal, Welfare Department
- Darlow, Mary: Principal, Social Service Department (A)
- Dawson, W.F.: Principal, East African Department; Private Secretary to A. Creech Jones
- Dixey, F.: Geological Adviser
- Downie, H.F.: Assistant Secretary
- Eastwood, C.G.: Asst. U-S/S, Production and Marketing
- Edmonds, E.R.: Assistant Secretary; Private Secretary to A. Creech Jones, S/S Col.
- Emanuel, A.: Assistant Secretary
- Grossmith, C.A.: Assistant Secretary, Head of Social Service Department (B)
- Haler, Antony J.H.: Press Officer
- Hibbert, J.G.: Assistant Secretary, Head of Research Department
- Hudson, R.S.: Head of African Studies Branch
- Hyde-Clarke, E.M.: Labour Advisory Board
- Jeffries, (Sir) Charles J.: Deputy U-S/S
- Keith, J.L.: Head of Welfare Department, Director of Colonial Scholars
- Kirkness, D.J.: Principal; Private Secretary to James Griffiths, S/S Col.
- Lambert, C.E.: Assistant Secretary
- Lewis, J.V.: Colonial Service Officer (seconded)
- Luke, S.E.V.: Assistant Secretary
- Mackenzie, D.F.: Assistant Press Officer
- McLean, Sir William: Reference Section
- Malone, D.K.: Senior Executive Officer
- Martin, J.M.: Asst. U-S/S, International Relations
- Melville, E.: Assistant Secretary, Head of Production and Marketing
- Millar, J.B.: Broadcasting Specialist
- Monson, W.B.L.: Assistant Secretary
- Nunn, G.N.N.: Principal, Commercial Relations and Supplies
- Ogunnaike, J.: Nigerian Department
- Osborne, W.J.B.: Senior Executive Officer; Private Secretary to James Griffiths, S/S Col.
- Poynton, A.H.: Asst. U-S/S, International Relations
- Reddaway, A.F.J.: Principal, West African Department
- Roberts, C.S.: Principal, Economic General Department; Private Secretary to A. Creech Jones, S/S Col.
- Robertson, I.D.: Principal, East African Department
- Rogers, P.: Asst. Secretary, Head of East African Department
- Sabine, Noel: Public Relations Officer
- Scott, E.L.: Principal, East African Department
- Sidebotham, J.B.: Asst. Secretary, Head of Pacific Dept.
- Smallman, B.G.: Assistant Principal
- Smith, Douglas M.: Principal, West Indian Department (A); Private Secretary to A. Creech Jones, S/S Col.
- Stephenson, G.L.: Principal, African Studies Branch
- Surridge, B.J.: Adviser on Co-operation
- Sweaney, W.D.: Principal, West Indian Department (B)
- Thomas, J.: Press Section
- Wallis, C.A.G.: African Studies Branch
- Ward, W.E.F.: Deputy Educational Adviser
- Watson, A.R.: Welfare Department
- Watson, N. Duncan: Head of Social Service Department (B)
- Wilson, W.G.: Principal, Industrial Relations (A)
- Winnington-Ingram, C.: Principal, African Studies.
Dates
- Creation: 1942-1962
Language of Materials
- English
Full range of shelfmarks:
MSS. Brit. Emp. s. 365/25-28
Biographical / Historical
When the Labour Party came to power in 1945, Creech Jones was appointed Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies and resigned the chairmanship of the Fabian Colonial Bureau. 'I do so with the utmost regret,' he wrote to Rita Hinden, 'but my interest is abiding' (MSS. Brit. Emp. s. 365/25, folder 1, fol. 118). The following year, he succeeded George Hall as Secretary of State. His five years' work with the Bureau had provided a massive and unique preparation for office, and with electoral victory came the opportunity to embark upon the programme of reconstruction that the political, social, and economic conditions in the colonies demanded. His close personal relationship with the Bureau continued without a break: the stream of communication continued to flow between Dartmouth Street and Downing Street.
The extent to which the Bureau directly influenced colonial policy cannot be precisely assessed. However, it is clear that on many occasions government action followed the lines suggested in the Bureau's publications or letters to the Secretary of State. The correspondence, covering nearly five years, on the subject of the exploitation of mineral resources in the colonies (MSS. Brit. Emp. s. 365/25, folder 1, fols. 30-63), illustrates the sustained pressure the Bureau brought to bear in relation to certain aspects of policy; the White Paper, 'Memorandum on Colonial Mining Policy' (Col. No. 206), published in 1946, incorporated most of the proposals made in the Bureau's original letter on the subject, dated 16 Aug 1943.
Creator
- From the Collection: Fabian Colonial Bureau (Organisation)
Repository Details
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