Description

Admin History:

Patrick Henry Bligh Wall was born in Cheshire on 19 October 1916, the son of Henry Benedict Wall and Gladys Eleanor Finney. He was educated at Downside School, Bath. In 1935 he was commissioned in the Royal Marines, training to become a specialist in naval gunnery. During the Second World War, he served on various Royal Navy vessels, including Iron Duke, Valiant and Malaya, between 1940 and 1943. From 1943 to 1945 he served in RN support craft, with the United States Navy and then with the Royal Marine Commandos. He was awarded both the Military Cross and the US Legion of Merit in 1945. After the war he studied at the Royal Naval Staff College and the Joint Services Staff College, and was a staff instructor at the School of Combined Operations between 1946 and 1948. His last appointment afloat was in HMS Vanguard in 1949. He retired as a Major in 1950 in order to concentrate on a political career. However he remained a Reservist, commanding 47 Commando, Royal Marine Forces Volunteer Reserve, from 1951 until its disbandment in 1956. He was awarded the Volunteer Reserve Decoration (VRD) in 1957. His involvement in naval affairs was continued for many years through his work with the City of Westminster Sea Scout and Sea Cadet organisations, and the London Sea Scout Committee.

He contested the Cleveland constituency for the Conservative Party in the general election of 1951, and again at a bye-election the following year. He was subsequently elected for the Haltemprice Division of Hull (later of East Yorkshire) at a bye-election in February 1954, which in 1983 became the Beverley constituency, where he remained MP until his retirement in 1987. In Parliament he served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food between 1955 and 1957, and then to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, January 1958 - December 1959. Thereafter, as a leading back-bencher, Sir Patrick served on numerous Parliamentary and Conservative Party committees, of which the most important were: President of the Yorkshire Area Young Conservatives (1955 - 1960), Chairman of the Mediterranean Group of the Conservative Commonwealth Council (1954 - 1967), Chairman of the Conservative Parliamentary East and Central Africa Committee (1956 - 1959), Vice Chairman of the Conservative Commonwealth Affairs Committee (1960 - 1968), Vice Chairman of the Conservative Overseas Bureau (1963 - 1973), and Vice Chairman of the Conservative Defence Committee (1965 - 1971). He was a member of the Select Committee on Defence, 1980 - 1983. He was also Chairman of the Conservative Fisheries Committee (1962 - 1983), the All Party Fisheries Committee, and of the Africa Committee of the Conservative Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee. He was a Committee member of the Monday Club, and its Chairman between 1978 and 1980. He was also Chairman of: the Africa Centre (1961 - 1965); Joint East and Central Africa Board (1965 - 1975); Conservative Southern Africa Group (1970 - 1978); Conservative Africa Sub Committee (1979 - 1983); and the Royal Marines Parliamentary Group (1956 - 1987). In 1964 he founded the 92 Committee, following a meeting of MPs at his London home (92 Cheyne Walk) who desired to 'keep the Conservative Party Conservative'. This was disbanded in 1984.

Sir Patrick was Vice Chairman of the British Section of the Inter Parliamentary Union (1974 - 1984) and Chairman of the British Bahrain, British Maltese, British South Africa and British Taiwan Groups. He represented Britain at the 17th General Assembly of the United Nations in 1962. He was leader of the British Delegation to the North Atlantic Assembly (1979 - 1987), Chairman of the NAA's Military Committee (1977 - 1981), Vice President and then President of the NAA (1983 - 1985) and Chairman of the NAA's Conservative / Christian Democrat Group (1977 - 1987). He was a member of the Defence Committee of the Western European Union and Council of Europe (1972 - 1973).

As a politician he specialised in the problems of the Mediterranean countries, the Middle East, and of East, Central and Southern Africa, travelling widely and frequently in those areas and beyond. He visited Africa over 20 times, sometimes for several months at a time. His particular parliamentary subject interests were defence, the fishing industry, and Commonwealth and foreign affairs.

In addition to this national and international career, Sir Patrick was also involved in local government, both as a member of Westminster City Council between 1953 and 1962, and as Vice President of the Urban District Councils Association, 1965 - 1974.

Outside the political field, he was President of the British UFO Society, Vice President of the British Sub Aqua Club (1955 - 1987) and became a Fellow of the Institute of Journalists in 1989. A Roman Catholic, he founded and chaired the Pro Fide movement in 1970. This national body has numerous high level national and international contacts.

Sir Patrick has produced numerous books and articles during his long career, including: The Royal Marine Pocket Book (6 vols.) (1944), Student power (1968), Defence policy (1969), Overseas aid (1969), The Soviet maritime threat (1973) and various editions of The southern oceans and the security of the free world. His many articles have dealt with subjects ranging from defence and religion to Rhodesia. In the late 1950s he devised Commentapes, a series of taped commentaries on Commonwealth issues, and attempted to launch it as a commercial venture.

In addition to the above activities, Sir Patrick was a keen yachtsman, and a qualified pilot and parachutist, as well as being an enthusiastic marine diver. He also had a passionate interest in building model ships and aeroplanes, possessing some 6000 specimens by late 1992. These were placed on loan in the Museum of Army Transport at Beverley in February 1993.

Sir Patrick was knighted for his political services in 1981. He had earlier been made a Knight of the Sovereign Order of Malta, and was created a Freeman of Beverley in 1989. When not travelling, he found time during his retirement to build up a collection of exotic birds at his Brantinghamthorpe home, including parrots and peacocks. He suffered a severe stroke in September 1992, and moved into a home for retired army officers in Sussex. He married Sheila Elizabeth Putnam on 19 November 1953 and had one daughter, Rosemary, born in 1955. Sir Patrick died in May 1998.

Description:

Patrick Wall's archive is extraordinarily comprehensive and well-organised and the cataloguing process has followed entirely the original structure and subject classifications, which were preserved on transfer to Hull University Archives. A large amount of weeding of the collection has been undertaken, both at Brantinghamthorpe before transfer, and during the cataloguing process.

Political papers

Diaries

Patrick Wall's diaries begin in May 1950 with his first attempts to secure a prospective parliamentary candidature. These are not diaries as such, so much as compilations of papers documenting his political activities. There is therefore a large amount of overlap between the diaries, which number 341 volumes in total, and the rest of the archive. The original chronological sequence has been retained. The majority of the volumes include parliamentary questions, speeches, articles, letters to the press, and radio and television broadcasts, all by Patrick Wall, as well as invitations to political and social events. Publications from the Conservative Political Centre, papers on the fishing industry, the budget, the Queen's speech and the Navy estimates, and records of the 92 Committee also feature in a large number of the diaries.

The following topics are also covered by individual volumes: 1951 general election, fought by Patrick Wall as prospective Conservative candidate for Cleveland, with transcripts of party election broadcasts; Cleveland bye election, 1952; Haltemprice bye election, 1954, at which he was elected Conservative MP; his maiden speech, 9 March 1954; 1955 general election; numerous overseas visits and conferences, beginning with the Middle East and Cyprus, 1955/56; 1959 general election; 17th session of the United Nations General Assembly, October - December 1962; Profumo affair, 1963; 1964 general election; Conservative Party leadership election, 1965; Rhodesian question, particularly from the mid-1960s; 1966 general election, including samples of election literature for the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Parties; Fishing Vessels Grants Scheme, March 1967; minutes of the Select Committee on Agriculture, 1966 - 1967; sea fisheries grants, 1967; attack on Patrick Wall and his wife at Leeds University, May 1968 and disturbances at Warwick and York Universities, June & November 1968; banning of Patrick Wall from Lancaster and Sussex Universities, May 1969 & February 1970; trawlermen's strike, 1970; theological dispute with Norman St. John Stevas, early 1970; aid for Malta, 1970; 1970 general election; aid to Lesotho, 1970; television programme, Man alive, 25 November 1970; North Atlantic Assembly and its committees, from 1971; Pro Fide movement, from November 1970; 'the Troubles' in Northern Ireland, March 1972; Council of Europe Consultative Assembly, 1973 - 1975; Assembly of the Western European Union, from 1974 - 1977; winding up of the Joint Africa Board, July 1974; 1974 general election; Conservative Party leadership election, 1975; referendum on membership of the European Economic Community, July 1975; International Fishing Forum, 1977; 1979 general election; United States Presidential election, 1980; opening of Humber Bridge, 17 July 1981; Navy cuts, 1981; 1983 general election; issue of Sunday trading, 1986; Patrick Wall's retirement from Parliament at 1987 general election.

Of the large amount of correspondence which is included, there are letters from Sir Winston Churchill MP, Anthony Eden MP, John Profumo MP, Rab Butler MP, Harold MacMillan MP, Edward Heath MP, James Callaghan MP, Sir Roy Welensky, Sir Alec Douglas Home MP, Lord Carrington, President Lyndon B Johnson, William Whitelaw MP, Harold Wilson MP, Enoch Powell MP, Chief Leabua Jonathan, Francis Pym MP, Margaret Thatcher MP, Archbishop Basil Hume, Douglas Hurd MP, Michael Heseltine MP, Geoffrey Howe MP and Norman Tebbit MP.

Constituency cases and correspondence

The earliest evidence of Patrick Wall's constituency caseload comes in the form of a constituents case book for 1954 - 1955, which lists constituents alphabetically, with the subject of each case [U DPW/2/1]. There are also complete sets of lists of cases for 1954 to 1984, as well as for non - constituency cases for 1958 - 1984 [U DPW/2/2-3]. The survival of the constituency correspondence itself is unusually patchy; there is good coverage of 1970, followed by a gap until 1979, when the series continues for the period up until his retirement from Parliament. For each of these surviving years, corresponding non - constituency case correspondence is also available. Some of the correspondence has been arranged into numbered cases, but a large proportion remains in unsorted bundles. Topics which produced a large amount of correspondence include: Yorkshire Derwent Water Bill, 1970; the campaign for a footbridge over the A63 at North Ferriby, 1970; Rhodesian public servants, 1970; De La Pole Hospital enquiry, 1979 - 1980; Wildlife and Countryside Bill, 1981; the contract for the RAF basic trainer aircraft, 1985 [U DPW/2/10; 15; 18-19; 30; 42; 64]. However the majority of issues which raised extensive local concern are catalogued under the local issues series.

Local issues

This series covers the entire period of Patrick Wall's parliamentary career. His relations with the various local authorities in the East Yorkshire area are well documented, with 56 files of correspondence and minutes of meetings with East Riding County Council (1957 - 1974); Humberside County Council (1974 - 1983); Beverley Borough Council (1958 - 1985); Beverley Rural District Council (1961 - 1973); and Haltemprice Urban District Council (1959 - 1973) [U DPW/3/1-56]. Correspondence about plans for local government reorganisation in the region dates from the early 1950s and also covers the major reforms which resulted in the abolition of East Yorkshire as an administrative unit with effect from 1974 [U DPW/3/57-63]. Election literature issued by Conservative candidates is available for various local elections in the 1970s and 1980s [U DPW/3/64-72]. Humberside County Council Conservative Group held regular meetings with the county's Conservative MPs from 1974 onwards, and minutes of these meetings, with related correspondence and papers for discussion are available until 1987 [U DPW/3/73-83]. Some files include similar material for meetings between Humberside County Council and the county's MPs.

The issues which arose during his term as MP are listed alphabetically by subject and by organisation. A useful series of files on Hull Docks during the 1970s provides much evidence on industrial relations from the employers' perspective, including during the national dock strike in summer 1970 [U DPW/3/93-98]. The campaign to prevent the closure of the Hull to Scarborough railway line is covered by four files over the ten year period from 1966 [U DPW/3/99-102]. The long history of plans to build a bridge across the River Humber, which finally opened in 1981, can be found in ten files of correspondence [U DPW/3/103-112]. These include a special issue of the journal Perspective: East Yorkshire, about the Humber region, with related correspondence with the Editor, Alan Plater, dating from late 1966 [U DPW/3/104]. Correspondence with the Humber Pilots Society concerning government policy towards pilotage in the 1980s forms four files, with associated background papers [U DPW/3/113-116]. There is a detailed series of files of correspondence and maps relating to roads in the region, particularly Beverley and proposals for a bypass for the town in the 1960s and 1970s [U DPW/3/128-141]. The problem of the disposal of trade effluent from the local leather industry is well documented by correspondence with such companies as Richard Hodgson & Son Ltd., and the British Leather Federation, in the late 1960s [U DPW/3/144-151]. Finally there are several files about the question of an airport for Yorkshire, including correspondence about the civil air services operated from the Hawker Siddeley plant at Brough and RAF Leconfield [U DPW/3/155-161].

The local organisations whose concerns were either taken up by or raised with Patrick Wall include: Beverley Grammar School, regarding its future within the local secondary education system (1964 - 1974) [U DPW/3/167-174]; Beverley Minster and the campaign to preserve the open space along its southern edge (1980 - 1982) [U DPW/3/175-178]; Blackburn Aircraft Ltd., later Hawker Siddeley Aviation Ltd., then British Aerospace, about nationalisation, redundancies and the production of the HS146 aircraft (1958 - 1984) [U DPW/3/179-187]; the National Union of Farmers: Yorkshire East Riding County Branch, which held regular meetings with Patrick Wall (1955 - 1986) [U DPW/3/198-212]; the Ramblers' Association: East Yorkshire and Derwent Area (1962 - 1976) [U DPW/3/216-219]; local teachers' unions (1955 - 1976) [U DPW/3/220-231]; the University of Hull, mainly regarding the severe budget cuts imposed on the University in the early 1980s (1960 - 1986) [U DPW/3/232-244]; and Yorkshire Regional Health Authority, particularly the future of Beverley Westwood Hospital (1973 - 1987) [U DPW/3/249-253].

Subject files

These cover the topics which Patrick Wall was particularly interested in or involved with during his parliamentary career. The series are arranged in alphabetical order. The majority of files contain correspondence and background papers, although there is material of more variety and significance in the series on agriculture, defence, education, elections, fisheries, immigration and Roman Catholicism, which are summarised below.

Agriculture

This series of files was mainly accumulated during Patrick Wall's term as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, during 1955 - 1957. There are also minutes and related papers of the Conservative Party Parliamentary Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Committee (1955 - 1959), and correspondence, reports and memoranda of the Select Committee on Agriculture (1966 - 1969) [U DPW/4/96-100 & 111-116]. Other topics include the annual agricultural price review, animal welfare and various Acts of Parliament [U DPW/4/4-18; 75-92; 59-60, 65-67, 71-74, 95, 101, 103-104, 117-119].

Defence

The defence files reflect Patrick Wall's sustained involvement in this area, covering 1954 to 1991. Useful topics include parliamentary debates on the annual defence estimates, 1966 - 1986, with many gaps [U DPW/7/76-91], and defence policy regarding the Indian Ocean area [U DPW/7/123-131]. A series of background papers and correspondence has been gathered on each branch of the British armed forces [U DPW/7/133-224]. Of the defence organisations with which he was involved, the most important are: the North Atlantic Assembly, the Select Committee on Defence and the Western European Union [which form separate series at U DPW/41, U DPW/43 and U DPW/45]. However the general defence series also includes files for: the British Atlantic Committee / European Atlantic Group, 1961 - 1987 [U DPW/7/248-261]; the Conservative Parliamentary Committee for Defence, 1965 - 1977 [U DPW/7/265-275]; the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), 1954 - 1988 [U DPW/7/295-324].

Education

A large proportion of these files are devoted to individual Higher Education institutions and the student unrest which occurred during visits made by Patrick Wall (often as a Monday Club speaker) during 1968 to 1970. There are three files covering the most violent of these incidents at Leeds University in April 1968, when both Patrick Wall and his wife were physically attacked [U DPW/9/41-43]. Key papers on student unrest have also been assembled and correspondence about such organisations as the Radical Student Alliance and the Revolutionary Socialist Student Federation is available [U DPW/9/38-39; 52; 54]. Various files relate to the work of the Monday Club Universities' Group and its investigations into violence and student union funding [U DPW/9/47, 74, 83-85].

Elections

Files of correspondence and posters, leaflets and election addresses issued by Patrick Wall are available for each of the elections which he fought, from his first unsuccessful campaign in Cleveland in the 1951 general election to the last election before he stepped down from Parliament, the 1983 general election. Nationally-produced Conservative election materials can also be found, as well as photographs of Patrick Wall and his family campaigning in the 1970 general election [U DPW/10/63]. The most well-documented of his campaigns are the 1959, 1964 and 1974 general elections. For the latter, copies of both the Conservative and Labour Party manifestos are available [U DPW/10/70 & 72]. A significant amount of material is also contained in his political diaries, particularly information about canvassing, public speaking and broadcasting [U DPW/1].

Fisheries

This is an interest which spanned Patrick Wall's whole political career and resulted in the accumulation of over 200 files. These focus on the fishing industry in Hull, as well as the European framework of the Common Fisheries Policy and the impact of national legislation, grants and subsidy schemes. There is extensive material on the dispute with Iceland over fishing limits, known as the Cod War, particularly for the early 1970s [U DPW/13/124-138]. Memoranda and newsletters issued by the employers' organisation, the British Trawlers' Federation, date from the late 1950s and cover a range of issues, including the 1970 trawlermen's strike and the Cod War [U DPW/13/12-22, 198, 131, 134-138 and dispersed throughout the series]. Minutes and correspondence of the Fisheries Sub Committee of the Conservative Party Parliamentary Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Committee are available for 1967 to 1980 [U DPW/13/53-64] . There are also papers for the Select Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries Sub Committee, 1967 - 1969, United Nations Law of the Sea Conferences held during the 1970s, and meetings of the Hull Fishing Industry Joint Committee in the early 1980s [U DPW/13/188-189; 200-209; 117 & 123].

Immigration

A large proportion of the files in this series date from the mid to late 1960s, during a period of controversy about immigration and Government legislation in this area. Of particular note are transcripts of speeches by Enoch Powell, including his 'Rivers of blood' speech in April 1968, the replies to Patrick Wall's letters to the Daily Telegraph in summer 1969 about the treatment of British citizens born abroad, and individual files on the Commonwealth Immigrants Bill 1968 and the Race Relations Bill 1968 [U DPW/17/4, 29, 33-34 & 55; 10-11; 9; 68].

Roman Catholicism

The most important material within this series is that covering the creation and development of the Catholic lay movement, Pro Fide ['for the faith'], of which Patrick Wall was the founder. There are several files documenting the process of gathering support prior to forming the movement, during summer 1970, including the original manifesto, 'A voice for the silent majority', by Patrick Wall [U DPW/26/1-8]. As Chairman, he sat on the National Advisory Committee (later the National Council), for which there are minutes from October 1970 until September 1991, and compiled annual and progress reports [U DPW/26/12-13 & 57; 15]. There is extensive correspondence, especially with the Honorary Secretary EW Wade [U DPW/26/22-27]. Other correspondents include Cardinal Basil Hume and Rev. Fr. JW Flanagan, of the Catholic Priests' Association [U DPW/26/33; 37-39]. Transcripts of speeches on Roman Catholic affairs by Patrick Wall are available, as well as a number of Pro Fide publications, focussing on its concerns with catechetics and the crisis in the Church [U DPW/26/18-19; 76-87]. Files covering other Catholic organisations accompany the Pro Fide papers; they include the Catholic Institute for International Relations, the Catholic Union of Great Britain, Catholics United for the Faith, the Order of Christian Unity, and Pro Fide et Ecclesia [U DPW/26/111-114; 116-121; 122-124; 132-139; 141-143].

Youth

This small series includes three files of correspondence, reports and notes relating to Patrick Wall's Private Member's Bill, Partnership in Youth Service, 1983 [U DPW/36/1-3].

Organisations

As an MP, Patrick Wall was a member of a number of political organisations, both in an informal and official capacity. Significant series of papers are available for several rightwing pressure groups with which he was associated throughout his political career, as well as government and inter-governmental bodies specialising in defence matters, namely the Select Committee on Defence, the North Atlantic Assembly and the Western European Union.

92 Committee

The records of the 92 Committee, an internal Conservative Party pressure group, have been filed chronologically and comprise correspondence, lists of members of the group and of Conservative Party committees (with annotations indicating 92 Committee members). The files date from its formation in 1964 at a dinner at 92 Cheyne Walk. A ts. history of the Committee over a twenty year period is also available, produced by Patrick Wall after stepping down as Chairman in 1984 [U DPW/37/22].

Monday Club

There are some 76 files relating to the activities of the Monday Club amongst Patrick Wall's papers. The earliest material dates from 1961. They are particularly important for the mid to late 1960s, during which period the Club was very active in opposing the end of colonial rule in Africa and campaigning against the sanctions imposed on Southern Rhodesia. As well as minutes of the Executive Committee, Council, and Annual General Meetings, correspondence, reports, notices of meetings and memoranda, there are specific files on: the Chairman and Chairman's Sub-Committee; the National Organiser; Hull and Humberside Branch; the External (later Foreign) Affairs Group; and the Universities Group. Publications include factsheets, policy papers and pamphlets on immigration and race relations.

North Atlantic Assembly

Spanning both the 1970s and the 1980s, this series of almost 700 files is one of the largest in the collection. It begins those files which cover the work of the Assembly's annual sessions, from the 16th session held in November 1970 in The Hague, to the 36th session held in November 1990 in London (with some gaps for the late 1980s) [U DPW/41/1-88]. The files include agenda, minutes of proceedings and reports of sittings, minutes of various Committees, lists of texts adopted, transcripts of speeches, budgets and reports. The best documented sessions are the 28th (London, November 1982), 30th (Brussels, November 1984) and 32nd (Istanbul, November 1986). These are followed by a similar but less extensive run of files for the Assembly's spring meetings, beginning with the meeting held in Brussels in 1973, through to that held in Paris in 1990 [U DPW/41/92-123].

Records of the work of various Committees, as well as published reports, are held, including: Civilian Affairs Committee, 1984-1991; Defence and Security Committee, 1989-1991; Drafting Committee, 1982 & 1991; Economic Committee, 1973-1991; Education, Cultural Affairs and Information Committee, 1981 & 1984; Military Committee, 1971-1989, including annual military tours, 1972-1986; Political Committee, 1970-1991; Scientific and Technical Committee, 1981-1991; and Standing Committee, 1973-1992 [U DPW/41/126-372]. There is a small number of files for Special Committees on Nuclear Weapons [in Europe], 1980-1981 & 1986, and Nuclear [later Alliance] Strategy and Arms Control, 1985-1991 [U DPW/41/373-382], followed by more extensive records of the following Sub Committees: Advanced Technology and Technology Transfer, 1985; ASW, 1980-1981; Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, 1989; Confidence and Security Building Measures, 1989; Conventional Defence in Europe, 1983-1988; Cooperation in Research and Development, 1988-1989; Defence Cooperation in Europe, 1974-1989, including visits, 1977-1987; Eastern Europe, 1987-1989; Economic Cooperation, 1985-1986; Energy Supplies, 1974-1975; Free Flow of Information and People, 1981-1988; Future of the Armed Forces, 1991; Manpower and Personnel Issues, 1979-1981; Mediterranean Basin, 1991; Mutual Balanced Force Reduction, 1972-1974; Northern Flank, 1971-1986; Out of Area Challenges to the Security of the Alliance, 1983-1986; Public Information on Defence and Security, 1987-1989; Southern Flank [later Region], 1974-1986; Soviet Maritime Threat, 1971-1972; Successor Generation, 1984-1985; Transatlantic Trade Relations, 1988-1989; and Terrorism, 1987 [U DPW/41/383-497].

During the period of Patrick Wall's Presidency of the Assembly, 1983 to 1985, he accumulated a useful series of files which includes documentation of his meetings with the Secretary General of NATO, as well as with the governments of various member states [U DPW/41/498-530].

The remainder of the series comprises general files, arranged chronologically and by type of record (such as budgets, or reports); and subject files, arranged alphabetically. The most significant of these are: files relating to the Christian Democrat and Conservative Group in the Assembly, 1977-1987; records of the meetings in Hawaii of the Pacific Caucus of Parliamentarians, 1984-1986; proceedings of conferences and seminars held under the 'Rose Roth' initiative, 1992; files on SALT II [Strategic Arms Limitation Talks], 1978-1979; and files containing draft chapters of a report on 'The Soviet maritime threat' written by Patrick Wall for the Assembly, 1972 [U DPW/41/632-640; 661-667; 671-674; 675-680; 685-693].

Select Committee on Defence

Files documenting the meetings of the Select Committee cover the period of Patrick Wall's membership, 1980 - 1983. The files include programmes of inquiries, agenda, lists of witnesses, evidence submitted, informal minutes, minutes of evidence, correspondence, reports and memoranda. In particular there are 15 files covering the inquiry into the handling of public and press information during the Falklands conflict, which the Committee began in mid-1982 [U DPW/43/22-36]. Other significant topics covered include: the work of the D-notices Sub-Committee; the 1980 Defence White Paper and the annual defence estimates; government policy on the strategic nuclear deterrent, including Trident; and defence visits made by the Committee both within the UK and overseas [U DPW/43/15; 16 & 19-21; 46-50; 52-69].

Western European Union

These files date mainly from the early to mid 1970s, when Patrick Wall sat on the Committee on Defence Questions and Armaments. The work of the Committee is covered by 22 files of minutes, correspondence and reports, including draft papers by Patrick Wall for inclusion in a WEU report, Standardisation of European missile production (1975) [U DPW/45/12-26]. There are also minutes and official reports of sittings of the Assembly of the WEU, covering its 18th to 21st ordinary sessions for 1972 - 1975, and minutes and accounts of the Committee on Budgetary Affairs for 1973 - 1974 [U DPW/45/1-9; 10-11].

World Anti Communist League

Four files of correspondence with Ku Cheng - Kang, Honorary Chair of WACL, an alliance of anti-communist groups based in Taiwan, are available. These files span 1981 to 1986 and include correspondence with leading members of the League's British chapter, the British Anti-Communist Council, namely Peter Dally and Jill Knight MP [U DPW/47/1-4]. There is also one file of correspondence with Andrew Smith, Executive Director at the Western Goals Institute (which became the British chapter of WACL in 1985) [U DPW/47/5]. The file includes publicity leaflets for a front organisation known as Conservative Students.

Places files

Africa

Patrick Wall's African papers form one of the largest series within the collection and contain some of the most important material for researchers. The series includes records of several organisations relating to Africa, as well as reports of visits to the continent and other writings by Patrick Wall, and extensive correspondence. Researchers are also advised to consult the series of visits files [U DPW/64], which contains much useful material on his travels in Africa.

There are 32 files covering the establishment and early work of the Africa Centre, from its origins as a Committee of the Sword of the Spirit in the late 1950s [U DPW/48/1-32]. These include minutes, annual reports, accounts and correspondence, as well as files on the Future of Africa conferences organised in 1958 and 1961, and the seminars held in Tanganyika and Northern Rhodesia in 1960 and 1961. Parliamentary relations with South Africa are covered by seven files for the Anglo South Africa Parliamentary Group, 1969 - 1987, and there are also four files covering the work of the Conservative Party Policy Group on Southern Africa during the 1970s, including reports of visits to the region by members [U DPW/48/46-52; 54-57]. Patrick Wall's involvement in the Anglo Rhodesian Society dates from the mid 1960s, and there are minutes and correspondence for the period up to his resignation in 1970, as well as three files about the Peace with Rhodesia meetings held in early 1967 [U DPW/48/60-74]. The papers of the Joint East and Central African Board date from the early 1950s and include useful reports on the region and transcripts of addresses to Board meetings by colonial officials [U DPW/48/75-110]. A series of annual reports and accounts are available, with minutes and correspondence, including about the change of name to the Joint Africa Board in 1965. A short history composed in 1974 by the last Secretary, S Stanley Smith can be found in file U DPW/48/96.

The extent of Patrick Wall's contacts with Africa, particularly East and Southern Africa, are revealed by the fact that there are over 550 files in this series covering individual countries. His files on Basutoland, later Lesotho, comprise correspondence with successive Paramount Chiefs, Constantine Bereng Seeiso and Motlotlehe Moshoeshoe II (who later became King of independent Lesotho), as well as Chief Leabua Jonathan, the first Prime Minister of Lesotho [U DPW/48/142-157]. The files cover the transition to independence in 1966 and the political unrest which followed Chief Leabua's refusal to recognise the results of the 1965 general election. Patrick Wall's correspondence with politicians in Mauritius dates mainly from the early 1960s and includes Jules Koenig of the Parti Mauricien and Sir Seewosagur Ramgoolam, the first Prime Minister after independence [U DPW/48/436-446]. File DPW/48/442 includes a envelope of black and white photographs of an anti-independence rally, probably held in Port Louis in April 1965.

The Portugese colonies of Angola and Mozambique are covered by 18 files from 1961 onwards, mainly of correspondence, but also including factsheets about Angolan independence movements (UNITA, FNLA/GRAE, and MPLA) from the mid 1970s and a photocopied dossier of papers about UNITA, including UNITA communiques and correspondence, dating from 1980 [U DPW/48/454-470]. There is a similar amount of material for South West Africa, later Namibia, particularly briefs for British delegations to Inter Parliamentary Union conferences and correspondence, spanning the 1960s to the late 1980s [U DPW/48/557-572]. In particular there is a copy of the 1978 manifesto of the SWAPO-Democrats and a report of a meeting at the House of Commons between Conservative MPs and Andreas Shipanga of SWAPO (D) in November 1981 [U DPW/48/567 & 566]. A small series of files on Tanganyika in the period leading up to independence in 1961 includes correspondence with Julius Nyerere, who became its first Prime Minister [U DPW/48/584-590].

By far the greatest number of files (almost 200) cover Rhodesia, beginning in the early 1950s with the Central African Federation (Nyasaland, Northern Rhodesia and Southern Rhodesia) [U DPW/48/161-346]. An outstanding source for the period 1960 to 1972 is Patrick Wall's correspondence with Sir Roy Welensky (comprising 83 TLS), which covers the dissolution of the Federation in 1963 (of which Sir Roy was the last Prime Minister), the secession of Nyasaland, the constitution of Northern Rhodesia, the election of Ian Smith as Prime Minister in Southern Rhodesia, the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI), and subsequent relations between Southern Rhodesia and the United Kingdom [U DPW/48/161-164]. There are useful files of background papers and correspondence on economic and political developments within the Federation, as well as the respective constitutions of Nyasaland and Northern Rhodesia. These include the notes of a meeting between Patrick Wall and Dr Hastings Banda in May 1958 [U DPW/48/194]. The incorporation of the Barotseland Protectorate into Northern Rhodesia in 1964 is covered by three files [U DPW/48/214, 216-217]. Another important source is Patrick Wall's correspondence with successive Southern Rhodesian Prime Ministers (mainly Winston Field), President Clifford Dupont and other politicians, during the 1960s and 1970s [U DPW/48/229-235 & 260]. There are however only 2 TLS from Ian Smith. The history of Southern Rhodesia is particularly well documented for the late 1960s, with coverage of UDI, the imposition of sanctions, the various attempts at a settlement and debates about British policy.

The two other states in which Patrick Wall had a sustained interest were Kenya and South Africa [U DPW/48/363-434; 475-556]. Those files relating to Kenya date from the mid 1950s and are especially useful for the period leading up to independence in 1963. Correspondence and background papers are available on a variety of subjects, including the Mau Mau rebellion, overseas funding of Kenyan political parties, the constitution after independence, the Somali question, and compensation and pensions for East African civil servants and European ex-patriate farmers following independence [U DPW/48/366; 384 & 391; 382, 388 & 390; 389 & 391; 411-415; 416-434]. The earliest material on South Africa is also from the mid 1950s, comprising correspondence with South African politicians, including Helen Suzman and Catherine Taylor. The introduction of the General Law Amendment Act, the Rivonia Trials and the United Nations conference on sanctions are some of the more significant topics on which files were accumulated in the early 1960s [U DPW/48/484; 487; 486 & 488]. General files of correspondence and articles by Patrick Wall cover the period up to December 1990, and there is also a small series covering defence issues (the supply of arms to South Africa), and materials produced by the South Africa Education Project in 1972, with related correspondence and a report by Patrick Wall [U DPW/48/549-553; 554-556].

Individual files of significance include the following: correspondence with the Foreign Office about the dispute between the United Nations and the Katanga government in the Congo, 1961; correspondence with constituents about the famine in Ethiopia in 1984/85; correspondence with constituents about the American bombing of Libya in April 1986; correspondence about the expulsions from Uganda after the 1971 coup by General Idi Amin [U DPW/48/347; 357; 435; 600].

Commonwealth

Whilst general files on topics such as overseas aid, economic development and pensions for overseas civil servants are to be found here, files on specific Commonwealth states are located in other series, primarily amongst the African papers. Particularly useful are the records of the Commonwealth Migration Council, 1952 to 1964; a collection of Conservative Commonwealth Council papers, nos. 1-305, covering 1953 to 1975; minutes, papers and the 1967 report of the latter's Commonwealth Policy Study Group; records of the Expanding Commonwealth Group, 1955 to 1964, including draft pamphlets and papers by Patrick Wall; and records of the Policy Committee on the Commonwealth and the Colonies from the late 1950s [U DPW/51/44-53; 59-64; 65-72; 74-97; 117-119]. There are also files documenting Patrick Wall's Commentapes, a series of taped commentaries on Commonwealth issues which he devised and launched in the late 1950s [U DPW/51/22-35].

Far East

Amongst the files for such countries as Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan, are records of the British Committee for Vietnamese Refugees, 1975-1981, the British Committee for Free Vietnam, 1978-1984, and the British Movement for Freedom and Peace in Vietnam, 1971-1972 [U DPW/55/56-57; 58-61; 62].

Malta

Amongst almost 80 files of correspondence, background papers and reports of visits by Patrick Wall, are specific series on the Church and the state, the constitution, the dockyard and political affairs, in the period leading up to the achievement of independence in 1964, as well as records of the Friends of Malta GC during the 1960s [U DPW/58/44-48; 49-52; 53-56; 59 & 63-67; 71-79].

Middle East

There are over 100 files covering different states in the Middle East, including Aden, Bahrain, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, from the early 1950s onwards. Also available are general files containing papers of the Conservative Commonwealth Council, and correspondence and reports about conflicts in the region in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The most significant material relates to Egypt (1953 - 1979), particularly the Suez canal dispute and the subsequent sequestration of British assets [U DPW/59/34-66].

Visits

This comprehensive series of files contains reports and related material for all the countries visited and conferences attended by Patrick Wall from 1953 until 1992, as well as records produced by a number of international bodies of which he was a member. The files on visits to individual countries or regions are arranged chronologically by date of visit and are accompanied by a ts. list of visits, covering up to the late 1980s [U DPW/64/1]. The pattern of his visits reveals his political interests and specialisms; particularly notable is the amount of material documenting the many occasions on which he travelled throughout East, Central and Southern Africa, and to a lesser extent, the Far East, the Middle East and the United States of America. These files are most useful for the 1950s and 1960s, when many African states were undergoing the transition to independence, as they often contain detailed reports of the political situation and correspondence with local contacts and politicians, as well as articles by Patrick Wall and background papers collected during the visits. Visits to Rhodesia and South Africa are well covered, complementing the series of African papers [U DPW/48]. Also included are visits to various European countries to attend annual conferences of Conservative and Christian Democratic parties [U DPW/64/70, 75-76, 92-94, 136, 162-165].

Material of particular interest includes: reports on the referendum campaign in Malta, February 1956 [U DPW/64/5]; correspondence with Michael Scott of the Africa Bureau about events in Kasama and Luwingu districts of Northern Rhodesia, 1957 [DPW/64/14]; documents issued by the Parti Mauricien, late 1950s [U DPW/64/23]; correspondence and notes of meetings with South African politicians, late 1958 [U DPW/64/27-28]; circa 100 black and white photographs of East, Central and Southern Africa, mainly in the 1960s [U DPW/64/37, 59, 100, 119-121]; notes of a meeting with the Colonial Secretary, Reginald Maudling MP, 9 January 1962 [U DPW/64/52]; correspondence with Chief Leabua Jonathan, Prime Minister of Lesotho, early 1970 [U DPW/64/120-121]; files on annual visits to Northern Ireland by the Conservative Party Defence Committee, 1971 and 1974-1976 [U DPW/134-135, 148, & 153-154]; file on visit to Taiwan, January 1981, to attend World Freedom Day celebrations organised by the World Anti Communist League [U DPW/64/161].

Those files on conferences are arranged alphabetically by the organising body and include papers for the following: the 2nd and 3rd All African People's Conferences held in Tunis and Cairo, 1960 and 1961 [U DPW/64/208-212]; the Association for Cooperation of Democratic Countries, including a speech by Ronald Reagan to its 1980 conference [U DPW/64/214]; the Inter American Symposium, August 1979, including a paper by Patrick Wall [U DPW/64/224-227]; and a joint conference of the Summit Council for World Peace, the World Media Association and the Association for the Unity of Latin America, held in Moscow in April 1990 under the auspices of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon [U DPW/64/234].

Records of sessions of the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe, held in Strasbourg, cover the period of Patrick Wall's membership, 1973 to 1975, and comprise orders of business, lists of delegates, minutes of proceedings, reports, opinions, resolutions and texts adopted [U DPW/64/236-247]. There are also more limited records for two special committees attended by Patrick Wall, the Committee on Agriculture and the Committee on Non Member Countries [U DPW/64/248-250; 251].

Files covering Patrick Wall's work as a British delegate to conferences of the Inter Parliamentary Union (and leader of the delegation, 1974-1984) are extensive and begin with the spring meeting held in April 1966 in Canberra, Australia. The files contain background briefs for the British delegation, lists of delegates, speeches, resolutions, memoranda, reports and summary records of plenary sessions [U DPW/64/252-328]. There are also papers consulted and produced by the various IPU committees which sat during the conferences, including: Economic and Social Committee, April 1966 [U DPW/64/252]; Committee on Non Self Governing Territories, September/October 1966 [U DPW/64/262]; Parliamentary and Judicial Committee, April 1967 [U DPW/64/263 & 266]; Committee on Political Questions, International Security and Disarmament, April 1967 - September 1982 [U DPW/64/264, 276, 278, 284, 288, 303 & 306]. There is a series of seven files documenting the IVth Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) held in Brussels in May 1980, including two submission folders of documents under discussion [U DPW/64/294-295]. Also of note amongst the files about the 1975 spring meeting in Colombo are the reports and correspondence resulting from an investigation into conditions on British-owned tea estates in Sri Lanka [U DPW/64/279-283]. Records of the work of the British Group of the IPU cover 1958 to 1982 and include minutes of meetings [U DPW/64/310-328].

The final noteworthy section of the visits series is that relating to the XVIIth session of the United Nations General Assembly, which Patrick Wall attended as British representative in October - December 1962. The majority of files cover the discussions of the main assembly on financial and personnel matters, and debates of the 4th Committee on Non Self Governing Territories, Basutoland, the Portuguese territories, Southern Rhodesia, South West Africa, Swaziland and neo-colonialism (including the allegations of British vested interests in Africa made by Rev. Michael Scott) [U DPW/64/349-364; 370-385].

Writings

Patrick Wall's writings fall naturally into several categories, from books to letters to the press. Drafts and published editions of the Royal Marine Pocket Book (1944) are catalogued as part of his military papers [U DPW/69/136-154]. There are 17 files of drafts, correspondence, proofs and book reviews of successive editions of The southern oceans and the security of the free world (1975-1978), which Patrick Wall edited and contributed to [U DPW/65/1-17]. Correspondence and draft chapters for a book on parliamentary democracy, in collaboration with Peter Dally (of Intelligence Digest) and Allan Brownfeld date from 1978-1979 [U DPW/65/19-21]. An unusual item is the complete carbon copy typescript of a novel by Dermott Kydd about the land transfer scheme in Kenya, dating from the late 1970s [U DPW/65/26]. Patrick Wall's published pamphlets date from the late 1960s and early 1970s and cover defence and the Soviet maritime threat [U DPW/65/28-31]. The remainder of this series comprises files and bound copies of articles, reports and letters to the press, spanning almost four decades of political commentary.

Military papers

Patrick Wall assembled the bulk of his military papers into binders, forming an integral and complete series for 1935 to 1950. The series begins with 14 volumes of course notes covering his training as Second Lieutenant, January 1935 to April 1937, following which there are seven volumes relating to his service on board HMS Devonshire, which formed part of the Mediterranean Fleet [U DPW/69/1-14; 15-21]. His subsequent work as an instructor of naval gunnery, both on board HMS Excellent and at RM Barracks, Eastney, is documented by 15 volumes of course notes [U DPW/69/22-36]. His first experience of active service following the outbreak of war was as Gunnery Officer on HMS Iron Duke, for which there are only two volumes [U DPW/69/37-38. Binders 43 to 50 cover the period July 1941 to September 1943, which he spent as Officer Commanding Royal Marine Detachment and 2nd Gunnery Officer on board the battleship HMS Valiant, as part of the Eastern Mediterranean Fleet, the Eastern Fleet and the naval forces supporting the Allied landings in southern Italy. In the final months leading up to D-Day, he was based at the Assault Gunnery School on board HMS Turtle, for which there are three volumes of papers mainly about landing craft [U DPW/69/51-53]. Binder 54 covers his role in Operation Overlord, on attachment to the United States Navy, whilst binders 56 to 58 relate to 48 RM Commando, of which he became 2nd-in-Command, and which was involved in the invasion of northern Europe. After the war, he studied at both the Royal Naval Staff College and the Joint Services Staff College, accumulating 13 volumes of course notes, as well as reports and maps for two major military exercises [U DPW/69/59-61, 80-84, 85-89 & 92]. Between 1946 and 1948, he was a staff instructor at the newly established School of Combined Operations and binders 64 to 79 comprise his training materials and lectures. There is one volume covering what was to be his last naval appointment, on HMS Vanguard, before entering the Royal Marine Office, for which there are six volumes of administrative papers [U DPW/69/93; 90-91 & 94-97]. Finally, 13 files document the training of 47 Commando, Royal Marine Forces Volunteer Reserve, which Patrick Wall commanded following his retirement from the Royal Marines in 1950, until the Commando was disbanded in 1957 [U DPW/69/98-110].

As well as this main series, his military papers also include the following: a miscellaneous collection of gunnery and other orders, mainly issued on board HMS Valiant, (1940 - 1943); various military reports and publications, including particularly Combined Operations Handbooks for 1945 and 1946; and drafts and published editions of the Royal Marine Pocket Book, volumes 1 - 6, which Patrick Wall produced in 1944 [U DPW/69/111-119; 120-135; 136-154]. There are over 100 military editions of Ordnance Survey and other maps, and nautical charts, of most interest being those of the coastal defences of northern France in 1943 and 1944, including a number specifically relating to the planning of Operation Overlord and the landings on the Omaha beach area [U DPW/69/155-264].

Personal papers

Financial, property and legal papers

Patrick Wall's personal financial papers date from after his retirement from the Royal Marines and comprise files of correspondence with his accountants (1950 - 1988), bank (1951 - 1990) and stock brokers (1950 - 1990) [U DPW/71]. The series relates closely to his property and legal papers. There are some 40 files relating to the various properties owned by Sir Patrick, namely his three successive London residences, 63 Clabon Mews, Cadogan Square, 92 Cheyne Walk, and 8 Westminster Gardens, Marsham Street, as well as his constituency home in East Yorkshire, Brantinghamthorpe, and a plot of land near Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia [U DPW/72/1-40]. The files include correspondence about the sale and purchase of the properties, as well as architectural plans, and records of residents' associations for 8 Westminster Gardens. For 92 Cheyne Walk, there are 3 files detailing his unsuccessful attempts to fund a renewal of the lease, which involved protracted correspondence with the trustees of the estate of his maternal uncle, Oswald J Finney [U DPW/72/19-21]. His relationship with the trustees lasted over 40 years, until the death of Oswald Finney's wife Josa and the distribution of the estate in 1983. As a result he accumulated 23 files of correspondence, legal case papers (from His Britannic Majesty's Consular Court for Egypt, which had jurisdiction over Alexandria, where Oswald Finney's property was held), reports, memoranda, accounts, copy wills and other documents [U DPW/72/41-64]. The sequestration of British assets in Egypt is the subject of two files in this series covering 1976 - 1984, as well as 16 files in the series on the Middle East, for the period from 1956 [U DPW/59/45-60]. There are also files covering the following family estates, which Patrick Wall helped to administer after their deaths: his cousin James Finney, his aunt May Finney, his uncle Harold Finney, his mother Gladys Wall and his brother Oswald Wall [U DPW/72/65; 66-68; 69; 70-72; 73]. Oswald Wall's file includes a report of his military activities in Europe in 1944 - 1945, both as a Prisoner of War and after his escape.

London Sea Scouts and Sea Cadets

The records of Patrick Wall's involvement in sea scouting cover the late 1940s to the late 1960s, during which period he was active in the 35th City of Westminster Sea Scouts and the City of Westminster Sea Cadet Unit. The administration of the Sea Scout Group is documented by minutes of Group Council, 1949 - 1957, Group Committee, 1956 - 1958, and the Troop in Council, 1948 - 1950 [U DPW/73/1-11]. There are also some useful compilations of material about scouting activities and events over the period 1946 - 1947, including for the Senior Troop [U DPW/73/50-64 & 73-87]. The files on the Sea Cadet Unit are less extensive and mainly comprise correspondence for the period from its establishment in 1954 until Patrick Wall's retirment as Commanding Officer in late 1958 [U DPW/75].

It was however as Area County Commissioner (Sea Scouts) that he undertook more significant work. In this role he became involved in a number of sea scouting organisations. There are minutes, including of conferences and AGMs, for the London Scout Council, 1950 - 1965, and for the London Sea Scout Committee, 1949 - 1965 [U DPW/78/1-8; 13-18]. Also for the London Sea Scout Committee, extensive correspondence, Admiralty inspection reports and annual census returns of Sea Scout Groups are accompanied by files on the following topics: boats, bye - laws and events, including the International Patrol Camp, 1955, and the Jamboree Indaba Moot, 1957 [U DPW/78/21-26, 36-44; 45-46; 47-50; 51-60; 62-64; 71-84; 94-96; 97-106]. Records are available for Group Scout Masters' Conferences, 1961 - 1965 [U DPW/78/86-90]. London Training Team material mainly covers the annual Wood Badge Preliminary Training Course, 1950 - 1965 [U DPW/78/141/155]. The establishment and operation of the London Sea Scout (later Sailing) Base is covered by 34 files [U DPW/78/163-196], and there are also files on the Discovery Committee, the London Sailing Project and the London Scout and Guide Underwater Association [U DPW/78/197-204; 78/205-221; U DPW/79].

Photographs

There is a large collection of family photographs, mainly of the Finney family (Patrick Wall's maternal ancestors). Many individual portrait photographs of Patrick Wall's parents, Henry Benedict Wall and Gladys Eleanor Finney, his aunt, May Finney, and his brother Oswald Wall, as well as of Patrick Wall himself, have survived [U DPW/84/1-57]. Both Oswald and Patrick Wall are photographed as children and during their military service in the Second World War. Patrick Wall himself began taking photographs in the early 1930s and kept a voluminous series of wallets and binders of negatives and black and white prints which ends in mid-1963 [U DPW/84/81-176]. These include, amongst many routine family and scouting shots, the D-Day landings in Normandy, 6 June 1944, the invasion of northern Europe, 1945, election campaigns and visits to Africa. Hundreds of negatives of liners and warships dating from the 1930s are also available, along with a volume of prints of the interior and exterior of 3 Rue Rollo, Alexandria, pre-war home of Oswald and Josa Finney [U DPW/84/206-217; 219].