Box 14

Internal Documents folder

Information Officer Walter Evans’ numbered collection of documents circulating around the University of Essex to do with the May 1968 events, including documents by students, members of staff, the University and the Free University; also includes some transcripts of radio and television reporting from the campus.

The ‘Internal Documents’ folder is one of the three key holdings of the archives relating to the May 1968 campus events and representing a more or less ‘official’ or administrative perspective. The other two are the papers of the Committee of Enquiry on the question of freedom of speech (located in Box 8), and the materials relating to the Committee’s Tribunal of Enquiry (written statements in Box 9, digitised transcripts of each witness’ oral evidence in Box 17/Tribunal hearings, and the Tribunal’s final report in Box 8).

  • Ref 1 University Newsletter #91 (03.05.68): announcement of Inch lecture.
  • Ref 1a ‘Oppose CBW’ (07.05.68).
  • Ref 2 ‘Anglia News’ transcript (08.05.68): P Honeyman interviews Ian Brodie and ‘staff member’.
  • Ref 3 ‘The Porton Down Affair’ (10.05.68).
  • Ref 4 Triesman rustication letter (10.05.68).
  • Ref 5 Registrar’s account, ’Incidents at Wivenhoe House’ (10.05.68).
  • Ref 6 University Press Release (10.05.68).
  • Ref 6a PR Notes (inc. account of Harber/Hex announcement in front of Telegraph journalist) May (10.05.68).
  • Ref 7 Tony Barker General Assembly requisition (10.05.68).
  • Ref 8 Note by Evans on attempt to arrange dialogue between Sloman and Triesman (10.05.68).
  • Ref 9 ‘The Porton Down Affair Phase II’ (10.05.68 – ‘just!’).
  • Ref 10 ‘A statement’, by Andy Mack (10.05.68).
  • Ref 11 Press Release from Student Council (11.05.68).
  • Ref 12 ‘What is Germ Warfare?’ (11.05.68).
  • Ref 13 ‘CS Gas confirmed used by CRS in Paris’ (11.05.68).
  • Ref 14 Call for moratorium on University activity (11.05.68).
  • Ref 15 Letter from staff to VC May (12.05.68).
  • Ref 16 Invitation to Monday General Meeting (13.05.68).
  • Ref 16b Call for University moratorium (11.05.68).
  • Ref 16c Rebuttal of Registrar’s account of ‘Events at Wivenhoe House’ Cf Ref 5 in this folder
  • Ref 16d ‘You may think nothing has been happening over the weekend….’ (13.05.68).
  • Ref 17 Resolution from Sociology Dept. to Vice Chancellor (13.05.68).
  • Ref 18 General Meeting resolutions passed (13.05.68).
  • Ref 19 Pete Archard response to speech by Maths Dept. member (13.05.68): text of letter to VC written before the Inch lecture explaining Archard’s decision and motivations.
  • Ref 20 Peter Archard statement on return to evening General Meeting following Hex debacle (13.05.68).
  • Ref 21 Report back to evening General Meeting from delegation of 6 returning from VC (13.05.68).
  • Ref 22 Motions passed at evening General Meeting (13.05.68).
  • Ref 23 Acting chair of Finance Committee A Blunt report on resolutions from morning and evening meetings, re hiring legal support (13.05.68).
  • Ref 24 Peter Archard Press Statement (13.05.68).
  • Ref 25 General Meeting statement of case against VC (13.05.68).
  • Ref 26 VC calls special meeting of Senate for May 15th (13.05.68).
  • Ref 27 ‘On Enlightened Disinterest’ (14.05.68).
  • Ref 28 Reddy and Barker morning call for informal afternoon meeting of staff in advance of tardy General Assembly the following Monday 20th, and in light of May 13th meetings and developments (14.05.68).
  • Ref 29 Declaration of ‘Free University’ plus schedule of talks and Teach-ins (14.05.68).
  • Refs 30-34 (inclusive) were apparently ‘not received’.
  • Ref 35 Free University CBW Teach-in resolutions (14.05.68).
  • Ref 36 Letter to townspeople of Colchester (14.05.68).
  • Ref 37 Tony Barker memo on staff participation in May 13th meetings, and student (and press) admission to May 14th meeting (14.05.68).
  • Ref 38 Staff meeting/Thompson resolution typed from chair Tony King’s notes (14.05.68).
  • Ref 39 ‘Why Only Reinstatement Will Do’ (15.05.68, pre-Senate meeting).
  • Ref 40 Legal advice to Brodie on suspensions, from Cunningham Son & Orfeur (15.05.68).
  • Ref 41 Tony Barker’s notes on open air meeting awaiting report back from Senate (15.05.68).
  • Ref 42 BBC ‘Today’ transcript (16.05.68): Jean Goodman on waiting for Senate, and insights into the Free University (‘they don’t do very much except just discuss their policy and yesterday they held a seminar about improved press relationships’).
  • Ref 43 Report from Senate on early termination of exclusion, at this stage set to end May 22nd because of a technicality to do with the calling of an extraordinary meeting; also announces establishment of Committee of Inquiry (16.05.68).
  • Ref 44 Dixon Committee of Inquiry calling notice (16.05.68).
  • Ref 45 Free University meeting resolution/’ultimatum’ re reinstatement, calling for Senate meeting Friday 17th before noon; signed by Fred Twine (16.05.68).
  • Ref 46 May 17th note re reconvening of Senate special meeting, plus extra meeting for King Committee of Enquiry report; noted also that this special meeting automatically terminates rustication of students (17.05.68).
  • Ref 47 University Press Release along similar lines to Ref 46 (17.05.68).
  • Ref 48 Free University resolution aiming to clarify that students are fully reinstated, and to affirm absolute principle of natural justice (17.05.68).
  • Ref 49 Committee of Enquiry memo re membership and May 20th meeting re credentials (18.05.68).
  • Ref 50 Registrar memo re Senate’s clarification of terms of reference for Committee of Enquiry; nb memo subsequently sent to Lord Alport by Gifford in attempt to convince him of Tribunal’s legitimacy (20.05.68).
  • Ref 51 Registrar memo: exams as scheduled (20.05.68).
  • Ref 52 General Meeting resolutions: (i) calls General Assembly for May 21st (7pm) to discuss structural reform; and (ii) requests Committee of Enquiry to get clarification from Alport and Butler re international conspiracy allegations (20.05.68).
  • Ref 53 BBC ‘Look East’: Tony Scase interviews Rick Coates and Albert Sloman (20.05.68).
  • Ref 54 BBC ‘Town & Around’ transcript: Dennis Frost interviews Brian Downey and PVC Donald Davie (20.05.68).
  • Ref 55 Comparative Studies Common First Year student memo/petition re exams (21.05.68).
  • Ref 56 Keith Trace (Committee of Enquiry Chair) memo re Tribunal membership and call for submissions (21.05.68).
  • Ref 57 Motions from Dorothy Smith and Mike Gonzales to General Meeting (21.05.68).
  • Ref 58 Gray Morris GM resolution re banning Part one and progress exams (21.05.68).
  • Ref 58a BBC ‘SE Regional News’ transcript: exams as scheduled, as boycotted; also on allegations by Lords Alport and Butler (21.05.68).
  • Ref 59 Record of a debacle over whether Senate’s meeting of May 22nd was open to students, as per attached General Assembly resolution from the previous week, or not, as per attached notices from Senate meeting room door (22.05.68).
  • Ref 60 BBC Radio 4 ‘In the Public Eye’ (23.05.68) George Scott interviews Albert Sloman.
  • Ref 61 ‘Outlook’ (BBC?) Ronald Allison/Ellison interviews University Anglican Chaplain Rev. Malcolm France, who turns out to be pretty sympathetic to student plight (25.05.68).
  • Ref 62 Dixon/Butler correspondence re Communist Party influence – see also Tribunal Ref 52 in Box 9 (25-27.05.68).
  • Ref 63 Blondel memo: modifications to exam questions in light of allegations of leaks (30.05.68).
  • Ref 64 Dixon Tribunal of Enquiry call for further subs re nature of planning meetings (30.05.68).
  • Ref 65 ‘Renewal of Free University’ call plus proposed programme of talks (10.06.68).
  • Ref 66 ‘Make a Desolation and Call it Peace’ by ‘June 16th Committee’, on Porton, science, international law, and secrecy. The Committee consisted of members of the Socialist Society who organised a protest against CBW and Porton Down outside Ministry of Defence for June 16th 1968 (11.06.68).
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