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Alan Dalton papers
GB 249 DAL · Collection · 1899 - 2003

Correspondence and papers from most of Dalton's career. The collection includes:

  • papers on Dalton's career and the libel cases brought against him
  • correspondence and papers originating from Dalton's roles at the British Society for Social Responsibility in Science, the Transport and General Workers' Union, the Environment Agency and others
  • correspondence with fellow activists, occupational health experts, academics, doctors, solicitors, politicians, trade unionists, campaign groups, asbestos victim support groups and others
  • subject files on environmental and occupational health issues, particularly asbestos
  • publications by Dalton and letters to the press
  • consultancy and expert witness work
  • notes and papers from conferences and meetings
  • correspondence and papers relating to Dalton's involvement in the production of television and radio programmes on asbestos, together with a series of video recordings and transcripts of documentaries and other programmes collected by Dalton on asbestos and other environmental and occupational health and safety topics.
  • press cuttings on asbestos and other environmental and occupational health issues
  • Dalton's library of books, academic papers, reports and other publications on asbestos and other environmental and occupational health issues
Dalton, Alan James Patrick, 1946-2003, safety and environmental campaigner
GB 249 TN · Collection · 1920s - 1990s

Copies of parts of the corporate archive of Turner & Newall, one of the world's leading asbestos manufacturers. The records copied date back to the 1920s. The copies were owned by Clydeside Action on Asbestos and used as a research resource.

These copies are significant since the original Turner & Newall archives are not accessible. The only time that the company granted access to its archives was during the legal proceedings initiated by Chase Manhattan Bank against Turner & Newall in 1987 when these copies were made. The copies of the archives remain the only primary evidence of Turner & Newall's activities.

Contents include board minutes and correspondence and papers relating to: the health risks of asbestos; asbestos industry regulations; the company's medical arrangements; employees with asbestos-related disease; the company's relations with the media; the company's submissions to parliamentary select committees; Chase Manhattan Bank vs. Turner & Newall trial documents; company histories.

Clydeside Action on Asbestos
Geoffrey Tweedale papers
GB 249 TWE · Collection · 1921 - 2000s

Research papers of Geoffrey Tweedale gathered during the course of his research for his book 'Magic mineral to killer dust: Turner & Newall and the asbestos hazard' (2nd edition, 2001: Oxford University Press), which investigated the British company, Turner & Newall, one of the world's leading asbestos manufacturers.

The collection comprises:

  • Copies of more or less complete run of Turner & Newall compensation cases, 1921-1990s (c. 700 files). The copies were made by Tweedale from microfilms of the Turner & Newall company archives made by Chase Manhattan Bank in 1991 as part of a court case initiated in the USA by the Bank against Turner & Newall. Tweedale made a special study of these case files.
  • Series of subject files. The bulk of the contents is copies of correspondence and papers from the Turner & Newall archives. However, the series also contains material from other sources as well as Tweedale’s own notes and correspondence. Most of the material relates to Turner & Newall, but there is also material on other companies eg Johns Manville in the USA, Eternit, and Cape Asbestos as well as material on Canada, South Africa, and Australia. The series also includes biographical information on related people as well as press cuttings collected by Tweedale.
  • A selection of videotapes and DVDs mostly relating to Turner & Newall plus several transcripts of TV/radio programmes, dating back to the 1970s and early 1980s.
Tweedale, Geoffrey, b. 1951, business historian
W H Knight papers
GB 249 KNIG · Collection · 1962-1994

Correspondence and papers relating to W H Knight’s claims arising from working conditions at Land Rover UK Ltd 1962-1981. Includes a blueprint and detailed colour photographs (with explanatory inscriptions) of test house 'R' at Land Rover UK Ltd, Meteor Works, Solihull (also drawings of apparatus), as well as colour photographs of typical protective equipment. Also extensive verbal descriptions of working conditions, fellow workers' statements in support, documentation of background research into health effects of fluorocarbons, legal correspondence (including occupational health and safety report, 1989), correspondence with Nancy Tait, and extensive press coverage on occupational and environmental health scares c.1980-1994. Further, a little personal correspondence and correspondence re Knight's service during World War II.

The material was in considerable disarray, with most of it loose and in no particular order, and inscribed folders that were empty. Where available, present arrangement of the archive is based on an extrapolation of how extant (empty) containers were labelled.

  • correspondence with SPAID, in particular Nancy Tait, 1983-1994
  • legal correspondence: with Robin Thompson & Partners, solicitors, Birmingham, 1982-1983; with Field Fisher Waterhouse, 1983-1989; with Nick Wikeley, 1985-1988
  • correspondence re social security 1981-1988
  • correspondence with Land Rover Ltd, 1983, and papers re work and working conditions (including 3 diaries 1965-1969), 1965-c.1981
  • visualisations of refrigeration arrangements at Land Rover Ltd
  • correspondence with unions, 1982-1986; with the media, 1982-1987; with MPs, 1983-1988
  • medical correspondence, 1981-1988, including an exchange with occupational health experts at Aston University 1981-1982
  • research into the health impact of fluorocarbons
  • press cuttings, c.1983-1991
    Also correspondence re service during World War II, 1982-1984, and some personal letters, 1985-1987.

Books found with the material have been transferred to the OEDA Library and can be identified through the library catalogue.

Occupational and Environmental Diseases Association
GB 249 OEDA · Collection · 1969-2009
  • early correspondence and papers relating to Nancy Tait’s fact-finding mission regarding asbestos
  • minutes of meetings of the SPAID/OEDA Trustees, annual reports, strategic plans
  • registers and other finding aids for the extensive OEDA case file series (OEDA CF); see link below
  • information resources on employers and insurers and other materials for supporting compensation claims
  • some case correspondence, medical appeals correspondence, correspondence with the medical appeal administration, and with the social security commissioner
  • documentation of the different types of information services provided by SPAID / OEDA, among them series relating to occupational and environmental health enquiries; SPAID / OEDA publications and display boards; responses to requests for information from solicitors; and responses to requests for information from the media
  • records relating to SPAID/OEDA's research into asbestos related diseases, mortality statistics, latency periods; also testimony before commissions, consultancy reports
  • SPAID/OEDA's extensive advocacy work over four decades
  • interactions with victims support groups, unions, fellow activists, occupational health experts, historians, solicitors and legal scholars
  • conferences and meetings to which Nancy Tait and her organisation contributed or which she attended
  • information files compiled on specific topics
  • series of correspondence and telephone memoranda
  • SPAID/OEDA accounts; also fundraising activities including grant applications
  • some documentation of the creation and running of the Electron Microscope Research Unit
  • instructions and manuals relating to office procedures and information management in the organisation
  • reference library (OEDA/K) including the organisation's collection of scientific papers, deposits and judgements, statutory instruments, DSS claims forms 1969-2007, clusters of press coverage, etc

Further,

  • OEDA collection of printed material; see link below
  • ten series of case files (OEDA CF, see link below)
  • OEDA's copies of the Chase Manhattan Turner & Newall papers (OEDA CM, see link below)
  • several standalone collections accepted to the OEDA archive during the 1990s, including the research papers of M J Sanders, records of Cancer Prevention Society, Glasgow, and the papers documenting refrigeration management worker W H Knight's compensation claim; see links below
Occupational and Environmental Diseases Association
GB 249 OF/102/5 · Item · c. 1976

Prospectus for the degree of BSc in Environmental Health at the University of Strathclyde. Contains Information on the University of Strathclyde; degree content and structure; career opportunities for graduates; entry requirements; sponsorship; admissions procedure.

University of Strathclyde | Faculty of Science
GB 249 LEES · Collection · 2007 - 2023

Digital documents (word documents, Excel spreadsheets, emails, PDFs, JPEGs) all relating to Michael Lees' research of asbestos in schools and the activities of the Asbestos in Schools campaign began by Michael. Michael Lees began researching asbestos in Schools following the death of his wife, Gina, who worked in an infant school and died of mesothelioma. Files are arranged into thematic folders and include:

  • briefing papers;
  • asbestos photos; articles;
  • meetings papers- agenda, questions, minutes etc;
  • photocopies of documents from FOI requests e.g. Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions;
  • Michael Lees articles 2088 - 2023;
  • documents about legal cases;
  • presentation files, Michael Lees, 2009 - 2013;
  • Parliament meetings papers c2008 - 2014;
    And further similar documents.
Lees, Michael, b. 1947, MBE, anti-asbestos campaigner
GB 249 SOHC 35 · File · 28 January 2013

Recording of Arthur McIvor in conversation with Phyllis Craig, Chair of Clydeside Action on Asbestos, 28 January 2013. Phyllis Craig describes her work at the charity where she started on 2 October 1995.

[00:00] Introductions.
[00:25] Summarises main life events.
[01:14] Describes voluntary work at Castlemilk law centre and the poverty she observed.
[01:43] Describes starting work at Clydeside Action on Asbestos.
[02.44] Discusses the occupations of her parents and her relationship with them.
[05:10] Describes roles at Clydeside Action on Asbestos.
[06:04] Tells story of a particular appeal and the treatment of a client.
[07:28] Returns to description of activity of Clydeside Action on Asbestos.
[07:53] Mentions the case of ‘Fairchild, Matthew and Fox’ and describes other asbestosis cases.
[10:58] Describes the wide variety of other Clydeside Action on Asbestos activities, such as fundraising and communications.
[11:56] Describes how the job has changed over the years.
[13:17] Describes how the resources and funding have improved since the early years of the charity.
[13:54] Describes the psychological effects of a mesothelioma diagnosis.
[16:12] Describes the experiences of those living with mesothelioma.
[18:59] Describes the physical and mental effects of mesothelioma.
[20:20] Talks about the limitations of new government disability legislation and its relation to the mental health of sufferers.
[22:15] Mentions the economic schemes that were available to help sufferers and remarks upon the likely negative effects of recent government legislation.
[23:06] Describes the rise of diagnoses of mesothelioma in women, explores the reasons, and talks about the different experiences of the disease for men and women.
[25:45] Describes the difficulties of competing with other charities for funding for example charities that work with victims of post-traumatic stress.
[27:07] Tells the story of a particular mesothelioma case pertaining to a male client who was a Glasgow joiner.
[30:11] Tells the story of two mesothelioma cases pertaining to women, one client from Falkirk who struggled to get a diagnosis and a former GP who works in the charity office. Phyllis comments on the different reactions of men and women to a diagnosis of mesothelioma.
[32:46] States that mesothelioma is still incurable and describes the general life expectancy of sufferers.
[34:47] Describes the dramatic changes in medical interest and treatments for mesothelioma since 1995. Also discusses surgery and the importance of palliative care.
[38:55] Describes the differences between Scotland and England in terms of legislation and compensation. Also describes the tenacity required to campaign for justice.
[42:30] Describes the reasons why legislative situation has evolved further, to the benefit of victims, in Scotland than in England.
[46:11] Discusses how the establishment of the Scottish Parliament has benefited the experience of victims in Scotland and how Scotland’s asbestos legislation compares globally.
[47:43] Describes the current campaigns and activity of Clydeside Action on Asbestos.
[50:59] Closing remarks upon the importance of the recognition of other asbestos related lung cancers in addition to mesothelioma, in terms of legislation and support.
[52:53] Describes inaccuracies in predictions for when the peak of asbestos-related deaths will be seen.

University of Strathclyde | Scottish Oral History Centre