FAULDS, Andrew Matthew William, 1923-2000, MP and actor

Scope and Content

Political papers of Andrew Matthew William Faulds, [1965-1997], mainly relating to his career as Labour MP for Smethwick (1966-1974) and Warley East (1974-1997). Comprises files relating to Parliamentary and constituency matters, foreign affairs, and the arts. There are also a number of audiotapes of Faulds' speeches, mostly in the House of Commons and the Council of Europe.

Administrative / Biographical History

Born 1923; educated George Watson's, Edinburgh, King Edward VI Grammar School, Louth, Daniel Stewart's, Edinburgh, High School, Stirling, and Glasgow University; spent three seasons with Shakespeare Memorial Company, Stratford-upon-Avon, 1948-[1951]; spent three years with the BBC Repertory Company; became famous for playing the part of Jet Morgan in the BBC radio drama Journey into Space ; appeared in 37 films and many TV and radio performances; Council Member, British Actors' Equity, 1966-1969; Labour MP, Smethwick, 1966-74, and Warley East, 1974-97; Parliamentary Private Secretary to John Thomson Stonehouse as Minister of State for Aviation, 1967, Minister of Technology, 1967-68, and Postmaster General, 1968-69; Opposition spokesman for the Arts, 1970-73, and 1979-82; Founder, and Chairman, British Parliamentary Association for Euro-Arab Cooperation, 1974-97; Co-Chairman, All-Party Parliamentary Heritage Group, 1974-97; Member, House of Commons Works of Art Committee, 1970-97; Member, British Delegation to Council of Europe and Western European Union, 1975-80, and 1987-97; Executive Committee, GB China Centre, 1976-97; Executive Committee, Inter-Parliamentary Union, (British Section), 1983-97; Executive Committee, Franco-British Council, 1978-88; retired 1997; died 2000.

Arrangement

The papers were sorted by Faulds following his retirement, and are in sections as follows:
FAULDS/1 - Arts
FAULDS/2 - Constituency
FAULDS/3 - Foreign Affairs
FAULDS/4 - Parliamentary

FAULDS/2, FAULDS/3 and FAULDS/4 have been sorted into sub-sections during the cataloguing stage as follows:

FAULDS/2 -
FAULDS/2/1 - Constituency Correspondence - casework regarding various subjects (Closed under data protection),
FAULDS/2/2 - Immigration - correspondence, mostly with constituents regarding immigration (Closed under data protection),
FAULDS/2/3 - Local Issues - correspondence regarding various subjects such as employment, education and housing (mostly open),
FAULDS/2/4 - Constituency Labour Party - papers and correspondence mostly regarding Warley East (mostly open)

FAULDS/3 -
FAULDS/3/1 - Europe,
FAULDS/3/2 - Middle East,
FAULDS/3/3 - Asia,
FAULDS/3/4 - Africa,
FAULDS/3/5 - South America,
FAULDS/3/6 - North America,
FAULDS/3/7 - Australia / New Zealand

FAULDS/4 -
FAULDS/4/1 - General parliamentary papers and correspondence - particularly relating to foreign affairs, immigration and the arts,
FAULDS/4/2 - Notices of Motions (signed by Faulds),
FAULDS/4/3 - Parliamentary Questions (asked by Faulds),
FAULDS/4/4 - Inter-Parliamentary Union,
FAULDS/4/5 - Commonwealth Parliamentary Association,
FAULDS/4/6 - Legislation,
FAULDS/4/7 - Labour Party,
FAULDS/4/ 8 - Committees and Groups,
FAULDS/4/ 9 - Letters, speeches and articles

There are three further series of papers from a later accession. These are:
FAULDS/5 - Personal Papers mostly correspondence with friends and acquaintances Faulds met on travels abroad,
FAULDS/6 - Desk Diaries,
FAULDS/7 - Audiotapes comprising speeches by Faulds mostly in the House of Commons and at the Council of Europe

There is a great deal of overlap in subject across each series and in particular FAULDS/4 contains a large amount of correspondence and papers regarding both the arts and foriegn affairs. Users are advised to search the online catalogue if they are researching a specific subjects. Please conatct the Archivist if you would like further assistance.

Access Information

Mainly open; some items closed

Some files are closed under data protection

Acquisition Information

Andrew Faulds

Other Finding Aids

Online catalogue and handlist available

Archivist's Note

Sources: Who's Who 1897-1996 (A & C Black, 1996); Historical Manuscripts Commission National Register of Archives; the Internet Movie Database. Compiled by Sarah Aitchison as part of the RSLP AIM25 project. Modified by Becky Webster May 2008.

Separated Material

The Borthwick Institute of Historical Research, York University, holds writings and speeches by Faulds on African politics and refugees and the Israel-Palestine problem (Ref: HIL L70).

Conditions Governing Use

Most items can be photocopied. Apply to Archivist in the first instance.

Appraisal Information

Duplicates have been removed.

Copies of Hansards, files regarding Faulds' personal life (e.g. house, travel) and reports and magazines regarding the arts have been weeded. Where such publications relate to the file the items have been kept.

Custodial History

Deposited by Andrew Faulds in 1999.

Accruals

No further accruals are expected.

Related Material

The BLPES also holds election ephemera relating to Faulds (Ref: Coll misc 0401/2/6 (1964) and 0712/712/6 (1979)), and correspondence in the papers of the Rt Hon John Parker (Ref: Parker/6/1).

Corporate Names