LEGUM, Colin (1919-2003)

Scope and Content

Papers of Colin Legum on Cyprus, Aden, Malta, and Commonwealth matters, 1950-1977, including papers on Cyprus, 1952-1966, including copies of official papers, 1957-1959, unofficial publications, statements by George Rossides to the United Nations on the Cyprus Issue, Jan-Feb 1957, unpublished material on Colonel George Grivas, 1957-1958, unpublished material on allegations of brutality by British forces in Cyprus, 1957, papers on the Dhekelia Cantonment; correspondence; Observer Foreign News Service reprints of articles by Arnold Toynbee, Herman Goult, Andrew Wilson, Robert Stephens and Kenneth Mackenzie on Cyprus, Greece and Turkey, 1958-1966, and press notices, 1955-1964. Papers on Aden, 1962-1966, including copies of official papers, press releases and publications, letters to The Observer on the situation in Aden, 1963-1965, Observer Foreign News Service reprints of articles by Legum, Gavin Young, Andrew Wilson and Ibrahim Noori on Aden and Yemen, 1964-1965, transcripts of radio broadcasts on BBC World Service, Cairo Radio and San'a Home Service on Aden and Yemen, 1965, journal articles and newspaper cuttings, 1964-1966. Papers on Malta, 1956-1959 including correspondence, press cuttings and draft articles by Legum including on the referendum campaign, 1956. Academic papers given at the Bertrand Russell Centenary Symposium, 'Spheres of Influence in the Age of Imperialism', held in Austria, 1972. Publications and pamphlets on the Commonwealth, 1954-1971. Papers relating to Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings, 1973, 1975 and 1977 including transcripts of speeches by heads of governments, press cuttings and publications including 'Report of the Commonwealth Secretary General', (1977) and 'Commonwealth Today' (Commonwealth Secretariat, 1977).

Administrative / Biographical History

Born, South Africa, 1919; as he young man he became concerned about the injustice of the treatment of the local black population; worked at Johannesburg's newly established Sunday Express , 1934; became political correspondent, 1937; joined the South African Labour Party and edited its journal, Forward ; elected to Johannesburg City Council, 1942; an opponent of apartheid, Legum moved to Britain; diplomatic editor and its Commonwealth correspondent, Sunday Observer , 1951; editor of the annual Africa Contemporary Record , 1968; returned to South Africa, 1991; continued to work as a journalist, author and visiting lecturer; died 2003,
Publications:
South Africa: Crisis for the West , with Margaret Legum (1964)
Congo Disaster (1960)
Pan-Africanism: A Brief History (1962)
Africa: A Handbook of the Continent (1962).
Africa Since Independence (1999)

Arrangement

Papers arranged by subject.

Access Information

Open although advance notice should be given. Access to individual items may be restricted under the Data Protection Act or the Freedom of Information Act.

Acquisition Information

Deposited at ICS by Colin Legum.

Other Finding Aids

Catalogued to item and file level (see link to repository catalogue).

Archivist's Note

Compiled by Alan Kucia as part of the RSLP AIM25 Project.

Separated Material

In 1988 Colin Legum donated to the Edinburgh University Library the bulk of his working archives, adding a further tranche of material in 1991.

Conditions Governing Use

A photocopying service is available at the discretion of the Library staff. Copies are supplied solely for research and private study. Requests to publish original material should be submitted to the Information Resources Manager.