Dyke Acland Scholarship Fund

The collection consists of minutes of Trustee meetings, correspondence between the Secretary and Trustees, correspondence between the Secretary and Accountant, papers regarding award applications and accounts.

Sir Arthur Dyke Acland, who died in 1926, left instructions in his Will that a fund be established to award scholarships to young men and women for travel and study in Europe. The successful applicants were required to produce a piece of research for publication on a subject agreed by the Trustees that would be useful to the Co-operative and Labour Movements.

Applications were invited annually through advertising in the national press, Universities and organisations such as the Workers Educational Association and National Council of Labour Colleges. Candidates were then invited to interview at the Labour Party offices.

In 1928 Scholars were awarded the sum of £200: £30 for books and travelling expenses, followed by eight monthly payments of £18, then £26 paid on completion of the report.

Trustees of the Fund met for the first time at the House of Commons on 5 December 1927. There were four Trustees appointed, two by the Labour Party, two by the Co-operative Union. Also in attendance at this first meeting were the Rt. Hon. A Henderson MP and Mr J Middleton, also from the Labour Party; another representative of the Co-operative Union and a representative of Messrs Drake, Son, and Parton (Solicitors). Mr Henderson MP was the first Chairman. The Co-operative Wholesale Society were appointed bankers for the Fund.

Meetings were held at different venues in London, but mostly took place at the Labour Party offices in Smith Square. Frequency of meetings seems to depend on the amount of items for discussion, for example in 1932 they met 11 times, 6 times in 1933 but then in 1934 they only met twice, in February and April.

All open materials can be viewed be prior arrangement, Monday- Friday, 10 am- 5 pm. Contact the Archivist at: National Co-operative Archive, Co-operative College, Holyoake House, Hanover Street, Manchester, M60 0AS.

Email: archive@co-op.ac.uk., www.archive.coop

No other finding aids exist.

Description compiled September 2009 by Helen Lindsay, volunteer at National Co-operative Archive.

None expected