Records of the Executive Committee (General Purposes)

This collection comprises minutes, correspondence and reports of the Executive Committee (General Purposes) of the Royal College of Midwives (formally known as the Midwives Institute) (1931-1949), relating to the management of business at the headquarters, including staffing matters, as well as the formulation of policy on issues affecting the status and efficiency of the midwifery profession, with particular references to midwives uniforms, the administration of drugs by midwives and the management of maternity hospitals.

The first meeting of the Executive Committee (General Purposes) of the Royal College of Midwives (formally known as the Midwives Institute) took place on 1 May 1931. Meetings were subsequently attended on a monthly basis by Honorary Officers and twelve members of the Council.

The Executive Committee (General Purposes) was established to oversee the management of the headquarters and to support executive decisions made by the Council. It consequently superseded many of the activities previously undertaken by the Executive Council and Club Committee.

In addition to this it was also involved in liaising with affiliated midwives associations and external bodies on issues connected with the provision of maternity care, including the status and efficiency of the midwifery profession, as well as working conditions, education and training of midwives.

The original order of material is retained, although where this is not possible the arrangement of files has been based on the functions and activities of the organisation as well as chronology, subject and the needs of users.

Permission is required for external access to records less than twenty years old. Also restrictions apply if material includes personal information of living individuals. All other records are open to research by appointment, Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm. For further information about accessing the collection and visiting the reading room, please contact: archives@rcog.co.uk

There is no record of the source or date of acquisition before this material was deposited under the terms of a collection care agreement at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in May 2011.

Catalogued by Clare Sexton, Project Archivist in accordance with ISAD(G).

Further details of the contents of this collection are available on request.

Copyright belongs to the Royal College of Midwives. To reproduce this material, please apply via the College Archivist: archives@rcog.co.uk

This collection was previously held at the Royal College of Midwives.