Bedfordshire Archives Service Catalogue
  • Reference
    X934
  • Title
    Workers' Educational Association, Eastern District
  • Date free text
    1917-1990
  • Production date
    From: 1917 To: 1991
  • Admin/biog history
    The Workers' Educational Association (WEA) was founded in England in 1903, with the purpose of providing educational opportunities for adults from all backgrounds, in particular those who have previously missed out on education. The Association's title caused occasional 'public relations' difficulties when it was mistaken for being a Communist organisation. The archive includes an amusing but enlightening note from one of the Bedford Branch committee relating how she had been questioned suspiciously by a class attendee and his mother on this very point (in X934/1/1/3). The Eastern District of the WEA was established in 1913, and the Bedford Branch in 1917. Concern for educational opportunities to be extended outside of the county's urban areas led to the development of the Bedfordshire Rural Scheme around 1927, which also incorporated affiliate groups not organised by the WEA. By 1930, thanks largely to the vigorous work of the county’s tutor-organiser, Harold Shearman, over 500 students were enrolled in classes in 26 rural locations. The Bedfordshire Federation (the first Federation in the Eastern District) was formed in March 1930 in order to join together the urban branches and their rural counterparts and to foster a sense of identity and promote cohesion. A sample of two decades to show the distribution of branches in the Bedfordshire Federation shows that, in 1952/3, there were branches at Ampthill, Barton-in-the-Clay, Bedford, Biggleswade, Dean, Dunstable, Flitwick, Henlow, Langford, Leighton Buzzard, Luton, Potton, Sandy, Shefford, Stewartby, Stotfold, Toddington, Wrestlingworth; and in 1967/68, Ampthill, Aspley Guise, Barton, Bedford, Biggleswade, Caddington, Cranfield, Dunstable, Harrold, Leighton Buzzard, Luton, Riseley, Stagsden, Stotfold and Toddington. Voluntaryism at the grassroots level on up significantly drove the development and work of the WEA. The spirit and purpose of the Association is captured very well in a letter written in 1965 to Frank Jacques, the Eastern District Secretary, by a man whose father had been a stalwart WEA supporter, particularly helping the Eastern District get on its feet in the early days: 'Having left school at about the age of 11 or 12 he knew what had been denied him and was therefore all the more concerned to see that others should have the benefits of education' (X934/1/2/24). Suggested further reading: "Adult Education and Social Purpose: A History of the WEA Eastern District 1913 to 1988", by V. Williams & G. J. White. Cambridge: Graham-Cameron Publishing (for WEA Eastern District), 1988 (ISBN 0 947672 16 8). "The Trodden Road: Experience, Inspiration and Belief", the autobiography of Albert Mansbridge (J.M. Dent and Sons, 1940), founder and first organising secretary of the WEA. Related Units of Description: None known at BLARS when preparing this catalogue; WEA Eastern Branch records are held at Cambridgeshire County Record Office; central WEA records (which may contain additional information relating to Bedfordshire and Luton) are held at London Metropolitan University and the British Library. Notes on Use: As some files are somewhat mixed in organisation and items are loose and can vary widely in size in each folder, the user should take especial care to keep the papers in the order in which they are found. Note also that some items are embargoed for 30 years from the date of their creation. Please see the duty archivist for assistance in these cases.
  • Exent
    2 boxes
  • Archival history
    The first accession of records were originally deposited by the Workers' Educational Association, Eastern District, at Cambridgeshire County Record Office on 22 September 1999, and transferred to Bedfordshire & Luton Archives & Records Service on 3 May 2007. A second deposit to Bedfordshire Archives Service was made by the Association in 2017 on the closure of their Cambridge office.
  • Level of description
    fonds
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