Papers of Victor Douglas Eustace Webb, 1915-2004, civil servant, allotmenteer, social campaigner, Scotland
- Reference:GB 248 UGC 222
- Dates of Creation:1931-2015
- Name of Creator:
- Language of Material:English
- Physical Description:2 linear metres
Scope and Content
The Victor Webb collection is divided into the following sections, each with its own separate description:
- UGC 222/1, Records of the Scottish Allotments Scheme for the Unemployed, 1931-1999;
- UGC 222/2, Records of the Scottish Allotments and Garden Society, 1935- 2015;
- UGC 222/3, Personal papers of Victor Webb, 1933-2001.
Administrative / Biographical History
Victor Douglas Eustace Webb was born in March 1915 and educated first at the Grammar School, Towcester, Northamptonshire, and then at the Cambridge and County School for Boys, both in England. He went on to study law at King's College, London, graduating LLB (Hons). He later did further postgraduate study at the University of Edinburgh, graduating LLM. After graduation he worked as a civil servant for the Inland Revenue in the Estate Duty Office at Somerset House, later moving to Scotland to work in their Edinburgh headquarters. Victor retired from the Civil Service in 1975 and started a private launderette and cleaning company, with various shops around the city of Edinburgh. Victor and his wife, Greta, were both members of the Society of Friends.
Victor Webb first owned an allotment in the 1940s having come from a gardening background (see UGC 222/3/10 for Victor's planting notebooks). He became involved in the politics of allotments in the 1950s after a dispute about building near his own allotment. Victor was co-opted as a member of the committee of the Scottish Allotments and Gardens Society (SAGS) in the early 1950s; he held various organisational positions in the Scottish Allotments Scheme for the Unemployed, serving as Chair from 1975-1996; and was auditor for the Federation of Edinburgh and district Allotment and Gardens Associations (FEDAGA) in the mid-1960s. He also worked in an advisory capacity with the St Leonard's Allotment Association and the Edinburgh Allotments and Holders' Association.
Victor worked tirelessly to maintain the importance of allotments in Scotland and fought against allotment land being lost to town planning and urbanisation. During this time the Allotments (Scotland) Act of 1950 was written, however Victor insisted that the Act was not going to help allotment holders against urbanisation. He protested publicly for the preservation of allotments and throughout his life remained active in their promotion.
Arrangement
Arranged chronologically within record series
Access Information
A small number of records in this collection are subject to Data Protection legislation as they contain sensitive information, however they may be accessible to bona fide researchers and academics. Please contact the Duty Archivist for advice on how to apply for access to these files. Contact details are as follows: Duty Archivist, Archive Services, University of Glasgow, 13 Thurso Street, Glasgow, G11 6PE; enquiries@archives.gla.ac.uk
Acquisition Information
Deposit : Judy Wilkinson, Secretary of the Scottish Allotments and Gardens Society : 21 November 2000 : ACCN 1999;
Deposit : Judy Wilkinson, Secretary of the Scottish Allotments and Gardens Society : 5 October 2002 : ACCN 2108;
Deposit : Judy Wilkinson, Secretary of the Scottish Allotments and Gardens Society : 4 March 2014 : ACCN 3833;
Deposit : Judy Wilkinson, Secretary of the Scottish Allotments and Gardens Society : 13 January 2016 : ACCN 3997.
Deposit : Hannah Connelly : 18 June 2018 : ACCN 4199.
Other Finding Aids
Digital file level list available in searchroom
Alternative Form Available
No known copies
Physical Characteristics and/or Technical Requirements
None which affect the use of this material
Conditions Governing Use
Applications for permission to quote should be sent to the Archivist.
Reproduction subject to usual conditions: educational use and condition of documents
Appraisal Information
This material has been appraised in line with standard GB 248 procedures
Custodial History
Majority of materials were held by Victor Webb until his death in 2004. Thereafter they were transferred to, and held by, Judy Wilkinson, Secretary of the Scottish Allotments and Gardens Society, until deposit at GUAS, with the exception of ACCN 3833 and ACCN 3997, which were held by and deposited directly from Judy Wilkinson, in 2014 and 2016, respectively.
Accruals
None expected
Related Material
- GB 022 D 4/136: Joint Committee of Scottish National Union of Allotment Holders and Society of Friends: application for grant for Committees's operations, 1936-1940;
- GB 022 D 4/750: Scottish Allotments and Gardens Society: work of the Society, 1947-1954;
- GB 022 MAF 48/777-779 & MAF 48/820-822: Society of Friends Allotment Committee: allotment and land settlement schemes for the unemployed, 1932-1955;
- GB 022 D 4/368-369 & D 4/747: Society of Friends Allotment Committee: allotment and land settlement schemes for the unemployed, 1937-1951;
- GB 234 AF66/96-97: Allotment Gardens for the Unemployed (Scottish National Union of Allotment Holders), 1931-33.
Location of Originals
This material is original
Bibliography
Hannah Victoria Connelly, Ground-breaking: community heritage on Glasgow's allotments. Thesis (PhD) : University of Glasgow , 2017 .
Additional Information
Description compiled in line with the following international standards: International Council on Archives, ISAD(G) Second Edition, September 1999and National Council on Archives, Rules for the construction of personal, place and corporate names
Scotland is the location of all place names in the administrative/biographical history element, unless otherwise stated.
Fonds level description compiled by Sam Maddra, Assistant Archivist (cataloguing), 6 April 2016. Lower level description compiled by Paul Choi, Project Cataloguer, 15 February 2016. Amended by Sam Maddra, Assistant Archivist (cataloguing), 13 April 2016.
Subjects
Personal Names
Corporate Names
Geographical Names