Papers of the Uganda Ladies' Working Party, Blackburn, Lancashire

This collection comprises the minute books of the Uganda Ladies Working Party, 1926-1972, including annual reports and accounts, a meeting book which records attendance and subscriptions of lady members together with newscuttings about the annual sales of work, 1903-1921 and a manuscript set of rules of the society, 1888.

This society was set up in 1888 in order to support the Church Missionary Society Uganda mission. It was initially called the Eastern Equatorial Africa Working Party but subsequently was renamed the Uganda Ladies' Working Party. It was set up under the auspices of the CMS but was especially connected with the work of Reverend Robert P. Ashe, a CMS missionary from Blackburn. He served in Uganda and during a furlough in England in 1887, he reported on the missionaries' need for a boat to allow them to cross the Nyanza Victoria Lake. The proceeds of the first sale of work, which was promoted by Miss Ashe, Reverend Ashe's sister and the Misses Lewis, were devoted towards the purchase of a steamer. The Working Party met fortnightly and aimed to make things to be sold in aid of the Uganda mission. In 1926 it was reconstituted and the funds it raised were subsequently used for CMS medical mission work in the protectorate of Uganda and from this date it met monthly. In 1970 it became known as the Friends of the Uganda Working Party and it was dissolved in 1972.

Reference: Finding aid to the collection.

This collection forms part of the Church Missionary Society Unofficial Papers. It is arranged into a single series: Official Papers

Open. Access to all registered researchers.

Deposited with the CMS in March 1976; transferred on permanent loan to the Special Collections Department by the CMS in the 1980s.

See full catalogue for more information.

Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the University Archivist, Special Collections. Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. Special Collections will assist where possible with identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material.

Further deposits are not expected.

The University of Birmingham, Special Collections Department and the Orchard Learning Resources Centre hold a rich collection of archives relating to missions, charities and other religious and ecclesiastical organisations and individuals.