Papers of Bishop John Davies

Papers relating to the ministry of John Dudley Davies to South Africa and the struggle with the apartheid regime. Comprising: Papers relating to the South African Council of Churches and the Christian Institute including papers of the Obedience to God group which became the Council's Theological Commission which led to the publication of The message to the people of South Africa ; papers relating to Christian Witness in the Academic World, Anglican Students Federation, University Christian Movement; papers from the Christian Council and Witwatersrand Council of Churches relating to land, rights of residence, mass removals; lectures, letters to the press, newspaper articles, book reviews; magazines, news sheets produced by the Christian Institute, University Christian Movement, Anglican Student Federation.

John Dudley Davies (b 1927). See entry in Who's Who for further biographical information. Information relating to his ministry in South Africa: He arrived in South Africa in January 1957 and initially served in the white parish of Yeoville, a suburb of Johannesburg, before moving to a new mining township of Evander, also in the diocese of Johannesburg, where he served as the priest for the black mineworkers, 1957-61. In 1961 he moved to the Diocese of Zululand and Swaziland, as Rector and Director of Missions at Empangeni. From 1963 until 1970, he served as the Anglican Chaplain at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg and the Johannesburg College of Education. He was a founder member of the Christian Institute; a member of the Executive Committee of the University Christian Movement of South Africa, 1966-69; National Chairman of the Division of the Christian Education of the South Africa Council of Churches, 1964-70; and was involved in many other operations for the South Africa Council of Churches and the Regional Council of Churches. He was also involved in setting up the Study Project on Christianity in Apartheid Society.

Reference: University of Birmingham, Special Collections Department, Online Archive Catalogue ( http://calmview.bham.ac.uk/ ). Accessed April 2002.

The collection shall be made available for scholarly research and study at the discretion of the University Archivist. Provision of copies for study and research papers has been authorised. All papers held at the Orchard Learning Resources Centre will be viewed at the Birmingham University Information Services, Special Collections Department. Please contact the University Archivist for further information.

This collection was deposited by the Right Reverend John D. Davies in February 1996. It was then transferred to the Orchard Learning Resources Centre which was opened in 1997 following the merger of the Selly Oak Colleges Library and the Westhill College Library.

Please see online catalogue for further details.

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.

Following the merger of the Selly Oak Colleges and the University of Birmingham in 1999 the custodial ownership of collections belonging to the Selly Oak Colleges and held at the Orchard Learning and Resource Centre (OLRC) was transferred to the University. These collections now form part of the University's Special Collections Department and are available for consultation at the Main Library on the University's Edgbaston Campus.

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