Papers of the Yates family of Birmingham

Papers belonging to, or collected by, R. Cyril Yates. Comprises correspondence and copy correspondence of R. Cyril Yates with Neville Chamberlain, Mrs Chamberlain and others, 1935-1940; presscuttings, printed material and other ephemera relating to the Chamberlain family, 1931-1971; illuminated address presented to Robert Perks Yates from his employees, 1885.

Ralph Cyril Yates was born in King's Norton in 1898. He served in both world wars and was admitted as a solicitor to his father's firm, Caddick and Yates of West Bromwich, in 1922. He later practised in partnership with David Brooks. The Junior Imperial League attracted his attention in 1925 and he later became chairman of the North Edgbaston branch of the 'Imps'. He was returned unopposed as councillor for the Edgbaston ward in 1931 and only fought one election - in 1947 - winning with a large majority. He became Alderman in 1949 and was elected Lord Mayor of Birmingham in 1951. He was also a committee member of the Birmingham Municipal Bank (1919-1976) between 1934-1935 and 1961-1966. His hobbies included riding, stamp collecting and watching cricket. His great-great uncle, Edwin Yates, was Lord Mayor of Birmingham in 1865. Cyril married Haydee Hutchinson in 1925. They had two children: Charis Lesley (who married Mr Barrington Charles Ward in 1950) and John. In 1950 the family were living at 69 Harborne Road, Edgbaston. R. Cyril Yates died, aged 78, in November 1976 at Hereford General Hospital, his wife predeceased him.

Robert Perks Yates, a relation to R. Cyril Yates, was born at Aston Manor, Birmingham in 1843. He was a prominent Birmingham business man and was a director of the family firm, Messrs John Yates and Company, tool manufacturers. He was a prominent political and public figure. He unsuccessfully stood as Parliamentary candidate for Aston Manor in 1885 and was President of the Erdington and Gravelly Hill Association, Chairman of the Aston Manor Conservative Association and was a founding member and President of the Aston Manor Conservative Club. He held various public offices including JP for Warwickshire and member of the Warwickshire County Council and he also served as member of the Aston Manor Local Board, Chairman of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and Chairman of the Birmingham and District Conciliation Board. He was also active in the educational field, serving as Chairman of the Aston Manor Technical School, Chairman of the Aston School Board and a member of the Midland Counties Union of Educational Institutions. Robert Yates married the daughter of James Coucher, JP of Worcester in 1868 and had a large family. He originally lived at Lyndhurst, Gravelly Hill, Aston but subsequently moved to Eversleigh in Leamington.

Sources: 'Men of the Period. Selected from Centres of Commerce and Industry. Illustrated with views of the national edifices. Portraits and pen pictures of leading men' [being part of a series of 'Portraits and biographies of eminent men of England']. London: The Biographical Publishing Company (c 1901); 'England's Workshops' by Gustav Louis Maurice Strauss (1867). Available online from Google Books. Retrieved 20 October 2009; 'Birmingham Mail', 6 and 7 February 1951; 15 and 16 November 1976; 'Birmingham Post', 22 August 1951; 'Evening Dispatch', 6 February 1951

Open. Access to all registered researchers.

Please see full catalogue for more information.

Papers arranged and described by Mark Eccleston, October 2009.

Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the Director of Cadbury Research Library: Special Collections (email: special-collections@contacts.bham.ac.uk). Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. Cadbury Research Library: Special Collections will assist where possible with identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material.

Purchased in two lots at auction, November 2001

Related Material
See NC/13/11/1-611 for a letter from R. Cyril Yates to Neville Chamberlain. Cadbury Research Library: Special Collections holds papers of another branch of the Yates family of Birmingham, principally papers of Frank B. Yates and his son, H. Bertram Yates (see MS805)

Associated Materials
The Birmingham City Archives purchased other Yates material at the same auction.