Charles O'Neill Medical Club Archive

The collection comprises mostly documents compiled by Club members John Scotson and Cliff Franklin about its activities, particularly from the late 1940s onwards. There is also an almost complete set of Club syllabi from 1948 to 2013. Club meetings were not minuted so a detailed record of the administration of the Club is not available.

The Altrincham and District Medical Club was established in 1920 by Charles O'Neill (1881-1951), a GP practising in Hale, near Altrincham. The Club was typical of many at that time which aimed to provide a convivial environment for doctors in a given locality to discuss medical matters. Members, both medical and dental, were drawn from Altrincham, Hale, Timperley, and Bowdon, and meetings were held at the homes of members. In 1933, consultants were admitted to membership, and over time, they formed an important part of its membership. In 1950, women doctors were admitted to membership, and in the following year, the Club changed its name to the Charles O'Neill Medical Club in honour of its founder. The Club began to invite external speakers, both medical and non-medical, to deliver lectures. The Club also held an annual dinner and a golf match. In 2013, the decision was taken to wind up the Club and a final Club dinner was held in April 2014 at Hale Golf Club.

The collection is open to any accredited reader.

The collection includes material which is subject to the Data Protection Act 1998. Under Section 33 of the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA), The University of Manchester Library (UML) holds the right to process personal data for research purposes. The Data Protection (Processing of Sensitive Personal Data) Order 2000 enables the UML to process sensitive personal data for research purposes. In accordance with the DPA, UML has made every attempt to ensure that all personal and sensitive personal data has been processed fairly, lawfully and accurately. Users of the archive are expected to comply with the Data Protection Act 1998, and will be required to sign a form acknowledging that they will abide by the requirements of the Act in any further processing of the material by themselves.

The documents in the collection were compiled and collected by Dr John Scotson, a former chairman and secretary of the Club, who donated them to the Library on behalf of the Club between August and November 2014.

Photocopies and photographic copies of material in the archive can be supplied for private study purposes only, depending on the condition of the documents.

A number of items within the archive remain within copyright under the terms of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988; it is the responsibility of users to obtain the copyright holder's permission for reproduction of copyright material for purposes other than research or private study.

Prior written permission must be obtained from the Library for publication or reproduction of any material within the archive. Please contact the Head of Special Collections, John Rylands Library, 150 Deansgate, Manchester, M3 3EH.

None expected.

The Library has custody of archives of several other medical societies in the Manchester area, notably the Manchester Medical Society (MMS).