The collection is split into 4 sections; correspondence, election propaganda, material concerning the railways and a miscellaneous items folder, and covers the years 1895 until 1923. Willet Ball was born in Lincoln in 1873 and received his education at Lincoln Middle School. In 1888 he began work as a clerk for the Great Northern Railway Company and in 1893 he joined the National Union of Railwaymen and Social Democratic Federation. In 1900 Ball became sub-editor of the Railway Review, which he then went on to edit between 1917 and 1933. He stood as the Labour candidate for the Luton division of Bedfordshire in December 1918 and December 1923. Ball died on 1 June 1962.
See Small Collection description for other sub-collections.