Papers compiled by the athlete and journalist Wilf Richards. The collection comprises scrapbooks; collected articles and newspaper cuttings; photographs and correspondence. The scrapbooks, compiled by Wilf Richards, cover the 1920s-1940s and comprehensively reflect many major athletics events during this time. There is heavy coverage of middle distance and long distance running, especially the marathon, although other aspects of running are also reflected. There is coverage of both international and home events and there is material relating to the 1924 Paris Olympic Games and 1928 Amsterdam Olympic Games. In addition, there is material relating to various contemporary athletes including significant material relating to Arthur Newton, Joe Binks, Emil Zátopek and Paavo Nurmi.
Papers of Wilf Richards
This material is held atUniversity of Birmingham, Cadbury Research Library, Special Collections
- Reference
- GB 150 ATH/WR
- Dates of Creation
- 1924 - [mid 20th century]
- Name of Creator
- Language of Material
- English
- Physical Description
- 2 standard boxes (comprising 4 volumes 2 files and 34 items)
Scope and Content
Administrative / Biographical History
Wilf Richards was an athlete and journalist based in Manchester. He was born in Longside, near Manchester on 31 January 1906. From 1947 to 1959 he was editor of the publication 'Athletic Review'. He was also one-time European editor for 'Distance Running News'. He was secretary of Manchester Athletic Club when its base was at Fallowfield Stadium. He became a leading coach, was mentor to the athlete Joe Lancaster and did much to advance and promote athletics within the north-west of England. As a consequence, annual races at a local level have been named after him.
Arrangement
These papers have been arranged into the following 5 series:
correspondence;
scrapbooks;
newspaper cuttings and articles;
collected research notes and reminiscences;
photographs
Access Information
Open. Access to all registered researchers.
Other Finding Aids
Please see full catalogue for more information.
Archivist's Note
Papers arranged and described by Mark Eccleston, July 2014, in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description (ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; and in-house cataloguing guidelines.
Conditions Governing Use
Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the Director of Special Collections (email: special-collections@contacts.bham.ac.uk). 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.
Custodial History
This collection was previously in the custody of the National Centre for Athletics Literature (NCAL).