Records of the Women's Amateur Athletic Association and associated bodies

Records of the Women's Amateur Athletic Association (WAAA) comprising administrative records, covering c 1957-1989; a small number of results and fixture lists; extensive sequence of statistics covering WAAA meets held between 1962-1973; publications, including printed programmes, 1932-1987; and miscellaneous papers. Also included are the records of the Women's Cross-Country and Race Walking Association (WCCRWA), consisting of administrative records, 1958-1983; programmes, 1937-1938 and 1968-1988; and results, 1962-1979.

These records are of interest to those studying amateur sport and cross-country racing in the 20th century; in particular the advent and organisation of women's participation in track and field, cross-country, and road racing events. These records cover the vast majority of the WAAA's years of operation, stopping just short of the Association's merger with the Amatuer Athletic Association (AAA) in 1991, although the administrative records are focused on the 1950s-1980s.

The records of the WCCRWA are held along with the papers of the WAAA. From its inception the WCCRWA was affiliated to, although financially independent of, the WAAA.

The Women's Amateur Athletic Association was formed in October 1922. It was the first athletics association for women in England, but came in the wake of the formation of the Fédération des Sociétés Féminines Sportives de France, founded in 1917, which was the first national governing body for women's athletics. After the First World War women's athletics in England grew in popularity and began to be conducted on a national level. In 1921 women's international competition was established with the First Monte Carlo games, with England sending a team to compete.

It was only after this burgeoning of women's amateur sports that the General Committee of the AAA, founded in 1880, decided that women's athletics should be governed by its own separate body, partly due to concern at the time that women's sporting activity was unfeminine and unhealthy. As a result, in October 1922 the WAAA was formed. Its founding members were Florence Birchenough, Joe Palmer, Major W. B. Marchant, Mary Lines, Teddy Knowles, Harry Wadmore and Charles Churchill. By 1925 there were an estimated 25,000 members of the WAAA from over 500 clubs.

Marea Hartman (1920-1994) was heavily involved with the WAAA from 1950, when she became Honorary Treasurer. She held a number of roles within the organisation and also acted as the AAA's president from its merger with the WAAA in 1991 until her death. Many of the records in this collection relate or make reference to Marea Hartman and provide information about her roles within the WAAA.

Sources: papers of the WAAA; Mel Watman, 'The Official History of the WAAA 1922-2012', held at Cadbury Research Library: Special Collections, r GV 709.W38; 'Obituary: Dame Marea Hartman', accessed 10 July 2015 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-dame-marea-hartman-1379701.html; 'Obituary: Vera Searle', accessed 10 July 2015 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-vera-searle-1176984.html.

These papers have been arranged into the following two sub-sub-fonds:

Records of the Women's Amateur Athletic Association;
Records of the Women's Cross-Country and Race Walking Association.

Access to all registered researchers.

See full catalogue for more information.

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.

This collection was previously in the custody of the National Centre for Athletics Literature (NCAL).

Other archive collections, formerly held as part of the National Centre for Athletics Literature (NCAL), are catalogued as collections distinct from this collection. They comprise both institutional archives and collections of personal papers of athletes, athletics administrators, journalists and others associated with the athletics world.

Catalogues of the institutional archives available on the online archive catalogue are as follows:
Amateur Athletic Association: papers, 1880-1992. Finding No: ATH/AAA;
English Cross-Country Union: papers, 1911-1989. Finding No: ATH/ECCU;
Midland Counties Amateur Athletics Association: papers, 1900-1991. Finding No: ATH/MCAAA;
Midland Counties Cross Country Association: papers, 1898-1985. Finding No: ATH/MCCCA;
Midland Counties Women's Amateur Athletic Association: papers, 1949-[1980s]. Finding No: ATH/MCWAAA;
Northern Counties Women's Amateur Athletic Association: papers, 1933-1989. Finding No: ATH/NCWAAA;
Northern Cross-Country Association: papers, 1906-1983. Finding No: ATH/NCCA;
Northern Women's Track and Field League: papers, 1982-1983. Finding No: ATH/NWTFL;
Southern Counties Amateur Athletic Association: papers, 1958-1983. Finding No: ATH/SCAAA;
Southern Counties Cross-Country Association: papers, 1911-1990. Find No: ATH/SCCCA;
The Sports Council: papers, [1940s]-2001. Finding No: ATH/SC;
Women's Amateur Athletic Association: papers, 1932-1989. Finding No: ATH/WAAA.

Catalogues of personal papers available on the online archive catalogue are as follows:
Abrahams, Harold Maurice (1899-1978), athlete, administrator, commentator and journalist: papers, 1902-1989. Finding No: ATH/HA;
Adam, George Mair (1898-1989), athlete, coach and athletics administrator: papers, 1909-1989. Finding No: ATH/GA;
Binks, Joseph (Joe) (1874-1966), athlete and athletics commentator: papers, [1920s-1950s]. Finding No: ATH/JB;
Brown, Audrey Kathleen (nee Court) (1913-2005), athlete: papers, [1930s]-2005. Finding No: USS22;
Cardew, Martin H. (b 1927), athlete: papers, 1964-1988. Finding No: ATH/MHC;
Cullum, Dennis Noel Johnson (1913-1985), athlete and coach: papers, [1930s]-1985. Finding No: ATH/DC;
Humphrey, David (b 1933), athlete: papers, 1944-1958. Finding No: ATH/DH;
Ives, Bert (1890-1975), athlete and athletics administrator: papers, [1920s-1970s]. Finding No: ATH/BI;
Jarvis, Walter (c 1888-c 1935), athlete: papers, 1910-1996. Finding No: MS4;
Jewell, John Christopher (1912-2001), athlete and athletics commentator: papers, 1897-2002. Finding No: ATH/JJ;
Lloyd-Edgley, Ralph: scrapbook, [c 1924]-[c 1931]. Finding No: ATH/RLE;
MacLean, Duncan (1884-1980), athlete and coach: papers, 1948-1977. Finding No: ATH/DM;
Monk, Walter Harry (Wal) (1896-after 1965), athlete: papers, 1918-1961. Finding No: ATH/WHM;
Morgan, Wilf (b 1935), athlete and athletics historian: papers, 1937-2012. Finding No: ATH/WM;
Newton, Arthur Francis Hamilton (1883-1959), athlete: papers, [c 1904]-[1990s]. Finding No: ATH/AN;
Payne, Howard (1931-1992), athlete: papers, 1899-[c 1975]. Finding No: ATH/HP;
Percy, Joe W. (1912-2001), athlete and athletics administrator: papers, 1910-1997. Finding No: ATH/JWP;
Perry, George (b 1903), athlete: papers, [1920s]-1956. Finding No: ATH/GP;
Powell, Edgar Robert Leslie (Peter), (fl 1920s-70s), athlete: papers, 1813-1988. Finding No: ATH/ERLP;
Richards, Wilf (b 1906), athlete and journalist: papers, 1924-[mid 20th century]. Finding No: ATH/WR;
Roberts, Dave (fl 1930s-1990s), athlete and statistician: papers, [1930s]-1991. Finding No: ATH/DR;
Simpson, Colin J. (1929-2011), athlete and athletics administrator: papers, 1945-1990. Finding No: ATH/CS;
Tatham, Wilfrid George (Gus) (1898-1978), athlete: papers, 1908-1960. Finding No: ATH/WGT;
Thomas, Dr Philip, athletics administrator and coach: papers, [c 1900]-[late 20th century]. Finding No: ATH/PT;
Vargas, Charles Climaco (1905-1975), athlete: papers, 1921-31. Finding No: ATH/CCV;
Ward, Leonard H., athletics coach: papers, [mid-20th century]. Finding No: ATH/LW;
Watman, Melvyn Francis (Mel) (b 1938), athletics journalist and statistician: papers, 1980-1993. Finding No: ATH/MW;
Wight, Robert M., athletics administrator: papers, [mid-20th century]. Finding No: ATH/RW;
Winter, Arthur E. H. (d 1990), athlete and athletics commentator: papers, [early 20th century]-1983. Finding No: ATH/AW;
Yarrow, Squire Stevens (1905-1984), athlete and athletics administrator: papers, 1938-1984. Finding No: ATH/SY.