Papers of Robert Anderson Hutchinson

The collection is composed of a number of certificates and other documents marking moments in Hutchinson's life and career, including: birth certificate and death certificate; baptismal certificate dated 26 December 1915; letter of award of scholarship to Houghton-le-Spring, 20 June 1927; confirmation card in the name of Hutchinson, dated 5 June 1929; school certificate, July 1931, showing passes with credit in English Literature, History, Geography, Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry and Biology; higher school certificate, dated July 1933, showing Chemistry and Biology; University pass certificate, June 1937; University final certificate, June 1937; three certificates issued by the Officers Training Corps showing qualification from the artillery and infantry courses, 1936-1938; orders for the week issued by No.1 Company (Durham) Home Guard; letter of testimony from Houghton-le-Spring Secondary School, February 1938; letter of testimony from Dept. of Zoology, Durham, February 1938; University Union card, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, dated 3 July 1939; card for the Accra Club; Officer's Record of Service with certificates and documents inserted; legal letters; black and white photograph of Hutchinson; and diploma issued by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, 1942.

There are also examples of the International Certificate of Vaccination or Revaccination Against Yellow Fever and certificates of inoculation and vaccination in the names of members of the Kissi family, dated 1953-1956, and similar for Hutchinson from 1955-1965, and travel documentation in the name of the Kissi family.

There is a sheaf of content from a volume showing drawings related to Practical Zoology for the degree of B.Sc., Durham.

The collection also contains scientific instruments packed in original boxes: glass and rubber tubing, phial in bakelite case, scaled instrument (SAHLI - 5 minutes) all in lined case of Hawksley and Sons, London; precision compass inscribed 'from J. Daglish to W. Anderson, in case; seal with initials R.A.H. in lined case of The Northern Goldsmiths Company, Newcastle; and, combined map measurer and magnetic compass.

Robert Anderson Hutchinson was born 3 December 1915 at Low Farm, East Rainton, in Tyne and Wear, England. He was the son of a farmer. He attended Houghton-le-Spring Secondary School, then studied at the University of Durham, where he was awarded the degree of B.Sc., Zoology and Botany. He then studied in Edinburgh where he qualified as a Veterinary Surgeon in 1942. Also in 1942, Hutchinson had been received into the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. He worked in Durham briefly, before serving with the Royal Artillery, and was for a time in Sierra Leone. In 1943, he was selected for appointment to the Colonial Veterinary Service as a Veterinary Officer in the Gambia. He also worked in Accra, Ghana. Later on, Hutchinson also lived in Croxdale, County Durham. Robert Anderson Hutchinson died on 8 August 1990 at the Royal Infirmary, Sunderland.

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