Collection documents the varied career and personal life of John Henry Whitley. Whitley's occupations included Halifax mill owner, champion of universal education, revered local politician, Speaker of the House of Commons, Chairman of the Royal Commission on Labour in India and Chairman at the BBC.
Key items form the archive includes letters from Winston Churchill and King George V and the autographs of Gandhi, Benito Mussolini and cricketer Wilfred Rhodes.
The collection is split into 8 sections: reference sources relating to J. H. Whitley; scrapbooks compiled by the Whitley family; personal papers, correspondence and photographs relating to Whitley's career and family life; press cuttings referring to J.H. Whitley; a series of cartoons from Punch magazine commenting on Whitley's career; a section concentrating on the history of Whitley councils; material relating to Whitley's relationship with his school, Clifton College and information relating to the General Strike of May 1926.