Elvin; George Herbert (1907-1964); trade unionist and the National Workers' Sports Association

Cuttings books and associated printed material relating to the National (later British) Workers' Sports Association and to Elvin's candidatures for Weston super Mare during the 1935 General Election.

• Vol 1. Cuttings book re the NWSA including formation of NWSA, Second Workers' International Sports Olympiad, Vienna, 1931, First International Workers' Sports Meeting, Dorchester, 1934; boycott of the Berlin Olympics 1935. 1930-1935.
• Vol 2. Cuttings book including boycott of the Berlin Olympics, plans for the Barcelona Workers' Olympiad, 1936, early days of the Spanish Civil War, NWSA support for Republican Spain and the International Workers' Olympiad, Antwerp, 1936-1937.
• Vol 3. Cuttings book of New Clarion reports by Elvin on the NWSA,1932-1934.
• Vol 4. Cuttings and scrapbook compiled by Elvin when he stood as Labour candidate for Weston super Mare in the 1935 General Election, 1935.
• Vol 5. 21 Years of Sport: being a history of the BWSA, published by the BWSA, London, nd [1951]
• Vol 6. 2 Arbeiter Olympiade Wien, 19-26 Juli 1931, 1931
• Vol 7. 3 Arbeiter Olympiade Ouvriere Anvers, 25 July-1 August 1937, 1937
• Vol 8. sport und arbeitersport by Helmut Wagner, published by buchergilde gutenberg, Berlin, 1931.

George H.Elvin was born in Essex, the son of trade unionist Herbert Henry Elvin and was secretary of the Cine-Technicians Union and Labour candidate for Weston super Mare in the 1935 General Election. Elvin also served as the General Secretary of the National Workers' Sports Association which later became the British Workers' Sports Association. The British Workers Sports Federation was been established in 1923 under the auspices of Clarion Cyclists, Labour Party sympathisers and trade union officials with a stated objective of promoting international unity and peace through sport. In reaction to increasing Community Party influence in the BWSF some Labour Party members and trade unionists left the organisation and founded the National Workers' Sports Association (later the British Workers' Sports Association).

The BWSF participated in the various Workers' Olympiads during the 1930s and was involved in international developments during World War Two. BWSF was wound up in 1960.

The collections is arranged in 8 volumes.

Open

No further list is required.

The collections consists of eight volumes which require careful handling.

Description originally created in 1992 and updated by Sue Donnelly, Archivist, London School of Economics, 2009.

No material may be published without the prior permission of both the copyright holder and the Library. All applications for publication must be made to the Archivist in the first instance, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user.

The scrapbooks were a gift to the Library from George Elvin's widow.

Papers of the British Workers' Sports Association are held by the Labour Archive and Research Centre, New People's History Museum, Manchester