Rooks Gift Society

Minutes of general and committee meetings, 1925-1990; subscription books, 1925-1990; membership card with rules, 1985; tickets for annual dinner, 1985-1987.

The Rooks was one of several friendly societies existing for Fleet Street employees, providing financial and career assistance where seen as appropriate. The society was a combination of exclusivity and secrecy; thus, job information was imparted to friends and contacts of Rooks members, but the presence of several Rooks who were prominant trade unionists in the compositor associations means that the minutes reveal little about recruitment procedure, adhering to the union policy of no outside interference. The Rooks disbanded in 1990, when Fleet Street ceased to exist as the newspaper capital of the United Kingdom. The society was founded in 1925.

This collection is available to researchers by appointment at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick. See http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/library/mrc/using/

This collection was deposited with the Centre via the Warwick Business School in 1990.

Link to full catalogue: http://mrc-catalogue.warwick.ac.uk/records/RGS

There are no restrictions on the use of this archive, apart from the requirements of copyright law.

Further deposits are not expected.