Series 1 - Personal correspondence

3 files

Tom Baistow's personal correspondence from 1930s until 1990s.

The first file, titled by Tom Baistow's 'hiring and firing', includes correspondence he received when he left the Scottish Daily Express in Glasgow, and the letters he received from the News Chronicle in Manchester in 1936 offering a position of sub-editor. There are various other letters in this file which formalise job offers, changes of position and salary alterations, these relate to positions at News Chronicle, Daily Herald and New Statesman ranging from 1949 to 1966. It also includes a CV written by Tom Baistow, signed 25 January 1995.

The second file includes letters from other journalists, editors, university professors reflecting his work as journalist, poet and lecturer.

The third file consists mainly of pieces written by Tom Baistow, the bulk of which dates from 1993 to 1998. It includes newspaper cuttings and copy for some of the many letters that Baistow wrote to the British press during this time. He was a prolific letter writer and regularly commented on everything from grammatical errors to his views on the reformation of the Scottish Parliament. The file also includes obituaries written by Baistow for media figures; journalists and cameramen, along with eulogies he composed for people from his local community, Petts Wood. There are a variety of invitations, bulletins and poems in the file, such memorabilia relates specifically to the letters and newspaper cuttings inside. Copy, drafts and cuttings of Baistow's D-Day article, published in the Guardian, 2 June 1984, are also included.

Chronological