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British Library of Political and Economic Science

HETHERINGTON, Hector Alastair, 1919 - 1999, Journalist


IDENTITY STATEMENT

Reference code(s): GB 0097 HETHERINGTON

Held at: British Library of Political and Economic Science

Title: HETHERINGTON, Hector Alastair, 1919 - 1999, Journalist

Date(s): 1958-1975

Level of description: Collection (fonds)

Extent: 6 boxes

Name of creator(s): Hetherington, Hector Alastair, 1919-1999, Journalist

CONTEXT

Administrative/Biographical history:

Hector Alastair Hetherington, 1919-1999, was educated at Gresham's School, Holt and Corpus Christi College, Oxford. He spent the second world war in the Royal Armoured Corps and in 1946 joined the editorial staff of the Glasgow Herald. He left in 1950 to join the Manchester Guardian where he was assistant editor and foreign editor 1953-1956 and editor 1956-1975. After he left the Guardian, he went into television, becoming controller of BBC Scotland 1975-1978 and manager of BBC Highland 1979-1980.

CONTENT

Scope and content/abstract:

The Hetherington collection consists predominantly of a series of notes of interviews with political figures from Britain and overseas kept between November 1958 and July 1975. Rough notes were made after the interviews which were later sent for typing; where a lengthy delay intervened prior to typing this is indicated. Frequent accounts are given of meetings with Labour leaders from Hugh Gaitskell to James Callaghan and there were regular meetings with Jo Grimond, leader of the Liberal Party, in the early years. Regional development and the Scottish government are frequent themes throughout the British interviews and there are discussions of the spy scandals of the early 1960s and the industrial disputes of the early 1970s. Foreign affairs figure strongly including Rhodesia's declaration of UDI, the independence of African states, the Vietnam War and the pursuit of a settlement in the Middle East. Britain's negotiations towards entry into the EEC can be traced. The section 'Additional Papers' contains notes on an attempted merger of The Times and the Guardian in 1967.

ACCESS AND USE

Language/scripts of material: English

System of arrangement:

This collection is arranged in date order:
1. Nov 1958-Dec 1959
2. 1960-1961
3. 1962
4. Jan-Jul 1963
5. Sep 1963 - Feb 1964
6. Mar- Oct 1964
7. Nov-Dec 1964
8. Dec 1964-Feb 1965
9. Mar-Jun 1965
10. Jun- Oct 1965
11. Nov 1965- Jan 1966
12. Feb 1966-Jan 1967
13. Jan-Dec 1967
14. Jan-Jun 1968
15. Jul- Dec 1968
16. Jan-Dec 1969
17. Jan-Jul 1970
18. Oct 1970-Sep1971
19. Nov 1971-Aug 1972
20. Jul 1972-Sep 1973
21. Oct 1973-Jul 1974
22. Sep 1974-Jul 1975
Additional Papers: Notes on the attempted merger of The Times and the Guardian, 1967.

Conditions governing access:

OPEN

Conditions governing reproduction:

COPYRIGHT IS HELD BY LIBRARY

Physical characteristics:

Finding aids:

Online catalogue and printed handlist available.

ARCHIVAL INFORMATION

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information:

Accruals:

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

The notes on a proposed merger of The Times and the Guardian were deposited by Alastair Hetherington via Tom Nossiter 10 Nov 1993 (Accession No: M 1788).

ALLIED MATERIALS

Existence and location of originals:

Existence and location of copies:

Related material:

Publication note:

DESCRIPTION NOTES

Note:

Archivist's note: Output from CAIRS using template 14 and checked by hand on March 27, 2002

Date(s) of descriptions: 27 Mar 2002; revised 3 May 2002


INDEX ENTRIES
Subjects
Decolonization | Colonial countries | Political systems
Espionage | Crime
International tensions | International conflicts
Labour disputes | Labour relations
Local government | Public administration | Government
Politicians | Political leadership | Internal politics
Vietnam War (1945-1975) | Wars (events)
War | International conflicts
Journalism
Regional development

Personal names
Callaghan | Leonard James | b 1912 | Baron Callaghan of Cardiff | statesman x Callaghan of Cardiff | Baron
Gaitskell | Hugh Todd Naylor | 1906-1963 | statesman
Grimond | Joseph | 1913-1993 | Baron Grimond | politician
Hetherington | Hector Alastair | 1919-1999 | journalist

Corporate names
EEC | European Economic Community x European Economic Community
Guardian | newspaper
Labour Party
Liberal Party
The Times | newspaper x Times

Places
London | England | UK | Western Europe | Europe
Scotland | UK | Western Europe | Europe
Viet Nam | South East Asia
Zimbabwe | Southern Africa
Middle East