Overseas Committees and Councils

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: GB 1538 RCOG/B9
Held at	: Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists   Click here to find out how to view this collection at https://www.rcog.org.uk/en/guidelines-research-services/library-services/archives-and-heritage/archives/ ›
Full title	: Overseas Committees and Councils
Date(s)	: 1946-1984
Level of description	: fonds
Extent	: 9 boxes and 14 volumes
Name of creator(s)	: Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

Committees and Councils of the RCOG were set up internationally in various countries. The earliest were Reference Committees, which were set up and appointed to advise Council on local matters, such as the recognition of training posts and the training programmes of individual trainees, and to encourage local scientific meetings and social gatherings of Fellows and Members. The first reference committee was set up in Canada in 1932, closely followed by one in India and subsequently in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Gradually Regional Councils replaced Reference Committees in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa. Australia and New Zealand replaced their Councils with their own Royal Colleges of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in 1980 and 1982 respectively. Representative Committees were set up as the corporate body of College membership in a particular country or region and nominated and elected by the Fellows of that country or region. Functions were to bring together the collective advice of Fellows and Members and to undertake tasks on the College's behalf which were also in the interests of the country. In the 1980's the remaining Regional Councils were replaced by Representative Committees. The Dominions Committee was founded as a sub-committee of the RCOG in 1945 and became a full committee in 1952. It comprised representatives from the dominions (Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and India) and met in London. The meetings were consequently infrequent and the Committee was disbanded in 1958. The Overseas Policy Committee based in England, met from 1960 to 1962 when it became known as the Overseas Committee. Its terms of reference were: to consider development and change in countries overseas, particularly within the Commonwealth, in so far as they affect the aims and objectives of the College; to consider with the regional councils and reference committees means of fostering a close relationship between Fellows and Members abroad; to help with the placing of recommended postgraduates in recognised training posts in England and abroad; to be concerned with arrangements for the reception, both professional and social, of visitors from overseas. By 1967 the Overseas Committee had been superseded by the appointment of an Adviser to Overseas Candidates and after 1967 there is no record of the Committee meeting again.

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

Records of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists' Overseas Committees and Councils, 1946-1984. The series contains: correspondence, minutes and papers of regional councils in Australia (1946-1980), New Zealand (1947-1976) and Canada (1948-1964); minutes and papers of the Dominion Committee (1952-1958); minutes, papers and reports from the Overseas Policy Committee (1946-1971); correspondence, minutes and papers of the South African Reference Committee and Regional Council (1953-1976); correspondence and papers of the Overseas Representative Committees in Ceylon, India and Pakistan (1962-1977); minute books of the international Regional Councils and Overseas Committees (1946-1984).

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
English

System of arrangement:

As set out above in Scope and Content.

Conditions governing access:

Open, although restrictions apply for items containing personal information.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Finding aids:

RCOG/B3/2 have been indexed and the names of successful candidates will be found in the Index to the Guide to the College Archives.

Archival Information

Archival history:

The College Secretary had administrative responsibility for overseas councils and committees until the Vice President (Overseas Officer) assumed responsibility in the early 1980s.

Immediate source of acquisition:

The majority of the records below were probably transferred to the Archives by the College Secretary's Office.

Allied Materials

Related material:

Publication note:

Description Notes

Archivist's note:
Imported from the RCOG catalogue and edited by Sarah Drewery.

Rules or conventions:
General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal Place and Corporate Names 1997.

Date(s) of descriptions:
Import: Oct 2008; edit: Feb 2009.