Norman Shrapnel Archive
Date range: 1932-2000 (predominantly 1950-1975)
Medium: Archive
Norman Shrapnel (1912-2004), journalist and author, was born in Grimsby, Lincolnshire on 5th October 1912. Educated at The King's School, Grantham, he started working as a journalist in the late 1930s in Birmingham writing for the Birmingham Gazette, Evening Despatch, and Sunday Mercury. Shrapnel served as a Sergeant in the RAF and was stationed in South-East Asia during World War II.
Shrapnel first started working for the Manchester Guardian in 1947 as a reporter and features writer. In 1958, Shrapnel became the paper's parliamentary correspondent taking over from Harry Boardman, a position he held until his retirement in 1975. In 1969, Shrapnel won the Political Writer of the Year award. Although he retired in 1975 from the Guardian, Shrapnel continued to write and publish for the Guardian and other papers, magazines, books, and radio. Shrapnel died aged 91 on 1st February 2004.
These papers document Norman Shrapnel's life as a writer and journalist and are particularly strong for the 1950s - 1970s. Shrapnel kept detailed diaries for many years, and these offer an insight into both his work and current affairs. He had a wide circle of friends and colleagues and was a prolific letter writer. His position as Parliamentary Correspondent for the Manchester Guardian (later Guardian) gave him access to the key political figures and parliamentarians of the period. His collection will be off great interest to political scholars as well as those interested in the history of journalism and social change.
The collection comprises, detailed diaries (most are indexed), press cuttings, correspondence, typescripts and manuscripts of books written by Norman Shrapnel, many unpublished, notebooks and working papers, books and printed materials and photographs.
See also:
Further information:
Uncatalogued; Box list available on request.
Location:
<< Back to A-Z list