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Papers of Diana Allen, Gypsy and Traveller Rights Campaigner.

Archive Collection: MS 1911

Please note

Users are advised that the content in this collection may include accounts of discrimination and the expression of opinions and/or terminology that would now be considered unacceptable.
See the Access and usage section below for further details.

Details

Type of record: Archive

Title: Papers of Diana Allen, Gypsy and Traveller Rights Campaigner.

Level: Collection

Classmark: MS 1911

Creator(s): Allen, Diana (1916-2007)()

Date(s): c.1967-2007

Language: English

Size and medium: 3 boxes; Manuscript papers, typescript papers, newspaper cuttings, pamphlets

Persistent link: https://explore.library.leeds.ac.uk/special-collections-explore/629048

Collection group(s): Gypsy, Traveller and Roma Collections

Description

Includes correspondence, newspaper cuttings, research papers, reports, copies of minutes and publications relating to Gypsies and Travellers collected by Diana Allen.

Physical characteristics

Measurement details: Three green boxes

Biography or history

Diana (Wimberley) Allen (1916-2007) was a campaigner who later in life became a solicitor defending the rights of Gypsies and Travellers in the UK (specialising in planning applications and fighting evictions).

University educated at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, Diana initially became a civil servant (Ministry of Food). In 1957 she joined Berkhamsted Liberals where she stood as a candidate for the both Town and County Council and campaigned in the West Herts constituency (working with Ken Jones). During this time she had also joined the local (Berkhamsted) branch of the National Council for Women (NCW) and was later elected to the National Executive where she became a reporter on Parliamentary proceedings. It was in this role that she became involved with campaigning for the rights of Gypsies and Travellers when she worked with Eric Lubbock MP to add a clause to the Caravan Sites Bill that reflected an NCW resolution to oblige local authorities to provide sites for Gypsies and Travellers.

She later became involved in campaigning for the rights of Gypsies and Travellers to education and sites both at a local level (as a member of Berkhamsted Gypsy Support Group and as chair of Hertfordshire Federation of Gypsy Support Groups) and nationally as an executive member of the National Gypsy Education Council (and later as part of the Advisory Council Education of Romany other Travellers).

Having qualified as a solicitor in 1981 she became a partner with legal firm “Lance Kent & Co” (her fellow partner Jeremy Browne was chair of the Berkhamsted Gypsy Support Group). After first specialising in criminal law, she went onto defend the rights of Gypsies and Travellers, eventually challenging planning decisions and evictions as an infringement of their human rights to education, health and family/private life. In 2000 she took the case of Sally Chapman vs The UK to the European Court of Human Rights.

Provenance

The papers of Diana Allen were originally deposited in 2009 with Lady Margaret Hall,(LMH) Oxford, [having studied English there 1935-38]. In April 2014 with agreement of the LMH archivist and family of Diana Allen, the collection was transferred to the University of Leeds to become part of the Gypsy, Traveller and Roma Collections.


In 2017 the collection was (re)catalogued as part of the NCG funded project, "Collectors and Activists." [Previous refs can be viewed in the 'alt ref' field].

System of arrangement

Files have been organised by the archivist into logical series (based on the original catalogue).

Access and usage

Reproduction

Access

This collection is subject to various access conditions. Please see individual catalogue descriptions for further details on access.

Users are advised that the content in this collection may include accounts of discrimination and the expression of opinions and/or terminology that would now be considered unacceptable.

View the Cultural Collections sensitivity policy

Notes on terminology and spellings

 

Please note that there may be differences in the terms used to describe the particular communities represented in this collection, many of which have changed over time and may continue to change.

 

At the time this catalogue was created there are many definitions that identify different cultural and ethnic groups with their varied histories, traditions and associations with a travelling life.

 

These can include but are not limited to  those that have been recognised in UK law as ethnic groups; English and Welsh (Romany) Gypsies, Irish and Scottish Travellers; and non-ethnic groups that consider themselves distinct even if these have not been recognised in UK law, e.g. New Travellers, Showmen and Bargees. Outside of the UK 'Gypsy' may also be considered offensive  and ‘Roma’ is often used instead as the universally preferred term although this term also represents a wide range of distinct groups, (e.g. Sinti, Manouche).

 

It is our intention to respectfully and (where possible) accurately refer to these different communities in the catalogue. For this reason we ask you to note the following with regards to the descriptions in this catalogue that have been based on these current definitions:

 

1)  As many of these definitions have only come into being since the collection was created/1st catalogued, please be aware that original descriptions may not accurately reflect the group to which it refers, (e.g. the word 'Gypsy,' may have been used to describe those now recognised as Irish Travellers/Roma).  Therefore it is worth searching under various terms, e.g. 'Romany' and 'Traveller,' to broaden the scope of search results as well as using the alternative historical spellings, 'Gipsy,' 'Gipsie,' or ‘Romani.’

2) Where no original description exists and it is not possible to properly identify a distinct group they will be described as "Gypsy Traveller" (within UK setting), "Roma" for those living/recently originating outside the UK or "Gypsy, Traveller, Roma " for origin/locations unknown. References to any non - ethnic groups will similarly be capitalised to respectfully acknowledge all groups.

Material in this collection is in copyright. Photocopies or digital images can only be supplied by the Library for research or private study within the terms of copyright legislation. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain the copyright holder's permission to reproduce for any other purpose. Guidance is available on tracing copyright status and ownership.

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