GB 133 BDD

GB 133 BDD is the John Rylands Library's cataloguing code for Delia's Juvenile Papers.

Here is a copy from 12 Jan 2013:

John Rylands Library catalogue entry

This material is held at The University of Manchester, The John Rylands University Library
Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD
Dates of Creation	1932-1953 (and 1972)
Name of Creator	Delia Ann Derbyshire, 1937-2001, composer
Language of Material	English, French, Latin
Physical Description	1 li.m.; 6 series; 185 items
Location		Collection available at John Rylands Library, Deansgate.

Finding aid compiled by Fran Baker.
Publication	The John Rylands University Library, 150 Deansgate, Manchester, M3 3EH, England, tel.: +44 (0)161-275 3764, fax: +44 (0)161-834 5574,
Edition	1st edition
Creation	Finding aid encoded in EAD 2002 by Fran Baker using Oxygen XML Editor v.11.2, June 2011

Scope and content

The collection consists of papers which were generated and accumulated by Delia Derbyshire as a child - both at home and at school. These include school notebooks and papers, drawings, news cuttings, cards and a small number of objects.

Probably the most significant items are the school exercise books dating from 1948-53 which include notes, exercises and assignments in various subject areas. There are numerous mathematics books - shedding light on Derbyshire's early interest in this subject which she went on to study at Cambridge before switching to music, and which also informed and inspired her compositions. Music notebooks are also represented, revealing the composers she was familiar with or interested in at the time; her English exercise books contain original compositions, notes on writers she studied, and essays and assignments which reflect Derbyshire's early views on a range of subjects.

The news cuttings reveal an interest in her local area and a teenage enthusiasm for following news stories about members of the British royal family. There are also one or two pieces relating to music - and one posthumous item relating to Derbyshire's school days. The printed material includes numerous prayer cards, reflecting Derbyshire's Catholic background. The objects include some artefacts of great resonance - among them two Home Guard helmets and three gas masks - including one in a child's size, presumably Derbyshire's own; the bombing of Coventry and her evacuation to Lancashire both had a profound influence on the music she would compose in later life.

Biographical history

Delia Ann Derbyshire was born in Coventry in 1937, the daughter of Edward (a sheet metal worker in a car factory) and Mary Amelia Derbyshire. Only a few years later, Coventry became a major target for German bombing raids, and Derbyshire later realised that her love for abstract sounds came in part from the air-raid and 'all clear' sirens she heard as a very young child. During the worst of the blitz, she was evacuated to Preston in Lancashire, where her parents came from; she subsequently recalled the clatter of the mill-workers' clogs on cobbles as another sound that influenced her.

She attended Barr's Hill School for Girls in Coventry, and her academic career at school is well-documented in this collection. She did not study music in any depth at school, although she excelled at the piano in her spare time, taking part in competitions and reaching performer level (music is described as her "favourite hobby" in one of her school exercise books). She obtained a place at Girton College, Cambridge, to read mathematics, and although she later switched to a music degree, her fascination for maths and its relationship with music shaped much of her work as a composer.

After university, she hoped to pursue her interest in sound, music and acoustics, but on applying for a job at Decca Records she was told that they did not employ women in the recording studio. However, in 1962 she managed to obtain a post as trainee studio manager at the BBC, and was soon seconded to work at the BBC's Radiophonic Workshop, which had been set up to provide theme and incidental music and sound for BBC radio and television programmes. The following year, she produced her electronic 'realisation' of Ron Grainer's theme tune for the hugely popular BBC series Doctor Who - which is still one of the most famous and instantly recognizable television themes.

Derbyshire continued to produce innovative work in what was initially a largely analogue environment, involving labour-intensive tape splicing and speed adjustment, as well as making use of oscillators and 'found' sounds (she famously used a tatty lampshade which she thought provided a beautiful ringing tone). She moved on to work with synthesizers, although she disliked the increasing trend of using synthesizers to mimic traditional instrumental sounds. The Workshop's TV output soon overtook its work for radio, and Derbyshire provided music for drama, science, arts and educational programmes, establishing herself as one of the pioneering figures in British electronic music.

Outside of the Radiophonic Workshop, she worked on various projects, creating music for theatre, film, festivals and 'happenings'. She collaborated with numerous well-known figures, including the German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen and Peter Maxwell Davies. She worked with Peter Zinovieff (founder of the EMS synthesizer company) to establish Unit Delta Plus - an organisation to create and promote electronic music; as part of this initiative she also worked with Paul McCartney and George Harrison on a piece called The carnival of light performed at the Chalk Farm Roundhouse in 1966, and created a film soundtrack for Yoko Ono. She also worked with or influenced other musicians and bands such as Brian Jones and the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd and - perhaps surprisingly - Anthony Newley.

Derbyshire decided to leave the BBC in 1973; by this time she felt disillusioned with the corporation's increasing antipathy to the kind of unusual, abstract music she wished to make, and was unwilling to compromise her integrity. She moved to Cumbria, working in a range of jobs; for a time she was a French-bilingual radio operator for British Gas on a major pipeline laying project. She subsequently worked with the abstract artist Li Yuan Chia - one of the most important Chinese artists of the twentieth century - and went to live at his LYC Museum near Hadrian's Wall. It was an environment in which everyone was encouraged to participate in a wide range of arts, and Derbyshire worked alongside Li Yuan-chia in running the gallery and printing press, exhibiting the work of artists and poets, and organising events and readings.

After a long time away, Derbyshire returned to music and composition in the late 1990s; this period saw renewed interest in her work, and many younger musicians making electronic dance and ambient music (such as Aphex Twin and The Chemical Brothers) cited Derbyshire as an important influence. She collaborated with Sonic Boom (Peter Kember, formerly of Spacemen 3) on two albums released under the name Experimental Audio Research: Vibrations (2000) and Continuum (2001).

Derbyshire married David Hunter in 1974; the couple subsequently separated and from 1980 (around which time she moved to Northampton) her partner was Clive Blackburn. She died on 3 July 2001. System of arrangement

There was no obvious original order to the material, although some of the papers were bundled together and these bundles have been retained. The collection has been organised into series based on format, as follows:

   * BDD/1 School notebooks
   * BDD/2 School papers
   * BDD/3 Drawings
   * BDD/4 News cuttings
   * BDD/5 Cards and other printed material
   * BDD/6 Objects

Restrictions on access

The collection is open to any accredited reader, although a small number of items are closed for conservation reasons.

The collection includes material which is subject to the Data Protection Act 1998. Under Section 33 of the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA), The John Rylands University Library (JRUL) holds the right to process personal data for research purposes. The Data Protection (Processing of Sensitive Personal Data) Order 2000 enables the JRUL to process sensitive personal data for research purposes. In accordance with the DPA, the JRUL has made every attempt to ensure that all personal and sensitive personal data has been processed fairly, lawfully and accurately. Users of the archive are expected to comply with the Data Protection Act 1998, and will be required to sign a form acknowledging that they will abide by the requirements of the Act in any further processing of the material by themselves. Restrictions on use

Photocopies and photographic copies of material in the archive can be supplied for private study purposes only, depending on the condition of the documents.

Most of the items in the archive remain within copyright under the terms of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988; it is the responsibility of users to obtain the copyright holder's permission for reproduction of copyright material for purposes other than research or private study.

Prior written permission must be obtained from the Library for publication or reproduction of any material within the archive. Please contact the Head of Special Collections, John Rylands University Library, 150 Deansgate, Manchester, M3 3EH. Immediate source of acquisition

The papers were sold to the Library by the current owner of the house in Coventry where Derbyshire lived as a child.

Archival history

The papers were generated and accumulated by Delia Derbyshire as a child and subsequently preserved by her mother at the house in Coventry where Derbyshire grew up.

Related materials

The JRUL holds approximately 267 tape recordings of Derbyshire's music, principally on 10.5" reels dating mainly from the 1960s and 1970s, along with papers documenting her processes of musical composition. The tapes are currently closed for conservation reasons. Other related collections include the papers of the Chinese artist Li Yuan-chia and the LYC Museum (where Derbyshire lived in the 1970s), and the papers of the Benedictine monk, theologian and concrete poet dom sylvester houédard.

Bibliography

H.J. Spencer, 'Derbyshire, Delia Ann (1937-2001), composer', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004-11).

Delia Derbyshire.org website, accessed 15 June 2011.

Pete Paphides, 'Delia Derbyshire: the music of mathematics' Times Online (18 July 2008); accessed 14 June 2011. Preferred citation

School notebooks

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD/1
Dates of Creation	1948-1953
Physical Description	4 subseries; 38 items; 101 pieces

This series consists of 101 exercise books, vocabulary books, rough workbooks and homework books kept by Delia Derbyshire over a five-year period at Barr's Hill School in Coventry. At least eight different subject areas are represented. Probably the most significant items are the formal exercise books containing completed exercises and assignments which have been marked by teachers. These include original essays, creative writing, maths exercises and notes on music and composers, all of which shed light on Derbyshire's developing ideas and talents during her school career. Arrangement

Where notebooks have been assigned titles by Derbyshire, these are quoted in the 'Title' field. The books are arranged in four subseries based on their type; these are as follows:

   * /1 Exercise books
   * /2 Vocabulary notebooks
   * /3 Rough workbooks
   * /4 Homework books

Exercise books

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD/1/1
Dates of Creation	1948-1953
Physical Description	8 items; 21 pieces

A series of 21 exercise books belonging to Delia Derbyshire at secondary school. These are the most formal of the school notebooks represented in the archive, and contain exercises and assignments which have been marked by teachers. They cover eight different subject areas, although the largest grouping relates to aspects of mathematics (including geometry, algebra and arithmetic) - the subject she went on to study at university before switching to a music degree. Only one exercise book devoted to music survives here, and this is disappointingly brief, although it shows her familiarity with certain composers at this time. Perhaps most interesting are the English exercise books, which contain essays revealing Derbyshire's views on a range of subjects, original compositions, and pieces on the work of other writers she studied or admired. Arrangement

The exercise books have been arranged alphabetically by subject, and chronologically within each subject area.

English exercise books

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD/1/1/1
Dates of Creation	1948-1953
Physical Description	6 pieces

A bundle of six exercise books relating to English lessons. They include grammar exercises, transcripts of work by well-known writers, essays on writers' work, and other original compositions - such as essays on a range of set subjects, poetry, short stories and creative writing inspired by literary works.

Exercise book: "English Grammar"

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD/1/1/1/1
Dates of Creation	1948-1953
Physical Description	1 soft bound volume

Exercise book with Barr's Hill School label, used by Derbyshire over a five-year period for English grammar exercises which have been marked by teachers.

Exercise book: "Anthology"

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD/1/1/1/2
Dates of Creation	1948
Physical Description	1 soft bound volume

Exercise book with Barr's Hill School label, marked by Derbyshire as being used when she was in Lower III, Upper IV and V forms; however, the only content in the volume is dated 1948. Only a few pages have been used, to transcribe poetry by Shakespeare, Wordsworth, Shelley, Bulwer Lytton and Longfellow, alongside a composition of Derbyshire's own, written when she was eleven, entitled 'Guy Fawke's Night'. The final page of the book has been used for notes on figures of speech.

Exercise book: "English Composition"

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD/1/1/1/3
Dates of Creation	1948-1951
Physical Description	1 soft bound volume staples removed so volume is loose leaf

Exercise book with Barr's Hill School label, kept by Derbyshire over a number of years at school, including forms III-IV. This contains English composition assignments completed by Derbyshire and marked by teachers. Some of the topics covered include: 'The town in which I live'; The happiest day of my life'; My favourite hobby' (music, in which she quotes Beethoven's Sonatas and Schubert's Impromptus as among her current favourite pieces); 'How to be a bore'; descriptive summaries of literary works (e.g. The merchant of Venice), and creative writing inspired by literary works (e.g. 'Eppie's arrival at Silas Marner's cottage'). There are also original short stories and poems written by Derbyshire. Most of the pieces have been marked by teachers.

Exercise book: "Current events"

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD/1/1/1/4
Dates of Creation	n.d. [ca. 1951]
Physical Description	1 soft bound volume and 4 loose inserts covers detached

Exercise book with Barr's Hill School label, kept by Derbyshire in the Upper IV form. This contains only one piece: a short, two-page essay on Thomas Hardy. Includes four loose inserts, all of which are news clippings, relating to: St Cecilia's connection with music; 'The Humour of Dickens'; Henry James; and a reproduction of a woodcut showing the murder of Thomas Arden in 1551 (from the Radio Times).

Exercise book: "English"

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD/1/1/1/5
Dates of Creation	1951-1953
Physical Description	1 soft bound volume

Exercise book with Barr's Hill School label, kept by Derbyshire in forms IV-V. Contains: short stories by Derbyshire; pieces on the work of different writers, such as the poetry of Robert Browning; and short essays on set themes (like 'The influence of comics', 'Revenge' and 'Wireless programmes'). All of these have been marked by teachers.

Exercise book

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD/1/1/1/6
Dates of Creation	n.d.
Physical Description	1 hard bound volume

Unlabelled and undated exercise book containing: transcriptions of poems (some of which appear to have been used in elocution or recitation exams); sketches; and notes on recitation. French exercise books

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD/1/1/2
Dates of Creation	[ca. 1948-1953]
Physical Description	3 pieces

A bundle of three exercise books relating to French lessons, containing translations, transcriptions, labelled drawings and other exercises by Derbyshire.

Exercise book: "French anthology"

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD/1/1/2/1
Dates of Creation	n.d. [ca. 1948-1953]
Physical Description	1 soft bound volume rusting staples removed so volume is now loose leaf

Exercise book with Barr's Hill School label, kept by Derbyshire over a number of years, including forms III-V, containing French exercises, transcripts and labelled drawings, some of which have been marked by a teacher.

Exercise book: "French"

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD/1/1/2/2
Dates of Creation	1951
Physical Description	1 soft bound exercise book rusting staples removed so volume is now loose leaf

Exercise book with Barr's Hill School label, used by Derbyshire for French work when she was in the Upper IV and V forms. Includes translations and other exercises which have been marked by a teacher.

Exercise book: "French"

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD/1/1/2/3
Dates of Creation	n.d. [ca. 1952]
Physical Description	1 soft bound volume rusting staples removed so volume is now loose leaf

Exercise book with Barr's Hill School label, used by Derbyshire for French work when she was in form V. Only a small portion of the book has been filled, with translations and other exercises which have been marked by a teacher.

Exercise book: "Geography"

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD/1/1/3
Dates of Creation	1950-1952
Physical Description	1 soft bound volume

Exercise book with Barr's Hill School label, kept by Derbyshire during form IV, containing assignments on geography, with some hand drawn maps and graphs; some of the work has been marked by a teacher.

Exercise book: "History"

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD/1/1/4
Dates of Creation	1950-1952
Physical Description	1 soft bound volume

Exercise book with Barr's Hill School label, kept by Derbyshire when she was in Lower and Upper IV forms. Contains essays and drawings relating to various historical topics from the Tudor period to the eighteenth century, which have been marked by teachers.

Latin exercise book

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD/1/1/5
Dates of Creation	n.d. [ca. 1952]
Physical Description	1 soft bound volume

Unlabelled exercise book kept by Derbyshire in form V. It contains Latin exercises and homework which have been marked by a teacher.

Maths exercise books

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD/1/1/6
Dates of Creation	1948-[ca. 1953]
Physical Description	7 pieces

A bundle of seven books devoted to exercises in mathematics by Derbyshire, including arithmetic, geometry and algebra.

Exercise book: "Geometry"

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD/1/1/6/1
Dates of Creation	1948-1949
Physical Description	1 soft bound exercise book back cover is detached 

Exercise book with Barr's Hill School label, kept by Derbyshire during form III, containing geometry exercises which have been marked by a teacher. The back cover has been used for noting down a recipe.

Exercise book: "Geometry"

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD/1/1/6/2
Dates of Creation	1949-1951
Physical Description	1 soft bound volume cover label is partly detached

Exercise book with Barr's Hill School label, kept by Derbyshire in Lower IV form and later, containing geometry exercises which have been marked by a teacher.

Exercise book: "Geometry"

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD/1/1/6/3
Dates of Creation	1951-1953
Physical Description	1 soft bound volume

Exercise book with Barr's Hill School label, kept by Derbyshire in forms IV and V. Contains geometry exercises which have been marked by teachers.

Exercise book: "Arithmetic"

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD/1/1/6/4
Dates of Creation	[1949]-1951
Physical Description	1 soft bound volume and loose insert

Exercise book with Barr's Hill School label, kept by Derbyshire during IV form at secondary school, containing mathematical exercises which have been marked by a teacher. Includes one loose insert.

Exercise book

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD/1/1/6/5
Dates of Creation	1950 and n.d. [ca. 1950-1953]
Physical Description	1 soft bound volume

Exercise book with Barr's Hill School label, kept by Derbyshire over a number of years at school, until she was in VI form. Contains a series of exercises on angles and graphs.

Exercise book: "Algebra"

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD/1/1/6/6
Dates of Creation	1951-1953
Physical Description	1 soft bound volume staples missing so volume is loose leaf

Exercise book with Barr's Hill School label, kept by Derbyshire in forms IV and V, containing algebra exercises which have been marked by a teacher.

Exercise book

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD/1/1/6/7
Dates of Creation	n.d. [ca. 1952]
Physical Description	1 soft bound volume

Exercise book kept by Derbyshire in form V, containing mathematical exercises which have been marked by a teacher.

Exercise book: "Music"

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD/1/1/7
Dates of Creation	1951
Physical Description	Soft bound volume Staples missing so volume is loose leaf

Exercise book with Barr's Hill School label, kept by Derbyshire in forms IV-V. Only a small portion of the book has actually been used. Contents include: a piece on Henry Purcell; a piece on Beethoven; brief rough notes on other composers; and one page at the end of the volume listing descriptions of different instrumental dance forms characteristic of the Baroque period.

File: "Physics"

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD/1/1/8
Dates of Creation	1950 and n.d.
Physical Description	1 file

Bulky file which has been bound in brown paper like a volume, labelled "Physics" and identified by Derbyshire as being used in the Upper VI form - although the only date given in the volume is 1950, so it seems likely that this was maintained over a number of years. Contains extensive notes and diagrams on physics.

Vocabulary notebooks

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD/1/2
Dates of Creation	[ca. 1950-1953]
Physical Description	3 items; 9 pieces

A series of small vocabulary notebooks kept by Derbyshire at Barr's Hill School, typically containing lists of vocabulary and notes on grammar. There is one notebook relating to English grammar and vocabulary, and four each relating to French and Latin. Arrangement

The notebooks are arranged alphabetically by language, and chronologically within each language.

Notebook: "English Note and Vocabulary Book"

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD/1/2/1
Dates of Creation	n.d. [ca. 1952]
Physical Description	1 small soft bound volume

Notebook containing notes on literary texts, literary conventions and vocabulary; kept by Derbyshire in form V.

French vocabulary notebooks

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD/1/2/2
Dates of Creation	[ca. 1950-1953]
Physical Description	4 pieces

A bundle of four small notebooks containing French vocabulary lists, maintained by Derbyshire over a number of years at secondary school, as follows:

   * /1 "French Vocabulary Notebook": forms III-IV [ca. 1950-1951]. Covers are fragile and slightly damaged.
   * /2 "French Vocabulary": form V (1952). Includes one loose insert: a French vocabulary test which has been marked by a teacher.
   * /3 "French Vocabulary": form V [ca. 1952/3]. Only a few pages used.
   * /4 "French notebook": includes notes on grammar as well as vocabulary (undated).

Latin vocabulary books

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD/1/2/3
Dates of Creation	[ca. 1950]-1952
Physical Description	4 pieces

A bundle of four small notebooks containing Latin vocabulary lists, and some notes on grammar, maintained by Derbyshire over a number of years at secondary school, as follows:

   * /1 "Latin vocabulary notebook": Upper III and Lower IV forms [ca. 1950-1952]. Cover is fragile and torn in places.
   * /2 "Latin Vocabulary": form V (1951).
   * /3 "Latin Vocabulary": form V (1952).
   * /4 Unlabelled notebook containing notes on Latin grammar, made by Derbyshire in form V; only a small portion of the book has been used [ca. 1951/2].

Rough workbooks

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD/1/3
Dates of Creation	[ca. 1948-1953]
Physical Description	18 items

A series of 18 rough workbooks used by Delia Derbyshire over a five-year period at Barr's Hill School. The first four of these are devoted to mathematics, containing rough workings and exercises. The remainder of them contain notes on a range of subjects, including English, French, Latin, history, maths and science. Most of them are labelled by Derbyshire with the form she was in when she started them, although these labels do not always match up with dates inside the books. The volumes (all soft bound exercise books) are as follows (with Derbyshire's original titles where these are included):

   * /1 "Arithmetic, Geometry and Algebra Rough Book": Upper III form [ca. 1948/9]. Covers detached and damaged.
   * /2 "Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry" [ca. 1950].
   * /3 Rough maths workbook: form IV [ca. 1950-1951].
   * /4 Rough maths workbook: form V (1952). Includes two loose inserts.
   * /5 "Domestic Science": forms IV-V. The content does not match the label, and this is in fact a rough workbook containing notes on a range of subjects [ca. 1948/9].
   * /6 Rough workbook: Lower IV form (1950).
   * /7 Rough workbook: Lower IV form [ca. 1950/51].
   * /8 Rough workbook: Lower IV form [ca. 1950/51].
   * /9 Rough workbook: Lower IV form [ca. 1950/51].
   * /10 Rough workbook: Lower and Upper IV Form [ca. 1951].
   * /11 Rough workbook: Upper IV form [ca. 1951].
   * /12 Rough workbook: Upper IV form [ca. 1951/2].
   * /13 Rough workbook: form V [ca. 1951/2]. Includes four loose sheets, and stored with loose cover from another exercise book of the same format.
   * /14 "Rough Note Book": Upper IV form (1952).
   * /15 Rough workbook: form V (1952). Includes one loose insert.
   * /16 Rough workbook: form V [ca. 1952/3].
   * /17 Rough workbook: undated. Covers are fragile and torn. Includes eight loose inserts.
   * /18 Rough workbook: undated. Covers are missing. Includes one loose insert.

Homework books

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD/1/4
Dates of Creation	1950-1953
Physical Description	5 items

A series of five homework books, containing either homework exercises which have been marked by teachers, or lists of tasks and exercises set for homework. The first two are subject-specific (chemistry and physics) and the others are general.

Exercise book: "Chemistry Homework"

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BBD/1/4/1
Dates of Creation	1951-1953
Physical Description	1 soft bound volume

Exercise book with Barr's Hill School label, kept by Derbyshire in the Upper IV and V forms. Contains her chemistry homework exercises which have been marked by teachers.

Exercise book: "Physics Homework"

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD/1/4/2
Dates of Creation	1952-1953
Physical Description	1 soft bound volume

Exercise book with Barr's Hill School label, kept by Derbyshire in Form V. It is only just under half full and contains physics homework exercises which have been marked by teachers.

Notebook: "Homework Note Book"

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD/1/4/3
Dates of Creation	1950
Physical Description	1 small soft bound volume

Small notebook containing lists of tasks set as homework, along with rough notes and workings. Kept by Derbyshire in Lower III form.

Notebook (fragment): "Homework Note Book"

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD/1/4/4
Dates of Creation	1951
Physical Description	1 small soft bound volume

Notebook from which most of the pages are missing. Used by Derbyshire for listing homework tasks in form V.

Notebook: [homework]

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD/1/4/5
Dates of Creation	n.d.
Physical Description	1 small volume lacks covers

Small notebook, apparently containing lists of tasks set as homework.

School papers

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD/2
Dates of Creation	1950-1953
Physical Description	4 items

This small series consists of loose papers created or used by Delia Derbyshire at Barr's Hill School, including some papers relating to music, and question papers for examinations which she presumably sat in 1952 and 1953. Arrangement

The material has been left in its original bundles and these are arranged chronologically.

Bundle of papers

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD/2/1
Dates of Creation	1950 and n.d.
Physical Description	4 pieces

Miscellaneous school papers written by Derbyshire including transcriptions of verses, mathematical exercises and French assignments which have been marked.

Bundle of papers

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD/2/2
Dates of Creation	n.d. [ca. 1951-1952]
Physical Description	16 pieces

Miscellaneous school papers written by Derbyshire - predominantly French assignments and dictation written in form V which have been marked, but also including one English composition piece, one music test and some musical notation.

Bundle: "Latin Songs"

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD/2/3
Dates of Creation	n.d. [ca. 1951/2]
Physical Description	8 sheets

Eight sheets of paper fastened with thread, on which Derbyshire has written out the words to songs in Latin (including Latin versions of well-known nursery rhymes).

Bundle of examination papers

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD/2/4
Dates of Creation	1952-1953
Physical Description	20 pieces; 25 sheets

Twenty examination papers in various subjects dating from summer 1952 and spring 1953. It seems that Derbyshire sat these exams in forms IV and V at Barr's Hill School.

Drawings

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD/3
Dates of Creation	[1948]-1951 and n.d.
Physical Description	15 items

A bundle of drawings and paintings, many of which were made by Derbyshire at school when she was eleven years old. These include some abstract watercolour designs, a watercolour nativity scene, pencil sketches of figures, sketches possibly intended for embroidery designs, a design of a house made out of pieces of fabric mounted on paper, and sketches for Christmas cards. /14 is a sketched cartoon (mechanically reproduced rather than original); and /15 is a drawing book containing pressed flowers, with captions indicating that they were picked in Scotland in August 1951.

This material is currently closed for conservation reasons.

News cuttings

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD/4
Dates of Creation	1950-1972 and n.d.
Physical Description	69 items many of the cuttings are in a fragile condition and should be handled with care.

Series of news cuttings and in some cases larger sections from, or entire, newspapers - both local and national. The majority of these relate to news about the British royal family in the early 1950s but there are also pieces on events and locations which were local to Delia Derbyshire, including stories relating to Leamington Spa, Coventry, Stratford-upon-Avon, a series on villages in Warwickshire and a small number of items relating to Barr's Hill School, which Derbyshire attended. Also includes a cutting relating to a youth choir called 'The Fairy-tale Singers from Büdkeburg' and their hit song 'The Happy Wanderer' in 1954, with (on the reverse) pieces on banning Sunday adverts on commercial television, and a piece on Stanley Bate's Third Symphony. Most of the cuttings date from 1950-51, but there are single items from 1954, 1958, 1972 and one undated item which may have been added to the collection after Derbyshire's death in 2001: a letter to the editor from Betty Horner (née West), Derbyshire's best friend from junior school; printed with a photograph taken at Derbyshire's eleventh birthday party.

Many of the cuttings are undated so no attempt has been made to arrange them in a chronological sequence; they have been left as found.

BDD/4/66-68 are closed for conservation reasons.

Cards and other printed material

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD/5
Dates of Creation	1932-1953 and n.d.
Physical Description	49 items

A bundle, the majority of which is comprised of illustrated prayer cards or booklets, some of them inscribed to Derbyshire from her grandmother, other relatives and friends. Also included in the series are: a small printed booklet of Poems of comfort, faith and hope by 'Allan Junior'; a Girl Guides Test Card and Health Record card; a Christmas card to Derbyshire from Marguerite and Sheila; a good luck/birthday card to "daddy" from Delia and Benite[?] (inside which is a cigarette card depicting a member of the Glamorganshire RGA, 1908); a small book of transfers; a facsimile souvenir for autograph collectors from Warwickshire County Cricket Club, 1949; a printed map of London Zoo; two picture postcards sent to Mrs Derbyshire by G. Midgley; a marking form for an Elocution 5 exam taken at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art on 13 December 1952 (which shows a total mark of 73%); and a sheet of instructions to performers, helpers and staff involved in the Warwickshire Coronation Pageant of 1953.

Objects

Reference Number(s)	GB 133 BDD/6
Dates of Creation	n.d. [ca. 1930s/1950s]
Physical Description	10 items

A miscellaneous collection of objects found with the rest of Derbyshire's childhood material, consisting of:

   * /1 Two small cards of cotton thread - one yellow and one pale blue.
   * /2 A cigarette packet which originally held W.D. and H.O. Wills's Wild Woodbine Cigarettes.
   * /3 A bracelet of metal with gold-coloured glass decoration.
   * /4 Two brass buckles for shoes or a belt.
   * /5-6 Two tin Home Guard helmets.
   * /7-10 Three gas masks (one of which is child-size) and filter.