Abbreviations
AHC Anthony H. Christie
JB Jonathan Benthall
LRG Mrs Laura Ruggles Gates
Mar. Mrs Margaret Carey
Contents
1/ Transfer of the original fund from the Royal Society
2/ Correspondence with Mrs Laura Ruggles Gates
3/ Specifications of the Fund
4/ Applicants
1/ Transfer of the original fund from the Royal Society
1963
1 N. Le Grand, Royal Society to AHC, 4 June 1963 – Prof. R. Ruggles Gates made a first payment for a new fund to the Royal Society ten years ago; the sum was allowed to be allowed to accumulate until his death at which time it was to be devoted to research in biology; gives current amount in fund; in June 1962 Ruggles Gates told the Treasurer, Lord Fleck that his interests had changed and that he wanted the fund transferred to the RAI; Prof. Gates died on 12 Aug. before he could approach the RAI; indicates situation with regard to the Charity Commission; asks if in principle the RAI would be prepared to accept the trust (tp.)
2 Ibid., 25 June – the Royal Society Council has approved an application being made for the transfer of the money to the RAI; hopes to discuss this with him (tp.)
3 AHC to N. Le Grand, 4 July – the President is prepared to accept the course of action he proposes (tpc.)
4 Ibid., 18 July – has now discussed the matter with the Standing Committee of the RAI; willing to administer fund in accordance with donor’s intention (tpc.)
5 N. Le Grand to AHC, 22 July – thinks they should discuss matters over lunch before approaching the Charity Commission (tp.)
6 Ibid., 16 Sep. – encloses a draft of a letter for the Charity Commission; does not think they will have to pay estate duty (tp.); draft not held; acknowledgement, 18 Sep. not retained
7 Charity Commission to RAI, 18 Oct. – an agreement has been reached about the transfer of the fund; asks for a copy of the RAI constitution (tp.)
8 AHC to Charity Commission, 21 Oct. – sends details as requested (tpc.)
9 S.P. Grounds, Charity Commission to AHC, 4 Feb. – on the position of the RAI with regard to acting as a Trustee; recommends transferring the fund to the Official Custodian for Charities to hold on its behalf; encloses leaflet on the Official Custodian. 2 leaves (tp.)
10 Charity Commission. The Official Custodian for Charities, Mar. 1962 (printed)
1964
11 Charity Commission, 4 Feb. 1964 – draft scheme for the regulation of the gift of Prof. Ruggles Gates (tp.)
12 AHC to S.P. Grounds, 7 Feb. – thanks him for his letter (/11 above); is not happy with it; is consulting legal advisors; the position as he describes it would affect other trusts (tpc.)
13 [AHC] to John Kusel, Kimber Bull & Co. 7 Feb. – encloses letter received from Charity Commission; has told S.P. Grounds that he is taking advice on the matter (tpc.)
14 N. Le Grand to AHC, 13 Feb. – is not taking the advice of his Treasurer until he has heard whether the Charity Commissioner’s conclusions are correct (tp.)
15 AHC to A.L. Diamond, LSE, 4 Mar. – outlines the problem posed by the Charity Commission’s opinion that the RAI cannot be a Trustees of the new fund; asks his advice on which Counsel’s opinion he should seek (tpc.)
16 Ibid., to N. Le Grand, 13 Mar. – notifies him that the RAI intends to seek Counsel’s opinion on the Charity Commission’s view (tpc.)
17 N. Le Grand to AHC, 16 Mar. – suggests that the RAI solicitors approach J.W. Brunyate who is an expert on charities (tp.)
18 Bryan Clausen, Lincoln’s Inn, 3 Apr. – opinion on the matter in hand; sees no reason why the Institute should not be a Trustee (tpc.)
19 N. Le Grand to AHC, 29 Apr. – the Royal Society wishes to dispose of the Ruggles Gates money before the end of the financial year; asks whether the situation has been clarified (tp.)
20 Charity Commission, 5 June – draft scheme (tpc.)
21 S.P. Grounds to Kimber Bull & Co., 5 June – thanks them for the copy of Bryan Clausen’s opinion; on the Institute’s position with regard to the Ruggles Gates money; encloses draft scheme (/20 above); will proceed once RAI’s views confirmed; advises that the position re the Esperanza Trust should be looked into. 2 leaves (tp., copy)
22 John Kusel to AHC, 8 June – encloses copy of the Charity Commission’s letter and draft scheme (/20-1 above); asks opinion (tp.)
23 AHC to John Kusel, 12 June – thinks the draft scheme should be accepted; thinks the Esperanza question should be dealt with separately (tpc.); acknowledgement, 16 June, not retained
24 N. Le Grand to AHC, 19 June – asks him to make a formal request to the Royal Society for the transfer of the Ruggles Gates money (tp., copy with autogr. note by AHC asking John Kusel what action is necessary)
25 John Kusel to AHC, 24 June – has already written to the Charity Commission; stressed the urgency of the matter (tp.); letter from AHC to N. Le Grand, 1 July, repeating this not retained
26 C. O’Farrell, Charity Commission to AHC, 23 July – encloses a revised draft scheme (/27 below)(tp.)
27 Charity Commission, [23 July] – draft scheme (tpc.)
28 John Kusel to AHC, 29 July – has heard from the Charity Commission that the scheme would be in motion by the first week of Sep. (tp.)
29 AHC to C. O’Farrell, 31 July – has noted the addition of Clause 5; asks to be informed when the scheme has come into force (tpc.)
30 Caroline Wright, Clerk to the Officers, 31 July – AHC informs him that the Charity Commission has produced a final draft which will come into operation once the Statutory Notices have been published (tpc.)
31 N. Le Grand to Caroline Wright, 6 Aug. – has taken the necessary action with regard to the Statutory Notices; will advise the Charity Commission; AHC should then make his application for the capital sum (tp.)
32 Ibid., to AHC, 7 Sep. – has sent the necessary evidence to the Charity Commission; it is time for him to make his formal request for the Ruggles Gates money (tp.)
33 Charity Commission to AHC, 10 Sep. – the scheme was sealed on 10 Sep. and is now operative (tp.)
34 Kimber Bull & Co. to AHC, 11 Sep. – confirms that the scheme was sealed on 10 Sep. (tp.)
35 AHC to N. Le Grand, 22 Sep. – makes formal request for the money; thanks him for his help (tpc.)
36 N. Le Grand to AHC, 23 Sep. – encloses cheque; had to pay duty to the Charity Commission (tp.)
37 AHC to N. Le Grand, 25 Sep. – offers to refund the expenses (tpc.)
38 R.M. Buller, Bristows, Cooke & Carpmael to N. Le Grand, 28 Oct. – gives figures as requested for all expenses connected with the transfer of the money to the RAI (tpc., with autogr. note by AHC to Accountant suggesting that this should be paid to the Royal Society)
39 N. Le Grand to AHC, 29 Oct. – encloses letter (/38 above) setting out costs incurred (tp.)
40 Reginald Ruggles Gates 1882-1962. Reprinted from the Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society, vol. 10, Nov. 1964, pp. 83-106
2/ Correspondence with Mrs Laura Ruggles Gates
1972
1 J.D. McCormack, Registrar King’s College, University of London, July 1972 – announces that Mrs Laura Ruggles Gates has instituted an award in memory of her husband Reginald Ruggles Gates; £100 will be offered annually to an undergraduate in the School of Biological Sciences who has performed with distinction (printed, autogr. amendment by LRG ‘£300 as of 1982’)
1977
2 LRG to Constance Benet-Clark, 24 Aug. 1977 – sends Christmas greetings; gives details of her travels and activities; encloses a new address card (/3 below); asks her to keep in touch; hopes to visit; mentions that she has several award schemes in memory of Ruggles; the most efficiently administered is at King’s College. 3 pp. (autogr.)
3 Card giving LRG’s new address (printed)
1978
4 LRG to MC, 26 Jan. 1978 – sends Christmas greetings; has had a disastrous Christmas; lost many friends; especially sorry about the death of Constance (MC’s) mother; the return of the letter she had written caused her great sorrow (/2 above); she and her father were her husband’s friends; asks for their birth and death dates; wishes her well; remembers meeting her with her father in 1956 at an RAI lecture group. 3 pp. (autogr.)
5 LRG to MC, 20 Apr. – thanks her for her letter; mentions her parents’ difficulties; was surprised to hear of a Ruggles Gates Fund in the Horniman Museum; thinks her husband must have forgotten about it; asks for details; is glad that she is the Hon. Secretary of the Fund; mentions the Ruggles Gates Award at King’s College, University of London; expresses her wishes with regard to award-holders; would appreciate a letter from Miss M. Barnes; the awards have been designated for male students only; they send her photographs of themselves; asks after WBF and sends regards to Dr and Mrs Otto Samson. 6 pp. (autogr.)
6 MC to JB, 27 Apr. – passes on her letter from LRG (/5 above); had written to her about the Fund in such a way that she hoped to encourage her to augment it; notes her requirements of award-holders; asks for a typed account of the Fund; has told her the award has nothing to do with the Horniman Museum (tp.)
7 JB to MC, 28 Apr. – suggests a way of wording a letter to LRG to encourage her to augment the Fund; the RAI would fulfil all her requirements of students; encloses copy of typed notes (/8 below)
8 JB, Apr. – ‘A note on the Ruggles Gates Fund for Research in Biological Anthropology’; Prof. R. Ruggles Gates left a fund on his death in 1962; the income was allowed to accumulate; the first award was made in 1977 to Dr Srboljub Zivanovic for research on Cromagnon remains in Yugoslavia; in 1978 an award was made to Miss Monica Barnes for research on archaeobotany in Peru; it is expected that in 1979 a grant will be made to Dr P. Harper and Prof. Eric Sunderland (see /3/1 below); gives details of the financial standing of the fund (tpc.)
9 MC to LRG, 4 May – encloses JB’s note on the Ruggles Gates Fund; clarifies the difference between the Horniman Museum and the Emslie Horniman Scholarship Fund; the Horniman Trustees have been responsible for selecting recipients of the Ruggles Gates awards; notes that Prof. Ruggles Gates’s wishes to encourage elite students could be better fulfilled if there was more money in the Fund; gives news of WBF; Dr Samson is dead; will send her greetings to Mrs Samson; appreciates her support of students; gives details of Miss Barnes. 2 leaves (tp.); see Horniman minutes, 19 May 1978, f. 133
10 LRG to MC, [postmark 21 June] – thanks her for her letter and JB’s note; has written to JB and enclosed a cheque for £500 (autogr.)
11 Ibid., to JB, 21 June – was very happy to hear about the Ruggles Gates Fund; approves of his decision to allow the income in the Fund to accumulate; encloses a cheque and will send others. 2 leaves (autogr.)
12 MC to LRG, 7 July – was thrilled to hear of her cheque; encloses a slip with the address of the RAI; recounts how it has moved premises and that the Library is now housed in the Museum of Mankind (tp.)
13 LRG to MC, 1 Aug. – sent the cheque to JB on the same day she wrote to her; is worried that she has heard nothing from him; gives banking details; asks her to check that the money has been safely received (autogr.)
14 Ibid., to JB, 1 Aug. – sent him a cheque on 21 June; has had thanks from MC; is worried that she has not heard from him to say that it has arrived safely; tells him who to contact at the bank if he has not received it (autogr.)
15 JB to LRG, 15 Aug. – has already cabled her to let her know that Lloyds bank have not cleared her cheque; most of their post is forwarded from Bedford Square; the Post Office has slipped up on this occasion; expresses appreciation for her help (tpc.)
16 MC to LRG, nd – found her letter after her return from Scotland; saw a carbon of a letter to her from JB who must have checked with the bank and cabled her; the money has not been removed from her bank and fallen into the wrong hands; presumes that she will give the money to the RAI when she visits London in Oct.; regrets the trouble she has been caused (tpc.)
17 LRG to JB, 25 Aug. – is glad the cheque was only lost; will have a duplicate cheque given by hand to him; will phone when she arrives in London (autogr.)
18 JB to MC, 11 Sep. – asks if she will take LRG to lunch on the RAI’s behalf when she comes to London (tp.)
19 LRG to JB, 3 Oct. – arrived in London yesterday; will not delay sending his cheque; the original letter and cheque were returned in mid-Sep. (autogr.)
20 JB to LRG, 4 Oct. – is glad she has arrived safely; on her cheque; mentions that MC has been asked to invite her to lunch; hopes to meet with her himself (tpc.)
21 LRG to MC, 21 Oct. – thanks her for the lunch; will visit JB when she is in Cavendish Square; has decided not to visit Scotland at this time; had lunch with Dr Fraser Roberts; plans to stay in London at least until after Christmas. 3 pp. (autogr.)
22 [MC], nd – report of the visit of LRG 24 Oct.; notes the conditions which she has stipulated; on publication of material; acknowledgements; deposit of publications; an annual report to be sent to her; she prefers male students; values high ability; would like students to be familiar with the work of R. Ruggles Gates; would be unhappy if any attack was launched against him (tpc.)
23 JB to LRG, 23 Nov. – the Ruggles Gates Fund has been advertised in RAIN; thanks to her recent generosity there will now be a separate advertisement made so that the maximum number of potential applicants may be reached; is preparing an announcement on awards made over the last few years; will send a copy (tpc.)
