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Acknowledgements

This book originated at a lunch at the London School of Economics in spring 2015, one of the (very) unexpected outcomes of which was that I was commissioned by LSE Health (now the Department of Health Policy), supported by the Brian Abel-Smith Foundation Fund, to write this biography, part of the series ‘LSE Pioneers of Social Policy’. The driving force behind this was Jane Lewis, then Professor of Social Policy at the School. The late Walter Holland became my principal LSE contact, and gave me much calm advice. Early on in my research I contacted Sally Sheard, biographer of Brian Abel-Smith. Sally gave me a number of invaluable pointers as to how to approach a project of this type as well as providing me with some of the key primary materials used here. Other material came from Nick Timmins, for which I am grateful.

Titmuss’s daughter, Ann Oakley, kindly allowed me access to papers of her father which she still holds, and to her family photograph album. She was an endless supply of information, and a congenial companion over post-research glasses of wine. In a more formal sense, I also interviewed Ann about her memories of her father. Others who knew Titmuss and kindly gave me their recollections, either in person or by email, were Alan Deacon, the late David Donnison, Frank Field, Howard Glennerster, Jose Harris, the late Walter Holland, Maggie May, David Piachaud, Bob Pinker, Adrian Sinfield, and Pat Thane. Sonia Exley of the Department of Social Policy at the LSE allowed me early access to the interviews she had undertaken with former department members. Lise Butler, City University, generously sent me a copy of her DPhil thesis on Michael Young.

Papers given at the University of Warwick, the University of Oxford, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the University of Durham, the Royal Dublin Society, the Institute of Historical Research, the University of East Anglia, the London School of Economics, the University of Edinburgh, the University of Strathclyde, and the University of Birmingham gave me the opportunity to try out ideas, and I am grateful for the feedback I received.

A work of this sort would not be possible without the assistance of library and archive staff and here I should mention in particular colleagues at the Archives Reading Room, British Library of Political and Economic Science; the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick; Archives and Special Collections, Oxford Brookes University; and Labour Party Archives, Salford. At the LSE/BLPES Sue Donnelly and Anna Towson were helpful from the outset, important not least given the amount of time I spent there. The administrative staff at the Department of Health Policy were always supportive and reliable. Our family friend, Sue Sidgwick, provided me with a base in London from which to make my forays into papers held at the BLPES.

Since starting this project I have had numerous conversations with colleagues and friends about Richard Titmuss, and would like to acknowledge the support, encouragement, and insights of Virginia Berridge, Linda Bryder, Martin Gorsky, John Hall, Harry Hendrick, Jane Lewis, John Macnicol, Robert Page, Margaret Pelling, Sally Sheard, Nick Timmins, and John Welshman. Draft chapters were read by Linda Bryder, George Campbell Gosling, Janet Greenlees, John Hall, Harry Hendrick, Eddy Higgs, Vicky Long, Ann Oakley, Glen O’Hara, Margaret Pelling, Chris Renwick, Sally Sheard, Sue Stewart, and John Welshman. I am grateful to each of them for their comments. Ann Oakley also helpfully corrected a number of factual errors in the penultimate draft.

This book is dedicated to Ada Mary Susan Stewart, born July 2019, and to her parents, Caitlin and Neil, uncle Jim, and grandmother Sue.