Secretary Collection

Charles Saunders (1796-1864)
Charles Saunders was the first Secretary of the GWR between 1840 and 1863. He was a close friend of Isambard Kingdom Brunel

Queen Victoria and Abdul Karim, c. 1890
Photographic portrait of Queen Victoria (1819-1901) of Great Britain and Ireland and Empress of India, pictured at her writing desk, c.1890

Queen Victoria and Munshi Abdul Karim, 1900
Queen Victoria, Empress of India, listening to a despatch describing the elation of the troops at the services they had rendered to the Queen. Her Indian servant, Munshi Abdul Karim, supports her

Court room scene, Mr M Naughten trial
A sketch taken of the courtroom at Old Bailey where the trial of Mr M Naughten took place, for the assassination Mr Edward Drummond, secretary to Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel

Group photo, Millwall Athletic football team
Millwall Athletic football team for the 1895-1896 season, including Chairman, Treasurer, Secretary and Trainer, as well as the players themselves. circa 1895

Winston Churchill at Sidney Street Siege, East London
Winston Churchill, then Home Secretary, with a group of policemen during the Siege of Sidney Street in Stepney, East London, on 3 January 1911. Date: 1911

LEGGY SECRETARY 1920 S
A leggy secretary sits by her typewriter and takes a letter, revealing her suspender in the process

Clapton Orient FC football team 1936. Back row: Oakley, Murray, Farrell, Searle (Captain), Herod. Third row: Proudfoot (Manager), Wells, Heinemann, Rossiter, Iceton, Watson, Hillam, Affleck, Brooks

A Young Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill (1874-1965) photographed in 1906 at the age of 32, while he held the post of Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies

Corry / Vanity Fair 1877
MONTAGU WILLIAM LOWRY CORRY BARON ROWTON Statesman and philanthropist, Disraelis private secretary

SS Norman arriving at Southampton, 1903
Photograph of the SS Norman arriving at Ocean Quay, Southampton, 14th March 1903. Joseph Chamberlain, Colonial Secretary, was on board the Norman arriving back from a foreign tour

Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Team, 1908
Photograph of the Wolverhampton Wanderers Football team of the 1907-1908 season. The players pictured are: Back row, left to right: W. Shepherd (Director), W. Wooldridge (Captain), J. Jones, K

Khrushchev Speaking at the UN
Russian statesman, secretary-general of the Communist Party and premier 1958-1964, Nikita Khrushchev (1894-1971), depicted addressing the assembly at the United Nations

Samuel Pepys
SAMUEL PEPYS statesman, secretary to the Admiralty, kept a diary. with his autograph

Suffragettes WSPU Wimbledon Banner
Members of the Wimbledon branch of the Womens Social and Political Union, with their banner displayed. Probably taken at an at home meeting in the garden of Rose Lamartine-Yates house - Dorset Hall

Portrait of Anne Page Croft in Red Cross uniform, WW1
Portrait of Anne Page Croft in Red Cross uniform. She was War Treasurer and Secretary to the Ware Division of the British Red Cross until 1919. By Florence Kate Upton (1873-1922)

Kathleen Scott sculpting statue of Edwin Montagu
Kathleen, Lady Scott, Baroness Kennett pictured in her London studio at work on her ten-foot statue of Edwin Montagu (former Secretary for India) destined for Calcutta

Harry Pollitt, Communist Party leader, with Mao Zedong
Harry Pollitt (1890-1960), Secretary of the Communist Party of Great Britain, and head of its trade union department. Seen here shaking hands with the Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong (1893-1976)

Harry Pollitt, Secretary of the Communist Party
Harry Pollitt (1890-1960), Secretary of the Communist Party of Great Britain, and head of its trade union department. Date: circa 1950s

Jeremiah (650-585 BC) dictating his prophecies to Baruch. En
Jeremiah (650-585 BC). Hebrew Prophet. Jeremiah dictating his prophecies to Baruch. Engraving by Pannemaker. The Bible in pictures by Gustave Dore. Colored

Lady Cynthia Colville with David, Philip and Jock
Lady Cynthia Colville, wife of the Hon. George Colville, younger son of the late Lord Colville of Culross pictured with her three sons, David, Phillip and Jock

Pit Ponies in Retirement - Plum & Danny with Alfred Brisco (Organising Secretary). Card issued on behalf of The National Equine Defence League. Date: circa late 1930s

Myrna Loy, Clark Gable, and Jean Harlow in Clarence Browns Wife vs Secretary (1936)
Myrna Loy, Clark Gable, and Jean Harlow in Wife vs Secretary (1936)

Federico Cattani Amadori (1856-1943). Colored engraving
Federico Cattani Amadori (1856-1943). Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Secretary of the Apostolic Signatura (1924-1935). Engraving in The Spanish and American Illustration, 1877. Colored

35th President of the United States. Photographed with his secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, and with his son, John F
JOHN F. KENNEDY (1917-1963). 35th President of the United States. Photographed with his secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, and with his son, John F. Kennedy, Jr. in the Presidents office

Joseph Stalin, Secretary-general of the Communist party of Soviet Russia. Date 1942?

Gandhi, Sonja Schlesin and Hermann Kallenbach
Mahatma Gandhi (1869 - 1948), Indian independence leader, during his time in South Africa when he was leader of the South African Indians

Aston Villa Football Club, 1896
Photograph of the Aston Villa Football Club, with the team for the 1896-1897 season. The photograph shows: Back row, left to right: G.B. Ramsay (Secretary), Dr. V.A

Frederick George Saunders (1820-1901)
Frederick Saunders was both Secretary (1863-1886)and Chairman (1889-1895) of the Great Western Railway. He was the nephew of Charles Saunders

Typing pool
Women at typewriters in an office, 1934

Queens Park Rangers FC football team, in green and white stripes: Miles (Trainer), Foster (Director), Murphy, Cross, Collins (Captain), Downing, White, Singleton, McLean (Assistant Trainer)

Scottish International Association Football Team, 1895, at the time they played against Scotland: Harrison (Vice-President), Drummond, Lambie, Sliman (President), Russell, Gibson, Dixon (Treasurer)

Aston Villa FA Cup Winners, 1894-5: Grierson (Trainer), Dunkley (Hon Sec), Johnstone, Spencer, Wilkes, Lees, Rinder, Margoschis (Chairman), Reynolds, Devey (Captain), Welford, Ramsay (Secretary)

William Clive Bridgeman, 1st Viscount Bridgeman (18641935) - British Conservative politician and peer. The Grandfather of Robin John Orlando Bridgeman, 3rd Viscount Bridgeman (1930-)

Egon Krenz (1937-) former Communist East German politician. General Secretary of the Communist Party of the DDR

The Royal Society (engraving)
1046913 The Royal Society (engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: The Royal Society, a Portrait Group of some of the Most Distinguished Fellows)

Andrew Carnegie, in the library of his New York home, dictating to his secretary the deed of gift for the branches of
6006988 Andrew Carnegie, in the library of his New York home, dictating to his secretary the deed of gift for the branches of the New York Public Library (b/w photo)

George Woodcock, TUC General Secretary
George Woodcock (1904-1979), British trade unionist and TUC General Secretary from 1960 to 1969. Date: 1963

6th Earl of Donoughmore, Vanity Fair, Spy
RICHARD WALTER HELY-HUTCHINSON, 6th Earl of Donoughmore (1875-1948) Irish peer and politician. Caption: A most discreet under secretary, drawn for the first time Date: 1848 - 1900

Daniel Webster and quote on God granting Liberty
A postcard illustrating a quote by Daniel Webster (1782-1852) - a leading American statesman and senator from Massachusetts during the period leading up to the Civil War

Richard von Kuhlmann signing Peace Treaty, Romania
Richard von Kuhlmann (1873-1948), German Foreign Secretary, signing a Peace Treaty (known as the Treaty of Bucharest) with Romania in the Cotroceni Palace, near Bucharest

Pitmans School, Southampton Row, London - School Building of the famous Secretarial School, teaching secretarial skills such as shorthand and typing

Mrs Florence Emily Hardy
Florence Emily Hardy, nee Dugdale, second wife of the novelist Thomas Hardy, pictured in 1914. Florence was Hardys secretary and herself a write of childrens books

The General Strike - Government leaders
Government leaders during the General Strike: Ministers and Commissioners. 1. Chief Civil Commissioner: Sir W. Mitchell-Thomson, 2. Principal Chief Assistant Commissioner, Mr. A. B. Lowry, 3

Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, David Lloyd George, General
A photograph of a meeting between political and military leaders of the Allies in France, 1916. The group includes Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig (1861-1928)

The Zulu war. Rorkes Drift, near the scene of the recent co
From a sketch by Major North Crealock, 95th Regiment, Assistant Military Secretary. Panoramic scene of the undulating country on the Zululand/ Natal border

1950S Office Computer
A man and a women working together with a Pegasus computer at Ferrantis London computer Centre, 21 Portland Place, W1. Date: 1950s

The Athenaeum Club, Ballot Day (engraving)
1604422 The Athenaeum Club, Ballot Day (engraving) by Wilson, Thomas Walter (1851-1912); Private Collection; (add.info.: The Athenaeum Club, Ballot Day)

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"Unveiling the Unsung Heroes: The Remarkable Stories of Secretaries Throughout History" From the intense Sidney Street Siege in East London, where Winston Churchill relied on his trusted secretary for crucial information, to the intriguing encounters between Queen Victoria and her devoted secretaries Abdul Karim and Munshi Abdul Karim in the late 19th and early 20th centuries - these snapshots from history shed light on the often overlooked role of a secretary. In a rare glimpse into their world, we see a united Millwall Athletic football team posing proudly for a group photo, with their dedicated secretary ensuring smooth operations behind the scenes. Similarly, Clapton Orient FC's football team of 1936 stands tall with their indispensable secretary by their side. The roaring twenties bring us an image of Leggy Secretary exuding confidence and style - an embodiment of women breaking barriers in professional settings. Meanwhile, Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Team from 1908 showcases how secretarial support extended beyond office walls to sporting arenas. Even courtrooms witnessed the influence of these unsung heroes as depicted in Mr. M Naughten's trial scene; secretaries played pivotal roles in organizing evidence and maintaining order amidst legal chaos. A young Winston Churchill himself is captured here during his formative years when he likely first recognized the value that a skilled secretary brings to one's life. Vanity Fair's portrayal of Corry further emphasizes society's recognition of this profession back in 1877. Not limited to land-based endeavors alone, SS Norman arriving at Southampton port in 1903 reveals that even maritime ventures required efficient secretarial assistance for seamless operations. Finally, harking back to centuries past, Samuel Pepys' diary entries remind us that throughout history individuals have relied upon diligent scribes who meticulously recorded events for posterity – acting as both confidants and record-keepers alike. These captivating glimpses into various eras highlight just how integral secretaries have been in shaping history.