British Society of Immunology

Divided into sections as follows:

A BSI COMMITTEE 1953-1992

A.1 BSI Committee minutes 1953-1992

A.2 BSI Committee meeting papers and correspondence 1971-1989

B JOURNAL COMMITTEES 1957-1991

B.1 Journal Committee minutes 1957-1963

B.2 Immunology Editorial Board Meeting papers and correspondence 1973-1978

B.3 Clinical and Experimental Immunology Editorial Board Meeting papers andcorrespondence 1973-1979

B.4 Journals Working Party papers and correspondence 1984-1991

C BRITISH NATIONAL COMMITTEE FOR IMMUNOLOGY 1976-1989

C.1 BNCI minutes, papers and correspondence 1976-1989

D FINANCE 1957-1994

D.1 Accounts 1957-1968

D.2 BSI accounts expenditure 1987-1988

D.3 Financial statements 1994

D.4 Overseas members subscriptions book 1957-1966

D.5 Treasurer's papers and correspondence 1974-1978

E PROPERTY 1984-1990

E.1 No 11 Hobart Place, London, SW1W OHL 1984-1990

E.2 Parkwest House, 10 Furmage Street, London, SW18 1988-1989

F MEMBERSHIP 1962-1995

F.1 Rules and list of members 1962-1980

F.2 Yearbooks 1982-1995

F.3 Honorary membership 1975-1988

G PUBLICATIONS 1973-1997

G.1 Handbooks 1985-1995/6

G.2 Newsletters 1973-1993

G.3 Immunology News: The bulletin of the British Society for Immunology 1994-1997

G.4 Clinical and Experimental Immunology 1983-1990

G.5 Journal publicity 1991-1995

G.6 BSI published publications 1988-1992

G.7 Non BSI publications 1966-1994

H MEETINGS 1957-1996

H.1 Spring, Summer and Autumn Meeting programmes 1957-1994

H.2 Spring and Autumn Meeting attendance books 1956-1993

H.3 Papers and correspondence on organisation of joint BSI and Société Française d'Immunologie Spring Meeting, 7-8 Apr 1988, Paris, France 1987-1988

H.4 Soirée tickets for Spring and Autumn Meetings 1985-1992

H.5 Annual Congress programmes and abstracts 1993-1996

J SUMMER AND POSTGRADUATE SCHOOLS 1975-1997

J.1 Summer school programmes, proceedings and lecture notes 1985-1997

J.2 Papers and correspondence on organisation of summer schools 1975-1994

J.3 Postgraduate school lecture notes 1989

K FELLOWSHIPS, AWARDS AND BURSARIES 1986-1996

K.1 Robert White Memorial Fund 1986-1990

K.2 Travel bursaries 1994-1995

K.3 Reciprocal Exchange Fellowships 1995

K.4 Travel awards 1995-1996

L RELATIONS WITH BRITISH ORGANISATIONS 1965-1996

L.1 British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology 1988

L.2 British Transplantation Society 1972-1984

L.3 Jenner Educational Trust 1990-1996

L.4 Scottish Immunology Group 1965-1973

L.5 Meetings sponsored by BSI 1989-1991

M RELATIONS WITH OVERSEAS ORGANISATIONS 1970-1998

M.1 International Secretaries' files 1970-1985

M.2 General Secretaries' files 1973-1992

M.3 Organisation of European and international meetings 1971-1977

M.4 Publicity for overseas meetings 1977-1998

N ARCHIVES AND HISTORY OF BSI 1961-1996

N.1 Papers and correspondence on archives and history of BSI 1961-1996

O PAPERS OF SOCIETY OFFICERS 1956-1987

O.1 Prof RRA Coombs 1956-1987

P PHOTOGRAPHS AND TAPE RECORDINGS 1990-1994

P.1 Photographs of individuals [n.d.]

P.2 Meetings 1990-1994

P.3 Places c.1990

P.4 Tape recordings 1992-1993

Q MEMORABILIA [n.d.]

Q.1 Ties [n.d.]

The BSI was founded in 1956 to promote the study of immunology. It does this primarily through scientific meetings and its journals, Immunology and Clinical and Experimental Immunology. It also supports regional immunology groups, and affinity groups which meet to discuss particular interests such as comparative and veterinary immunology. It arranges summer schools and supports the organisation of conferences for those in further education.

The BSI has representatives on the committees of related organisations and vice versa. It is affiliated to the Research Defence Society and the Institute of Biology. It is a member of the International Union of Immunological Societies and the European Federation of Immunological Societies.

The Society is registered as a charity and became a company limited by guarantee in 1995. It set up its own trading company, Triangle 3 Ltd in 1994. This enables it to create additional income without affecting its charitable status. The directors of the company are the BSI's Management Committee.

Although a history of the BSI has not been written, Prof Richard C Nairn did publish a booklet, The Shoulders We Stand On: The British Society for Immunology: A brief account of the Society's origins with biographical memoirs of distinguished founders and other members no longer with us [c.1995]. This booklet can be found in N.1/4.

Detailed historical outline:

1953 Jun Meeting held in Cambridge to discuss ways of encouraging the study of immunology

1954 Apr First Colloquium on Immunology and Allied Subjects held at Royal Society of Medicine at which views on how to encourage the study of immunology were sought

1955 Jan Meeting held at Royal Society of Medicine in London at which it was agreed that a society for immunology should be established. A Provisional Foundation Committee was set up and a Working Committee was elected to prepare a constitution for the society, draw up a list of potential members and consider subscription charges

1956 Apr Letter sent out to canvass support for the proposed society for immunology

1956 May-Sep Working Committee met several times in London to make arrangements for first meeting of society for immunology and to consider draft constitution

1956 Nov First meeting of British Society for Immunology held at the Wellcome Foundation in London. The meeting consisted of lectures and a Business Meeting to approve the constitution and to elect a committee

First meeting of BSI Committee

1957 May Formal election of BSI Committee and Society officers at Annual Business Meeting

1957 Oct First meeting of Journal Committee, later known as the Immunology Editorial Committee

1958 Jan First issue of BSI's journal, Immunology

1966 Clinical and Experimental Immunology, BSI's other journal, was published for the first time

1966 Jan First meeting of Clinical and Experimental Immunology Editorial Committee

1966 Jul First Summer Meeting, Birmingham

1967 Jul First Summer School, Southampton

1969 International Union of Immunological Societies established

1970 Jun First issue of monthly newsletter

1974 Secretariat moved to Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, OX2 6HE. Previously most of the Society's secretarial work had been carried out by the Institute of Biology

1975 Mar Inaugural meeting of European Federation of Immunological Societies

1979 Jan First meeting of Journals Working Party

1979 Sep Secretariat moved to Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead, Sussex, RH19 3DZ

1980 Secretariat's address changed to PO Box 35, East Grinstead, West Sussex, RH19 3DZ

1980 Mar First meeting of British National Committee for Immunology

1985 Nov Administrative office set up at 11 Hobart Place, London, SW1W OHL

1990 Mar Administrative office moved to 2 Triangle House, 2 Broomhill Road, London, SW18 4HX

1991 BSI registered as a charity

1993 Dec First Annual Congress held in Brighton

1994 Jan BSI purchased adjoining unit in Triangle House

1994 Feb Triangle 3 Ltd formed as a trading company.

1994 Oct Last BSI Committee meeting

1995 Jan BSI was registered as a company limited by guarantee and was given a new charity number with the Charity Commission

1995 Feb First BSI Council meeting

The following is an interim description of material that has been acquired since this collection was catalogued. This description may change when cataloguing takes place in future:

1 box of additional papers was received in 2004 (acc. 1240), consisting of: BSI Yearbook 1996/7, 1997/8 and 2003/3, and Life Sciences Directory 1999

Abbreviations used in catalogue:

BNCI British National Committee for Immunology

BSI British Society for Immunology

BSACI British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology

BSP Blackwell Scientific Publications Ltd

BTS British Transplantation Society

EFIS European Federation of Immunological Societies

ICSU International Council of Scientific Unions

IUIS International Council of Immunological Societies

SFI Société Française d'Immunologie

UKTSSA United Kingdom Transplant Support Service Authority Publicity Services