Godfrey Boyle: archives

Catalogue descriptions adapted from information provided by a friend of Godfrey Boyle's, who sorted through his papers after his death.

Papers and articles by Godfrey, including drafts, material prepared for lectures, and CVs

Correspondence and papers, including a series of folders filed by colleague name or topic of interest:

Papers and correspondence with Keith Motherson [Originally Keith Paton, Motherson was a radical male feminist].

Papers relating to Alan Mayne [Mayne was an influential figure in the 'New Age' part of the alternative movement.]

Material from Witold Rybczinski. [Rybczinski was a Canadian who worked briefly for the Brace Research Institute in Montreal.]

"Philosophy of Alternatives" including material from CAT (the Centre for Alternative Technology in mid-Wales) and James Robertson (a retired economist and civil servant).

Subject files / papers and articles on topics including sustainability and environmental issues, socialism and communities, food production and self-sufficiency, decentralised modes of production and supply, Chile, renewable energy, surveillance and conspiracy theories, parapsychology, nuclear energy/weapons, anarchist theory, counter-culture, and other radical science ideas and ideology.

The majority of the papers date from the 1970s and 1980s, but the body of work also includes some papers going up to 2010s; Godfey was working up until a few years before his death.

A number of books and publications collected by Godfrey will be added to the catalogue in due course.

1950s-2012

9 boxes

Acquired in 2020.

Godfrey Boyle (1945-2019) was a leading figure in the British Alternative Technology movement, and an authority on renewable energy, alternative technologies, sustainability, environmentalism, anarchism and radical science. Boyle studied in Electrical Engineering at Queens University (Northern Ireland), where he also became involved in alternative and radical student magazines and pirate radio. While Boyle did not complete his degree, he went on to work as a journalist for Electronics Weekly before gaining a qualification from the Institute of Electrical Engineers.

In 1972, Godfrey Boyle founded Undercurrents, a magazine of "radical science and people's technology", which he also edited. This magazine focused on alternative and often radical technologies, considering sustainable energy, housing, transport and community projects. The magazine was designed by Boyle's wife, Sally, a graphic designer, whom he met when he worked at Electronics Weekly. Undercurrents had a wide circulation of around 7,000.

In its founding year he led the editorial team of Undercurrents (known affectionately as Undies) to the first United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, where they distributed a special issue on energy and organised an exhibition on alternative technologies. The publication lasted 10 years before merging with Resurgence magazine.

In 1975 Godfrey co-edited Radical Technology with Peter Harper, a book with contributions from many of those involved in Undercurrents and with drawings by anarchist artist Clifford Harper. In the same year Godfrey published his influential book Living on the Sun, which advanced the then novel idea that industrial countries could make a transition to renewable power.

In 1976 Godfrey Boyle joined the Open University, where he created and led the Alternative Technology Group (later the Energy and Environment Research Unit), which pioneered teaching and research into renewable energy. His own research concentrated on wind and solar systems. Godfrey Boyle edited the first three editions (1996, 2004, 2012) of Renewable Energy: Power for a Sustainable Future ,a bestselling introductory textbook on renewable energy. In 2009, in recognition of his teaching and research, he was promoted to Professor of Renewable Energy at the Open University, despite not having a degree. Godfrey Boyle retired in 2011, and given the title of Emeritus Professor, and remained actively and passionately involved in writing and research. Godfrey Boyle was also interested in parapsychology, counter-culture and music.

Godrey Boyle died in 2019.

Transferred to Wellcome.

Godfrey Boyle's papers were stored in his home office in Denmark Hill, South London. Boyle was confined to hospital for the last six months of his life and was unable to organise his papers in a way he might have wanted. Nevertheless, he was an orderly person, and many of the documents are usefully grouped into folders. After this death in 2019, Godfrey left behind a large amount of paperwork, which his former colleagues and family subsequently sorted through and organised prior to contacting Wellcome. While the organisation of the papers may not reflect their original working order, the papers have been arranged thematically and appraised extensively prior to transfer by those close to Godfrey Boyle. Documents arranged by Peter Harper have notes attached to explain their significance and how they have been categorised.