Catalogue description Department of Scientific and Industrial Research: Imperial Trust

In 1916 a 'Million Fund' was created when Parliament voted a lump sum of £1 million to be paid at once into a fund to be expended as necessary by the committee of the Privy Council to finance research, and especially for grants to industrial research associations. As the holding of such a fund by the committee presented legal difficulties, an Imperial Trust for the Encouragement of Scientific and Industrial Research was incorporated by royal charter of 23 November 1916 to administer the fund.

The trust was a corporate body consisting of the ministerial members of the committee, and its functions were to hold in trust money and real property, applying the former and the yields of the latter in accordance with the directions of the committee. An order in council of 6 February 1928 approved the grant of a supplementary charter (subsequently dated 27 April 1928) to the Imperial Trust, which made its membership identical with that of the committee.

The fund was exhausted by 1932 but was used for other purposes, such as holding superannuation funds and monies for research subscribed by industrial undertakings, and to hold patents. It was abolished in 1956 and its property, rights and liabilities were taken over by the Research Council.