Catalogue description Liverpool Personal Service Society 1858-1983

There are minutes for the majority of committees, although most are incomplete, and many of the later loose files are copies, and not signed. The Annual Reports are nearly complete from 1920 until 1983. A great deal of correspondence relating to both committees and general administration survives, as well as some accounts, cash books, and financial statements. There are many information leaflets and booklets, but very few photographs.

There are 22 boxes of casenotes deposited with this archive.

1 Minutes 1917-1979

2 Financial records 1949-1980

3 Annual Reports, AGMs, constitution 1918-1983

4 Citizen's Advice Bureau 1957-1980

5 Youth Services 1962-1973

6 Rehabilitation Project 1953-1977

7 Race and Community Relations 1953-1974

8 Halewood/ Other New Estate Projects 1954-1970

9 Correspondence 1925-1972

10 General Administration 1882-1972

11 Publications, photographs, etc. 1924-1984

12 Society for the Relief of Sick or Distressed Needlewomen 1858-1941

Liverpool Personal Service Society

Records containing sensitive personal information are closed for 100 years under Section 1 (Principles 1, 2 and 7) of the Data Protection Act, 1998. Written permission to view closed records must be obtained from the Chief Executive, Liverpool Personal Services Society, 18-28 Seel Street, Liverpool. The remainer of the collection is open to any accredited reader.

The majority of the material was deposited on 16 Feb 1978 (Accession no. 1978-17) by the then Chief Executive, R E Campbell, with further smaller deposits during the 1980s (9 Nov 1979, 1979-50; 9 Dec 1980, 1980-82; 24 Oct 1983, 1983-81: 30 Nov 1983, 1983-93; 8 Feb 1984,1984-6)

• Liverpool, Merseyside

In 1917 3 local social welfare organisations - the Liverpool Town Hall Soldiers and Sailors Families Association, and the Victoria and University Settlements - met to discuss the formation of a "permanent comprehensive body of voluntary social workers for friendly visiting and other purposes". Representatives on the committee included several leading citizens such as Margaret Beavan and Eleanor Rathbone. By 1919 the Liverpool Association for Personal Service (later the Personal Service Committee) was formed as a committee of the Council for Voluntary Aid (later the Council for Social Service). Unlike the Central Relief Society (CRS), it offered little financial help, but instead gave personal support, and guidance to where further help could be obtained. It prided itself on its non-sectarian, non-political stance.

During the 1920s the Committee grew and broke away from the LCVA, becoming the Liverpool Personal Service Society in February 1922. In 1932 it took over the work of the CRS and became a far larger and more independent society than originally anticipated. It acted as agent for national organisations and took over more local relief societies such as the Society for Sick and Distressed Needlewomen (see M364 PSS 12 below).

In 1939 the Society was at the forefront of the formation of Citizens Advice Bureaux, making over the ground floor of 34, Stanley Street (its Head Office) for this purpose. After the War, the expansion of social work continued to include new projects and campaigns. A major change occured in 1991 when the Society moved from 34, Stanley St its home since the 1920s, to new premises in Seel St.

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