Correspondence with J.H. Oort and related papers, including, among other items, correspondence of 18-22 March 1954, containing Oort's comments on the views of the British National Committee of Astronomy on the proposed southern observatory and the belief that the project will fail if Britain does not participate; a copy of a letter in German from O. Heckmann, Hamburg, to Oort, 11 March 1954, commenting on the South African project, enclosed with a letter from Oort to Redman; copies of Oort's letters to W.H.M. Greaves and J. Jackson, 22 March 1954, attempting to persuade them to support the European Southern Observatory; a copy of a letter from Redman to Oort, 12 April 1954, containing a personal and unofficial account of committee meetings regarding the observatory plan; a copy of a letter from I.S. Bowen, Mount Wilson and Palomar Observatories, to Oort, 17 May 1954, giving a breakdown of their current year's budget; letters from Redman to Oort, 1 and 15 September 1954, concerning sending publications on South African meteorological conditions and stating that there is little hope of British support for the E.S.O., but offering his help as a private individual; letters from Redman to G.M. Sisson, Sir Howard Grubb, Parsons and Co. Ltd, 25 September and 4 October 1954, regarding an estimate for a 120-inch mounting of the Lick type, which Oort has requested for the discussions on the budget of the E.S.O. to be held at the meeting in Paris on 8 and 9 November, to which Redman and H. Spencer Jones are invited; a letter from Redman to Oort, 29 October 1954, informing him that the Royal Society is sending Redman and Spencer Jones to the International Southern Observatory meeting as observers; a letter from Redman to Oort, 1 June 1955, informing him that the British National Committee of Astronomy has submitted three memoranda to the Royal Society, but that he feels the Royal Society will not be persuaded to support the southern observatory, with Oort's reply of 6 June; and a letter from Oort to Redman, 1 October 1956, commiserating with him for having to tell Bertil Lindblad of Stockholm Observatory that Britain cannot participate in the E.S.O. project, and thanking him for his personal support, with Redman's reply of 4 October, indicating the general difficulties faced by British astronomers.