Skip to main content

Papers of Alison Izzett

 Fonds
Reference Code: GBR/0115/RCS/RCMS 407

Scope and Contents

Comprises 11 journals compiled by Alison Izzett while employed by the Colonial Office as a social worker in Nigeria, 1945-60. These are arranged by tour of service, and include notes relating to visits, both professional and personal, to the Gold Coast [Ghana], Uganda, Kenya, the Sudan, South Africa as well as journeys to and from England. Three journals relate to subsequent visits to Nigeria post-independence in Nov. 1964 and in 1972-3. Together with a copy of Izzett's B.Litt thesis (Oxford, 1955) on juvenile delinquency in Nigeria.

Dates

  • Creation: 1945 - 1976

Biographical / Historical

Alison Hingley Izzett (1912-2003) was appointed as the first female Social Welfare Officer in Lagos in 1946, part of the newly formed Colony Welfare Office (CWO) in Nigeria. Izzett’s remit at the CWO was to tackle the issue of juvenile prostitution in Lagos. Her research and observations led to changes in the law around raising the minimum age for female street trading (or ‘hawking’) and preventing girls from under the age of 16 moving to Lagos unaccompanied. She completed a B.Litt at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, in 1955 based on her research in Nigeria (‘The Yoruba young delinquent in Lagos, Nigeria’). After eight tours of service in Nigeria between 1945 and 1960, Izzett returned permanently to England. She was awarded an OBE in the 1960 Queen’s birthday honours. Prior to working in Nigeria, Izzett had been a probation officer in Wells between 1938 and 1945; it is unknown what she did on her return to England but she made at least two visits to post-independence Nigeria in 1964 and 1972-3. Alison Izzett died in Taunton, Somerset, in 2003.

Extent

0.05 cubic metre(s) (5 archive boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated by Izzett's nieces in August 2012.

Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Cambridge University Library Repository

Contact:
Cambridge University Library
West Road
Cambridge CB3 9DR United Kingdom