James Finlay & Co Ltd archive: Improving access to the Registers of Managers and Assistants

This month we’ve seen lots of activity relating to our ongoing project to improve access to the information held within the James Finlay & Co Ltd archive about the tea estates managers and assistants.  Following on from his placement with Archive Services over the summer, Imran Aziz contributed an article to Finlay’s inhouse magazine on his work with the collection.

We also recruited another volunteer, again through the University’s Club21 programme, to continue working on the database of managers and assistants.  Hanna Kilpi started her 10 week part-time placement on 1st December.

The James Finlay & Co archive provides a significant amount of valuable information on its employees through the Registers of Managers and Assistants (GUAS Ref: UGD 91/1/6/3/1).  These registers, which date from the early 1900s into the final quarter of the twentieth century, record the careers of the many managers and assistants managers who travelled from the UK to work in Finlay’s estates in India, Sri Lanka and Kenya.  The lives and employment of these managers and assistants are recorded in detail as the company ensured it made the most of its talented employees.  Information is included about the appointment of each member of staff, their journey to their first estate, their career progress and transfer to other estates.  You may also find details of leave of absence taken, any illness suffered, and, most importantly from the company’s point of view, an individual’s career prospects. 

Whilst full of fascinating detail, the registers themselves can be difficult to use.  They are large, fragile volumes, with details of individuals often spread across multiple volumes.  The database project aims to create a single, searchable database of the employees across all the registers.  This database will allow Archive Services staff to quickly establish if records for particular individuals are held, helping us to answer family history enquiries.  It will also promote the long-term preservation of the records as the need to search through the registers for references to individuals has been removed. 

Imran and James Calder, who both took up summer placements through Club21, made significant progress with the project, completing the full indexing of fourteen of the early registers.  Hanna will continue their work into the New Year.  Archive Services thanks Finlays Ltd and Club21 for their assistance in supporting these placements.

For further information on the James Finlay & Co Ltd archive, please see the online catalogue.  If you wish to enquire about a Finlay’s employee, please use our enquiry form.  Please note that access to these records is provide in line with the terms of the Data Protection Act.