Archief DRD - Papers of Derek Davis

Identificatie

referentie code

GB 891 DRD

Titel

Papers of Derek Davis

Datum(s)

  • 1973-2023 (Vervaardig)

Beschrijvingsniveau

Archief

Omvang en medium

1 archival box containing 5 folders of handwritten or typed sheets

Context

Naam van de archiefvormer

(3/5/1945-8/7/2023)

Biografie

Derek Davis was born on 3 May 1945 and educated at Clifton College, a school renowned for its excellence in classical and modern language teaching
By 1962 he had a Russian A level, had visited Russia and, armed with Hindi-Russian dictionaries and conversational phrasebook, was at Scindia School, Gwalior, where he taught Shakespeare, Dickens and Gerald Durrell to 13-year-olds who would go on to become public servants, generals, admirals, businessmen and academics. He then went up to Balliol College, Oxford, where he read Greats.
During the Oxford long vacation of 1965, he embarked on an overland trek to India via Erzurum and back with his Balliol friend, Christopher Bayly. An unexpected consequence was that the latter changed his proposed research subject from Russian and Eastern European history to work instead (with Professor Sarvepalli Gopal) on South Asia.
His career in the civil service left little time for Pushkin, but on his retirement, he continued to work on his translations of the History of Pugachev and the Journey to Arzrum which was published by the Royal Asiatic Society as a supplement to their Journal in 2022. He also served on the Society's Council and its Finance and Investment Committee.
He died on 8 July 2023.

Geschiedenis van het archief

The papers were in the custody of Derek Davis until his death.

Directe bron van verwerving of overbrenging

The papers were received from Davis' widow, Diana, on 02/04/2024.

Inhoud en structuur

Bereik en inhoud

The papers are mainly concerned with Derek Davis' interest in Russian history and, in particular, research for his translation of Pushkin’s ‘A Journey to Arzrum during the Campaign of 1829’.

Waardering, vernietiging en slectie

Aanvullingen

Ordeningstelsel

The papers arrived in five folders. These have become the series for cataloguing this archive, the titles for each series being taken from the original folders.

Voorwaarden voor toegang en gebruik

Voorwaarden voor raadpleging

Open. Please contact the archivist. Details can be found here : https://royalasiaticarchives.org/. The archive is open on Tuesdays and Fridays 10-5, and Thursdays 2-5. Access is to any researcher without appointment but it will help if an appointment is made via phone or email. Please bring photo ID.

Voorwaarden voor reproductie

Digital photography (without flash) for research purposes may be permitted upon completion of a copyright declaration form, and with respect to current UK copyright law.

Taal van het materiaal

  • Engels
  • Frans
  • Russisch

Schrift van het materiaal

    Taal en schrift aantekeningen

    Fysieke eigenschappen en technische eisen

    Toegangen

    Verwante materialen

    Bestaan en verblifplaats van originelen

    Bestaan en verblijfplaats van kopieën

    Related units of description

    Books from the library of Derek Davis were donated at the same time as this collection.
    The archival material relates to the special supplement to the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 32 (2022), S3–S117 ‘A Journey to Arzrum during the 1829 Campaign by A. S. Pushkin: Translation with Commentary’, by Derek Davis.

    Related descriptions

    Aantekeningen

    Alternative identifier(s)

    Trefwoorden

    Onderwerp trefwoord

    Geografische trefwoorden

    Naam ontsluitingsterm

    Genre access points

    Beschrijvingsbeheer

    Identificatie van de beschrijving

    Identificatiecode van de instelling

    Toegepaste regels en/of conventies

    Status

    Niveau van detaillering

    Verwijdering van datering archiefvorming

    This material was catalogued by Matt McKenzie, RAS Archive volunteer, in 2024.

    Taal (talen)

      Schrift(en)

        Bronnen

        Voorwaarden voor raadpleging en gebruik