Marketing & Publicity Operational Files

These files represent the administrative and policy-making side of the marketing department.

Marketing had a far reaching effect within the company and, in particular, was responsible for the copy for leaflets etc. These records emcompass sales correspondence and product distribution; product development; background research files; administrative files for projects and marketing events; product files for Kepler and Penicillin in particular; corporate anniversary files.

The highlights of this particular series are the penicillin files and the files relating to the various corporate anniversaries which are indicative of how the organisation viewed itself.

The survival of these records has been ad hoc rather than via deliberate policy and so it is difficult to build up a comprehensive overview of this function from them. For example, it seems the penicillin files were kept (labelled in external storage as "old penicillin files") because penicillin was known to be important. However, it is impossible to know whether a similar number of records was created for other products.

WF/M/P/44/02 is currently awaiting conservation.

1881-1988

63 boxes, 3 outsized files

Original order has been irrevocably lost. There seems to be the remains of a central filing system from c1940s/1950s but the references have only survived on a few files. This problem is exacerbated by the intermittent survival of records.

From the extant files it is possible to see different incarnations of the marketing function and so the series have been listed chronologically where possible. WF/M/P/01-06 roughly cover the pre World War II period.
WF/M/P/06A covers World War II.
WF/M/P/07-WF/M/P/29: late 1940s-early 1950s.
WF/M/P/31-35: 1970s
WF/M/P/37-40: 1980s
WF/M/P/41: 1990s

Additionally there are the three anniversaries:
Henry Wellcome Centenary, 1953; Wellcome Centenary, 1980; and Dartford Centenary, 1989.

WF/M/P/42-46: represent general series which cover the whole of the period.

It is likely that the original filing sequences had a more structured hierarchy, especially the penicillin records. However, for simplicty all the different series have been put at the same level.

Research so far has not produced a clear understanding of the different structures and sections within this function. Nor is it explicit precisely which roles the department undertook and when.

Key staff:

early 1940s: Wratten, Marketing and Publicity Manager

1940s-c1952 WJ Curtis Asst Manager - reported into Steel

1945-mid 1950s: Dunnett, Marketing Executive

1950s: Bareham, Marketing Executive

1958: JR Rose Assist Publicity Manager

1961: Steel, Home Sales Manager RK Cain, Home Sales G Billeness, Marketing JR Rose, Publicity

1970s Gilbert MacDonald

1973: Worlock - Group Marketing Director - 1st time a separate entity on the Board.

1974: LG Petty - Group Marketing Manager

1976: Basil Saunders, head of public relations services (in evidence since 1965)

by 1980 DBM William Publicity Manager UK and Ireland

1981: RF Grice Divisional Manager of the Marketing Services Division, William reporting into him.

1985: Martin Sherwood, Head of Public Relations TDM Rees asst Public Relations Manager

Please see main WF collection description (ref. 'WF').