Obituaries Alice Lock A


lice Lock who died on 4 November 2024, will be remembered for her dedication to Tameside Local Studies and Archive Centre, where she held the post of Local Studies Librarian for 38 years, becoming manager of the Centre until her early retirement in 2013 at the age of 59.


Having graduated with a BA in History at Manchester Polytechnic in 1974, Alice moved to London and worked at St Bride’s library in Fleet Street. However, she returned to Manchester in 1975 and began working as a Library Assistant in the newly formed Tameside Library Service, while


studying for her ALA professional qualification. She also under- took an MPhil Thesis at Manchester University on Nineteenth Century Clergy in Ashton-Under-Lyne. By the late 1970s she had become Assistant Local Studies Librarian in Tameside and subsequently Local Studies Librarian.


Many tributes have been made to Alice, who will be sorely missed by so many people in the borough and beyond, including the whole Local Studies Community in the UK. Work colleagues spoke of her as the perfect boss, who made it possible for you to do things, and she was instrumental securing improvements for housing the Tameside Archives so they could remain in the Borough. The Centre also contains an important collection of historical books and under Alice’s guidance it became as good as any Local Studies and Archive Centre in the Country. She brought together a team that would also become her lifelong friends. In 2000 Alice won the Dorothy McCulla Award for Outstanding Contribution to Local Studies Librarianship.


Peter Pickup P


eter Pickup, known as Pip to some family members and a few of his friends, was the only child of Peter Wright Dixon Pickup and Margaret Pickup. Born in Fiskerton, close to the River Trent in Nottinghamshire on 7 May 1933. He spent his early years in the village, attending the local school before moving to the Minster Grammar school in Southwell, a three mile cycle journey from his home. While there he played Rugby for the school team and left in 1949 with an Oxford School Certification. It was during his time at Minster Grammar School, when his father died in February 1943. Peter and his mother continued to run


their large family home, including a large garden and orchard. Dur- ing the war years, the family home (The Chestnuts) became home to a series of evacuees and aircrew based at nearby RAF Syerston. After leaving school, Peter found work as a Library assistant at Nottingham Central Library, before securing a similar job closer to home at Newark Library some six months later in May 1950. This was followed by National Service between 1951 and 1953, when Peter was mainly stationed at 16 Maintenance Unit, Stafford, with the RAF. Following National Service, Peter returned to his job at Newark Library but resigned the position in summer 1955 in order to


60 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL


attend Leeds School of Librarianship where he was awarded his Associateship of the Library Association in 1956. Following this Peter took on a role as Librarian in a mobile library serving the outskirts of Newark, before returning to Leeds in 1957 and going on to receive Fellowship of the Library Association in 1959, after which he became Assistant Regional Librarian at Retford. In May 1960 he was appointed Librarian of Hemmel Hemp- stead new town library and it was here that he met his wife, Susanne. From April 1964 to June 1965 he was Area Librarian, Barnet and Boreham Wood. In April 1965, Barnet and Boreham Wood were absorbed into the new London Borough of Barnet. In July 1965 Peter was appointed to a new senior post with Wiltshire County Council with a brief to programme and oversee the building of new libraries throughout the county. Over the next 29 years this involved some 30 new buildings and conver- sions of redundant schools.


Peter and Susanne were engaged in 1964 and married in May 1966. Daughter Katie was born in 1968 and Jackie was born 1971. Upon Peter’s retirement in 1994 he and Susanne enjoyed many holidays including Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Italy. Peter is survived by his wife Susanne and two daughters Katie and Jackie.


Jackie Canham (nee Pickup), daughter. Spring 2025


Alice also leaves a huge legacy to our profession through her active role in the CILIP Local Studies special interest group. She served on the committee for over 25 years becoming Vice Chair in 2005 and later as Secretary in 2013 before ill health forced her to step down in 2023. Alice contributed to the Local Studies Guidelines published by Facet and the recent online Local Stud- ies toolkit. She was a frequent contributor to LSG workshops and conferences, where she not only shared her knowledge and experience, but also her infectious enthusiasm for Local History. She was Secretary of the North West subgroup of LSG, promot- ing collections and services throughout the region. Alice’s love of Local History led to her involvement in several local groups and activities. She was a member of Tameside Local His- tory Forum, and she was secretary for the Lancashire & Cheshire Antiquarian Society. Alice had been the mainstay of the Society for many years. She wrote many publications on the history of the local area that can be found on the shelves in the Archive Centre. She had a special interest in Stamford Park, and wrote articles in the Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society Transactions. Her last article published was ‘Suffragists in Asht- on-under-Lyne in 1911.’ She also created a searchable inventory for all the Transactions volumes, dating back to 1883. Alice was an adventurous traveller and had been to many places around the world, but her heart also remained in Devon. Born in Exeter in 1953, she returned to the area on a regular basis and Dartmoor is her final resting place.


Terry Bracher and Diana Dixon, CILIP Local Studies Group, with contributions from Dermot Healy and Christine Clough.


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