Our history

The College Archives are the core of our organisational memory. As a researcher, you can use them to trace our history or the history of the discipline; our involvement in the initial training and professional development of GPs; our interests in research or our support for improvements in patient care.

What will I find in the archive collections?

The College has a fascinating history, from the struggles surrounding its foundation in 1952, and its attempts to establish general practice as a discipline through to its continuing efforts to support general practice in the NHS today.

We were initially responsible for the introduction of vocational training and continuing professional development in the field of general practice.  Our research interests are energetic and diverse, including early studies of childhood asthma, measles and major national morbidity surveys. The archives are also particularly strong in the history of the College's relationship with practitioners and institutions across the world.

Institutional records include:

• minutes and correspondence of the Council, committees, AGMs, working parties and internal departments on subjects like policy, publications, quality and audit and members’ research interests.
• membership and fellowship records, citations and awards, obituaries
• the development of the MRCGP examinations, vocational training and CPD
• the records of regional and international faculties and their activities and UK based research units

Personal Papers include:

• the papers of eminent general practitioners who were involved in the establishment of the College, including founders Fraser Rose and Lord Hunt
• the papers of researchers involved in general practice research, including William Pickles, Edgar Hope-Simpson and John Fry
• papers relating to GPs interested in medical history, architecture and education

Special Collections include:

• attempts to establish a representative body for general practice in the mid 19th century, the National Association of GPs, 1844
• photographs of college events, buildings and members
• audio-visual material of oral histories, college lectures and special events like the Iranian Embassy Siege in 1980
• material about Prince’s Gate, our HQ for almost 50 years, which was also home to the Kennedy's, US ambassadors and banker J P Morgan
• memoirs of GPs working across the UK and Ireland from the 1920s onwards

AUTGP - SAPC archive

In 1952, when the College of General Practitioners was founded, one of its primary objectives was to establish independent academic departments of general practice in every UK medical school. However, in the first annual scientific meeting in 1972 in Cardiff, 12 schools had appointed at least one academic general practitioner to their staff. It was not until 1986 that all the established medical schools took the appropriate steps.

The Association of University Teachers of General Practice (AUTGP) was established in 1974. In 1992-2001, it was renamed to the Association of University Departments of General Practice (AUDGP) before becoming SAPC in 2001. The SAPC is the professional association for all members of academic departments of general practice and primary care in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Any academic staff of university departments of general practice, whether medically qualified or not, can become a member of SAPC. The society started with just 55 members when it was first established as AUTGP, but by 2009, it had over 700 members. SAPC aims to promote excellence in research, education, and policy development related to general practice and primary healthcare.

The RCGP Heritage Collections are delighted to have recently acquired an archive collection relating to the Association of University Teachers of General Practice (AUTGP), now the Society for Academic Primary Care (SAPC).

This collection has now been catalogued and is held at our London headquarters, 30 Euston Square.

It is open for researchers to look at and should anyone wish to view the archive simply contact heritage@rcgp.org.uk and arrange an appointment with the archivist.

The arrangement of the catalogue is below:

• Number: B/SAPC
• Description: archive relating to the AUTGP, later SAPC, including correspondence, meeting minutes, photographs, and newsletters.
• Date: 1973 - 1996
• Extent: 1 box

Name: B/SAPC/A
Documentation relating to AUTGP

• Name: B/SAPC/A/1
• Item: documents
• Description: collection of early AUTGP newsletters: November 1980, August 1981, May 1982, Nov 1982, Oct 1983, June 1984, June 1986.
• Date: 1980 - 1986
• Extent: 1 file

• Name: B/SAPC/A/2
• Item: documents
• Description: this set of documents dates back to the 1980s. It includes an edited document from 1987 titled 'The Purpose of the AUTGP', as well as correspondence related to meetings and the proposed change of name. Additionally, there is a magazine cutting from 1986 that discusses Academic GPs being able to claim basic practice allowance.
• Date: 1986 - 1989
• Extent: 1 file

• Name: B/SAPC/A/3
• Description: AUTGP constitution. August 1975.
• Date: 1975
• Extent: item

• Name: B/SAPC/A/4
• Description: Minutes from the AUTGP annual business meeting on July 13th, 1978, and associated papers, such as the Annual Report of the Executive Committee for Session 1977-78. The meeting agenda was sent out in June 1978.
• Date: 1977 - 1978
• Extent: item

• Name: B/SAPC/A/5
• Description: AUTGP member update letter dated 12th October 1977
• Date: 1977
• Extent: item

• Name: B/SAPC/A/6
• Description: minutes from the AUTGP meeting held in Glasgow on July 15th, 1977.
• Date: 1977
• Extent: item

• Name: B/SAPC/A/7
• Description: minutes of the AUTGP annual meeting held on July 9, 1976, including the Annual and Supplementary reports of the Executive Committee for 1975-1976, agenda for the meeting, and statement of accounts up to April 1976.
• Date: 1975 - 1976
• Extent: item

• Name: B/SAPC/A/8
• Description: The Association of University Teachers has put forward proactive proposals for revising the constitution.
• Date: 1970s
• Extent: item

• Name: B/SAPC/A/9
• Item: documents
• Description: a collection of papers from the AUTGP annual scientific meeting held between 1975 and 1976, including a circulation list, correspondence related to attendance, arrangements for speakers, election votes for the executive committee, and correspondence regarding J.A. Forbes.
• Date: 1975 - 1976
• Extent: 1 file

• Name: B/SAPC/A/10
• Item: documents
• Description: AUTGP member lists. 1975 to 1989
• Date: 1975 - 1989
• Extent: 1 file

• Name: B/SAPC/A/11
• Item: documents
• Description: printed copy of an article written in 2022/23 for publication in the BJGP.
• Date: 2023
• Extent: 1 item

• Name: B/SAPC/A/12
• Item: documents
• Description: the following member lists are available: 1978, 1987, and 1989. In addition, we also have the original list of members.
• Date: 1974 - 1989
• Extent: 1 file

• Name: B/SAPC/A/13
• Item: documents
• Description: mixed items, including meeting minutes from 1974, correspondence regarding meetings, and minutes from the first annual meeting on 10th July 1975, which included discussion on the name. Minutes and associated documents from meeting in 1977.
• Date: 1974 - 1977
• Extent: 1 file

• Name: B/SAPC/A/14
• Item: documents
• Description: original correspondence from 1974-1975 regarding organising the Annual Meeting in Southampton in July 1975 (organised by George Freeman). The collection includes many attendance acceptances and a review letter from George Freeman following the meeting.
• Date: 1974 - 1975
• Extent: 1 file

• Name: B/SAPC/A/15
• Item: documents
• Description: documentation relating to the scientific meeting of departments of General Practice in Aberdeen on June 27th-28th, 1974, before the official formation of AUTGP. Includes a list of delegates.
• Date: 1973 - 1974
• Extent: 1 file

• Name: B/SAPC/A/16
• Item: booklet
• Description: Professor Patrick Byrne published an article in The Journal of the Royal College of General Practice in 1972 about the undergraduate teaching of general practice in the United Kingdom.
• Date: Feb-73
• Extent: 1 book

• Name: B/SAPB/B
• Description: photographs and publications relating to AUTGP/SAPC.
• Date: 1973 - 1996
• Extent: 1 file

• Name: B/SAPB/B/1
• Item: photographs
• Description: selection of group photographs taken at the annual general meetings of AUTGP between 1976 and 1996
• Date: 1976 - 1996
• Extent: 10 items

• Name: B/SAPB/B/1
• Item: photographs
• Description: AUTGP annual meeting Newcastle 1976
• Date: 1976
• Extent: 2 items

• Name: B/SAPB/B/2
• Item: photograph
• Description: AUTGP annual meeting Glasgow 1977
• Date: 1977
• Extent: 1 item

• Name: B/SAPB/B/3
• Item: photograph
• Description: AUTGP annual meeting Birmingham 1980
• Date: 1980
• Extent: 1 item

• Number: B/SAPC/B/1/4
• Item: photograph
• Description: AUTGP annual meeting Belfast, 1981
• Date: 1981
• Extent: 1 item

• Number: B/SAPC/B/1/5
• Item: photograph
• Description: AUTGP annual meeting Leicester, 1986
• Date: 1986
• Extent: 1 item

• Number: B/SAPC/B/1/6
• Item: photograph
• Description: AUTGP annual meeting London, 1987
• Date: 1987
• Extent: 1 item

• Number: B/SAPC/B/1/7
• Item: photograph
• Description: AUTGP annual meeting Nottingham, 1988
• Date: 1988
• Extent: 1 item

• Number: B/SAPC/B/1/8
• Item: photograph
• Description: AUTGP annual meeting Southampton, 1991
• Date: 1991
• Extent: 1 item

• Number: B/SAPC/B/1/9
• Item: photograph
• Description: AUTGP annual meeting Aberdeen, 1993
• Date: 1993
• Extent: 1 item

• Number: B/SAPC/B/1/10
• Item: photograph
• Description: AUTGP annual meeting Newcastle, 1996
• Date: 1996
• Extent: 1 item

• Number: B/SAPC/B/2
• Description: original slide presented by John Howie in Cardiff in July 1972, leading to the founding of the AUTGP in 1972
• Date: 1972
• Extent: 1 item

• Number: B/SAPC/B/3
• Item: booklet
• Description: a spiral-bound book titled "Gazetteer of General Practice Departments in the British Isles 1981" with "GK Freeman" written in the corner.
• Date: 1981
• Extent: 1 book

• Number: B/SAPC/B/4
• Item: photocopy
• Description: A spiral-bound book titled "Gazetteer of General Practice Departments in the British Isles 1981" with "GK Freeman" written in the corner.
• Extent: c27 pages

Access to the College Archives is by appointment only, Tuesdays and Wednesdays between 10am and 4.30pm. To make an initial enquiry to the Archivist, please email: heritage@rcgp.org.uk

At the moment our catalogue is unavailable on this website. We have uploaded some of our catalogue to the Archives Hub project. You can choose to search descriptions relating only to our repository, or across a range of archives important to the UK academic and research communities, including some of the other Royal Medical Colleges.

Our Archives Policy, linked below, sets out the way in which the archive is managed and developed by the Archivist, with input from the Heritage Committee.

• Heritage Collections Access Policy (PDF file, 461 KB)
• Heritage Collections Development Policy (PDF file, 484 KB)
• Heritage Collections Management Policy (PDF file, 582 KB)
• Archives Hub Online Catalogue