THE DAVID SHEPPARD RESEARCH AND BIOGRAPHY PROJECT Summary project proposal · June 2015

Project outline A full scholarly evaluation of the extensive personal archive formed by Bishop David Sheppard, which will be supplemented by comparison with other published and archival sources, and enhanced by conducting a series of live interviews, resulting in three principal outcomes:

1 As an immediate output, a fully researched, official but independent biography to be published by Lion Hudson with the provisional title of David Sheppard: Cricketer, Cleric, Radical before Easter 2018; and 2 Through the addition of the recorded interviews and some cross-referencing to other sources, the Sheppard archive will be made ready to facilitate future research in the history of some critical aspects of British society in the second half of the twentieth century; and 3 A range of material will become available to support the current resurgence of interest in the significance of David Sheppard’s life and work.

Project parameters Timescale: commencing autumn 2015 and intended for completion in late 2017.

Organisational structure: preliminary planning significantly completed; Professor Andrew Bradstock approved as researcher and author of the biography; fund-raising committee formed and seeking donations to be made in first instance to Better Together Trust, which operates within the umbrella structure provided by CAF which is itself a registered charity; agreement reached that Better Together Trust will transfer the gifts in total to the University of Winchester as a restricted fund; University of Winchester has agreed to employ Professor Bradstock as a Fellow for the duration of the project; following interest from three publishers, Professor Bradstock has agreed a contract with Lion Hudson for the written biography.

Cost: total monetary budget set at £115,000, based on one senior academic historian working effectively full time for two years on a basic professorial salary of £42,000 p.a., plus the costs of associated research disbursements. Extensive help in kind is being offered but has not been added to the cost estimate. At the time of writing (June 2015) almost half the target sum has been raised, with several healthy prospects in hand.

Rationale for the project (1): the achievements of David Sheppard (1929 -2005) David Sheppard was for much of his life a significant public figure, known variously as • A leading Cambridge, Sussex and England cricketer, and twice captain of England, who become a leader of the anti-apartheid campaign within ; • An establishment figure who served as an Anglican clergyman in London’s East End (1957-68) and then as Suffragan (1969-75); • (1975–97) and with , Liverpool’s Catholic Archbishop, creator of a ground-breaking ecumenical partnership based on a deep friendship which respected but transcended religious differences and which made a huge impact on the city at a highly significant period in its history; • In Liverpool and nationally, a courageous and effective advocate for the excluded and marginalised at a time of rapid social and economic change in British society.

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Rationale for the project (2): the significance of David Sheppard The listing of some of David Sheppard’s achievements, and even the recognition that those achievements made him a national figure for several decades, does not fully suffice to justify a major research project of the scale proposed. What provides that justification is the exploration of the link between the achievements and the character of David Sheppard himself, including:

• At a time when British society was becoming more secular and divided, Sheppard was a rare example of a national figure committed to faith-inspired, value-driven leadership; • While willingly accepting his role as part of the country’s establishment, he increasingly understood that role to be grounded in the obligation to advocate for groups and individuals who because of poverty and circumstances would otherwise go unheard. • Totally secure in his own faith base in the evangelical wing of the , he was a pioneer in reaching out to make the church re-think its role in contemporary society and, more strikingly, to do so through building constructive and fruitful relationships based on deep trust and understanding with other Christians and those of other faiths.

Rationale for the project (3): why now and in this way David Sheppard deliberately arranged that his extensive personal papers (over sixty boxes!) should be housed in Liverpool’s City Records Office so they could be used. With any ‘official biography’ there is a question about how close to its subject’s lifetime it should be written. In this case, there are excellent technical reasons why the wider research should be done now. David Sheppard was one of the last generation of leaders who worked before the revolution of the internet and email. His papers, both for what they say and what they omit, will be among the last of their kind. Supplementing that resource with recorded interviews may well provide future historians with a key means of understanding how to use other twentieth century records. And, as the people David Sheppard worked with are becoming older, the time to conduct those interviews is now.

In shaping and influencing this project, David Sheppard’s daughter, Jenny Sinclair, and her Literary Adviser, Godfrey Butland, have remembered that David Sheppard wanted his biographer to be someone who had not known him personally and who can therefore be detached and independent. Professor Andrew Bradstock FRHistS meets that requirement; more significantly, he is a respected scholar who has written widely on the relationships between faith and politics and society in different centuries and countries, and can evaluate David Sheppard’s life in the light of that broad experience.

Rationale for the project (4): wider influence and connections Although the research and biography project is free-standing, it is expected that it will make materials and insights available which will be used by students in many places, including David Sheppard’s Cambridge college, Trinity Hall, and his Cambridge theological seminary, Ridley Hall. The partnership and friendship of David Sheppard and Derek Worlock is currently inspiring another major initiative, Together for the Common Good (www.togetherforthecommongood.co.uk) and the outputs from the research project are expected to be of significant value in that sphere.

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The funding committee Preliminary planning for this project has included discussions with many of David Sheppard’s colleagues and friends who knew him through different aspects of his life. In order to bring the project to fulfilment some of the people who have been consulted have agreed to serve on the project’s funding committee. The members of the committee are: Lord Griffiths of Fforestfach (Chair); Robin Baird-Smith; Nicholas Barber CBE; Rt Hon John Battle KCSG; Revd Godfrey Butland; Professor Martin Daunton FBA, FRHistS; Roger Morris OBE, DL; Canon Dr Robert Reiss; the Hon Mrs Jenny Sinclair.

Further information This paper is intentionally brief. Potential donors who require fuller information on aspects of the project proposal are asked to contact Canon Bob Reiss in the first instance who will arrange for the information to be given. Canon Reiss’s contact details can be found at the end of the next paragraph. More general information about Better Together Trust can be found at http://bettertogethertrust.org

How to donate The project is charitable and therefore can be supported both through grants from charitable trusts and through Gift-Aided donations from individuals; Better Together Trust exists under the auspices of Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) whose registered charity number is 268369. Cheques should be made payable to Better Together Trust No. 46047955 and sent to Canon Bob Reiss at the address below. Please also write on the back of the cheque ‘this donation is dedicated for the David Sheppard research project’.

Alternatively, money can be transferred electronically to: Bank: NatWest Account number: 90213319 Sort code: 60 30 06 Reference: 46047955 (including the reference and stating that this is for the David Sheppard Research and Biography Project is important)

Payments can also be made within CAF’s cheque or online accounting systems by quoting Better Together Trust’s own CAF identifier number 46047955. Please inform Canon Reiss of any transfer being made directly, and also if any gift, whether made by cheque or electronically, is eligible for Gift Aid. Canon Reiss will acknowledge all donations and send Gift Aid forms when appropriate. His contact details are: The Revd Canon Dr Robert Reiss 35 Addington Square London SE5 7LB tel: 07545 178192 e-mail: [email protected]

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