Eight additional documents for October-December 1976 can be found here.
The first letter below announces the formation of NCROPA. Click here for preliminary documents.
(1) Letter in the London Evening Standard by David Webb, April 29, 1976.
The above is the first reference to the wider world of NCROPA; the acronym was not used, but the title of the organisation was the National Campaign for the Repeal of the Obscene Publications Acts. Shortly this would become National Campaign for the Reform of the Obscene Publications Acts, a small but major difference; David Webb wanted the total abolition of all sexual censorship while some, probably the vast majority, of his and NCROPA’s supporters did not. This letter appears to have drawn a very large response.
(2) Letter to David Webb by J.E. Sussams, April 29, 1976.
The above letter appears to have been the first response from a member of the public to David Webb’s recruitment letter in the Evening Standard, document (1).
(3) Copy letter David Webb/NCROPA to, apparently, a number of members of the House of Lords, May 3, 1976
(4) Letter Alexander Walker of the Evening Standard to David Webb/NCROPA, May 4, 1976
(5) Letter B. Brick to David Webb, May 5, 1976
The above is another response to document (1).
(6) Letter A.A. Ranger to David Webb, May 5, 1976
The above is another response to document (1), and contains four proposals by the writer for the nascent NCROPA.
(7) Letter for Baroness Wooton to David Webb, May 10, 1976
(8) Letter Viscount Norwich to David Webb, May 13, 1976
(9) Letter Nicholas Scott MP to David Webb, May 13, 1976
(10) Letter Lord Beaumont to David Webb/NCROPA, May 17, 1976
(11) Copy letter David Webb/NCROPA to the Evening Standard, July 15, 1976
The above unpublished missive includes four press cuttings from the same newspaper relating to the former MP Raymond Blackburn. They do not appear to have been sent with it.
The are no documents for August 1976.
(12) Copy letter David Webb/NCROPA to THE TIMES, September 1, 1976
(13) Copy letter David Webb/NCROPA to the Archbishop of Westminster, September 5, 1976
(14) Copy letter David Webb/NCROPA to Mrs Mary Whitehouse, September 6, 1976
(15) Letter THE TIMES to David Webb/NCROPA, September 6, 1976
The above is a (negative) response to document (12), one of very many Mr Webb was to receive over the following years!
(16) Copy letter David Webb/NCROPA to Home Secretary Roy Jenkins, September 6, 1976
(17) Letter Basil Hume to David Webb, September 8, 1976
The then Archbishop of Canterbury has some wise words for David Webb in the above.
(18) Copy letter David Webb/NCROPA to Maureen Duffy, September 9, 1976
(19) Copy letter David Webb/NCROPA to the Evening News, September 15, 1976
The above concerns the Danish film director Jens Jørgen Thorsen (1932-2000) who was at the centre of controversy over a film about the sex life of Jesus Christ. This generated a great deal of correspondence by David Webb, see also document (16).
(20) Copy letter the Queen, September 17, 1976
The above letter is incomplete; it appears to have been written by David Webb in a personal capacity. I’ve scoured all the relevant papers, but I can’t find the rest of it.
(21) Letter L. Kirby Editor of the Evening News to David Webb, September 17, 1976
Presumably the above was written to Mr Webb in his capacity as the head of NCROPA; there are two cuttings at the end which were added to the file; one is a letter from David Webb (presumably the letter alluded to here); the other is a reply to him by Christopher Barrow.
(22) NCROPA Press Statement, September 19, 1976
The above appears to be the first press statement/release ever issued by NCROPA, and relates to Jens Jørgen Thorsen, see for example document (19).
For Obnoxious?, a letter by David Webb published September 20, 1976, see document (21), above.
(23) Letter David Webb/NCROPA in the Guardian, September 22, 1976
The above includes a copy of the actual letter, which is dated September 15, 1976.
(24) NCROPA Press Release, September 29, 1976
And here is the same release as above on headed NCROPA notepaper.
The above concerns the revue Carte Blanche.
(25) Letter to David Webb from Balmoral Castle on behalf of the Queen, September 29, 1976
(26) NCROPA membership application form circa September 29, 1976
A copy of the above was in the file at around September 29. The particular, pristine copy scanned here
was found in a separate envelope.
(27) Letter Dr Brian Richards to David Webb, October 7, 1976
(28) Copy letter David Webb/NCROPA to John Sussams, October 8, 1976
The above – which included an enclosure – is a belated response to document (2).
(29) Copy letter David Webb/NCROPA to B. Brick, October 8, 1976
A NCROPA leaflet was enclosed with the above.
(30) Letter John Sussams to David Webb, October 17, 1976
(31) Cambridge Union Society Debate, October 18, 1976
The above was obviously published some time in advance of that date. See speech page for the text of the address by David Webb.
(32) Letter Cambridge Union Society to David Webb, October 20, 1976
(33) Letter S.J. Pike of the Home Office to David Webb, October 20, 1976
The above includes a page from Hansard.
(34) Copy unpublished letter by David Webb/NCROPA to THE TIMES, November 27, 1976
(35) Letter R.K. Brian to David Webb/NCROPA, November 29, 1976
(36) Letter Arabella Melville to David Webb, November 29, 1976
The above includes a letter dated 24.11.76 by Arabella Melville and Colin Johnson of Libertine magazine.
(37) Copy letter David Webb/NCROPA to Denis Lemon of Gay News, December 1, 1976
(38) Copy letter David Webb/NCROPA to George Cooper of Thames Television, December 1, 1976
The above concerns the TV documentary Sex In Our Time.
(39) Letter George Cooper of Thames Television to David Webb/NCROPA re Sex In Our Time, December 2, 1976
(40) Letter Denis Lemon of Gay News to David Webb/NCROPA, December 7, 1976
(41) Letter Independent Broadcasting Authority to David Webb/NCROPA, December 8, 1976
(42) Copy letter David Webb/NCROPA to Clement Freud MP, December 8, 1976
(43) Copy letter David Webb/NCROPA to David Waterfield in HMP Wandsworth, December 9, 1976
(44) Letters from and in response to Eric Miller circa December 10, 1976
The above contains a scan of two photocopies of correspondence apparently in the Observer.
(45) Letter Graham of Private Magazine to Eric Miller circa December 10, 1976
The above concerns the printing of some NCROPA leaflets.
(46) Copy letter David Webb/NCROPA to George Cooper of Thames Television, December 20, 1976
(47) Copy letter David Webb/NCROPA to Stanley Baxter, December 30, 1976
The above letter appears to have been written more in a personal capacity. David Webb was a personal friend of the comedian Stanley Baxter.
(48) NCROPA Press Statement, December 30, 1976
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