Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1948 - 1999 (Accumulation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
out of South Africa in 1962. Among her books is Mandela: The Man and the Movement (New York: W. W. Norton, 1986).
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Mainly correspondence between Benson and fellow South African activists and large amounts of newspaper cuttings collected by Benson relating to South Africa and the struggle against Apartheid.
Records related to the Rivonia Trial:
-Nelson Mandela’s statement from the dock at the Rivonia Trial (ICS6/5/3)
-Elias Motsoaledi's statement (ICS6/5/7)
- Correspondence, reports and statements about the treatment of political prisoners in South Africa, including reports by the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) and Amnesty International
- Papers related to Nelson Mandela’s imprisonment, collected by Benson when writing her biography of Mandela, "Nelson Mandela: the Man and the Movement."
- Correspondence between Mandela and Mary Benson. There is also correspondence between Benson and others, mainly related to Mandela and campaigns for his release from prison. Correspondents include Helen Suzman, Elinor Birley, Hilda Bernstein, Oliver Tambo, Winnie Mandela, Denis Healey and Ismail Ayob.
- Typed notes on Mandela and other prisoner
-News clippings concerning Mandela, mainly from British newspapers. Subjects covered in particular detail include the Rivonia Trial and campaigns for Mandela's release (ICS6/8)