Private papers of Robert Stirland

Scope and Content

This subfonds comprises nine items accumulated or created by Stirland. It includes drafts by Stirland on various aspects of public health in Manchester, small quantities of Stirland's correspondence relating to Delépine, Stirland's cuttings book on bacteriology and NHS industrial disputes, and group photographs of students and staff of the Diploma of Bacteriology at the University of Manchester.

Administrative / Biographical History

Robert Stirland was senior lecturer in clinical bacteriology at the University of Manchester and succeeded Fairbrother as consultant bacteriologist to the MRI in 1962. Stirland wanted to promoted reconciliation between the University and Hospital departments which had drifted apart. He retired from MRI in 1991 and died of cancer on 7 July 2002. Stirland continued the work of Maitland in collecting material about the history of public health in Manchester, concentrating on laboratory medicine. He began writing a book on the subject, which was not completed.