Image reproduced with the kind permission of Walter J King
Thomas Kevin Campbell, known as Kevin to his family, friends and colleagues, passed away peacefully on 19 April 2023 after a longstanding battle with cancer. Independent as ever, it was only in the month before he died that he moved out of his home in Preston, to be looked after by friends and loved ones in Prescot.
Kevin was born in Stalybridge, at that time part of Cheshire, on 1 October 1939. His father, Sydney, was a dispenser at the chemist and he and Kevin’s mother, Ellen, had a daughter Mary, to whom Kevin was also very close.
Kevin studied History at Liverpool University and gained a BA Hons in 1961. He continued at Liverpool and joined the 14th cohort of archivists, qualifying with a Diploma in the Study of Records and Administration of Archives in 1962. He worked at Lancashire County Record Office and then became Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council (BMBC)’s first Borough Archivist in 1974 following local government reorganization.
Kevin lived in Preston and was a great boon to the local community, working for many years as a magistrate. Kevin was appointed to the Preston and South Ribble Bench on the 2 November 1989 and received a certificate to mark his twenty years of dedicated service on his retirement in 2009. He also participated in manoeuvres as a motivated and long serving member of the Royal Naval Auxiliary Service (RNXS) as a communicator and then, when the service disbanded in 1994, became Secretary of the Royal Naval Association (RNA) Preston Branch.
His detailed knowledge of Bolton’s development and civic history meant Kevin was in demand for official functions and visits. He spoke at many events for dignitaries, but a highlight was certainly the visit of Queen Elizabeth II to Bolton in November 1988 as part of the town’s 150th birthday celebrations.
Kevin was highly motivated and committed in all his work. He worked very efficiently and accurately and inspired and encouraged the team he led to do the same. Kevin was always considerate, fair-minded and genuinely friendly, establishing a happy and effective team over many years, welcoming new members and also creating positive relationships with customers and associates.
Kevin worked well in collaboration with other services and archivists and fiercely protected the budget allocated to Greater Manchester County Record Office (GMCRO) which, as ever in local government, was often under threat. At the time, the arrangement within Greater Manchester provided financial contributions from the boroughs to the GMCRO. This provided local majority of the borough archives with, among other benefits, a stipulated amount of conservation work per year, which helped ensure that Bolton’s archives were well looked after. The arrangement was supported by regular meetings within local government and wider archive services in the area and led to good working relationships amongst Greater Manchester archivists and great benefits for users. There were collaborative projects to promote services across Greater Manchester and the archives were much more effective working together than they could have been separately, due to the low levels of professional staffing and resource in each area.
Kevin’s efforts, supported by Bolton Libraries, in securing National Lottery Funding to purchase and promote the Naughton Archive led to improvements in storage, water alarms and lockers for those visiting the Archives. This also heralded a 100 per cent increase in the number of professional archivists within the service to 2 full time staff members.
Kevin was tireless in supporting those wishing to enter the profession and newly qualified archivists. His sponsorship of library assistants rotating into the archive service helped develop the knowledge, appreciation, and skills of the library teams. The promotion of events throughout Bolton’s libraries meant Bolton citizens were very aware of the treasures held by the service. During my time at Bolton when Kevin was in charge, the service had 12,500 visitors per year, punching well above its weight.
Following Kevin’s retirement, he maintained strong links with the service, visiting us regularly, and always being available for questions and advice whenever asked. As a diplomat, he never volunteered an opinion. Kevin continued his strong friendships with former colleagues by joining in social events, notably the Christmas meals and the regular walking group, enjoying the lovely countryside, great company and good pub lunches. Kevin was a huge influence on me, his colleagues, friends and family and is very sadly missed. His dedication to the development of Bolton’s Archive and Local Studies Service, contribution to public services and unfailing support for archivists and other colleagues were all exemplary. We mourn his passing and celebrate his life and achievements.