BAC Wadsworth Prize
The BAC Wadsworth Prize is awarded annually by the BAC to an individual judged to have made an outstanding contribution to the study of British business history in that year.
The Council awarded its BAC Wadsworth Prize for Business History 2011 on 8 November 2012 at a reception at the The Baring Archive, London to Duncan Campbell-Smith for his study of the Royal Mail entitled Masters of the Post: The Authorized History of the Royal Mail. The judges for this years prize were John Marshall, Chair of Judges, a Director at McInroy & Wood, Dr John Quail of the University of York, and Sara Kinsey of HSBC Archives. The award was presented by Dr Terry Gourvish, Chairman of the BAC.
The Chair of Judges noted that the study was “well written, interesting to read, and very informative. Extremely well researched, scholarly yet readable.” The author has had extensive access to Post Office archives and explores a broad swath of their activity. The role of postal engineers in the design and manufacture of code breaking equipment , the response to the Great Train Robbery and the introduction of the penny post in 1840.