Edith P. Bateman was born in Barrow-in-Furness in 1914; she died in Bristol in 2003, having been a teacher and head teacher. Donald (Don) Bateman was born in 1919 in Leeds, and became a printer's apprentice at John Waddington Ltd. in Leeds upon leaving school in 1934. His childhood and education were disturbed by him being a heamophiliac. He held a City and Guilds Silver Medal and two full Technological Certificates in Printing from Leeds Technical College and the Merchant Venturers' Technical College, Bristol, and was one of the first printers to be elected to the Licentiateship of the City and Guilds of London in 1979. He also studied for a BA with the Open University and an MA in Applied History at Bristol Polytechnic, as well as receiving a PhD from the CNAA, supervised by Bristol Polytechnic and Bristol University, in 1990. He was head of the department of Printing and Graphic Communication at Brunel College of Technology and in retirement became chairman of the College Board of Governors. He and Edith always retained a keen interest in Socialism and left-wing politics, and they have gradually built up a collection of works on Socialist and Communist history, the Spanish Civil War, and socialist politics in 20th Century Britain.
From the guide to the The Bateman Collection, 1892-1987, (University of Bristol Information Services - Special Collections)
