Written material related to international relations, politics and sport, 1922-1953

Ivor Montagu (1904-1984) was best known for his work as a filmmaker, scriptwriter, and producer. He was also a trained naturalist, the founder of the International Table Tennis Federation, president of the Southampton F.C. Supporters’ Club, and an active member of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB). 

This collection contains Montagu’s personal, political, and professional papers. Of particular interest is his correspondence with prominent public figures such as Alfred Hitchcock, Bernard Shaw, and Solly Zuckerman. Montagu’s papers are a useful resource for students and scholars who are interested in the impact of communism on British popular culture and vice-versa.

The collection is accompanied by three contextual essays written by Professor Kevin Morgan, a senior academic at the University of Manchester.

As an international communist who often travelled to different European countries, Montagu did not restrict his submissions to English magazines. These items include submissions to Russian and Bulgarian publications, as well as his submissions to English journals which paint sympathetic portraits of the Soviet Union. While Montagu often contributed to publications, his correspondence with their editors covers subjects such as possible communist affiliation to the Labour Party, research for his article on Solzhenitsyn, and the funding of those publications. A keen sports fan, Montagu kept records of his plans to use sporting philosophy to unite countries and increase British empathy with the Soviet Union. He also hoped sport could be used to foster world peace.

In this document Montagu, himself an avid sports fan, writes in support of international football matches between England and the Soviet Union during World War Two. He also discusses the 1936 Olympics held in Germany and the potential of an alternative Olympics to be held in Barcelona. Also featuring is a pamphlet on football tactics, including a written piece by Montagu on the Moscow Dynamo Stadium; 'Lawn Tennis in Soviet Russia', an article penned by Montagu; ‘East-West Sports Relations', an article comparing and contrasting the way sports are played and the diplomatic function sports could serve; a discussion of football amongst the working classes; and ‘Table Tennis and South Africa’, an article discussing the politics of apartheid and how this has affected sport.