Guide to the Herbert Willsmore Papers, 1968-1993

Processed by Susan Storch.

The Bancroft Library.

University of California, Berkeley

Berkeley, California, 94720-6000

Phone: (510) 642-6481

Fax: (510) 642-7589

Email: bancref@library.berkeley.edu

URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu

Guide to the Herbert Willsmore Papers, 1968-1993

Collection number: BANC MSS 99/249 c

The Bancroft Library

University of California, Berkeley

Berkeley, California

Contact Information:

The Bancroft Library.
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California, 94720-6000
Phone: (510) 642-6481
Fax: (510) 642-7589
Email: bancref@library.berkeley.edu
URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu

Collection Processed By:: Susan Storch
Date Completed: January 2002

Collection Summary

Collection Title: Herbert Willsmore Papers,

Date (inclusive): 1968-1993

Collection Number: BANC MSS 99/249 c

Creator: Willsmore, Herbert

Extent: 1 box (.2 linear ft.) 41 digital objects

Repository: The Bancroft Library

Berkeley, California 94720-6000

Abstract: The Herbert Willsmore papers, 1968-1993, document his residency at Cowell Hospital, his involvement with the Rolling Quads, and his work with the California State Department of Rehabilitation. The materials consist of correspondence, press releases, school papers relating to his matriculation at the University of California at Berkeley, professional writing, and newspaper clippings.

Languages Represented: English

Information for Researchers

Access

Collection is open for research.

Publication Rights

Copyright has been assigned to The Bancroft Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the appropriate curator or the Head of Public Services for forwarding. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Bancroft Library as the owner of the physical items and the copyright.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Herbert Willsmore Papers, BANC MSS 99/249 c, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Willsmore, Herbert--Archives.

University of California, Berkeley--Students.

Rolling Quads.

Students with disabilities--California--Berkeley.

Online Archive of California.

Disability Rights and Independent Living Movement collection.

Administrative Information

Provenance

The Herbert Willsmore Papers were given to The Bancroft Library by Herbert Willsmore in 1999.

Biography

Herb Willsmore was a University of California student in the Cowell Hospital residence program and one of the first students to move from Cowell into the community. He was president of the Rolling Quads in the late sixties, participated in the establishment of the Physically Disabled Students' Program in 1970 and the Center for Independent Living (CIL) in 1972, and managed the Business Enterprise division of CIL from 1975 to 1977.

In some ways Herb Willsmore typifies the early students with disabilities at Cowell. He sustained a spinal cord injury in a car accident at age nineteen in 1966 and lived at home with his parents until he learned of the Cowell program at the university. He completed two degrees there, a B.A. and an M.A. in City and Regional Planning. He left Berkeley in 1977 and has been a commercial real estate broker in Santa Rosa, California, for many years.

Scope and Content of Collection

The Herbert Willsmore papers, 1968-1993, document his residency at Cowell Hospital, his involvement with the Rolling Quads, and his work with the California State Department of Rehabilitation. The materials consist of correspondence, press releases, school papers relating to his matriculation at the University of California at Berkeley, professional writing, and newspaper clippings. At UC Berkeley Mr. Willsmore, a disabled student, lived at Cowell Hospital, was the first president of the Rolling Quads, and went on to complete a masters in City and Regional Planning. The students living in Cowell Hospital were part of the beginning of a nationwide social movement for disability rights and independent living. The materials include the incorporation papers for the Rolling Quads; reports written for the Department of Rehabilitation; correspondence with the city of Berkeley regarding curb cuts, an area where Berkeley was in the vanguard; and press releases and a letter from Ronald Reagan regarding proposed cuts to the Attendant Care Program when he was governor of California.

The collection is arranged alphabetically by subject matter, except for Willsmore's autobiographical summary, which comes first.

box 1

BANC MSS 99/249c Autobiographical Summary of Herbert R. Willsmore, ca. 1972

box 1, folder 1

BANC MSS 99/249c Autobiographical Summary, ca. 1972