Stories of past de Osma Students and a journey through the Bodleian Archives exploring the history of the studentship

De Osma Student 1993-94 Dr Bruce Taylor, biographer of de Osma Student 1934–35 Prof Sir Peter Russell, speaks on his experiences in Madrid and de Osma Student predecessors who have passed: ‘All who went before me, all who came after me, and doubtless the legion yet to come, share a special bond of privilege doubtless product of the munificence of don Guillermo.’

The munificence of don Guillermo has not reached our times without its share of dangers along the way – during the Spanish Civil War, the collection held at the Instituto in Madrid was saved from destruction by a clause that allowed Oxford to claim and bring it under the protection of the British flag.

Centenary-organiser and Osma Student 2015–16 Dr Marina Pérez de Arcos shares her archival research of previously unseen Spanish and British archival material, including documents from the Instituto Valencia de Don Juan in Madrid, the Duke of Alba’s Liria Palace, the Archivo Histórico Nacional, the Archivo de Indias, and the Oxford University Archives and Special Collections at the Bodleian Library, on the history of the first modern Spanish endowment at Oxford.