Blog / Archives

Posted on by Alice Bush.

Rare witness statement reveals tragic story of executed gay couple

By Mary Milton, Archives Officer, Bristol Archives Staff at Bristol Archives have made an important discovery about the case of William Critchard and Richard Arnold, two men executed in 1753 for what was then described as “the detestable crime of buggery…

Posted on by Fay Curtis.

A daring expedition over Everest

By Eve Andreski, BECC Documentation Assistant A new accession to the British Empire and Commonwealth Collection (BECC) recalls a ground-breaking feat! 90 years ago today, on 3 April 1933, the first flight expedition over Everest prepared to embark. Two …

Posted on by Fay Curtis.

“I was lucky enough to escape”: the WW1 diary of Dr Gordon Covell

By Eve Andreski, BECC Documentation Assistant The British Empire and Commonwealth Collection (BECC) cares for many diaries and letters. These reveal the inner thoughts of people who lived through momentous events. One such person, Dr Gordon Covell, s…

Posted on by Fay Curtis.

Dearest Wife!

By Pat Ellingham, Volunteer, British Empire & Commonwealth Collection (BECC) Around this time of year, sentiments of love and devotion waft in the air as Valentine’s Day approaches. As I sat with the latest collection I’m cataloguing as a volu…

Posted on by Alice Bush.

Spotlight on: Jonathan Adagogo Green

Spotlight compiled by Eve Andreski, Documentation Assistant. To coincide with Black History Month, the British Empire and Commonwealth Collection (BECC) team wanted to focus on an important series of images within the archive. The Jones collectio…

Posted on by Alice Bush.

Decolonising the Bristol Archives catalogue

By Sophie Welsh, third-year PhD student at the universities of Exeter and Southampton Hello, my name is Sophie Welsh. I’m a third-year PhD student at the University of Exeter and the University of Southampton. I took a short break from my PhD to wo…

Posted on by Lauren MacCarthy.

Film digitisation project: Re-discovering archive footage

by Jayne Pucknell, archivist with the British Empire & Commonwealth Collection We’re pleased to say we have now completed our film digitisation project! We have been working with our partners at Nulight Studios, to scan and digitally preserve some k…

Posted on by Alice Bush.

Cataloguing the archives of the Royal British Legion Kenya Branch

by Matthew Hallows, MA Curating student at the University of the West of England Matt spent his placement with the British Empire & Commonwealth Collection. He helped to catalogue an extensive collection of documents from the Royal British Legion in …