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British Empire and Commonwealth Collection

In 2012, the collections of the former British Empire and Commonwealth Museum (BECM) were transferred to the care of Bristol Museums.

Here you’ll find blog posts, events and stories related to this major collection, which covers a wide range of material relating to the countries of the British Empire and the Commonwealth. Find out more about the collection.

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Ivan Haslam: An Indian in East Africa

by Pat Ellingham, Archives Volunteer

I came across Ivan Haslam in October 2017 when I started to volunteer with the British Empire and Commonwealth Collection at Bristol Archives.

My first task was to watch Haslam’s 12 home movies, and write an…

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Imaging Imperialism

By Nicky Sugar, Archivist
“We are focussing on audio-visual archives because time is running out to save them.”
Friday 27 October was World Audio-Visual Heritage Day and the Association of Commonwealth Archivists and Records Managers marked the day w…

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Dolls made by a freed (manumitted) woman in Grenada

by Sue Giles, senior curator for World Cultures

In 2012, Bristol Museum & Art Gallery and Bristol Archives took on the collections of the British Empire & Commonwealth Museum (BECM). There are some real gems in the collection, and we are s…

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Photography and Empire

by Isaac Blease, photographer and UWE student

As part of my MA in Curating at the University of the West of England, I have spent the last nine months on a work placement at Bristol Archives, in the British Empire and Commonwealth Collections (BEC…

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Empire Explored!

by Nicky Sugar, Archivist

In August 2015, Nicky Sugar from Bristol Archives shared her first impressions of the British Empire and Commonwealth Collections. Two years – and tens of thousands of photographs – later, she returns to share how the Explor…

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How to solve a problem like BECM?

By Hannah Myall, MA Heritage Management, Bath Spa University

I’ve been at Bristol Museum & Art Gallery for the last few months on a student placement with the World Cultures team. I’m working on the British Empire & Commonwealth Collec…