New discoveries: Artwork by Risham Syed

It’s wonderful when we uncover new bits of information about our collections as has happened with an artwork within the British Empire & Commonwealth Collection (BECC). Recent visitors to the museum store spotted the work and suggested it was by t…

Posted on July 4, 2023 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 April 3, 2023 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 March 21, 2023 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 February 13, 2023 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 January 17, 2023 by Alice Bush.

Patrick Cotter O’Brien, ‘The Bristol Giant’ (1760 – 1806)

Did you know that we have many powerful disability stories within our collection? As part of the Curating for Change project, our disabled curator Joanne is busy uncovering, researching and celebrating disabled Bristolians throughout history. The am…

Posted on November 4, 2022 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 October 7, 2022 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 September 29, 2022 by Fay Curtis.

“The eager amateur photographers amongst the crew”: HMS Dauntless in the 1930s

By Pat Ellingham, British Empire and Commonwealth Collection volunteer I’ve just completed a virtual voyage round the coastline of the Americas, popping into the East and West Indies and navigating the Panama Canal twice. All this is thanks to Able S…

Posted on July 25, 2022 by Fay Curtis.

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…

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