Record revealed
A letter by the women workers at Fords of Dagenham
A handwritten letter written by sewing machinists working at Dagenham car plant who famously went on strike for equal wages in the late 1960s.
Postwar (1945–present)
Records since 1945 trace Britain’s movement towards the country we know today. We see the efforts of the state to improve public health and to prepare for the possibility of nuclear war, alongside how various communities and groups protested for their rights.
Stories from the collection
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The story of
Sir Ludwig Guttmann and the birth of the Paralympic Games
In the summer of 1948, neurologist Ludwig Guttmann set up a sporting competition between patients. It was the birth of the Paralympic Games. -
Focus on
'Can we be counted too?' Recognising LGBTQ+ lives in the 1991 census
Until 2021, the census did not ask for information about sexuality. One letter in our collection gives a personal perspective on why this data was needed. -
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The Huey Fong: Hong Kong's 1979 refugee crisis
In December 1978, Vietnamese refugees seeking asylum aboard the Huey Fong were refused entry to Hong Kong. Records we hold document the 34-day standoff. -
Record revealed
A letter from Gandhi's 'errand boy'
This letter is an example of those in our collection detailing Indian and Pakistani Independence, but from a lesser-known voice, Sudhir Ghosh. -
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How the first women's refuge enacted change in the UK
The founding years of Chiswick Women’s Aid saw the opening of the world's first women's refuge, disputes with local government, and creating change in the UK. -
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‘Not acceptable’: Gay Switchboard’s attempts to become a charity
LGBT+ Switchboard is one of the oldest telephone helplines supporting queer communities in the UK. Its journey to register as a charity was not easy. -
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Section 28: impact, fightback and repeal
What was the everyday reality for LGBTQ+ people in the 80s and 90s living under the infamous Section 28, and how was it eventually repealed? -
Record revealed
The WÃSÙ journal
WÃSÙ was the journal produced by the West African Students’ Union (WASU) and distributed across Europe and Africa from 1926. -
Focus on
The origins of Section 28
Section 28 of the 1988 Local Government Act negatively affected LGBTQ+ lives for decades. How did such a seismic piece of legislation come about? -
Record revealed
James Callaghan's notes on policy ideas
These handwritten pages offer a window onto a Prime Minister’s thinking about the issues of the day. In 1978, they ranged from education to the environment. -
The story of
Louise Bennett-Coverley
Described by the Birmingham Post as the ‘queen of Jamaican theatre’, Louise Bennett-Coverley (1919–2006) was a poet, performer, folklorist, writer and educator. -
Record revealed
Photographs of the British Black Panthers headquarters
These photographs, captured through police investigations, give a unique insight into the heart of the early British Black Panther movement. -
The story of
Sir Learie Constantine
Sir Learie Constantine (1901–1971) was a renowned cricketer, author, politician and persistent campaigner for racial equality and justice. -
The story of
The Imperial Typewriters dispute
The Imperial Typewriters dispute in Leicester saw over 500 workers, largely from South Asia, go on strike over discrimination in 1974. -
The story of
Ivor Cummings
Ivor Cummings (1913–1992) greeted the iconic arrival of the Empire Windrush at Tilbury in 1948. He became known as the 'gay father of the Windrush generation'. -
The story of
The foundation of the NHS
Explore the foundations of the NHS, one of Britain's most well-known and loved institutions. -
The story of
The Festival of Britain
The National Archives has a wealth of documents, photographs and art work collected during the planning and running of the influential 1951 Festival of Britain. -
The story of
Insaaf
Insaaf was a film made by the government, filmed partly in Urdu, to promote employment rights under the 1968 Race Relations Act. -
The story of
Ormonde, Almanzora and Windrush
Passenger lists for the ships that carried post-war migrants from the Caribbean to Britain can be crucial resources for people tracing their family history. -
The story of
The Mangrove Nine
The trial of nine black protestors who were arrested while demonstrating in Notting Hill in the early 1970s became a public platform to criticise police racism.