Stories from the collection

Sophia Jex-Blake (1840–1912) was a physician and campaigner who fought for women’s access to university education.

Records in our collection show how same-sex personal adverts published in the 1960s become part of a high-profile legal battle.

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 government tried to keep the details of the Bethnal Green Tube shelter disaster of 1943 private – but a court case brought the terrible story to light.

Pre-trial statements from this 1776 dispute between the Chevalier d’Eon and Charles de Morande provide intricate details about these two French spies.

Security Service files paint a vivid picture of what happened when Anthony Blunt – then employed in the royal household – admitted spying for the Soviet Union.

Records in our collection show how same-sex personal adverts published in the 1960s become part of a high-profile legal battle.

When can a lemon have fatal consequences? If it proves you are, in fact, a wartime spy…

Following the Napoleonic Wars, smuggling became a major concern for the British government.

This letter, sent by Princess Anne during the height of the Glorious Revolution, confirmed the betrayal of her father, King James II.

On 16 December 1773, 340 chests of tea were thrown into Boston harbour by protesting colonists. This letter from the East India Company requests reimbursement.

This 17th-century mince pie recipe contains spices, eggs and raisins, but also something slightly stranger.

This Second World War War Office document assessed the British Indian Army's battle readiness and made recommendations for its development.

On one tragic night in March 1943 in Bethnal Green, East London, 173 people lost their lives taking shelter from German bombing as the air raid sirens sounded.

In 1325, officials found suspicious mistakes in the account of the former treasurer of Ireland and hauled him through the courts. What did they uncover?