Stories from the collection

Copyright photographs of composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor provide us with a unique insight into his status in early 20th-century British society.

John Blanke was a trumpeter at the courts of Henry VII and Henry VIII. He is one of the earliest people of colour in England we have records about.

Robert Wedderburn (1762–1835) was a British-Jamaican radical preacher, abolitionist and writer.

This map was provided to soldiers during the first operation by the Chindits, special forces serving in Japanese-occupied Burma during the Second World War.

Artist and illustrator Louis Wain (1860–1939) achieved great fame for his whimsical drawings of cats, but his story is also a sad one of personal tragedy.

Sir Learie Constantine (1901–1971) was a renowned cricketer, author, politician and persistent campaigner for racial equality and justice.

This parchment records John Blanke, a Black Tudor in the royal court, asking King Henry VIII for a pay rise and a promotion in his role as a trumpeter.

The Imperial Typewriters dispute in Leicester saw over 500 workers, largely from South Asia, go on strike over discrimination in 1974.

In 1866, a British luggage manufacturer attempted to capitalise on the expansion of railway lines with a unique and royal travel bag.

This angry letter offers a rare view of the words of ordinary people at the time, threatening violence in response to falling living standards in rural England.

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'.

Explore the foundations of the NHS, one of Britain's most well-known and loved institutions.