Stories from the collection

The police raid on a secret queer nightclub in 1933 gives an insight into the lives of gay men in interwar London and their defiance in the face of persecution.

Margaret Bondfield (1873–1953) was a trade unionist and Labour politician. In 1929 she became Britain’s first female cabinet minister.

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.

Was a woman arrested for murder in Victorian Liverpool an unfortunate person caught up in a series of ill-fated events, or something much more sinister?

Through documents held at The National Archives, we can piece together a great deal about the life and reign one of Britain's most infamous medieval monarchs.

Insaaf was a film made by the government, filmed partly in Urdu, to promote employment rights under the 1968 Race Relations Act.

Maud Allan (1873–1956) was a celebrated West End dancer in the early 20th century until she became entangled in one of the most sensational trials of the 1920s.

Emmeline Pankhurst (1858–1928) was a tireless political activist, who led the WSPU – the militant faction of the movement for women’s suffrage.

Radclyffe Hall (1880–1943) lived relatively openly as a lesbian in an era that condemned such relationships. Today she is an icon of LGBTQ+ literature.

One of the first MPs of Indian heritage, Shapurji Saklatvala (1874–1936) was an agitator for change, which led to his surveillance by the Security Service.

Alice Hawkins (1863–1946) was a working class suffragette and trade unionist, who boldly campaigned for the rights of women.

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.