Stories from the collection

Discover all stories

Browse and explore the human stories behind The National Archives’ collection.

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  The Caravan Club

  The police raid on a secret queer nightclub in 1933 provides us with an insight into the lives of gay men in interwar London, including their defiance in the face of criminalisation and persecution

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  Richard III

  Through a wealth of documents held at The National Archives, we can piece together a lot of detail about the life and reign one of Britain's most famous (or possibly infamous) medieval monarchs

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  Margaret Bondfield

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

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  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 racism in the police.

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  William Cuffey

  William Cuffey (1788–1870) was a mixed-race, disabled, working-class leader. He was a leading figure in the Chartism movement, famed for his powerful oratory and leadership.

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  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.

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  Alice Hawkins

  Alice Hawkins (1863–1946) was a working class member of the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) and a trade unionist, who boldly campaigned for the rights of women.

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  Horatio Nelson

  The National Archives holds a vast array of documents relating to the career of Horatio Nelson (1758–1805) which showcase his emergence from humble beginnings and his outstanding naval prowess.

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  Shapurji Saklatvala

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

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  Radclyffe Hall

  Radclyffe Hall (1880–1943) lived relatively openly as a lesbian in an era that condemned such relationships. Her writing sparked outrage, but today she is an icon of LGBTQ+ literature.

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  Emmeline Pankhurst

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

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  Maud Allan

  Maud Allan (1873–1956) was a much-celebrated dancer on the West End stage in the early 20th century. So how did she become involved in one of the most sensational trials of the 1920s?

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  Insaaf

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

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  Sophia Todd

  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?

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  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.

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  William Shakespeare

  Through documents held in The National Archives, we can gain an incredible insight into the life of one of the world's most famous playwrights.