1. Why use this guide?

This guide will help you to find records held at The National Archives of, and relating to, the British intelligence and security services.

The sensitive nature of intelligence work means that many files, especially those relating to living individuals or covering sensitive material, have been destroyed or retained by the security services themselves and have not been accessioned by The National Archives.

This guide does not cover records from police agencies such as the Special Branch. For advice on Special Branch records see our Metropolitan Police guide.

1. Why use this guide?

Use this guide for advice on how to search for Colonial Office correspondence dating from 1820 to 1850 and now held at The National Archives. Colonial Office correspondence is an invaluable resource for studies of the history of the British Empire and the individual countries which were once British colonies.

You can search for references to the records online but you will need to visit us to view the documents themselves. For advice on other types of Colonial Office records see our guide to Colonies and dependencies from 1782.

2. What are the registers and why are they worth using?

Colonial Office staff recorded details of incoming correspondence in registers. They included details of the topic, date and sender. You can use these to locate individual items of correspondence. By reading through the registers, you can identify documents of interest without having to read through all the volumes of correspondence for a particular colony. The Colonial Office registers for this period are in catalogue series CO 326.

These original registers remain vital when searching for Colonial Office correspondence from this period as, with some exceptions, you cannot find individual items of correspondence with a keyword search in our catalogue – the catalogue descriptions are generally not detailed enough.

3. Registers versus indexes

As well as using the registers to find correspondence from this period, you can use the original Colonial Office indexes. The indexes cover correspondence from 1815 to 1870.

Whilst the registers list the incoming correspondence in order of date sent and are a more complete record of the correspondence received, the indexes conveniently group together details of correspondence (date and brief summary) by topic. For example, all the individual items of correspondence on gold mining in the colony of Victoria might be found under the heading ‘gold’ or ‘mining’ in the Victoria index. They therefore provide a very quick method of identifying the relevant correspondence. However, the keyword used may not be obvious and the indexes are not necessarily complete.

4. How to use the registers

There are three steps to locating and using a Colonial Office register.

Step 1: Use the advanced search in our catalogue to locate the relevant register

Sometimes the individual colony is named, but sometimes only the name of region has been used (for example, ‘Africa’ or ‘West Indies’), so it may be best to search initially without a keyword.

Suppose that you are interested in relations on the eastern frontier of the Cape of Good Hope in 1835, when the Sixth Frontier War was in progress.

Search CO 326 for 1835, using ‘register’ as your keyword, as follows:

Using the drop-down options located above search results, put the results in reference order:

Two of the registers concern Africa, where we would expect to find entries for the Cape of Good Hope.

CO 326/205 is a register that contains details of correspondence received from the Governor of the Cape of Good Hope (Despatches). CO 326/206 contains details of correspondence received from other government departments, organisations and persons (Offices and individuals).

Step 2: Consult the relevant register of correspondence

Suppose you are interested in researching the correspondence received from the Governor at the Cape of Good Hope.

Order volume CO 326/205 and examine the lists of correspondence for items in which you’re interested. A page from the register in CO 326/205 looks like this:

We see that the page is divided into columns giving the registry number assigned to the correspondence by the Colonial Office clerks. The information recorded consists of:

• The date received
• The sender
• The date of the correspondence
• A brief description of the correspondence
• Actions taken on the correspondence

There is an item of correspondence, registry number 1140, dated 19 June 1835, from the Governor, Sir Benjamin D’Urban, which is a report of events on the Cape Frontier to 19 June.

Step 3: Finding the item of correspondence

To find the correct volume in the Original Correspondence series, we need three pieces of information:

• The colony (Cape of Good Hope)
• The sender (the Governor), which means that the item will be in a ‘despatches’ volume
• The date sent (19 June 1835)

Find the Original Correspondence volumes for the Cape of Good Hope for 1835 by using the advanced search screen in our catalogue.

Use ‘Original Correspondence Cape of Good Hope’ as your keywords and specify the date as 1835. Put ‘CO’ in the references box, like this:

Using the drop-down options located above search results, put the results of the search in reference order:

The date on which the letter was sent was 19 June 1835 and this is covered by volume CO 48/161. When you view the volume you should find the correspondence in date order and stamped with the relevant registry number:

1. Why use this guide?

Use this guide for advice on how to search for Colonial Office correspondence dating from 1850 to 1926 and now held at The National Archives. Colonial Office correspondence is an invaluable resource for studies of the history of the British Empire and the individual countries which were once British colonies.

You can search for references to the records online but you will need to visit us to view the documents themselves. For advice on other types of Colonial Office records see our guide to Colonies and dependencies from 1782.

2. What are the registers and why are they worth using?

Colonial Office staff recorded details of incoming correspondence in registers. They included details of the topic, date and sender and some information to help them to find related correspondence. Colonial Office registers can help you find documents on a subject when the details on our online catalogue are insufficient. They also often give details of the previous and next item of related correspondence. By reading through the registers, you can identify documents of interest without having to read through all the volumes of correspondence for a particular colony.

3. Registers versus indexes

As well as using the registers to find correspondence from this period, you can use the original Colonial Office indexes. The indexes cover correspondence from 1815 to 1870.

Whilst the registers list the incoming correspondence in order of date sent and are a more complete record of the correspondence received, the indexes conveniently group together details of correspondence (date and brief summary) by topic. For example, all the individual items of correspondence on gold mining in the colony of Victoria might be found under the heading ‘gold’ or ‘mining’ in the Victoria index. They therefore provide a very quick method of identifying the relevant correspondence. However, the keyword used may not be obvious and the indexes are not necessarily complete.

4. How to use the registers

There are separate series of registers for each former colony for each year. The registers are divided into three parts according to sender:

• Despatches – from the colonial governor
• Offices – from other government departments
• Individuals – from people or organisations outside of government

Step 1: Finding a register

Suppose we are interested in finding correspondence on the Ballarat rebellion on the goldfields of Victoria (later part of Australia but at the time a separate colony) in the early 1850s.  To locate the relevant register, search by the name of the colony and ‘Registers of Correspondence’ for the year or period in which you are interested.

Use the advanced search option in our catalogue to conduct this search:

This produces the following results:

The register which we need to view is CO 374/1.

Step 2: Interpreting a register

This is a typical page within the register:

Suppose that we are interested in the third item, register number 1283, which concerns the report of a Select Committee on the management of the goldfields. To locate an item of correspondence, we need three pieces of information:

• The name of the colony: Victoria
• The name and status of the sender: Charles La Trobe, Governor, which means that the correspondence has been filed as ‘despatches’
• The date of the item: 17th November 1853

Step 3: Locating the correspondence

Find the catalogue series for Victoria Original Correspondence with this search:

This produces the following results:

The series that we need is CO 309. Now search CO 309 for 1853, the year of our item of correspondence:

Using the dropdown menu at the top of the search results, put the results in reference order and scroll down to the relevant date (17 November 1853):

We cannot tell from the catalogue if the item of correspondence is in CO 309/18 or CO 309/19 (as they both cover 17th November), so we would need to order both volumes. In fact, the item is in CO 309/19.

Here is the front page of the correspondence:

1. Why use this guide?

Use this guide for advice on how to search for Colonial Office correspondence dating from 1815 to 1870 and now held at The National Archives. Colonial Office correspondence is an invaluable resource for studies of the history of the British Empire and the individual countries which were once British colonies.

You can search for references to the correspondence on our online catalogue but you will need to visit us to view the documents themselves. Another way to find correspondence from this period is to use the original Colonial Office registers, one set covering 1820 to 1850 and another for 1850 to 1926.

For an introduction to the Colonial Office and advice on other types of Colonial Office records see our guide to records of Colonies and dependencies from 1782.

2. What are the indexes and why are they worth using?

For the period between 1815 and 1870, Colonial Office clerks provided an index to the original correspondence received by the Office. They listed incoming correspondence by subject keyword, giving brief details of the content. For example, all the individual items of correspondence on gold mining in the colony of Victoria might be found under the heading ‘gold’ or ‘mining’ in the Victoria index. They can therefore be used as a means of locating material on a particular topic in correspondence which has not been recorded in our catalogue in detail.

The Colonial Office indexes can be a very useful research tool and they can enable you to locate quickly items on a specific topic over time, but they should be used with caution because:

• The clerks had to decide on which keyword to use. It may be that the correspondence contains information on other topics which are not indicated by the keyword.
• All the correspondence is not necessarily indexed. It appears that only correspondence received from colonial governors was included, but not that received from private individuals or organisation.
• Terminology has changed over the years. For example, ‘indigenous people’ may be ‘natives’ in the index. Be aware of the contemporary usage.

3. Indexes versus registers

As well as using the indexes to find correspondence from this period, you can use the original Colonial Office registers. The registers cover correspondence from 1820 to 1926.

While the indexes conveniently group together details of correspondence (date and brief summary) by topic, providing a very quick method of identifying the relevant correspondence, the registers are a more complete record of the correspondence received, listing the incoming correspondence in order of date sent and recording brief details of content. After 1850, the registers also, usefully, record details of the previous and next related item of correspondence.

4. How to use the indexes

All the indexes have been stored in series CO 714 and there are separate indexes for each colony.

Step 1: Find the relevant index

To find the relevant index, use the advanced search on the catalogue to search CO 714 by name of colony and date range.

For example, suppose that we are interested in quarantines in Barbados between 1830 and 1870, when there were outbreaks of cholera across much of the world. Conduct the following search:

Arrange the results in reference order by using the ‘Sorted by’ box to give the following:

All the volumes are described as ‘Indexed Précis of Incoming Correspondence’, but three are named ‘Governor’s correspondence’ or ‘Correspondence, while piece CO 714/23 is described as an ‘Alphabetical index’. There is some variation in the way these indexes are described on the catalogue, but they contain the same kind of information.

Order volume CO 714/23, the ‘Alphabetical index’.  If we look under ‘Q’ for quarantine we find the following page:

We see that there is listed (among other items) an item of correspondence dated 2 May 1832, which concerns ‘Quarantine regulations for cholera’. We already have enough information from this to locate the correct volume of original correspondence: the colony, year and the sender (the Governor).

If we examine the ‘Governor’s correspondence’ index which covers 1832, volume CO 714/20, we find the following page:

The entry gives further details about the content of the correspondence, but we do not need it to locate the item in the original correspondence series.

Step 2: Locating the volume of original correspondence

You can find out the Colonial Office original correspondence series for any colony by using the advanced search on our catalogue and searching with the name of the colony, the phrase ‘original correspondence’ and the relevant year.

The original correspondence series for Barbados is CO 28. You can now locate the relevant volume in CO 28 for the year 1832 with this search:

Put the search results in reference order by using the pull-down menu in the ‘Sorted by’ box:

We would expect find the item on quarantine to be in volume CO 28/109, which contains correspondence from the Governor of Barbados, Sir James Lyon, for 1832.

In fact, this volume has been catalogued in detail (this is not usually the case) and we can confirm, by scrolling down several pages to the date 2 May 1832, that the item we need is at CO 28/109/41:

1. Why use this guide?

This guide will help you to find records of the women’s suffrage movement and of the women and men who campaigned for the cause in the early part of the 20th century.

Our collection reflects the interests of the government and offers an insight into how it responded to civil disobedience and changes to public opinion.

Many other records of suffrage organisations and activities will be held at local or specialist archives some of which are mentioned in section 6.

2. Overview of our collection

2.1 What you might find

The National Archives holds records of central government and the major courts of law. Our collection is a rich source of information about the government’s response to militant activities and civil disobedience such as destruction of property, tax evasion and census boycotts.

Peaceful protest was of less interest to the government, although large demonstrations drew the attention of the authorities even where they were orderly and peaceful. In general, however, you will find more records relating to militant activity.

2.2 What period do the records cover?

Records are most plentiful for the period from 1905 up to the start of the First World War when many suffrage organisations suspended their campaigns. However, records from other years can also be found; for example where organisations such as the Women’s Freedom League continued to lobby the government on issues even after the start of the war.

2.3 What regions do the records cover?

Our records cover the whole of England and Wales, but the only police records we hold are from the Metropolitan Police force. Records of other police forces are held in local archives

3. What can I view online?

3.1 Suffragette collection

Some of the online records mentioned below have been brought together by Findmypast (£) into their ‘Suffragette Collection’. It includes records of disturbances, arrests and treatment of women in prison.

For more information about what is included look for the section ‘Learn more about these records’ on the Findmypast Suffragette collection browse page (£).

3.2 Cabinet papers

The Cabinet deals with the major issues of the day and the Government’s overall strategy. For more information about the Cabinet, including how to find records from before 1916, see our research guide Cabinet and its committees.

3.3 Census 1911

Search the 1911 census for records of suffrage campaigners and supporters. The census is available on Ancestry (£) and Findmypast (£).

Some suffrage supporters refused to participate in the 1911 census on the grounds that if they were not treated as citizens with a voice, they would not be counted on the census. Others made protest statements on the census forms and some enumerators made comments of their own.

Use the ‘keyword’ field on Ancestry (£) or the ‘occupation’ field on Findmypast (£) to search for entries where activists used their entry to show their support for the suffrage movement.

Our experience is that searching the census on Ancestry produces more results if you are looking for random comments entered by suffragettes and enumerators. However, if you find better results using Findmypast (£) please let us know.

Try searching the census using:

• the names or addresses of known suffrage supporters
• ‘anonymous’ in the name field
• phrases such as ‘no vote no census’ in the keyword field
• wildcard searches in the occupation or keyword field. A search in Ancestry (£) using the wildcard ‘suffrage*’ finds numerous results.

3.4 Home Office amnesty of August 1914 and suffragette arrest records

Search or browse the index of suffragettes arrested between 1906 and 1914 (HO 45/24665) on Ancestry (£).

At the outbreak of the First World War many suffrage groups suspended action, and in response the Government granted an amnesty to suffrage prisoners. In order to implement the amnesty, the Home Office compiled an index of all suffrage campaigners arrested from 1906 to 1914.

This index is the best way to look for individual campaigners whose activity put them on the wrong side of the law. It also illustrates the variety of organisations and individuals prepared to take extreme action in the suffrage cause.

Each entry includes a reference to the original documents (not available online) relating to that person’s arrest and conviction. Where these documents have survived, you can find them by searching Discovery, our catalogue, using HO followed by the reference number.

For example, the index entry for Irene Miller, arrested at Westminster on 24 October 1906 for knocking on the door of 10 Downing Street, shows the reference number 145641 in the right hand column.

Search Discovery using HO followed by the reference number 145641. This finds the record HO 144/837/145641 which details complaints of treatment in prison by suffragettes. To see these records you will need to visit us, order copies or pay for research to be done on your behalf.

3.5 Parliamentary Archives

Bills in favour of women and the vote were presented on an almost annual basis from 1870 onwards. Bills and other published parliamentary material can be accessed online via Proquest UK Parliamentary Papers. This is a subscription website you can access on TNA computers by visiting us at Kew. You may also be able to access it via a large reference library such as a university library.

3.6 Parliamentary proceedings in Hansard

Hansard is an edited record of what was said in Parliament. It also includes records of votes and written ministerial statements. The report is published daily covering the preceding day, and is followed by a bound final version.

Search the official reports of proceedings in the House of Commons and the House of Lords from the late 19th and early 20th centuries for reference to the women’s suffrage movement.

Our research guide to Hansard details different ways of accessing the reports and records of Parliamentary debates.

3.7 Women in The National Archives

Consult ‘Women in The National Archives’ by Martin Pugh, in the Adam Matthew collection (£). This is available free of charge at The National Archives or in libraries with the relevant institutional subscription.

This lists women’s studies resources in The National Archives together with original documents relating to suffrage in Britain, the Empire and colonial territories.

3.8 Newspaper reports

Search the British Newspaper Archive (£) and the Times Digital Archive (institutional subscription required) for reports in local and national papers relating to the suffrage movement.

3.9 Archival film footage

The National Archives has some film footage related to the suffragette movement available online.

• Suffragette pageant in London 1908
• News footage of buildings destroyed by suffragette protest
• Emily Davison killed at the Derby

Other film is available on the BFI National Archive website.

4. How to search our catalogue for records

4.1 General tips

When you search Discovery, our catalogue, you can apply filters such as dates, record series references and department codes, before your search by using the advanced search option.

Alternatively, you can apply filters after your search using the options on the search results page.

For more advice on searching effectively see Discovery help.

4.2 Keywords

Search Discovery, our catalogue, using keywords such as

• names of known activists (only used rarely in record descriptions so will often not get results)
• suffragist, suffragette or ‘suffrag*’ (a wildcard search)
• names of suffrage organisations (see section 4.5 for examples)
• names of offences committed such as window smashing, disturbances, demonstration
• combinations of the above

Militant suffrage supporters were known as suffragettes and non-militant campaigners were known as suffragists. Often, the government used the terms interchangeably or not at all.

If you find other keywords that bring good results please contact us to let us know.

4.3 Government department codes

Certain government departments were involved in managing the response to the suffrage movement. You can search within records created by these departments by using the associated department code reference in Discovery advanced search.

Use this code in the ‘search for or within references’ fields, along with a keyword and dates (if you wish) in the appropriate fields.

Some examples of department code references you can try are shown below along with the sort of subjects you might find covered by these departments:

• Treasury (T) – tax resistance as a form of protest
• Home Office (HO) – offences and complaints of treatment of suffragettes by police and in prison
• Metropolitan police (MEPO) – arrests of suffragettes
• Prison Commission (PCOM) – prison treatment of suffragettes
• Ministry of Transport (MT) – impact of the suffrage movement on transport
• Cabinet Office (CAB) – discussions about the suffrage movement at the top level of government (see section 3.1)

5. Suffrage organisations, protest action and legislation

5.1 Suffrage organisations

Numerous organisations pressured the government to give women the vote. Parliament.uk has a useful timeline that includes the establishment of many suffrage groups.  Search Discovery, our catalogue, using the names of suffrage organisations and the people involved in them to find relevant records. Some of the key organisations are listed below:

• 1866 Women’s Suffrage Committee formed by Barbara Bodichon
• 1867 National Society for Women’s Suffrage formed by Lydia Becker
• 1897 National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies formed by Millicent Fawcett
• 1903 Women’s Social and Political Union formed by the Pankhursts
• 1907 Women’s Freedom League (WFL) formed by Teresa Billington-Greig and Charlotte Despard
• 1908 Women’s National Anti-Suffrage League (WASL) formed by Mary Ward (Mrs Humphrey Ward)
• 1909 Women’s Tax Resistance League (WTRL) formed by Dora Montefiore

5.2 Protest action

Suffragettes favoured more militant action than suffragists. The most active organisation was the Women’s Social and Political Union led by Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst.

Action to draw attention to the cause took place across the UK. It included refusing to complete the 1911 census, protest rallies and marches and destruction of property. Many suffragettes were prosecuted and some were imprisoned.

Use the advanced search option in Discovery, our catalogue to search for records relating to arrests, prosecution and treatment in prison. Some of the key protest actions are shown below. The names of the protests and the dates they took place can be useful in searching for relevant records.

Search Discovery using keywords along with department code references MEPO for the Metropolitan Police, PCOM for the Prison Commission and HO for the Home Office. Use these department codes in the ‘search for or within references’ fields, along with a keyword and dates (if you wish) in the appropriate fields.

• 1905 First imprisonment of a suffragette, Christabel Pankhurst
• 1907 First large procession, known as the Mud March, organised by the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies
• 1908 (June) Seven processions march through London (see this video clip)
• 1908 (October) The ‘rush on Parliament’
• 1908 (October) Suffragette banner unfurled from the ladies’ gallery in the Houses of Parliament
• 1909 (July) First hunger strike action, by Marion Wallace
• 1910 (November) Black Friday demonstrations outside Houses of Parliament.
• 1912 (March) Women’s Social and Political Union window-smashing campaign in the West End of London leading to 220 arrests
• 1913 (June) Emily Davison killed by King’s horse at Epsom Derby (see this video clip)

5.3 Legislation

Try searching Discovery using the names of Acts of Parliament that relate to women’s suffrage. You could also search more generally around dates legislation was introduced to find records of events that led up to it, debates around it and reactions to it.

From as early as 1832 attempts were made to introduce legislation to give women the vote. Parliament.uk has a useful timeline of key legislation that you can use to inform your research. Some of the most useful are listed below.

• 1913 Prisoners’ Temporary Discharge for Ill-health Act – also known as ‘The Cat  and Mouse Act’ (introduced in response to hunger strikes)
• 1918 Representation of the People Act (allowed some women over 30 to vote in national elections) – this represented 40% of total population of women
• 1918 The Parliament (Qualification of Women) Act allowed women to stand as MPs

6. Records in other archives

Two key collections are in the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) Women’s Library and the University of Manchester Library: Women’s Suffrage Movement Archives

There are numerous collections of records across the UK. Use the Find an Archive tool to look for local archives or search the Archives Hub for relevant collections.

7. Further reading

7.1 Blogs

• Keeping tabs on suffragettes: the official watch list
• Motoring towards liberation
• The Hunger games
• The working women’s struggle for the vote
• Celebrating democracy for International Archives Day
• Suffragettes in the Parliamentary Archives

7.2 Printed books and articles

Many books are available in The National Archives’ reference library. You can search the library catalogue for titles of interest.

You can also visit The National Archives’ bookshop for a range of publications on women’s suffrage.

• The March of the Women: a Revisionist Analysis of the Campaign for Women’s Suffrage 1866-1914, Martin Pugh (Oxford University Press 2002)
• The Militant Suffragette Movement in York, Kristina Cowman (Borthwick Publications, 2007)
• Sex and suffrage in Britain 1860-1914, Susan Kingsley Kent (Routledge, 1990)
• The Suffragette Movement: An Intimate Account of Persons and Ideals, E Sylvia Pankhurst (Wharton Press, 2010)
• Rise up, women!: The Militant Campaign of the Women’s Social and Political Union, 1903-1914, Andrew Rosen (Routledge, 2012)
• Separate Spheres: The Opposition to Women’s Suffrage in Britain, Brian Harrison (Routledge, 2012)
• Women and the Women’s Movement in Britain, 1914-1959, Martin Pugh (Marlowe & Co, 1995)
• Suffrage and Power: the Women’s Movement 1918-1928, Cheryl Law (I.B.Tauris, 1997)
• Vanishing for the Vote: Suffrage, Citizenship and the Battle for the Census, Jill Liddington (Manchester University Press, 2014)
• Women, Welfare and Local Politics, 1880-1920: ‘We Might be Trusted’, Steven King (Sussex Academic Press, 2006)
• Rebel Girls: Their Fight for the Vote, Jill Liddington (Virago Press, 2008)
• Sophia: Princess, Suffragette, Revolutionary, Anita Anand (Bloomsbury, 2015)
• Women’s suffrage and government control 1906-1922: papers from the Cabinet, Home Office and Metropolitan Police files in the Public Record Office (Adam Matthew Publications, 2000)

8. Other resources

8.1 Audio recordings

The National Archives has recorded podcasts available online.

• No vote no census
• Vanishing for the vote: diverse suffragettes boycott the 1911 census

8.2 Websites

• The National Archives Education pages on suffragette history
• The Parliamentary Archives women and the vote pages
• Woman and her Sphere

1. Why use this guide?

This guide will help you find records of people sentenced to transportation or whose death sentences were reduced to transportation. The National Archives holds records of many criminal trials and convictions – as well as convict voyages, censuses and pardons – and this guide explains how these are indexed and how they can be searched. It also contains background information on the history of criminal transportation.

2. Transportation to America and the West Indies

Before 1776, convicts sentenced to transportation were sent to North America and the West Indies. Few records of these individuals survive, though it may be possible to find records of a conviction in records of assizes or the Old Bailey.

A list of men and women transported to North America between 1614 and 1775 is included in The Complete Book of Emigrants in Bondage 1614-1775 by Peter Wilson Coldham. The list also details where each person was tried.

Bonded Passengers to America, also by Peter Wilson Coldham, gives a detailed overview of all relevant records and published sources in The National Archives. Finding out more about a person transported to North America or the West Indies is likely to be difficult.

Consult our guide to America and West Indies in the calendar of State Papers Colonial for advice on finding records.

The American Revolution of 1776 meant that transportation to North America was no longer possible. Sentences of transportation were still passed, with convicts held in prison while the government considered alternative destinations. The prisons soon became overcrowded and extra accommodation had to be provided in derelict ships (or hulks) moored in coastal waters. The solution was to develop new penal colonies in modern day Australia, and on 13 May 1787 the first fleet set sail.

3.Transportation to Australia

After 1776, criminal transportation was to penal settlements in modern-day Australia, specifically New South Wales and Van Diemen’s Land (modern-day Tasmania). Convicted prisoners could be sentenced to transportation for a set term, 7 or 14 years, or life. Increasingly, during the 19^th century, criminals sentenced to death had their sentence reduced to transportation. Transportees could gain limited freedom in the colony through a ticket of leave or conditional pardon. They could only return to their home country on completion of their sentences or if granted a full pardon.

Transportation did not cease until 1868, but it had been effectively stopped as a sentence in 1857 and had become unusual well before that date. During its 80-year history 158,702 convicts arrived in Australia from England and Ireland, as well as 1,321 from other parts of the Empire.

Many more records survive from this period and most records are searchable online.

3.1 Bermuda, Gibraltar, Western Australia and South Australia

Some convicts sentenced to transportation found themselves sent to places which were not penal settlements.

Convicts sent to Bermuda or Gibraltar were employed in work improving or building the dockyards. If they survived they were returned to Britain on completion of their sentences.

In the 1840s the British government started granting some prisoners sentenced to transportation conditional pardons before sending them to places that did not receive convicts. A relatively small number of young offenders were sent from Parkhurst Prison to Western Australia as apprentices.

Pardons were conditional on the convict not leaving until the expiry of their original sentence.

The record sources for pardoned convicts sent to places other than penal settlements are essentially the same as for more conventional transportation.

4. Online records

Criminals, convicts and prisoners, 1770-1934

Assorted records of criminals, convicts and prisoners can be searched on Findmypast.co.uk (charges apply). Though many do not relate to criminal transportation, they may confirm if a prisoner was sentenced to be transported.

The collection includes

• HO 8 Quarterly returns of prisoners – including those on hulks awaiting transportation.
• HO 13 Correspondence and warrants – includes copies of instructions to governors of gaols listing prisoners to be transported and records of pardons.
• HO 17 and HO 18 Petitions – letters and petitions pleading for reductions in sentences or pardons from prisoners, including those already transported. See our guide to Convicted Criminals for more information.

Criminal Registers, 1791-1892

Search Criminal Registers for England and Wales (HO 26 and HO 27) on Ancestry to find details of sentences passed on prisoners.

Convict Transportation Registers, HO 11

Transportation registers list the names of convicts transported on particular ships along with where they were convicted, their crime and sentence.

Registers for 1791-1868 (excluding the third fleet) can be searched by name on Ancestry.

Digital images of the registers can also be downloaded from Discovery but cannot be searched by name of convict. Search or browse HO 11 in Discovery by name of the transport ship.

Lists of convicts and settlers, HO 10

Lists of male and female convicts and pardons can be downloaded from Discovery but are not searchable by name.

Lists give particulars as to

• convict sentences, employment and other information
• lists of pardons granted
• lists of convicts embarked for and arriving in New South Wales
• general musters relating to settlers and convicts

Browse Discovery for lists from

• New South Wales (including 1828 census) from 1788
• Tasmania (Van Diemen’s Land) from 1846

5. Surgeon’s journals, ADM 101 and MT 32

Convicts were transported to Australia on hired merchant vessels and a Royal Navy surgeon was appointed to each vessel to take charge of the convicts and provide medical care during the voyage. The surgeons were required to keep journals and submit them to the Admiralty and many survive in our series ADM 101 and MT 32. As well as describing medical treatment, these journals often contain the surgeon’s remarks on the journey.

Search ADM 101 in Discovery by name of the convict vessel to see if a journal survives.

You can also search ADM 101 using a convict’s name but the journals do not contain complete lists of convicts, only convicts receiving medical treatment are likely to be listed.

A smaller series of journals from 1858-1867 is in MT 32 listed by name of ship and date.

6. Australian sources

A great deal of information can be obtained from Australian websites where data has been compiled from a variety of sources, including some of the records listed above and some from records held in Australia.

Index to Tasmanian convicts, 1804-1853

Search the index to Tasmanian convicts (archives council of Tasmania) by name see some digitised records, including conduct records, indents and descriptions.

The Female Convicts Research Centre

The Female Convicts Research Centre promotes interest in the female convicts of Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania), by encouraging and facilitating research and has a database of information on female convicts and information on their lives in Tasmania.

Convict records of Australia

The Convict Records website can be searched by name to find when a convict arrived, his crime, sentence and the ship he was transported on. A search online is probably the easiest way to establish if someone was transported.

Trove

Digitised newspapers, gazettes and journals can be searched on the TROVE website.

The Australian Dictionary of Biography

The Australian Dictionary of Biography is Australia’s pre-eminent dictionary of national biography. In it you will find concise, informative and fascinating descriptions of the lives of significant and representative persons in Australian history, including convicts and administrators of the penal settlements.

7. Convicts transported from Ireland

The National Archives of Ireland has a range of records relating to transportation from Ireland to Australia and a searchable database. Records include transportation registers and petitions to the Lord Lieutenant.

Further information can be found in their research guide.

8. Further reading

Some or all of the recommended publications below may be available to buy from The National Archives’ Bookshop. Alternatively, search our library catalogue to see which are available to consult in the reading rooms.

Some or all of the recommended publications below may be available to buy from The National Archives’ Bookshop. Alternatively, search our library catalogue to see which are available to consult in the reading rooms.

Peter Wilson Coldham, The Complete Book of Emigrants in Bondage 1614-1775

Peter Wilson Coldham, Bonded Passengers to America

Charles Bateson, The Convict Ships 1787-1868 (1983)

Alan Brooke, and David Brandon, Bound for Botany Bay: British convict voyages to Australia (2005)

P G Fidlon and R J Ryan (eds), The first fleeters: a comprehensive listing of convicts, marines, seamen, officers, wives, children and ships (1981)

Michael Flynn, The second fleet: Britain’s grim convict armada of 1790 (2001)

Mollie Gillen, The founders of Australia: a biographical dictionary of the first fleet (1989)

David T Hawkings, Bound for Australia (2012)

David T Hawkings, Criminal ancestors: a guide to historical criminal records in England and Wales (2009)

Robert Hughes, The fatal shore: a history of transportation of convicts to Australia, 1787-1868 (1987)

L L Robson, The convict settlers of Australia : an enquiry into the origin and character of the convicts transported to New South Wales and Van Diemen’s Land 1787-1852 (1965)

R J Ryan (ed), The second fleet convicts: a comprehensive listing of convicts who sailed in HMS Guardian, Lady Juliana, Neptune, Scarborough and Surprise (1982)

1. Why use this guide?

This guide will help you to search for British Army records of soldiers who served between the 18th and early 20th centuries and covers the service of soldiers who were discharged right up until just before the start of the First World War.

Although Britain has had a regular standing army since around 1660, there are few personnel records before the early 18th century.

The advice here applies to records of non-commissioned officer ranks, which include:

• Private
• Lance Corporal
• Corporal
• Sergeant
• Warrant Officer

The Ministry of Defence website gives more detail on British Army ranks. For records of commissioned officers see our British Army officers up to 1913 guide.

2. The surviving records

Finding information on a soldier’s service prior to the First World War presents a different and generally more complicated puzzle than it does from the First World War onwards. Self-contained service records of the kind created and retained for the First World War itself, and subsequently, do not exist. In most cases, a soldier’s service must, instead, be pieced together using the mixture of records that survive. These records typically include regimental muster books and pay lists, discharge papers and pension records. Attestation records were created but relatively few survive and those that do tend to be found only among the papers of those discharged to pensions.

In general, if a soldier died in service or/and did not receive an army pension it is much less likely there will be any detailed record of his service – muster rolls and pay lists may be all that survive.

3. Online records

Many of the most detailed records of soldiers from this period are available online and it is possible to search for these records with no more than a soldier’s name, though you will usually need some way of distinguishing him from other soldiers with the same name, such as his date of birth.

3.1 British Army service, pension and discharge records 1703-1913

Search and download British Army service, pension and discharge records from findmypast.co.uk (£). These records were, in the vast majority of cases, originally retained for pension purposes.

The records include:

• service records from the Royal Hospital Chelsea 1760-1913 (WO 97) – before 1883 these records are usually only for men who were discharged and received a pension; from 1883 to 1913 the series includes soldiers who were discharged to pension and those who were discharged for other reasons, such as termination of limited engagements or discharge by purchase
• records of pension payments 1842-1883 (WO 22)
• Royal Hospital Chelsea admission books, registers and other papers 1702-1933 (WO 23) – view a breakdown of this varied set of records in our catalogue
• soldiers discharged from the Army between 1787 and 1813 and awarded a Chelsea out-pension (WO 121)
• soldiers awarded deferred pensions from 1838-1896 (WO 131)
• Pension records, discharge documents and reports of medical boards on invalids for men who served in foreign regiments 1816-1817 (WO 122)

The records do not usually include:

• documents of soldiers who died in service (see section 8 for these)
• documents of soldiers who were discharged by purchase

See sections 4, 5 and 6 for more advice on pension and discharge records, including how to find those that are not online.

3.2 Campaign medals 1793-1949

Search by name in the campaign medal and award rolls (WO 100) on Ancestry.co.uk (£) for records of medals awarded for service. The medal rolls do not usually contain biographical information. You can also search these records on microfilm at The National Archives at Kew, but you will need to know the campaign and the relevant regiment to use these records.

3.3 Soldiers and militiamen discharged due to disability 1715-1913

Download, free of charge, digital microfilm copies of Royal Hospital Chelsea admissions books for soldier with disabilities 1715-1873. These registers list men awarded out-pensions following their discharge from the regular army or the militia on grounds of disability (WO 116/1-165). See our guide to free online records for advice on how to use digital microfilm.

More records of disability pensions are available in series PIN 71 but these records are not available online – see section 4 for more details.

3.4 Soldiers awarded pensions for length of service 1823-1913

Download, free of charge, digital microfilm copies of admission books from Royal Hospital Chelsea for pensions awarded to soldiers for length of service 1823-1913 (WO 117). See our guide to free online records for advice on how to use digital microfilm.

3.5 Imperial Yeomanry in the Boer War (South African War) 1899-1902

Search for and download attestation and discharge papers (£) from findmypast.co.uk for men serving in the Imperial Yeomanry during the Second Boer War, also know as the South African War (WO 128).

See section 10 for advice on finding other Boer War records.

3.6 Soldiers in the Household Cavalry 1799-1920

Search for and download service records of the Household Cavalry (£), including the Life Guards, Royal Horse Guards and Household Battalion 1799-1920 from record series WO 400.

3.7 Soldiers discharged from the Army in Ireland 1783-1822: certificates of service

Search for and download certificates of service (£) from records series WO 119 on findmypast.co.uk for men awarded out-pensions by the Board of Kilmainham Hospital.

3.8 Royal Hospital Chelsea regimental registers of pensioners who served in Canada 1713-1882

Search the Royal Hospital Chelsea regimental registers of pensioners who served in Canada (£) between 1713 and 1882 from record series WO 97 and WO 120 on Ancestry.co.uk.

4. Beyond online records: searching for records at The National Archives in Kew

There remains a significant number of British Army records for soldiers from this period that cannot be viewed online. To view these records, the most significant of which are highlighted in the following sections of this guide, you will either need to visit us to view them in person at our building in Kew, order copies of records to be sent to you (you will need the exact reference for the record) or pay for research.

Where records have not been digitised you will usually need to know which regiment an individual served in to find records of him. This is especially so if he was, like most soldiers, not discharged to pension.

There are various ways to approach this research but the following steps provide a logical order to follow (assuming the soldier did not die in service):

Step 1: Search for a pension record (see sections 5 and 6)

Step 2: Search for the soldier in muster rolls and pay lists (see section 7)

In the absence of a pension record and without a known date of discharge the best place to start a search is in the muster rolls and pay lists. You will need to know either where in the world he served at any point during his service or at least one of the regiments he served with to make a start.

Of limited detail by themselves, tracing a soldier’s career through the muster lists should lead you to a discharge date and would therefore allow you to find a record of discharge – likely to be the most detailed record available if the soldier did not receive an army pension.

Step 3: Search for a record of discharge (see section 8)

Most soldiers were not discharged to pension and for those that weren’t the number and detail of surviving records is likely to be reduced. There are still, however, records which you can search for.

5. Soldiers discharged to pension

Some of the most detailed documents of soldiers’ service up until the First World War are records that were kept for pension purposes. If an individual received an army pension there is a better than average chance that there will be a record for him.

5.1 The royal hospitals for British Army pensioners

Most of the pre-First World War British Army pension records held at The National Archives originate from the Royal Hospital Chelsea in London and the Royal Hospital Kilmainham in Dublin. These were hospitals set up, in 1679 and 1681 respectively, to administer army pensions and look after army pensioners.

The hospitals in Ireland and England reflected the separate army establishments for the two countries, which did not become joined until the Act of Union in 1800.

From the late 17th century, soldiers who left the army with a disabling injury, as invalids or after completing an agreed term of service, were entitled to a pension from one of these two army veterans hospitals.

In December 1822 the payment of Kilmainham out-pensions was taken over by Chelsea Hospital, whilst in-pensioners remained in Kilmainham until 1929, when the last transferred to Chelsea.

5.2 In-pensioners and out-pensioners

Some ex-soldiers became residents of these veterans hospitals and were known as in-pensioners. Most, however, were out-pensioners, receiving a pension administered by the hospitals but not actually residing in them. Both in-pensioners and out-pensioners are often referred to simply as pensioners, or sometimes Chelsea pensioners.

To be eligible for admission as an in-pensioner a man had to be a life pensioner of the army (that is, in receipt of a service or disability pension), aged 55 or more (unless in receipt of a disability pension) and free from the responsibility of supporting a wife or children.

5.3 How to find out if someone received a British Army pension

It is not always possible to find this out other than by looking for a pension record but a useful alternative source is the census. Many individuals are listed on census records as “Army pensioner”.

Censuses from 1841 to 1911 are available to search and view online. For more details on how to access and search for censuses, see our guide to census records.

5.4 How to search for and view pension records

Many of the most significant series of British Army pension records are now available to view online (see section 2). Some records of this type, however, are not available online. Though some can be found searching with a soldier’s name, in general it will help to know when an ex-soldier was drawing his pension, or, even more usefully, to have at least a rough idea of when a soldier was first granted his pension.

Search for the following records by clicking on the series reference below and searching by soldier’s name:

• Personal case files on pensions awarded for disability arising from service in the Army or Navy before the First World War, including case files for widows of such servicemen, in PIN 71

Search for the following records by clicking on the series references below and using the date boxes to search either by date of admission to pension or by the dates during which an ex-soldier was in receipt of a pension:

• Pension admission books from Royal Hospital Kilmainham 1704-1922 in WO 118
• Soldiers awarded out-pensions following their discharge from the regular army or the militia on grounds of disability in WO 116 – some of these records are available to view online (see section 2)
• Registers of admissions to pensions from Royal Hospital Chelsea arranged by regiment in WO 120. There is a name index for 1806-1836 only, and the volumes for 1839-1843 each have an index included.

Search for the following records by clicking on the references to ranges of piece numbers below and browsing through the range:

• Pensioners’ certificates from Royal Hospital Chelsea 1799-1892 – only a small sample has been retained, in WO 900/9-38
• Pensioners’ certificates from Royal Hospital Kilmainham 1798-1817 – only a small sample has been retained, in WO 900/39-42
• Men discharged with free, free modified, deferred and purchased pensions 1830-1870 in WO 25/3850-3868

6. Soldiers discharged to pension in British colonies and black soldiers

There are discrete sets of records for out-pensioners based overseas.

Records of payments made to pensioners living overseas, whether in British colonies or foreign countries, are held in series WO 22 and WO 23, available to search and download on Findmypast.co.uk (£), as described in section 3.

You can use the ‘Series’ and ‘Additional keywords’ search functions on Findmypast’s British Army Service Records page to search within the records of payments made to British Army pensioners overseas. Select WO 22 and WO 23 from the series list and, to narrow your search further, place a country name in the additional keywords field:

Use Findmypast.co.uk (£) in the same way to search for pension records from a Foreign and Colonial subseries of WO 23 specifically for:

• a small number of Indian Army pensioners (most records for Indian Army pensioners are held by the British Library)
• a small number East India Company pensioners (most records for East India Company pensioners are held by the British Library)
• black soldiers, described in the original records as “negro” pensioners

7. Monthly and quarterly regimental muster rolls and pay lists 1732-1898

Though the appearance of individuals on muster rolls and pay lists are not determiners of whether or not they received a pension, they are particularly useful records for men who were not discharged to pension as they provide the enlistment date, movements and discharge date of all soldiers in the British Army.

Refer to the British Army muster rolls and pay lists c.1730-1898 research guide to find out which series to consult for the period 1732 to 1878. For 1878 to 1898, browse WO 16 to find the relevant regiment or regimental district.

8. Discharge papers 1817-1888

Trying to trace an individual soldier in this way can be time-consuming, with no guarantee of success. The registers are not complete but they are a useful potential source of information. A number of these pieces contain information on soldiers whose discharge document would not be in WO 97 (see section 3).

Discharge dates 1817-1829

• Soldiers who purchased their discharge (and would therefore not have received a pension) in WO 25/3845-3847

Discharge dates 1830-1838

• Register of men discharged at their own request WO 25/3848-3849

Discharge dates 1852-1870

• Soldiers discharged during their first period of service; discharged as ‘incorrigible’, discharged ‘with ignominy’; sentenced to penal servitude or 21 years with militia, 1852-1870 in WO 25/3869-3874
• Soldiers discharged when a regiment reduced its numbers 1856-1857 in WO 25/3879
• Soldiers discharged under the terms of the new Limited Service Act 1866-1870 in WO 25/3883
• Soldiers discharged on return from India 1863-1870 in WO 12/13077-13090

Discharge dates 1871-1888

• On return from India 1871-1878 in WO 12/13091-13105
• General register 1871-1884 in WO 121/223-238
• Gosport discharge depot musters 1882-1888 in WO 16/2284 and WO 16/2888-2916 (there is an index for 1883-1888)

9. Soldiers who died in service

If a soldier died in service the principal personnel records that were retained for soldiers (those used for pension purposes) are less likely to exist. There are, however, some records that were created as a result of a soldier dying in service:

• Records of deaths and the effects (possessions) of dead soldiers in a subseries within WO 25
• Registers of authorities to deal with the effects (possessions) of dead soldiers 1810-1822 in WO 25/2966-2971. These records include:
  • regiment
  • period of death
  • amount of effects and credits
  • date of order to agent
  • agent’s name
  • person applying (usually next of kin) and his or her address
• Soldiers’ effects ledgers 1862-1881 in WO 25/3475-3501 (WO 25/3491-3501 are indexes to WO 25/3475-3490). The National Army Museum holds a set for April 1901-March 1960 (see section 11.3). The ledgers were created as a list of the monies owed to soldiers who died in service. They do not list any personal items that may have been returned to the next of kin. The information they typically contain is:
  • full name
  • regimental number
  • date of death and sometimes the place
  • next of kin
  • monies paid to the next of kin
  • records from 1901-1914 also detail the date of enlistment and trade
• Less informative but still helpful, as they give the regiment, are an index of effects from 1830 in WO 25/2974 and a register of effects and credits 1830-1844 in WO 25/2975

10. Royal Artillery personnel records

Until 1855 ordnance troops, which included the Royal Artillery, were the responsibility of the Board of Ordnance, not the War Office. There are therefore some series of records specifically for Royal Artillery personnel.

10.1 Royal Artillery service records and other papers

Search by name of a non-commissioned officer or soldier in our catalogue within WO 69 for records of the Royal Artillery which include:

• description books
• records of service, including original attestation papers
• registers of marriages and baptisms
• registers of deceased soldiers
• some records of transfer of men to the Army Reserve
• pension registers
• description book of the Royal Irish Artillery 1756-1774
• miscellaneous correspondence

Supplementary records of services are preserved for soldiers in the Royal Artillery, 1791 to 1855, and the Royal Horse Artillery, 1803 to 1863, in WO 69.

• You can search by name in our catalogue within WO 69.
• This series also contains other useful material, up to 1913.

10.2 Royal Artillery pension records 1770-1913

Artillery pensions were paid by the Ordnance Office until 1834, when the Royal Hospital Chelsea took over. The records are in the following series:

You can search and download (£) British Army casualty lists from the Second World War. The term ‘casualty’ covers anyone in the British Army who was killed, wounded or missing.

These are digitised records from The National Archives record series WO 417.

For more information on what these records contain see findmypast.co.uk.

1. Why use this guide?

This guide will help you to find records relating to the experience and influence of black British people in the 20th century. It focuses on the records held here, at The National Archives, that relate to civil rights and race relations. It will also direct you to records held elsewhere.

If you are interested in earlier records, browse our ‘Help with your research’ page to find other suitable research guides. If your interest is family history you should start with the research guides under the family history category.

For the purposes of this guide, we use ‘black British’ to mean Britons with African and Caribbean ancestry. There is ongoing discussion about terminology relating to race, and we welcome your views on our approach.

2. Key events, organisations and legislation

Some key events, organisations and legislation that it might be useful to know about:

• 1919 uprisings in London, Cardiff and Liverpool
• 1931 Dr Harold Moody establishes the League of Coloured Peoples
• 1948 British Nationality Act
• 1948 SS Empire Windrush arrives at Tilbury
• 1958 uprisings in London and Nottingham
• 1962 Commonwealth Immigrants Act
• 1958-1966 Notting Hill Carnival begins (exact date is disputed)
• 1963 Bristol bus boycott
• 1965, 1968 and 1975 Race Relations Acts
• 1967 British Black Panther party established
• 1970 Trial of the Mangrove Nine
• 1979 Royal Commission on Criminal Procedure (led to repeal of the ‘Sus laws’)
• 1981 Brixton uprisings and Lord Scarman report
• 1999 Macpherson Report published following the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry

We know there are records in our collection that refer to some of these events, but we have not found records that relate to all of them. If you come across information in your research that you think would be of interest to other researchers, please email us.

3. How to view records

Discovery, our catalogue, lists records held by The National Archives as well as over 2500 other archives in the UK and some abroad. The arrangements to see records will vary between archives.

For records held by The National Archives, the online catalogue description will indicate whether you can view records online. For records not available online, the catalogue description will include an option to order paper or digital copies to be sent to you.

You can also visit us to do your research here in person – check our website for opening hours, closure dates and details of the two valid forms of ID you must bring to look at original documents. If you can’t visit in person you can request a paid search.

If the catalogue description shows the records are held at another archive you will need to contact that archive directly for access arrangements.

4. What records can I view online?

Some useful collections of records are available online. They represent mostly high level official activity, but there are also some records with a more personal flavour.

4.1 Cabinet papers

Read our research guide to Cabinet and its committees for advice on searching our catalogue for cabinet papers.

The archived Cabinet Papers site has themed pages which you can browse, some with links to downloadable documents. The theme of ‘Law, liberty and society’ covers Cabinet papers on race relations but you might also find useful material under other themes.

4.2 Parliamentary papers

Search Proquest UK Parliamentary Papers for published House of Commons Parliamentary Papers from 1715 to the present, as well as some House of Lords Sessional Papers; local, private and personal Acts; and some Journals of the House of Lords and House of Commons. This is a subscription website you can access on The National Archives’ computers by visiting us at Kew. You may also be able to access it via a large reference library such as a university library.

Discussions in Parliament can be found in Hansard, which is available online on the Parliament website. Please note there are some volumes missing from the online data.

Our research guide to Hansard details different ways of accessing the reports and records of Parliamentary debates.

4.3 Legislation

Search legislation.gov.uk for relevant legislation. This could include specific race relations legislation but also legislation such as the 1824 Vagrancy Act (‘Sus law’) which caused conflict and protest. Please note that not all historical legislation is available online. For more information see our research guide on Original Acts of Parliament and Royal Assent.

4.4 Moving here

Browse the Moving Here website under the Caribbean heading. Sections on working lives, politics and culture and festivals include some digitised original documents. Please note that this website has been archived and is no longer updated so some of the functions may no longer work.

4.5 British Newspaper Archive

Search the British Newspaper Archive (£), also available over Findmypast (£), and The Times Digital Archive (institutional subscription required) for articles relating to political and social history.

Local libraries may have their own subscriptions to these online archives that you can use.

As when searching within other archives you should search using the language of the time to find relevant reports and articles. You can also search for particular people, places and events by name.

5. How our catalogue works

Discovery, our catalogue, contains descriptions of records held by us and over 2,500 other archives across the UK and some abroad.

The record titles and descriptions were written at the time the records were created. Quite often they use language that is now out of date and sometimes offensive, but once records are transferred to us we don’t alter them. The terminology used by the people that created the records is part of the story they tell.

The records relating to the civil rights protests and race relations legislation of the 20th century are relatively easy to identify because the record descriptions often include references to race.

In most other instances there will be nothing in the record description to indicate whether it is specifically relevant to black British history. You will need to be creative and speculative in how you search.

6. Searching our catalogue for records

Use the main Discovery search or the Advanced search page. Try the search strategies outlined below.

The advanced search option allows you to build your searches more precisely by restricting dates and other criteria from the start. Other sections of this guide will give you some ideas about which National Archives departments and series to search within. For more information about using Discovery effectively see Discovery help.

6.1 Using broad searches

Search using broad terms that will produce plenty of results but may not all be relevant. Use the filters on the search results page to narrow down your results by date, government department and other criteria. Try terms such as:

• race relations
• racism
• racial discrimination
• colour bar
• prejudice
• civil rights
• black power

6.2 Using specific search terms

Search more specifically such as around employment, housing and education using terms such as:

• black
• colour and coloured
• Caribbean and West Indian
• African

Combine these terms with: workers, employees, employment, students, tenants, landlords, housing, immigration and immigrants or other words relevant to your research.

6.3 Searching for people and events

Search more specifically around people or events, some of which are highlighted at section 2. Try searching for:

• names of activists (though many names that appear in the content of the records do not appear in the catalogue titles or descriptions)
• names of political organisations
• particular protest action such as marches and uprisings (use the search term ‘riot’)
• court cases, legislation and public enquiries

If you come across any material or search terms that might be useful to others interested in this subject we would like to hear from you. Please email us about your research experience.

7. Government policy on race relations

During the 20th century, increased government recognition of discrimination led to changes in policy.

Try searching the catalogue using ‘policy’ combined with relevant terms such as:

• racial or race discrimination
• coloured people
• West Indian, Caribbean, African
• immigration

A general search of the catalogue for ‘race relations policy‘ finds records from key government departments such as:

• Commission for Racial Equality (CK)
• Cabinet Office (CAB)
• Department of Employment (LAB)
• Home Office (HO)

Getting an understanding of the departments involved in policy can help to inform further searches.

Use the Advanced search option in Discovery to search within the records of one or more of these departments in more depth to find records relating to the development and implementation of policy. Discovery help explains how to do this.

8. Civil rights struggles in the UK

Records at The National Archives reflect the government’s response to the civil rights movement in the UK and also that in the United States.

8.1 The government’s response to civil unrest

The British civil rights struggle prompted a backlash from the State and many activists were charged with criminal offences such as riot and disturbance.

Read our overview guides to civil court cases and criminal court cases to learn about what records survive and how to search them.

Alternatively, use the advanced search option in Discovery and search within the records of particular departments such as those listed below. Discovery help explains how to do this.

• Metropolitan Police (MEPO)
• Home Office (HO)
• Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP)
• Assizes (ASSI)
• King’s Bench (KB)
• Central Criminal Court (CRIM)
• Other court records (JUST)

8.2 Civil rights organisations

You can search Discovery for records relating to the various civil rights organisations that formed in the 20th century. Searches for the organisations listed below produce useful results, but there may be other organisations worth searching for.

• Black Power
• Black Panther
• League of Coloured Peoples
• Universal Coloured People’s Association
• Negro Welfare Association
• West African Students’ Union
• West Indian Standing Conference
• Black Unity and Freedom Party
• Campaign Against Racial Discrimination

9. Race Relations Board and Commission for Racial Equality

The Race Relations Board was established following the 1965 Race Relations Act. From 1976 this was replaced by the Commission for Racial Equality. The three record series from these and other bodies dealing with the rights and welfare of ethnic minority communities are:

• CK 1 – copies of annual reports
• CK 2 – minutes and papers of the Race Relations Board and local conciliation committees (including cases brought by individuals under the Act)
• CK 3 – minutes and other files of the Community Relations Council

The description of the CK record series explains in more depth what you might find within these records.

Use the advanced search option in the catalogue to search within records from the Commission.

10. Employment and industrial relations

Black Britons have faced discrimination from employers and Trade Unions. The 1948 Nationality Act actively encouraged Caribbean workers to join the British labour force after the Second World War, but they still faced hostility and prejudice in both housing and employment.

To find records relating to employment and industrial relations, search Discovery using terms such as ‘discrimination’ and use the filters to narrow down your results.

Alternatively, use the advanced search option in Discovery and restrict your search to particular government departments such as those below. Discovery help explains how to do this.

• Board of Trade, Department of Employment and Ministry of Labour (LAB).
• British Transport Commission and British Railways Board (AN)
• Records of the Registry of Trade Unions and Employers Associations (NF)

For collections of records held elsewhere see our research guide on Labour history records held by other archives.

11. Records in other archives

There are many useful records held in archives across the UK. Some relevant collections are shown below but this is by no means a comprehensive list.

• The Huntley Archives at the London Archives
• Black Cultural Archives
• Institute of Race Relations
• George Padmore Institute
• Bernie Grant Archive at the Bishop’s Gate Institute
• Local archives – use the Find an archive tool to search for local archives, or search Discovery and refine your results to select records from other archives.
• Historic England – the Slave Trade and Abolition
• British Library
• The Modern Records Centre – includes the archives of the Trades Union Congress, the Transport and General Workers Union and the Confederation of British Industry.
• Church of England Archives – includes material relating to The British Council of Churches and what are known as Black Majority Churches in the UK.

12. Further reading

12.1 Website reading resources

• Black and white on the buses (about the Bristol bus boycott 1963)
• V&A black heritage pages
• Moving Here website
• Black Cultural Archives (see their subject guides)
• The National Archives blogs

12.2 Printed resources

These books are all available in The National Archives’ reference library. You may also be able to find them in a local library. You can buy from a wide range of history titles in our shop.

Peter Fryer, Staying Power (London: Pluto, 1984)

David Dabydeen and John Gilmore, The Oxford Companion to Black British history (Oxford University Press, 2007)

Clive Harris, Configurations of racism: the civil service, 1945-60 (Institute of Race Relations)

Jacqueline Jenkinson, Black 1919: Riots, Racism and Resistance in Imperial Britain (Liverpool University Press, 2009)

Robert Winder, Bloody foreigners: the story of immigration to Britain (London: Little, Brown, 2004)

Lorna Chessum, From immigrants to ethnic minority: making black community in Britain (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2000)

Adolph Edwards, Marcus Garvey 1887-1940 (London: New Beacon Books, 1967)

Complementing teachers: a practical guide to promoting race equality in schools Runnymede Trust (London: Granada Learning, 2003)

Black history: the present in the past Institute of Race Relations (London: Sage, 2003)

Richard Smith, Jamaican volunteers in the First World War: race, masculinity and the development of national consciousness (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2004)

Black and Asian Studies Association newsletter (London: Black and Asian Studies Association, 1991)

Zig Layton-Henry, The politics of immigration immigration, ‘race‘ and ‘race‘ relations in post-war Britain (Oxford Blackwell 1992)

Ronald Hyam, The Labour government and the end of Empire, 1945-1951. part IV, Race relations and the commonwealth (London: H.M.S.O. for the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, 1992)

Thomas C Holt, The problem of freedom: race, labor, and politics in Jamaica and Britain, 1832-1938 (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992)

Panikos Panayi, Racial violence in Britain, 1840-1950 (Leicester University Press, 1993)

Marika Sherwood, Many struggles: West Indian workers and service personnel in Britain (1939-45) (London Karia, 1984)

1. Why use this guide?

Use this guide for advice on how to search for Foreign Office correspondence dating from 1782 to 1890 and now held at The National Archives. You will need to visit us to carry out a search and view the documents. For advice on other types of Foreign Office records see our broader overview guide.

Foreign Office correspondence is a rich source of information on the history of British relations with foreign states and can also provide insights into past domestic issues in foreign countries.

There are tens of thousands of records of general correspondence at The National Archives, ranging from letters, both personal and official, telegrams and despatches, to reports, notes and memos and anything else that was sent from one place or person to another in the business of the Foreign Office.

2. The essential search tools: Foreign Office indexes and registers

To identify Foreign Office correspondence from 1782 to 1890 relevant to a particular country, person or subject area, you will need to use the Foreign Office indexes and registers which make up series FO 605.

These indexes and registers were created and used by the staff of the Foreign Office itself in the 19th century – not all the correspondence to which they refer was sent for preservation to The National Archives so today some index and register entries refer to documents which no longer exist.

The indexes, registers and correspondence have not been digitised and therefore cannot be viewed online. To view them you will need to visit The National Archives or pay for research.

3. How to use the indexes and registers to find correspondence

Follow the steps below to work your way from the indexes to the registers, both on microfilm, and finally to the paper correspondence itself.

Step 1: Identify the relevant index

Use the FO 605 series search in Discovery, our catalogue, and search by country name. This will provide you with an FO 605 reference number for the relevant microfilm roll.

Some countries have several indexes split up chronologically.

Step 2: Identify the relevant entry in the index

Retrieve the relevant microfilm roll from the drawers in the Open Reading Room.

There are often several volumes of indexes per microfilm roll and the volume you need will not necessarily be the first one on the film.

The indexes are arranged alphabetically, with each page divided into two columns, ‘subjects’ and ‘persons’, as shown in this index page for correspondence about China:

You may have to do some lateral thinking to find your way around the subject index terms used as it is not always obvious how the Foreign Office would have originally categorised a subject.

Once you have identified entries of interest, write down the corresponding registry volume and page numbers, as shown here:

Step 3: Identify the relevant register

Use the FO 605 series search in our online catalogue to search by country name and volume number (abbreviating volume to ‘vol’). This will provide you with another FO 605 reference number for the relevant microfilm roll, as in these search results of a search for Volume 4 of the register for China:

Step 4: Identify the relevant entry in the register

Retrieve the relevant microfilm roll from the drawers in the Open Reading Room.

Scroll through the microfilm until you reach the relevant volume (the volume number appears at the bottom of the page) and the relevant page (the page number appears in the top corner, above the line).

The register will provide you with:

• The original correspondence volume number
• The despatch number
• The subject

Entries in red ink are for telegrams.

Step 5: Find the relevant despatch

You will first need to identify the original correspondence record series for your country. To do so, you can:

• Use the list of correspondence series by country in our catalogue
• Ask for the printed list at the enquiries desks in the Open Reading Room

Once you have established the relevant series (for China, for example, it’s FO 17) you will need to establish the piece number within it – you do this simply by adding the original correspondence volume number to the series reference, separated by a forward slash (thus the full reference for volume 243 of original correspondence about China is FO 17/243).

You can now locate this reference in our online catalogue, as shown here:

By clicking on the title of the relevant volume in your catalogue search results you can order it and look for the despatch within it.

4. Further reading

Some of the publications below may be available to buy from The National Archives’ bookshop. Alternatively, search The National Archives’ library catalogue to see what is available to consult at Kew.

James Cronan and Keith Mitchell (eds.), ‘Foreign Office Records, 1782 to 1986: An index to country series’ (Lists and Index Society, 2017)

Michael Roper, ‘The records of the Foreign Office, 1782-1968′ (Public Record Office Publications, 2002)

L Atherton, ‘Never complain, never explain’: Records of the Foreign Office and State Paper Office 1500-c.1960’, Public Record Office Readers’ Guide No.7 (PRO publications, 1994)

‘The records of the Foreign Office, 1782-1939’, Public Record Office Handbooks No.13 (HMSO, 1969)