Archive & Object Collection

The Tank Museum’s Archive & Object Collection is the world’s foremost research centre on the subject of armoured warfare.

The Tank Museum’s Archive is designated as a Place of Deposit and has been accredited by The National Archives. The resources it holds are directly related to the Royal Armoured Corps, especially the Royal Tank Regiment and its predecessors.

The Tank Museum also holds the Roll of Honour for the Royal Armoured Corps. Find out more and search the Roll of Honour here.

A close up image of several items in the Museum archive. The top left shows an old book about the Tiger 1 Tank from The School of Tank Technology, November 1943. To the top of the image an original Tigerfibel in a protective bag., The bottom of the image shows a casualty card from WW2.

The Tank Museum Archive is the UK’s foremost research centre on the subject of armoured warfare. It is a Place of Deposit for The National Archives and holds documents, photographs, technical drawings, maps, moving images, books, and journals directly related to the Royal Armoured Corps and particularly the Royal Tank Regiment and its predecessors.

The Object Collection spans four stores and includes uniforms, medals, flags, weapons, ammunition, models, art, radios, and technical instruments.

An image from inside the Museum archive. Grey filing cabinets fill the left side of the image with writing and numbers on each. the right side of the image shows a series of beige boxes, filling shelves.
The Tank Museum Archive is open to general enquiries as well as more detailed requests relating to armoured warfare and service with the Royal Armoured Corps, the Royal Tank Regiment, and its predecessors.
If an enquiry requires extended or in‑depth research into the collection, a fee of £25 per is charged per 30 minutes of research time.
Additional charges may apply for services such as reproduction, photocopying, scanning, or the supply of copies of entries.
These charges enable The Tank Museum (a registered charity) to maintain a research service that meets user needs while supporting the ongoing care and conservation of the Archive and Object Collection.
A member of the Archive team speaks to two visitors (left of the image) during a Archive & Library visit. An out of focus army jacket on a mannequin features in the center of the image.

Visits are by appointment only and subject to a charge of £15 per half day. Other charges may apply (reproduction, photocopying, etc), including a consultancy fee if your visit is for commercial purposes.

Please contact the Archive Team to arrange a visit.

You are welcome to bring pencil and paper or a laptop into our reading room and we provide lockers for bags, food and drink.

If you would like to take photographs for personal use, a camera licence is available for £10 per visit.

Charges allow The Tank Museum (a registered charity) to maintain a service which fulfils the research needs of users and allows for the continued care and conservation of the Archive & Object Collection.

Many items in The Tank Museum’s Collections have been generously donated by members of the public.

If you would like to discuss donating material to The Tank Museum, please contact the Collections Team at archive@tankmuseum.org and provide as much information as you can (including images if possible) about the item(s) themselves, their history and how you acquired them. After assessing the item(s) in question, our Collections Team will contact you in due course.

We respectfully ask that you do not post items to the Museum or bring items to the Museum before discussing your kind offer with a member of the Collections Team.

The Tank Museum is fortunate in receiving a large number of donation offers each year. Whilst all such offers are gratefully received, unfortunately, we are unable to accept every item and loans are only considered in exceptional circumstances.

Please note that we cannot guarantee that any item donated will be displayed, but all items in our collections are available to the public for viewing, research and educational purposes by appointment if their condition permits it.

The Object Collection is currently being upgraded to become more environmentally sustainable, with support from the Department for Digital, Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) and the Wolfson Foundation. Find out more HERE.

Collections Up Close Blog

An Engineer's Interrogation

The fifth of our Archive & Object Collection blogs takes a look at the interrogation of the Chief Technical Engineer of the Henschel Research and Experimental Establishment. ...

Collections Up Close Blog

A Rather Striking Clock

It’s time for the fourth instalment of our Archive & Object Collection blogs – this time, we take a look at a unique timepiece....

Collections Up Close Blog

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

The third of our Archive & Object Collection blogs serves as a festive tribute to the most wonderful time of the year!...

Collections Up Close Blog

Reflections From the Past

Our second Archive & Object Collection blog focuses on one of the earliest items to be donated to the Tank Museum....

Collections Up Close Blog

‘Sam’ and the 61st Recce Regiment

The first of our Archive & Object Collection blogs tells a fun, if forgotten, ‘tail’....

We need your militaria, books and models!

Do you have militaria items that are taking up space in your attic? Donate them today and help support The Tank Museum!

Your items will be put up for sale at TANKFEST for visitors to purchase. Please note, they must be militaria, books and/or models.

Once sold, the funds will go towards the upkeep of our Object Collection.

Please use the enquiry form below to contact the team.

Archive & Object Collection Enquiry Form

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