The Tank Museum’s Archive & Supporting Collection is the world’s foremost research centre on the subject of armoured warfare.
Designated as a Place of Deposit for the National Archive, 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.
Thousands of documents, papers, communications, diaries, plans and illustrations are housed in the Archive, along with over 250,000 photographs.
These are supported by a reference library that contains one of the world’s largest collections of publications on armoured warfare. These include textbooks on design, handbooks, biographies, regimental histories and much more.
The Tank Museum Archives welcomes enquiries and research requests, which are subject to a minimum fee of £25.
This covers the initial enquiry and the first 30 minutes, with a further £25 for an additional 30 minutes and +£25 for every hour thereafter (up to a maximum of 3 additional hours).
Other charges may apply (reproduction, photocopying, postage, copies of entries etc).
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 collections.
Visits are by appointment only and subject to a charge of £15.
If your enquiry is for commercial purposes a consultancy fee may apply.
Other charges may apply (reproduction, photocopying, etc).
Please note that you will be required to provide proof of ID. You may not bring pens (pencils only), scanners, food & drink, pets, or mobile phones into the Archive.
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 collections.
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 Collection Team at [email protected] 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 Collection 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.
The Supporting 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.
