The British Empire & Commonwealth Collection is held at Bristol Archives. It includes photographs, films, objects, sound and paper archives from many parts of the former empire and Commonwealth. Although collected or created by British people and reflecting their interests and occupations, it provides insights into diverse lives and supports people worldwide to examine difficult, forgotten or hidden histories from their own perspectives. There are around 500,000 still images in the collection dating from the 1860s to the 1970s. The film collection consists of approximately 2,000 moving images dating from 1920 to the 1970s. Content is generally amateur in character and provides an unofficial and informal account of empire. Themes covered include people and their way of life (both colonial and indigenous), historic events, landscapes, wildlife and the environment, the military, engineering projects, buildings and infrastructure.