Archives of the British Association of Malaysia and Singapore

From 1952 to 1967 the Secretary of the Association was Hugh Bryson. He organised the accumulation of two important collections of historical material through the BAM. In 1960, in cooperation with the Royal Commonwealth Society, Bryson initiated the gathering of original documents - memoranda, diaries, correspondence - and the writing of special reminiscences by those with first hand experience of the geographic area covered by the Association. Subjects of particular significance include politics and government, trade and commerce, social and cultural history, the First and Second World Wars, and the Malayan Emergency. As the material was received it was deposited in the Royal Commonwealth Society Library. Bryson also collected photographs, particularly those reflecting the history of South-East Asia. After his death in 1977, a few further donations were received from former BAM members, and these have been incorporated in an Addenda section.

The Association of British Malaya was founded in 1920, replacing the Straits Settlements Association which had existed since 1868. In the light of changing circumstances it became the British Association of Malaya, the British Association of Malaysia and the British Association of Malaysia and Singapore.

Due to the fragile state of many of these papers, users must consult microfilm copies where available.

Deposited with the Royal Commonwealth Society in 1973 on the dissolution of the British Association of Malaysia and Singapore

Includes index.

A catalogue of the collection can be found on ArchiveSearch.

The photographic collection of the British Association of Malaysia and Singapore is held at RCS/BAM.

The original division of the archive into fourteen main thematic headings has been retained since it has been used in the microfilming of large parts of the collection and widely cited in published literature. The numbering of the thematic divisions, however, has been changed from Roman to Arabic numerals. A fifteenth section entitled Addenda has been created to accommodate the most recent acquisitions.

This collection description was created by MJC.

British Association of Malaysia and Singapore