Philip Grant on the British Empire Exhibition

On Saturday, 31 August 2024, the Wembley Matters blog published The Pageant of Empire 1924: Part 1 the latest article by Philip Grant, marking the first of a two-part series on the 1924 Pageant of Empire. As a dedicated local historian, Philip’s tireless efforts have greatly deepened our understanding of the British Empire Exhibition and Wembley’s heritage. Brent Museum and Archives also highlight his other insightful articles on the British Empire Exhibition of 1924 and 1925.

In anticipation of the 90th anniversary of the British Empire Exhibition in 2014, Philip served as the Wembley History Society’s most active researcher. His interest in this significant event has continued through to the centenary year in 2024. During this period, he has written numerous articles and delivered many public talks on various topics related to the Exhibition. A significant portion of Philip’s research draws from the collections held at Brent Museum and Archives, much of which was originally gathered by the Wembley History Society around the 40th anniversary of the British Empire Exhibition in 1964.

Many of Philip’s contribution can be found in the local history section of the Brent Archives website under Wembley and Tokyngton. The website includes links to key articles that may be of interest, such as an early introductory piece on the Exhibition itself and several articles focused on the participation of individual nations in the 1924 event. These include:

• The British Empire Exhibition
• When Nigeria Came to Wembley 1924
• Belo Akure: A Nigerian First World War Hero at Wembley
• Sierra Leone at the British Empire Exhibition in 1924
• The West Indies at Wembley
• The Jewel of Wembley: Burma at the British Empire Exhibition

Additionally, under the Archive Copies section at the bottom of the Wembley and Tokyngton webpage, there are links to facsimile copies of British Empire Exhibition booklets, mainly focused on New Zealand.

The Jewel of Wembley: Burma at the British Empire Exhibition, links to a document of a talk Philip gave in 2014 about Burma’s participation in the Exhibition. Philip is scheduled to deliver an updated version of this talk to the Wembley History Society on Friday, 20 September.

This year, Philip has also contributed several articles to the Wembley Matters blog as his commemoration of the British Empire Exhibition centenary. These include:

• Why We Should Commemorate the British Empire Exhibition, Philip’s post connects to a letter by Nabil Al-Kinani regarding his Decolonising Wembley project. Nabil led a discussion on decolonisation at The Wembley History Society’s February 2024 meeting. While Philip doesn’t support removing street names linked to the British Empire Exhibition, he shares common ground on the importance of educating people about the British Empire’s history and encouraging open, respectful dialogue on the topic.
• The Opening of the British Empire Exhibition (published on 23 April 2024 – centenary of the day the Exhibition opened).

Philip is currently working on the The Pageant of Empire 1924: Part 2 relying primarily on material from the Brent Museum and Archives. Once completed, Philip will prepare accessible documents for inclusion in the Brent Archives online local history collection.

Philip is also giving a talk at Harlesden Library on Tuesday 8 October at 11am A Harlesden Photographer at the British Empire Exhibition in which he will share photographs and stories behind the Caribbean presence at Wembley in 1924.

If you have found any of the articles Phillip has published of interest or have information you would like to share, please contact BecomingBrent@brent.gov.uk and we will forward emails to him.

Becoming Brent is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, we have been able to fund the Becoming Brent programme.