Witnessing Imperial Retreat

Historian Andrew Reekes gives a lunchtime talk tracing the demise of the British Empire and its lasting legacies.

This talk examines the loss of Britain's overseas Empire, the greatest change the country has faced since the Second World War. It considers how few Britons now remember the Empire, whether through family stories of service in North Africa, Burma and India, Empire Day, imperial commodities or news of independence struggles. Andrew Reekes, the BMI's Historian in residence, traces the Empire's demise and its sometimes baleful legacies, and how the word Empire has become mired in controversy. The talk runs for one hour.