Papers of the Bell family. The principal characters in the papers are

• Phyllis Margaret Bell (née Aitken)
• Cyril Francis Bell, Chief Conservator of Forests, Central Province, 1930s.
• H.M. Bell, Forest Officer.
• H.C.P. Bell, Archaeological Commissioner, Ceylon.

Papers are descriptive of family life and offical duties of forest officials in the Central Provinces, the Himalayas, the Maldive Islands and Ceylon [Sri Lanka] in the first half of the twentieth century. Also included are a number of academic and research papers.

These papers complement the Bell Collection in the National Archives in Colombo.

Donated by Ms Heather Bell.

Box 1 – Letters and diaries of the Bell family, 1916 to 1937; Papers relating to the Maldive Islands.

Box 2 – Histories of the archaeology of Ceylon [Sri Lanka]; Annual reports of the Archaeological Survey; Papers relating to the organisation and management of the Archaeological Survey of Ceylon; Papers relating to the sites and monuments at Anurahapura and Sigiriya; Notes and reports on outlying sites; Short biographical notes; Reactions to a report on ‘concubinage’.