Use these tips to explore Roald Dahl's archive online

Go to the Archives section of our website. From here, you can do a 'Quick Search' or an 'Advanced Search'.

Choose Quick Search and you can enter a keyword. Keep this as simple as possible to get the most results.

**Have a go!**
• Enter 'Pilot' in the box. Now click on 'Search' and see what comes up.
• You should find a list of items which all have the word 'Pilot' in them somewhere! Roald Dahl was a pilot with the RAF during the Second World War, so there are letters and photos from this time. He also wrote stories about pilots, so there are details of some manuscripts too. And he wrote TV shows and screenplays - including a 'pilot' episode (a test-run) for a series which was never made.
• You can find out more about each item in the list by clicking on 'Details'.
• Some things have images attached to them as well - just click on the image to make it large enough to read.

Choose Advanced Search and you can choose to search by 'Title' or 'Reference Number'.

**Have a go!**

• Enter 'Matilda' in the 'Title' box.  Click on Search
• This should find all the records in our database which have the word 'Matilda' in the title.
• Click on 'Details' to find out more about an item in the list.
• Some things have images attached to them as well - just click on the image to make it large enough to read.

If you've been to visit the Museum or have used a school's resource pack you might have noticed we put combinations of letters and numbers on the back of documents from the archives.  Everything in Roald Dahl's archive begins with 'RD' followed by a string of numbers. 

**Have a go!**

• Try typing RD/18/2/2 into the 'Reference Number' box.  Click 'Search'.
• This will show you some of the photos Roald Dahl took when he went on the Public Schools Explorers trip to Newfoundland in 1934.
• Or, why not try searching for Ac1: this will show you a list of absolutely all the weird and wonderful things he kept in his writing hut. (Right down to the paperclips ...)

The document which lists each series of reference numbers in the archive is 'A Summary of Roald Dahl's archive'. You can download this and print it out. Then enter a reference number from the list into the search box ... and away you go!

Need more help? E-mail your questions to collectionqueries@roalddahlmuseum.org.