The papers of Kathleen and Millicent Coleman comprise three classes of material: the private papers of the sisters and the Coleman family, 1842-1957; records relating to the National Children's Home, 1935-1981 largely CLOSED; and the Pestalozzi Village Trust, 1948-1989. Personal papers include a diary and pharmacopoeias, correspondence, examination certificates, photographs and printed books, 1842-1957, notably including a detailed manuscript medical diary describing life on board ship and a medical practice in Africa, 1842-1844, probably compiled by John Albert Sidney Coleman, grandfather of Kathleen and Millicent Coleman; pharmacopoeias containing remedies and prescriptions, with printed pharmacopoeias, compiled by Mark Coleman and others, reflecting the transition of the Coleman family business from patent remedies to modern pharmacy, 1851-1894; correspondence with Kathleen and Millicent Coleman, mainly descriptions of daily life in the National Children's Home and describing psychological testing of the children, 1927-1948 (CLOSED); family correspondence and legal documents including letting agreements and deeds of partnership, the will of Mathew Coleman, the sisters' great uncle, and relating to their father and his career, letters containing family news and gossip, 1845-1928; examination certificates and prize lists relating to the education of Kathleen and Millicent Coleman, 1922-1933; photographs of the Coleman family during the 1890s, during World War One and of Kathleen and Millicent Coleman on holiday, [1928], of Lady Eleanor Holles School, 1921-1933, group photographs of students and staff in King's College London Department of History, 1929-1955, photographs of various National Children's Home establishments, 1934-1957; a small collection of printed books concerned with the history, customs and government of London and the Home Counties, [1945-1985] (Boxes 70-74, now on open access in the Archive reading room).

The CLOSED records of the National Children's Home, 1935-1981, notably comprising Vocational Guidance Record Sheets, consisting of files on individual children that included intelligence test results, memory tests and individual comments, arranged in alphabetical order, 1938-1964 (Boxes 1-23); test results and evaluations of named children for tests organised by the National Institute of Industrial Psychology including the Porteus Maze Test and scoring sheets, 1957-1960 (Boxes 24-28); psychological evaluations of children at different branches of the children's home, notably in Cardiff, Harpenden, Nottingham and Glasgow, including individual test results and assessments with broad statistics and educational recommendations by visitors, 1942-1963 (Boxes 29-40); pupil record cards containing biographical information, aptitude tests and psychological test results for children at various homes, [1948-1960] (Boxes 41-42); material relating to the Brentwood College of Education including a working party on syllabuses, staff lists, the relationship with the University of London Institute of Education, manuscript notes and some psychological test results of children engaged in the so-called Gifted Child Study, 1971-1974 (Boxes 43-44); material relating to vocational aptitude and the placement of older children in trades and professions such as the armed forces and Civil Service, notably including psychologists' reports, 1935-1965 (Boxes 45-56); questionnaires of 18 year-old former residents conducted in 1954-1956 (Box 57); material relating to European refugees resident in the NCH including named children and correspondence with the Central Committee for Refugees, 1942-1949 (Boxes 58-59); general correspondence with Millicent Coleman relating to local authorities, staff and the emigration of children to Australia, 1951-1962; manuscript visitation report book assessing particular homes, 1946-1949; report on the incidence of enuresis (incontinence) in homes, 1946-1950; publicity material mainly created at the time of the centenary and on other children's charities, 1951-1981; careers and apprenticeship literature, 1938-1954; photographs and negatives of students and buildings, 1938-1939 (Boxes 60-62); psychological testing materials including test cards displaying words and pictures, [1958] (Boxes 63-69).

The records of the Pestalozzi Village Trust, 1948-1989, comprise typescript notes compiled by Millicent Coleman, who served on its governing Council. These consist mainly of Council minutes and supporting material, 1948-1989; Committee minutes including Finance and Management Committees, 1953-1985; Annual Reports and Accounts, 1961-1974; policy reports on the development and strategic direction of the Village, 1959-1973; correspondence with Millicent Coleman regarding Trust business and liaison with the National Children's Home, 1953-1985.

Correspondence, [1947-1983], with fellow academics and graduate students, notably Professor Charles Ralph Boxer, Professor of History, Yale University, and former Camoens Professor of Portuguese, King's College London; Professor John Bartlett Brebner, Professor of History, Columbia University, New York; Professor Donald Grant Creighton, Professor of History, University of Toronto, Canada; Professor Kenneth Onwuka Dike, Professor of History, University College, Ibadan, Nigeria; Professor John Kenneth Galbraith, Professor of Economics, Harvard University; and Professor Charles Anthony Woodward Manning, Professor of International Relations, London School of Economics. Lecture texts with notes, newspaper cuttings and correspondence, [1946-1983], mainly relating to British Imperial and Commonwealth history, colonial history and naval history, and including lectures on Nigeria, New Zealand, India, South Africa and Canada. Reviews of books written by Graham, 1930-1972, notably Tide of Empire: discursions on the expansion of Britain overseas (McGill-Queen's University Press, Montreal and London, 1972), British policy and Canada, 1774-1791 (Longmans and Co, London, 1930), A concise history of the British Empire (Thames and Hudson, London, 1970), Great Britain in the Indian Ocean: a study of maritime enterprise 1810-1850 (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1967), Empire of the North Atlantic: the maritime struggle for North America (University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 1950), and The politics of naval supremacy: studies in British maritime ascendancy (University Press, Cambridge, 1965). Texts of articles, speeches and broadcasts by Graham, 1940-[1983], with relevant notes and newspaper cuttings, including broadcasts made in Canada, [1945-1983], various speeches, 1946-1972, made in Canada and Germany, and copies of reviews by Graham. Numerous drafts of, and notes relating to, The China Station: war and diplomacy 1830-1860 (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1978). Photographs, slides and negatives, mainly in connection with Graham's academic voyages [1930-1972]. Offprints and articles by others on historical topics, [1930-1981], relating to Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the Admiralty and the Royal Navy, the British Commonwealth, and Africa. Letters of reference, [1956-1981], filed alphabetically, and Royalty Statements, 1954-1980. Correspondence with Joe Malone, 1951-1967, John Flint, 1954-1990, and Malcolm Lester, 1951-1987. Index to Graham's postgraduate students.