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British Researchers Documenting the West of Sudan in the 1980s
In the 1980s, several British researchers and educators visited Sudan, each with different objectives, but all working in the western region. Some focused on education, while others engaged in anthropological and social research. Their work provided invaluable insights into a part of Sudan that was, at the time, relatively underrepresented in academic and travel literature.
Key Figures and Their Contributions
Dr. Natalie Tobert
Dr. Natalie Tobert, a British medical anthropologist, conducted ethnographic research on ceramics in Darfur between 1979 and 1985. Her research primarily took place in North Darfur, including Kebkebiya, Kutum, and other settlements. During her work, she unintentionally documented the beginning of the famine in the region, capturing a critical moment in time.
In 1980 she gathered a collection of objects, commissioned by the British Museum and donated photographs documenting her research. Additionally, her papers, which include notebooks, drawings, and maps, are housed at the Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford, though they have not yet been catalogued in detail. She also gave a collection of objects from Sudan to the Horniman Museum in south London.
Her collection can be accessed through the British Museum online collection site.
Paul Wilson
Paul Wilson was an English teacher who worked in South Darfur between 1980 and 1982. During his time in Sudan, he put together a field collection of objects and photographs from Darfur, which he sold to the British Museum. He was also a member of the Sudan Studies Society of the United Kingdom (now the Society for the Study of the Sudans UK) and later became the long-serving editor of Sudan Studies.
His collection can be accessed via the British Museum online collection site.
Mark Bradbury
Mark Bradbury is a social analyst with over 20 years of experience in international development and humanitarian aid. He worked in and documented regions such as Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, and Sierra Leone. During the 1980s, he collected a series of photographs from the Nuba Mountains, alongside his grandfather’s collection, contributing to a historical archive of the region. Bradbury later served as the Regional Director for the Rift Valley Institute (RVI) for the Horn of Africa and East Africa from 2012 to 2016. Since January 2017, he has been the Executive Director of RVI.
Mark is in the process of making his collection available for public access.
Bob Wilkinson
Bob Wilkinson was an English teacher in Darfur before transitioning to humanitarian work with Save the Children Fund. From 1982 to 1985, he participated in the English Teachers in Sudan programme, administered by the Ministry of Education, and was stationed in Nyala, Darfur. During his time there, he witnessed the gradual decline in living conditions as crop failures, food insecurity, and increasing unrest.
In 1985, Wilkinson and his partner took on roles as field officers for Save the Children Fund, responding to the growing crisis. His experiences from this period were documented through photography. He was encouraged by the people he knew and met to record their lives as a way of showing to the outside world, a country and a people who are independent, proud of their culture and who were remarkably friendly. In 2023, he exhibited a series of photographs at the LTB Showrooms in Coventry. The exhibition included images taken in Darfur during both the stable years and the upheaval of the early to mid-1980s, capturing the everyday lives of the people he lived and worked among. His collection is part of a much larger body of images that serve as an important historical record of the time.
“I also think that 40 years on, the story of Sudan, and of Darfur, the generosity in welcoming outsiders – westerners and refugees - is one that still has relevance for us all in the West.” - Bob Wilkinson
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While engaging with local communities, these researchers and educators meticulously recorded their experiences. They documented the daily life and economy, the cultural practices, and the geographical insights such as the landscapes of western Sudan, from arid deserts to fertile lands, as well as how geography influenced local economies and ways of life.
Their work has contributed to various academic studies, reports, and even books that shed light on Sudan’s western region. Some of their findings were used to advocate for better educational resources in the area, while others served as historical records of the time.
Cover picture: Crowd watching wresting at Sibr Kujuria (in the Niymang Hills) 1988 © Mark Bradbury
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British Researchers Documenting the West of Sudan in the 1980s
In the 1980s, several British researchers and educators visited Sudan, each with different objectives, but all working in the western region. Some focused on education, while others engaged in anthropological and social research. Their work provided invaluable insights into a part of Sudan that was, at the time, relatively underrepresented in academic and travel literature.
Key Figures and Their Contributions
Dr. Natalie Tobert
Dr. Natalie Tobert, a British medical anthropologist, conducted ethnographic research on ceramics in Darfur between 1979 and 1985. Her research primarily took place in North Darfur, including Kebkebiya, Kutum, and other settlements. During her work, she unintentionally documented the beginning of the famine in the region, capturing a critical moment in time.
In 1980 she gathered a collection of objects, commissioned by the British Museum and donated photographs documenting her research. Additionally, her papers, which include notebooks, drawings, and maps, are housed at the Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford, though they have not yet been catalogued in detail. She also gave a collection of objects from Sudan to the Horniman Museum in south London.
Her collection can be accessed through the British Museum online collection site.
Paul Wilson
Paul Wilson was an English teacher who worked in South Darfur between 1980 and 1982. During his time in Sudan, he put together a field collection of objects and photographs from Darfur, which he sold to the British Museum. He was also a member of the Sudan Studies Society of the United Kingdom (now the Society for the Study of the Sudans UK) and later became the long-serving editor of Sudan Studies.
His collection can be accessed via the British Museum online collection site.
Mark Bradbury
Mark Bradbury is a social analyst with over 20 years of experience in international development and humanitarian aid. He worked in and documented regions such as Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, and Sierra Leone. During the 1980s, he collected a series of photographs from the Nuba Mountains, alongside his grandfather’s collection, contributing to a historical archive of the region. Bradbury later served as the Regional Director for the Rift Valley Institute (RVI) for the Horn of Africa and East Africa from 2012 to 2016. Since January 2017, he has been the Executive Director of RVI.
Mark is in the process of making his collection available for public access.
Bob Wilkinson
Bob Wilkinson was an English teacher in Darfur before transitioning to humanitarian work with Save the Children Fund. From 1982 to 1985, he participated in the English Teachers in Sudan programme, administered by the Ministry of Education, and was stationed in Nyala, Darfur. During his time there, he witnessed the gradual decline in living conditions as crop failures, food insecurity, and increasing unrest.
In 1985, Wilkinson and his partner took on roles as field officers for Save the Children Fund, responding to the growing crisis. His experiences from this period were documented through photography. He was encouraged by the people he knew and met to record their lives as a way of showing to the outside world, a country and a people who are independent, proud of their culture and who were remarkably friendly. In 2023, he exhibited a series of photographs at the LTB Showrooms in Coventry. The exhibition included images taken in Darfur during both the stable years and the upheaval of the early to mid-1980s, capturing the everyday lives of the people he lived and worked among. His collection is part of a much larger body of images that serve as an important historical record of the time.
“I also think that 40 years on, the story of Sudan, and of Darfur, the generosity in welcoming outsiders – westerners and refugees - is one that still has relevance for us all in the West.” - Bob Wilkinson
While engaging with local communities, these researchers and educators meticulously recorded their experiences. They documented the daily life and economy, the cultural practices, and the geographical insights such as the landscapes of western Sudan, from arid deserts to fertile lands, as well as how geography influenced local economies and ways of life.
Their work has contributed to various academic studies, reports, and even books that shed light on Sudan’s western region. Some of their findings were used to advocate for better educational resources in the area, while others served as historical records of the time.
Cover picture: Crowd watching wresting at Sibr Kujuria (in the Niymang Hills) 1988 © Mark Bradbury
