People may have pictures of relatives sailing to Britain, like on the Empire Windrush (above)

Curators hope residents may have old photos of people sailing from the West Indies, Africa or Asia for a new life in Britain, or even old ship tickets.

The memorabilia will go on show at an exhibition at the Oxfordshire Museum as part of Black History Month in October.

The museum in Woodstock also wants to hear from people with unusual musical instruments, jewellery and clothes.

Talei Rounds, a council archivist, said: "People often have historical items tucked away in a drawer at home, such as old diaries, letters and work papers, which are very valuable documents for telling us about the experiences of black people in Oxfordshire.

"We hope the exhibition will include a number of themes such as employment and education.

"Our earliest black history documents date right back to the 17th Century."