WW2

Hunting for Spies in The National Archives

In our first Writer of the Month talk, Times journalist Ben Macintyre talks about his latest book Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies (Bloomsbury, 2012) and how he turned his research into a published work. Ben Macintyre ...
Total war

This talk focuses on the concept of total war, what it means, and what it has meant over the past 200 years, with particular reference to the First and Second World Wars, the Boer War, the American Civil War and ...
Forgotten tragedy: The loss of HMT Lancastria

On 17 June 1940, HMT Lancastria was sunk by a German bomber while evacuating troops from St Nazaire; over 9,000 troops were packed on board. This talk attempts to explain why so many who were lost will never be accounted ...
The Kitchen Front: domestic life in the Second World War

Find out how documents held by The National Archives can reveal a fascinating picture of the domestic lives of ordinary people living through the Second World War.
Carve Her Name With Pride

This videocast is part of the War on Film series, created by The National Archives to mark the 70th anniversary of the Second World War. The series recounts the events that went on to inspire popular war films, using extracts ...
Civilian honours and awards

The London Gazette is a crucial source for announcements of military and civilian honours and awards. This talk explains how to use and get the best out of the Gazette, and how further information about awards can be found among ...
The Longest Day

This videocast is part of the War on Film series, created by The National Archives to mark the 70th anniversary of the Second World War. The series recounts the events that went on to inspire popular war films, using extracts ...
The Great Escape

This videocast is part of the War on Film series, created by The National Archives to mark the 70th anniversary of the Second World War. The series recounts the events that went on to inspire popular war films, using extracts ...
The Man Who Never Was

‘The Man Who Never Was’ tells the fascinating tale of Operation Mincemeat. This elaborate deception aimed to make the Axis powers believe that the Allies would attempt to enter Europe through Greece and Sardinia, rather than the actual target of ...
GIs and POWs: Kew in the Second World War

Local historian Christopher May reveals the wartime history of The National Archives’ Kew site. American servicemen stationed here created the maps used in the Normandy landings of 1944. Later, the same buildings were used to house Italian prisoners of war ...
The Dam Busters

‘The Dam Busters’ tells the story of 617 Squadron and its daring and extremely difficult mission, which went on to become one of the most famous episodes of the Second World War. This videocast is part of the War on ...
Hope and Glory

‘Hope and Glory’ tells the story of a young boy growing up in London during the Second World War. The film explores two themes that greatly affected the Home Front during the war, the Blitz and evacuation. This videocast is ...
Merchant Navy operational records

Janet Dempsey examines the wealth of records which deal with the tragedy, terror, heroism and honour of the Merchant Navy in both World Wars.
Secrecy and government records

Professor Foot is a noted historian and academic. He is the official historian for the Second World War Special Operations Executive (SOE) and has an extensive knowledge of the background to the requirements for secrecy in government records. This is ...