Subscribe
Textile design BT 52/63/2433
View in the image library
Subscribe
Category: Podcasts
-
Summer Lecture Series 2019: Information at War – the Ministry of Information, 1936-1946
The Ministry of Information was established by a government which recognised that the understanding and morale of the civilian population in the UK – and else... read more
-
The Cold War and UFOs
There is more to the Ministry of Defence UFO files than reports on strange sightings in the sky. They provide insight into the public’s perception of the Cold... read more
-
The scandalous case of John Vassall
In 1962, while working as a clerk in the British Embassy in Moscow, homosexual civil servant John Vassall was caught in a ‘honey trap’ sprung by the Soviet... read more
-
On the Record: Double agents and double standards
The Cambridge Five are perhaps the most infamous spy ring of the 20th century. They worked their way into the upper ranks of British Intelligence in order to sp... read more
-
On the Record: Lawrence and Bell
The exploits of T.E. Lawrence are legendary. Thanks to the famous film ‘Lawrence of Arabia’, millions around the world know about his time spying an... read more
-
On the Record: Archetype of a Spy
What do spies actually look like? What do they do? What motivates them to enter such a secretive profession? In this episode we use documents in our collection... read more
-
On the Record: Spies (a trailer)
History is everywhere in popular culture. But the truth is harder to find. A three-part podcast series by The National Archives, On the Record will take a clo... read more
-
The personal story of Holocaust survivor John Dobai
John Dobai was born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1934. To mark Holocaust Memorial Day, John delivered a talk at The National Archives on 25 January 2019 about his p... read more
-
Big Ideas Series: Entity disambiguation in digital cultural heritage
To enable people to explore a digital collection, the platform that hosts that collection needs to have a comprehensive understanding of the information it is p... read more
-
UFO files at The National Archives
Originally set up at the request of Winston Churchill, the Ministry of Defence’s UFO Desk ran for over 60 years, collating mysterious sightings and records... read more
-
Suffrage 100: Did militancy help or hinder the fight for the franchise?
By 1912, militancy associated with the Suffragette movement hit its peak, with regular arson attacks, window-smashing campaigns and targeting of MP’s houses.... read more
-
Digital Archives of the Future
To mark forty years since The National Archives moved to Kew, our digital director John Sheridan discusses the challenges that archives will face in the futur... read more
-
Reformation on the Record: Suzannah Lipscomb on Henry VIII and the break with Rome
Reformation on the Record was a two-day conference which brought together research using original records of Church and State from our collection to explore thi... read more
-
Sylvia Pankhurst: suffragette, socialist and ‘scourge of the empire’
From militant suffragette at the beginning of the 20th century to campaigner against colonialism in Africa after the Second World War, Sylvia Pankhurst dedicate... read more
-
Security Service file release November 2017
Professor Christopher Andrew, formerly official historian of MI5 and author of ‘The Defence of the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5′, introduces key fil... read more
-
‘Corner of a Foreign Field’: a play about the burial of Indian Muslim troops at the time of the First World War
It is October 1914 and Maulana Sadr Ud-Din is battling with General Barrow, the Military Secretary to the India Office, over the appropriate burial grounds for... read more
-
‘Step Child’: a play about the surveillance of First World War Indian dissenters
The British Government promises that all British subjects are equal before the law. But when America begins blocking the growing number of Indian Sikhs seeking... read more
-
‘Cama’: a play about a female Indian revolutionary at the time of the First World War
In a trench in Marseille the loyalty of three Indian soldiers is tested when the legendary Madame Cama asks them to surrender for the good of the motherland. Wi... read more
-
‘The Radicalisation of Vir Singh’: a play about the challenges of serving as an Indian soldier in the First World War
Arjun sits restless and scared as he prepares to enter the battlefield for the first time. Inspired by compatriot Vir’s legends of mighty Sikh warriors, A... read more
-
Mapping Women’s Suffrage
The women’s suffrage campaign in Britain was a particularly long and difficult struggle. It was fought by women and men in cities, towns and villages right ac... read more
-
The Sexual Offences Act 1967. Part 2: Wolfenden’s silent women
On 27 July 2017, The National Archives held a day of talks to mark the 50th anniversary of the royal assent of the Sexual Offences Act 1967, which partially de... read more
-
Jane Austen: from beginning to end
To commemorate the bicentenary of Jane Austen’s death in 1817, Professor Fiona Stafford delivered a talk on Austen’s life and work at the The National... read more
-
Sexuality under scrutiny in 1930s Soho
In 1934, homosexual acts between men – in public and in private – were illegal in the UK. Police surveilled a number of social spaces across London... read more
-
Bombs, bulls and civilian bravery
In this podcast The National Archives’ Principal Military Specialist reveals some of his favourite stories about civilian gallantry from the First and... read more
-
‘A Bit of a Scratch’, a radio drama about the battle against Venereal Disease during the First World War
‘A Bit of a Scratch’ explores the first recorded prosecution under the Venereal Diseases Act 1917. The legislation was introduced due to the large n... read more
-
Medieval treason and magic
In this podcast, two of our records specialists tell us about treason and necromancy in The National Archives’ medieval records. The first part, narrat... read more
-
Black British politics and the Anti-Apartheid struggle
In 1948, from the introduction of apartheid in South Africa, racial discrimination galvanized the international community into protest. British people and black... read more
-
From the Somme to Arras
Andrew Lock discusses the progress made by the British Expeditionary Forces between the battles of the Somme (1916) and Arras (1917). Although lessons were lear... read more
-
Bureau-cats: A short history of Whitehall’s official felines
Public interest in the cats of Whitehall began long before Larry, Palmerston and Gladstone graced our front pages and Twitter feeds. In this podcast, records ... read more
-
Tracy Borman on ‘The Private Lives of the Tudors’
Tracy Borman reveals how the Tudor monarchs were constantly surrounded by an army of attendants, courtiers and ministers, even in their most private moments. A... read more
-
Talks from the National LGBT History Festival: Hilary McCollum on ‘Sapphic Suffragettes’
On the 11 February 2017, The National Archives hosted a range of talks for ‘OUTing the Past: the National LGBT History Festival’ on topics includi... read more
-
Cataloguing Projects 2016, part 8: Sorting the Prize Papers: Tales from the Depths
An overview of the cataloguing projects that took place at The National Archives in 2016. Randolph Cock and Andrew Little discuss the process of sorting The Hig... read more
-
Cataloguing Projects 2016, part 7: Discoveries found in The National Archives’ catalogue
An overview of the cataloguing projects that took place at The National Archives in 2016. Independent researchers Nat Alcock and Christine Hodgetts discuss the... read more
-
Cataloguing Projects 2016, part 6: Using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to aid cataloguing
An overview of the cataloguing projects that took place at The National Archives in 2016. Mark Bell explains how Optical Character Recognition software can hel... read more
-
Cataloguing Projects 2016, part 5: An introduction to the work of the Strays and Fragments team
An overview of the cataloguing projects that took place at The National Archives in 2016. Document services advisor Greg Cole explains how the Strays and Fragme... read more
-
Cataloguing Projects 2016, part 4: A new tool for finding linked records across our collections
An overview of the cataloguing projects that took place at The National Archives in 2016. Sonia Ranade introduces ‘Traces through Time’, a project by The Na... read more
-
Cataloguing Projects 2016, part 2: The Enclosure Map Project
An overview of the cataloguing projects that took place at The National Archives in 2016. Records specialist Emma Down and systems developer Matt Hillyard expla... read more
-
Cataloguing Projects 2016, part 1: The W.E. Hayward Collection
An overview of the cataloguing projects that took place at The National Archives in 2016. Records specialist Steven Cable summarises the ongoing cataloguing wo... read more
-
The life and death of King John
King John’s acts of misgovernment prompted his barons to demand reform, setting the kingdom on the road to civil war and leading to John’s grant of Magn... read more
-
The Battle of Agincourt
In 1415, King Henry V led an army to victory on the field of Agincourt. In this talk, which commemorated the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt, Prof... read more
-
Jonathan Dimbleby on ‘The Battle of the Atlantic: How the Allies Won the War’
In this talk, broadcaster and acclaimed author Jonathan Dimbleby shows how Britain’s success in the Battle of the Atlantic led to the allied victory in 19... read more
-
Traces through Time: a new tool for finding linked records across our collections
This talk introduces ‘Traces through Time’, a project by The National Archives which combines historical data sets and the latest technology to help researc... read more
-
Security Service file release September 2016
Professor Christopher Andrew, formerly official historian of MI5 and author of ‘The Defence of the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5′, introduces key fil... read more
-
Blindness in Victorian Britain
This talk traces how blind and visually-impaired people in the Victorian era became increasingly vocal in seeking control and ownership over the social and poli... read more
-
A tourist’s guide to Shakespeare’s London
Discover what it was like to wander the streets of Shakespeare’s London. Though large portions of the city from Shakespeare’s time have since been destr... read more
-
Prisoners of war in the Far East
Prisoners of war in the Far East experienced some of the most horrifying and traumatic conditions of the Second World War. But what of the experiences of family... read more
-
England’s Immigrants between 1330 and 1550
This talk explores a new research database which provides an insight into immigration in England in the late medieval period. The database holds around 65,000 n... read more
-
Simply a Jacobite woman? The life experience of Lady Nairne
Lady Nairne was a noted Jacobite who played an important part in rousing support for the risings of both 1715 and 1745. This talk draws upon letters and papers... read more
-
Worn out by war: Disabled soldiers and their pensions
How can military records help us to reconstruct and understand the lives of disabled people and their families in the 18th and 19th centuries? This talk will ex... read more
-
First Lady: The Life and Wars of Clementine Churchill
Sonia Purnell presents the inspiring but often ignored story of one of the most important women in modern history – the original ‘First Lady’. Discover th... read more
-
Writer of the month: Mike Pitts on ‘Digging for Richard III: How Archaeology Found the King’
To accompany the publication of his book ‘Digging for Richard III: How Archaeology Found the King’, Mike Pitts discusses the achievements, disputes... read more
-
Big Data and the gendering of Parliamentary language
Luke Blaxill discusses the ways in which Big Data techniques can introduce quantification into long-standing historical debates. His example is the case of fema... read more
-
England ’66: The best of times?
It was a year when England won the World Cup and led the world in all aspects of popular culture, including pop music, fashion, and film. But it was also a... read more
-
100 years of the WI: The acceptable face of feminism
Professor Maggie Andrews discusses some of the key campaigns and concerns of the Women’s Institute, from its origins in the First World War to the 1950s when,... read more
-
Archaeology and espionage: The secret political life of Professor Vere Gordon Childe
Dr Katie Meheux, UCL Institute of Archaeology, discusses Professor Vere Gordon Childe (1892-1957). Childe was one of the most influential figures of 20th centur... read more
-
Writer of the Month: Richard Barnett on Crucial Interventions
In this talk medical historian Richard Barnett explores surgery during the 19th century, from the application of antisepsis to experiments with hypnosis. Wh... read more
-
Amiable Warriors: A History of the Campaign for Homosexual Equality
The Campaign for Homosexual Equality (CHE) is the oldest surviving LGBT organisation in the UK. With more than 150 local branches and over 6,000 members, it has... read more
-
Stalin’s Englishman: The Lives of Guy Burgess
Guy Burgess was a brilliant young Englishman who rose through the ranks of MI5 and MI6 during the Cold War. But as a member of ‘The Cambridge Spies’, he bet... read more
-
Shell-Shocked Britain: Understanding the lasting trauma of the First World War
Millions of soldiers were scarred by their experiences in the First World War trenches, but how new was what we now know as ‘shell shock’? What treatments w... read more
-
UKAD Forum 2016: Welcome
Jeff James (Chief Executive and Keeper, The National Archives) As Chief Executive, Jeff has overall responsibility for The National Archives’ future directi... read more
-
Heidi Thomas: Researching Call the Midwife
Screenwriter Heidi Thomas shares the process of transforming Jennifer Worth’s memoirs into the BBC period drama ‘Call the Midwife’, a TV se... read more
-
Materiality matters: new approaches to medieval wax seal studies
Wax seals have been widely studied in terms of how they look, what they depict and what they might mean. But their physical characteristics and their importance... read more
-
Magna Carta – what’s so ‘great’ about the charter?
We apologise for the variable sound quality of this podcast. 2015 is the 800th anniversary of the granting of Magna Carta – King John’s Great Charter. This... read more
-
Using the 1939 Register: Recording the UK population before the war
The preparations had been made well in advance. Now Britain was at war, and as the uniformed army prepared to face the enemy, a civilian army was mobilised at h... read more
-
For king and another country: Indian soldiers on the Western Front
Over a million Indian soldiers fought in the First World War, many travelling from remote villages in India to the muddy trenches of France and Flanders. In her... read more
-
Writer of the month: A history of war in 100 battles – Richard Overy
‘Battle is not a game to plug into a computer but a piece of living history: messy, bloody and real.’ Richard Overy, Professor of History at the University... read more
-
Big Ideas: Freedom of Memory: A new human right?
This presentation introduces the concept of Freedom of Memory, which Elizabeth is currently developing. The talk proposes a possible definition for this poten... read more
-
Security Service file release October 2015: Discussion
Stephen Twigge head of modern collections at The National Archives in conversation with Professor Christoper Andrew former official historian of MI5 and author... read more
-
Security Service file release October 2015: Introduction
Professor Christopher Andrew, formerly official historian of MI5 and author of ‘The Defence of the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5′, introduces key fil... read more
-
Barbara Hepworth, her life and work
Barbara Hepworth’s life and work examined through records held by selected archives, including The National Archives and the Tate archives, marking the 40th... read more
-
First World War rugby and the first World Cup
When Britain’s Empire went to war in August 1914, rugby players were among the first men to volunteer. Leading from the front, they paid a high price. After f... read more
-
‘Over the top: a foul a blurry foul’ – the first football charge of the First World War
Our collection of First World War records is one of the largest in the world. It includes, among many other documents, service records, letters, diaries, maps a... read more
-
1939 National Registration Night
In 1939, on the eve of the Second World War, the British government introduced an Act that would allow them to gather vital information about the country’s po... read more
-
Kew lives – reconstructing the past
Emily Ward-Willis explains how to research the local history of an area, using the Mortlake Terrace shops in Kew as a case study. The talk will show how you can... read more
-
Writer of the month: Peter Doggett – Electric shock: From the gramophone to the iPhone
Peter Doggett argues that from the birth of recording in the 19th century to the digital age, popular music has transformed the world in which we live. It has i... read more
-
Big Ideas: On pilgrimage in England
The 1930s saw a resurgence of interest in local knowledge and traditions, and intense debate about how it might be possible to ‘go modern’ while hon... read more
-
Big Ideas: Innovation in the Air Force
Ross Mahoney’s talk is based on sources ranging from operational records held by The National Archives to some of the personal recollections found at othe... read more
-
War Girls – poetry and prose by women in the First World War
Ruth Sillers talks about, and performs extracts, from her audio book compilation, War Girls. The study is a commemoration of the remarkable and largely unsung e... read more
-
Security Service file release August 2015
Professor Christopher Andrew, formerly official historian of MI5 and author of ‘The Defence of the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5′, introduces key fil... read more
-
Catalogue Day 2014: Royal Marines 350
Janet Dempsey gives an update on capturing data in Royal Marines’ records during the 350th anniversary year. Each year The National Archives hosts Catalog... read more
-
Waterloo men: the records of Wellington’s Waterloo army
By taking two men who fought at Waterloo and exploring how different records bring their careers to life, Carole Divall demonstrates the hidden stories that can... read more
-
Writer of the month: Jenny Uglow
Author, critic, and historian, Jenny Uglow, talks about her book, In These Times: Living in Britain through Napoleon’s Wars, 1793-1815. This podcast was recor... read more
-
Big Ideas: The women’s war in the Middle East – women’s First World War service in Egypt, Gallipoli, Mesopotamia and Palestine
Nadia Atia is Lecturer in World Literature at Queen Mary, University of London. Her research examines the literature and cultural history of the First World War... read more
-
‘The Germans are here!’ London’s first Zeppelin raid
Ten months into the First World War and the feared onslaught on London by Germany’s fleet of airships – Zeppelins – had failed to materialise. The... read more
-
Webinar: Tracing your ancestors – women in the military services during the First World War
Emily Stidston hosts this webinar which introduces women’s service and other records from 1914 to 1918 and beyond. These records include Army, Royal Navy,... read more
-
Writer of the month: Adam Nicolson – Wordsworth’s and Coleridge’s year together in Somerset, 1797-1798
Adam Nicolson discusses his research into his forthcoming book about Wordsworth’s and Coleridge’s year in Somerset. He used documents in The Natio... read more
-
Fanny and Stella: the young men who shocked Victorian England
The gripping story of the trial that shook Victorian England – a tale of cross-dressing, cross-examinations and the invention of camp, shortlisted for the... read more
-
Arts and Inspiration Day at The National Archives 2014: Music and lyrics
Jo Pugh reveals the music, lyrics and poetry lurking in diverse records, from Thomas Byrd’s pupil, John Bull to songs from Second World War prisoner of wa... read more
-
Arts and Inspiration Day at The National Archives 2014: Maps and plans
Rose Mitchell reveals the maps and plans held at The National Archives. Arts and Inspiration Day is a free event for students thinking of future PhD study which... read more
-
Arts and Inspiration Day at The National Archives 2014: Propaganda
Simon Demissie looks at Propaganda through the records held at The National Archives, including the wartime posters in INF 3 and the 1970s ‘Protect and Su... read more
-
Arts and Inspiration Day at The National Archives 2014: Design history and material culture
Julie Halls discusses design history and material culture as a potential area for research. Arts and Inspiration Day is a free event for students thinking of fu... read more
-
Portillo’s State Secrets
Researcher Tommy Norton introduces some of the 30 documents featured in the BBC 2 ten-part television series, Portillo’s State Secrets. He also talks about th... read more
-
Writer of the month: Helen Castor on Joan of Arc
Helen Castor in conversation, discussing her new book, Joan of Arc: A history. Find out more about Helen Castor on her website. This podcast was recorded live a... read more
-
One in six: the South Asian contribution to the First World War
One hundred years ago, undivided India provided Britain with a massive volunteer army in its hour of need. From 1914-1918 close to 1.5 million Indians served, f... read more
-
Tracing railway ancestors
The National Archives holds a vast collection of railway related material, a legacy passed down by hundreds of railway companies which operated in all corners o... read more
-
Big Ideas: Rapid response collecting
Rapid Response Collecting is a new strand to the V&A’s collecting activity – one that is responsive to global events, situating design in immediate rela... read more
-
India in the First World War
The National Archives’ principal military specialist William Spencer is joined by Brigadier Brian McCall, defence advisor in the British High Commission i... read more
-
Catalogue Day 2014: Prize Papers in the High Court of Admiralty
Amanda Bevan gives an update on the Prize Papers cataloguing project. Each year The National Archives hosts Catalogue Day. This event is open to all, and it sho... read more
-
Catalogue Day 2014: The keystone of diplomacy – re-cataloguing treaties in The National Archives
James Cronan outlines a short but important project which enhanced the catalogue descriptions of 272 treaties to make them searchable by their commonly used nam... read more
-
Catalogue Day 2014: Seditions to petitions – Disturbance Papers and Criminal Petitions, 1816-1838
Briony Paxman and Chris Day outline the cataloguing project around HO 40, Home Office Disturbance Papers. and HO 17, Home Office: Criminal Petitions, Series I,... read more
-
Catalogue Day 2014: Operation War Diary
Laura Cowdrey and Steve Hirschorn describe the largest in-house digitisation project undertaken by The National Archives – the First World War unit war di... read more
-
Catalogue Day 2014: Discovery update
Jonathan Cates gives an update on Discovery, our catalogue. Each year The National Archives hosts Catalogue Day. This event is open to all, and it showcases a n... read more
-
Catalogue Day 2014: Foreign Office – cataloguing Correspondence for 1906
Sally Hoult introduces the project to catalogue Foreign Office Correspondence for 1906. Each year The National Archives hosts Catalogue Day. This event is open... read more
-
Catalogue Day 2014: introduction by Jeff james
Jeff James, Chief Executive and Keeper of The National Archives, introduces Catalogue Day 2014. This annual event is open to all, and it showcases a number of c... read more
-
Vanishing for the Vote: diverse suffragettes boycott the 1911 census
Vanishing for the Vote tells the story of what happened on census night, 2 April 1911. Despite decades of campaigning, no woman had won the right to vote. Suffr... read more
-
Big Ideas: ‘An heroic, slow-motion cataloguing of life’: ethics and digitisation
A culture shift is taking place in the Wellcome Library’s Special Collections team. Driven by a growing realisation that past acquisition policies have left... read more
-
Writer of the month: My history – Antonia Fraser
Antonia Fraser’s memoir describes growing up in the 1930s and 1940s but its real concern is with her growing love of History. The fascination began as a c... read more
-
The huns have got my gramophone: advertisements from the Great War
In the nineteenth century, Britain led the world in the production of illustrated books and magazines. By the 1890s, commercial artists often drew for both maga... read more
-
Lines on the map: records of international boundaries
The National Archives holds one of the largest and most important accumulations of maps in the world. They document the United Kingdom’s involvement in shap... read more
-
Writer of the month: The Spanish ambassador’s suitcase
Matthew Parris and Andrew Bryson discuss their new book, The Spanish ambassador’s suitcase. Matthew Parris worked for the Foreign Office and the Conservat... read more
-
Black Poppies: Britain’s black community and the Great War
Stephen Bourne talks about his latest book, Black Poppies, published by The History Press to coincide with the centenary of the First World War. Black Poppies e... read more
-
Big Ideas: The shape of time
Visualisation is widely believed to bring many benefits, assisting us in making sense of all kinds of information. To try to make diagrams of history – us... read more
-
Newly released files from 1985 and 1986
Contemporary records specialists Mark Dunton and Simon Demissie discuss the latest batch of government records to be released to The National Archives. The ye... read more
-
A game for Christmas: Football on the Western Front, December 1914?
Any mention of football and the First World War will evoke the Christmas Truce of 1914 and the football match played in No Man’s Land. At the time many de... read more
-
Writer of the month: Tracy Borman on Thomas Cromwell
Dr Tracy Borman, author, historian and broadcaster, discusses her biography of Thomas Cromwell. The National Archives hosts a series of monthly talks to broade... read more
-
Big Ideas: The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Cultural Value Project
The Arts and Humanities Research Council’s Cultural Value Project was set up late in 2012 to address the dissatisfaction with the ways in which we understand... read more
-
Writer of the month: Stories from behind the Berlin Wall
Hester Vaizey discusses her latest book, Born in the GDR: Living in the Shadow of the Wall, which reveals the everyday lives of citizens of the former German De... read more
-
Paddy Ashdown: The Cruel Victory
Paddy Ashdown discusses his new book, The Cruel Victory, which tells the long-neglected D-Day story of the Resistance uprising and subsequent massacre on the Ve... read more
-
The Chevalier d’Eon: Transgender Diplomat at the Court of George III, 1763-1777
In 1763 peace broke out between France and Britain, ending the Seven Years War. The defeated superpower France was left nursing its wounds, as well as thoughts... read more
-
Putting it all together: using archives to discover your community’s involvement in the First World War
The names of the First World War dead are there for all to see, on war memorials all over the country. Many individuals and groups are researching the stories b... read more
-
The civil service in the First World War
The First World War affected every sector of society, as the nation’s resources were harnessed for the war effort. Like other employers, the civil service... read more
-
Inventions that didn’t change the world: a history of Victorian curiosities
In an era when Britain led the world in technological innovation, a host of lesser inventors were also hard at work. Registering designs for copyright was quick... read more
-
Inventions that didn’t change the world: a history of Victorian curiosities – audio
In an era when Britain led the world in technological innovation, a host of lesser inventors were also hard at work. Registering designs for copyright was quick... read more
-
1974: forty years on
Mark Dunton looks back at UK National events in 1974 in this illustrated podcast. Drawing on the public records he highlights some unusual or little known aspec... read more
-
Writer of the month: Philippa Gregory
Philippa Gregory in conversation with Caroline Kimbell, discussing how she uses original records and introducing her new novel, The King’s Curse. Philipp... read more
-
Security Service file release October 2014
Professor Christopher Andrew, formerly official historian of MI5 and author of ‘The Defence of the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5′, introduces key fil... read more
-
Big Ideas: Understanding patterns of behaviour for users of public records
When Google launched in 1998, a prime ingredient in their not-so-secret sauce was the question: if a user randomly clicked links where on the web might they end... read more
-
From British bobby to Hong Kong copper
This year marks the 170th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Police. This talk traces the history of the organisation through the stories of a fe... read more
-
‘A World of Their Design’: The men who shaped Tudor diplomacy
In a time of shifting politics and world changing events, three men would emerge as masterful diplomats, ambassadors and advisors who possessed a shrewd politic... read more
-
‘Things as are all Forms, & Ceremonys’: Ritual and authority in the reign of Queen Anne
Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, impatient with courtly ritual, gave Queen Anne grudging praise for her knowledge of protocol: ‘She has the greatest memory... read more
-
Webinar: Why did people fear the Victorian workhouse?
The workhouse was a major feature in the lives of the poor, whether or not they were ever inmates themselves. This webinar can help you to explore records in Th... read more
-
Webinar: Tracing British battalions or regiments during the First World War
Unit war diaries, trench maps and photographs are just some of the sources held in The National Archives. This webinar looks at how to find these records and ho... read more
-
Webinar: An introduction to emigration sources for family historians
This webinar looks at passenger lists and other records for the popular destinations for migrants leaving the UK. Increasing numbers of these records have been... read more
-
Webinar: Army musters – more than just accounts
This webinar looks at how the army accounted for the money it spent on its personnel and what you can discover in the records in addition to financial costs. Wi... read more
-
Did she kill him? Addiction, adultery and arsenic in Victorian Britain
Florence Chandler was in her early 20s when she married much older James Maybrick, a Liverpool cotton broker, in 1881. Eight years later, tensions seethed. Jame... read more
-
The naval policy of the Free Church of Scotland
In 1843 the established Church of Scotland suffered a large secession of members who formed the Free Church of Scotland. In the early years of its existence the... read more
-
Big Ideas: Big Data for Law
Big data is big news. Did you know an estimated 90 per cent of the world’s data was created in the last two years (see www.ibm.com/big-data)? Insights gleaned... read more
-
Peacetime diplomacy and the New European Order
Professor Alan Sharp, of the University of Ulster, examines diplomacy after the Paris Peace Conference. This talk was recorded live at the one-day conference, W... read more
-
The road to war: The prelude to war
Dr Stephen Twigge, of The National Archives, outlines the political landscape preceding the First World War – the July Crisis. This talk was recorded live... read more
-
Lines in the sand
Dr Juliette Desplat, of The National Archives, gives an overview of the consequences of the First World War for the Middle East. This talk was recorded live at... read more
-
Wartime diplomacy: Getting global: American involvement
Dr Richard Dunley, of The National Archives, discusses American involvement in the First World War, particularly the three-way dynamic of British-American-Germa... read more
-
The road to war: At home and abroad: propaganda and intelligence
Dr Martin Farr, of Newcastle University, discusses propaganda and intelligence in the lead up to the First World War. This talk was recorded live at the one-day... read more
-
Wartime diplomacy: The role of the Empire
Dr Bryan Glass, of Texas State University, examines the role of the Empire during the First World War. This talk was recorded live at the one-day conference, Wa... read more
-
Annual lecture of the Pipe Roll Society (2014): Formal record and courtroom reality in 13th and 14th century England
Please note: Professor Brand quotes direct dialogue from original plea rolls and some listeners might find the language offensive. The Annual Lecture of the P... read more
-
Keeping it in the family
In a period where politics could not be separated from dynasty and the personal relationships between individuals were crucial to government, women often played... read more
-
Big Ideas: Sharing knowledge and expertise with business
The National Archives is engaged in its first Knowledge Transfer Partnership. The scheme aims to support UK businesses to improve their competitiveness, product... read more
-
Special Operations Executive (SOE) service – some alternative sources
Have you been unsuccessful in searching for a personal file for someone in SOE or perhaps you found a file containing little detail? There may be alternative or... read more
-
Inconvenient people and how to find them: Tales from the Victorian lunacy panics
The 19th century saw a series of scandals concerning sane individuals being locked away in lunatic asylums, who were the victims of unscrupulous persons who wan... read more
