The National Archives Podcast Series

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Latest Episodes:

Big Ideas: Sense and sensitivity May 12, 2014

Show notes

Contrary to previous fears, there is unlikely to be a 'black hole' in our official history due to lost emails and other digital information. In fact, quite the opposite. According to official sources, government is deluged with digital information and now The National Archives urgently needs to develop a new way to review for sensitivity the vast swathes of data and preserve that which has historical value for future generations.

In this talk, Tim Gollins discusses the problem and what The National Archives and The University of Glasgow are jointly doing to address it. Tim is a director of the Digital Preservation Coalition and a member of the University of Sheffield I-School's Advisory Panel.

Big Ideas: How to turn a tin can into a TARDIS May 06, 2014

Show notes

Starting with a tin can and a tried and tested supermarket analogy Mark Merifield covers some basic principles of information management and explores the value that's held in metadata. Building on ideas being worked on by government's Metadata and Vocabularies Working Group he examines how, with some simple controls and standards, that metadata could go on to open up our understanding, use and re-use of government's information across time and (cyber)space, solving digital transfer and opening up new ways to access our records along the way.

A specialist in the management of digital information, Mark worked with the team that developed the understanding and application of the principles of Digital Continuity. He has been particularly focused on making sure the future can become the past.

Operation Unthinkable: Churchill's plan for World War Three Apr 28, 2014

Show notes

Churchill's top secret plan to attack the Soviet Empire was scheduled for 1 July 1945. British, US, Polish and German forces were to attempt to liberate East Germany and Poland and bring Stalin back to the conference table. If they did not succeed, Allied forces would be sucked into a Third World War. How close did Britain come to Armageddon in 1945?

Jonathan Walker is the author of Operation Unthinkable: British plans to attack The Soviet Empire 1945. He is a member of the British Commission for Military History. He is also a Vice-President of the West Country Writers' Association and recently retired as an Honorary Research Associate at the University of Birmingham. He writes, broadcasts and lectures widely on aspects of 20th Century warfare and makes regular visits to battlefields across the world.

Writer of the month: Human woes - researching violence and pain in the archives Apr 25, 2014

Show notes

Joanna Bourke discusses her book What it Means to be Human: Reflections from 1791 to the Present and how she uses original records in her writing.

Joanna Bourke is Professor of History at Birkbeck College, University of London. She is the prize-winning author of nine books, including: Dismembering the Male: Men's Bodies, Britain, and the Great War (1996); An Intimate History of Killing (1999); Fear: A Cultural History (2005); and Rape: A History from the 1860s to the Present (2007).

The Post Office Tower: symbol of a new Britain? Apr 22, 2014

Show notes

When the Post Office Tower was opened officially on 8 October 1965, it was London's tallest building. It was also seen as symbolising a new, exciting technological revolution and a new spirit of optimism, successfully capturing the public imagination. In this talk, Mark Dunton draws on the public records held by The National Archives to explore aspects of the Tower's history, design and construction and its wider significance.

Mark Dunton is principal records specialist in contemporary history. His research interests include post-1945 British political, social and economic history and the policies of the Heath government in the early 1970s.

Early civil registration Apr 07, 2014

Show notes

Everyone researching 19th century English or Welsh ancestors is familiar with birth, marriage and death certificates, but how much thought do we give to the origins of the General Register Office which was created to look after these records? Not everyone was in favour, and the legislation passed in 1836 (Births and Deaths Registration Act 1836) was not the first attempt at setting up a system of civil registration. Its first few years were surprisingly turbulent, and files in The National Archives tell of the difficulties faced by the early registrars. Most people happily complied with the new law, but in some places these men encountered non-compliance, ignorance and, in one instance, riots!

Audrey Collins is a family history specialist at The National Archives. She is a regular speaker at family history conferences and events in the UK and overseas, and is the author of numerous books and articles. Her most recent publication is Birth, Marriage and Death Records: a guide for family historians (Pen & Sword 2012), which she co-wrote with Dave Annal.

'...we may lie and die in a land of plenty...': The Victorian poor in their own words Apr 01, 2014

Show notes

In all but the most specialist accounts of Victorian histories the poor are often represented through generalisations, graphs or summed up in 'averaging' paragraphs. More detailed work might look at the experiences of individual poor people through pulling together accounts from contemporary newspapers, the letters of the wealthy, or poor law officials and government inspectors who write about the poor. Few historians have looked at accounts of poor people's lives written by the poor themselves. There are good reasons for this: many poor people were unable to write and many letters undoubtedly do not survive; and the letters that survive are scattered across a great many archives, usually unlisted in large collections. This talk will concentrate on a collection of such pauper letters, statements and petitions which demonstrate the concerns, thoughts and feeling of the poor themselves.

Paul Carter is the principal domestic records specialist in the Advice and records knowledge department at The National Archives. His research and publication interests include early labour movements and popular politics.

Spies like us: The secret life of Ernest Oldham Mar 14, 2014

Show notes

The security service files held at The National Archives in series KV 2 reveal that many people involved in espionage, like Foreign Office clerk Ernest Oldham, were ordinary folk who entered an extraordinary world by chance - often with tragic consequences. His story, told through phone intercepts, surveillance notes and secret service reports, reveals the human cost of spying in the 1920s and 1930s.

Dr Nick Barratt works in the Advice and Records Knowledge department. Previously he ran was involved in researching and presenting a number of television series. He has published several books, most recently Greater London: The Story of the Suburbs, and he lectures regularly about history and the media.

Big Ideas: The Great Archive Debate: a view from York Mar 07, 2014

Show notes

At the end of the last century the great heritage debate transformed thinking about public engagement with the past in historic sites and museums. Do new initiatives in archives promise something similar in public engagement with history now, and how might new digital initiatives help?

Sarah Rees Jones and Victoria Hoyle give an overview of some of the current new developments in public use of archives that are developing in York, from digital initiatives and new archival search software using artificial intelligence to the development of new public services. What is the value in cross-sector collaboration between the arts and sciences and between universities and archives in developing new archival practice? Where do we go next?

Sarah Rees Jones is a medievalist and the Director of the Institute for the Public (IPUP). Victoria Hoyle is a part-time PhD student in the Department of History, University of York.

The Keeper's Gallery Talk 2014: The UK's entry to the European Economic Community Mar 07, 2014

Show notes

James Cronan, Diplomatic and Colonial Records Specialist at The National Archives, outlines the events around the United Kingdom's entry to the European Economic Community.

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