The National Archives Podcast Series

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Latest Episodes:

He is so silly he would rather have a half pence than a shilling: Discovering the history of learning disability Mar 07, 2014

Show notes

Simon Jarrett explores the fascinating and little-known world of the history of people with learning disabilities, known variously over time as idiots, imbeciles, defectives and the mentally handicapped. Using court records, government files, parish records, prints, art and even jokes we can unearth a rich vein of often surprising information, reaching back to medieval times. Simon Jarrett is a Wellcome Trust doctoral researcher at Birkbeck, University of London, working on 'idiocy' in the eighteenth century. He is the author of Disability in time and place, an English Heritage web resource, and is writing a book on the same subject. You can see Hogarth's Marriage a-la-mode series on Wikipedia and photographs of Cell Barnes Hospital on the Out of Sight, Out of Mind? website This talk formed part of The National Archives' Diversity Week 2014.

Security Service file release February 2014 Feb 28, 2014

Show notes

Professor Christopher Andrew, formerly official historian of MI5 and author of 'The Defence of the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5?, introduces key files from the 30th release of Security Service files to The National Archives in February 2014. The latest release brings the total number of MI5 files at Kew to 5,138. Notable files in this collection include previously unseen material on the former Labour MP, Geoffrey Bing and the actor Michael Redgrave.

From deviance to diversity? Feb 17, 2014

Show notes

Finding sexuality and sexual science in the archives. Dr Lesley Hall, Senior Archivist at the Wellcome Library, examines sources at the Wellcome Library on questions of sexuality from approximately 1800 to the present, with particular reference to the roles of medicine and the psychological sciences. She also considers related collections worldwide, with particular reference to the impact of European fascism on individuals and the archival record. Dr Lesley Hall has written extensively on gender and sexuality in the 19th and 20th centuries, including (with the late Roy Porter) The Facts of Life: the creation of sexual knowledge in Britain, 1650-1950 (Yale UP 1995), and Sex, Gender and Social Change in Britain since 1880 (Palgrave, 2nd edition 2012). This talk formed part of The National Archives' Diversity Week.

Digitising MH 47 the Middlesex military service appeal tribunal Feb 11, 2014

Show notes

On the introduction of conscription in 1916, Military Service Tribunals were set up to hear applications and appeals for exemption. Surviving material is fragmented but two complete sets of tribunal papers were retained, including those for the Middlesex Appeal Tribunal. Chris Barnes and David Langrish provide an overview of The National Archives project to digitise these records, highlighting the insights the records provide on the effect of war on society at home, and on the lives of individuals appealing for exemption, and their families and communities. Chris Barnes is a Records Specialist in Modern Domestic history and David Langrish is a Reader Advisor in the Military, Maritime, Transport and Family History team. This talk formed part of The National Archives' Diversity Week.

Black in the British Frame Feb 10, 2014

Show notes

Stephen Bourne shares his memories of growing up in Peckham and of his adopted Aunt Esther, a black Londoner born before the First World War and the subject of his first book. And he talks about how, from an educationally disadvantaged background, he came to write many successful black British history books including the award winning Black in the British Frame - The Black Experience in British Film and Television (Continuum, 2011) and The Motherland Calls - Britain's Black Servicemen and Women 1939-45 (The History Press, 2012). His latest book, Black Poppies-Britain's Black Community and the Great War, will be published by The History Press in August 2014. This talk formed part of The National Archives' Diversity Week.

Big ideas: From catwalk to cultural collections Feb 06, 2014

Show notes

Big Ideas is a series of briefings on big ideas coming out of The National Archives' research programme. Covering themes of innovation, creativity and excellence each Big Idea will share with colleagues and professionals aspects of innovative research taking place at The National Archives and elsewhere that could apply to their own area of work. Being able to predict with any precision how collections will change over time is difficult - we are always reliant on historical data. But like fashion designers predicting future trends, we now use the data we collect everyday to model the future. The National Archives uses computer models to underpin collection management decisions and has successfully used them to reduce energy costs. In this talk, Nancy Bell, Head of Collection Care, The National Archives, and Dr Matija Strli?, Centre for Sustainable Heritage, University College London, showcase the potential of computer modelling to support the business and aid decision making.

News from FamilySearch Jan 27, 2014

Show notes

Sharon Hintze brings you up with the latest developments on FamilySearch, the world's largest genealogical organisation. It is rapidly evolving, with new features and collections, and partnerships with commercial organisations arising almost weekly. Sharon is Director of the London Family History Centre, currently based at The National Archives at Kew.

Big Ideas: Mind the Gap Jan 24, 2014

Show notes

Mind the Gap is an entirely collaborative project which has has gathered the real-life experiences of professionals in the heritage science field. It has included partners from The National Archives, UCL, Tate and the University of Exeter. The project team has developed recommendations to help turn research into practicable results. Nancy Bell, Head of Collection Care at The National Archives and Principal Investigator for Mind the Gap, shares her experiences of turning research into practice and the challenges of managing a project with partners based across the world.

Public Cooperation with the Household Expenditure Enquiry, 1953-1954 Jan 20, 2014

Show notes

The Household Expenditure Enquiry of 1953-54 was the first large-scale enquiry into household expenditure and income in the United Kingdom since the Family Budget Enquiry of 1937-1938. It was intended to cover 20,000 households and the Ministry of Labour and National Service (MLNS) proudly proclaimed that public cooperation with the survey had 'exceeded our most optimistic hopes'. But just how compliant were members of the public, and were there complaints about government intrusion? Mark Dunton discusses these records, now fully opened up to researchers thanks to the British Living Standards Project delivered by the University of Sussex.

Hidden treasures? Uncovering maps among the files of government Jan 13, 2014

Show notes

The National Archives holds over six million maps and plans and the majority are among files, boxes, volumes and rolls. Map specialist Andrew Janes explores the variety of these 'hidden' maps and examines some interesting examples from a range of government departments. He also offers some hints on how to search for maps at The National Archives.

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