The National Archives Podcast Series

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Latest Episodes:

Finding company records Apr 09, 2009

Show notes

Historian, Alex Ritchie, looks at the distribution of business records and introduces the finding aids that are available to researchers, as well as revealing some of the less obvious resources that can be used to identify and track down business information.

What can you learn from a DNA test? Apr 02, 2009

Show notes

Chris Pomeroy, of the Pomeroy DNA Project, reviews the history of DNA testing and explains how it can be used by family historians, as well as discussing the experiences of leading family history projects that are using DNA testing to link and verify their family trees.

George Ives: queer lives and the family Mar 30, 2009

Show notes

Cultural historian Matt Cook delves into the diary of George Ives, the early homosexual law reformer, and considers the issue of family, a pertinent and recurrent theme within Ives' diary.

Locality, land and livelihood: sources for early local history Mar 20, 2009

Show notes

An introduction to medieval and early modern sources relating to English and Welsh local history. Sean Cunningham and James Ross explore the vast collection of accounts, surveys, court rolls, inquisitions, deeds and taxation records held at The National Archives.

Tracing your ancestors: a case study featuring the Darwin family Mar 13, 2009

Show notes

A step-by-step guide to tracing your ancestors, using the Darwin family as a case study. Gerry Toop introduces researchers to the most important genealogical sources available at The National Archives and elsewhere, including birth, marriage and death indexes, census returns, wills and death duty records, as well as some of the main websites for family history research.

Tracing Scottish ancestors Mar 06, 2009

Show notes

Holding records for Scotland from the union in 1707, The National Archives holds documents on many of our Scottish ancestors. Find out how to go about discovering them in this talk by Audrey Collins.

Dissecting and cataloguing medical officers' journals in ADM 101 Feb 27, 2009

Show notes

Bruno Pappalardo introduces the collection of medical officers' journals found in ADM 101. These journals give a detailed insight into a ship's daily activities, as well as the science and wildlife that was encountered by British Navy medical officers.

Royal Air Force service records Feb 20, 2009

Show notes

Last year saw the 90th anniversary of the establishment of the Royal Air Force. The records of thousands of men (and women) who served in the RAF and its predecessors during the First World War are held by The National Archives. This talk will demonstrate how you can use these records to find out more about your ancestors' lives in this pioneering branch of the armed services.

Kapow! Fifties Britain versus the comics menace Feb 17, 2009

Show notes

In the mid 1950s Britain woke up to the threat of an invasion: "American style" comics were accused of ruining the reading habits of vulnerable children across the country and even inciting racism and violence. Could Captain Marvel cause crime? See the comics condemned as harmful and find out what action the government took to stamp out the comics menace.

Irish land records - British Sign Language video Feb 06, 2009

Show notes

With the loss of the 19th century census returns for Ireland, Sharon Hintze guides us through the alternative sources for family historians researching their Irish ancestors.