The National Archives to establish new hub for community-led research in the cultural heritage sector

Staff working in galleries, libraries, archives and museums around the UK will soon be able to ask The National Archives for help funding community-led research projects, following a generous £1 million award by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).

The project, known as Spaces, Places and Belonging, will help a wider range of people engage with cultural organisations.

Saul Nassé, Chief Executive, The National Archives, said: “This important work will connect our museums, archives, libraries and galleries more closely to the communities around them. Thanks to this grant from the AHRC, we’ll be able to support outreach work, so that more people are able to enjoy our cultural history.”

Three grant schemes will be available for cultural heritage organisations of any size to apply to. Individuals working in the cultural sector will be able to apply for up to £1,000 bursaries to help them build the skills needed to set up outreach and research projects.

Seed Corn Grants of up to £3,000 will be available to support early-stage or pilot projects to engage communities with research.

Larger grants of up to £30,000 will be awarded for collaborative projects of significance to local people, where community groups are working hand-in-hand with their cultural organisations.

At least £550,000 in funding will be distributed over three years.

The rest of the grant will be used to create bespoke training, events and resources, create an online knowledge platform which can be accessed by archivists, gallery and museum professionals seeking resources on community engagement and to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the programme.

Dr Allan Sudlow, Director of Partnerships and Engagement at the AHRC, said: “The Community Research Hub will play an important role in building a community-driven research capability across UK cultural heritage organisations and collections without independent research organisation status.

“The hub will provide an opportunity for diverse communities to actively engage with collections and heritage-based research, generate new knowledge, and develop new skills for those in partner heritage organisations as well as the community groups.

“It will help communities to draw on their own expertise to co-produce new research with galleries, libraries, archives and museums, and create grass-roots networks for longer-term collaborations across the sector.”

The National Archives has partnered with Leeds Museums & Galleries, the National Library of Wales/Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru and the Archives and Records Association’s Community Archives and Heritage Group to deliver this project, each of whom will deliver specific community-facing programmes in their sectors and regions.

The opening date for applications will be announced later in the spring.

Seeking permanent home for John le Carré literary archive

The John le Carré literary archive has been accepted in lieu of tax by the government.

You can find more details in the latest Acceptance in Lieu report published by Arts Council England. The John le Carré archive is reported at case 21.

Any library, record office or institution in the United Kingdom interested in acquiring this collection should contact Liz Hart, Collections and Manorial Records Manager, at asl@nationalarchives.gov.uk for more information about the application process.

Applications for allocation of this material must be received in writing by email (same address as above) or by post at the following address:

Liz Hart
Archives Sector Leadership
The National Archives
Kew, Richmond
TW9 4DU

The deadline for applications is Friday 7 March 2025.

 

The National Archives launches guidance for archivists working in fast response situations

Today The National Archives has launched new guidance for archivists about rapid response collecting.

It’s designed to support archivists collecting material in situations like the aftermath of accidents, natural disasters or protests and includes advice on preservation of messages and objects left spontaneously by members of the public.

It also covers guidance on recording people’s reactions to major national events such as the death of a prominent person or a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic.

Developed by archivists with experience of working in developing situations, it offers a range of approaches and practical advice when deciding whether to collect in response to unpredictable events.

Guidance on preserving both physical and digital material is covered, since communities may have created websites or social media posts as well as leaving tangible items. There is also practical conservation advice for dealing with tributes at memorial sites as these are easily damaged when exposed to the elements.

Tina Morton, Head of Archive Sector Leadership at The National Archives, said: “Rapid response collecting is a clear example of how archives are not just about the past but are also about the present and preserving it for the future. Working closely and sensitively with affected communities, archives play a vital role in ensuring that future generations remember and learn from significant events in our time.”

At a joint event with the Archives & Records Association, we launched our guidance alongside their new report on the impact of rapid response collecting on the mental wellbeing of the record-keeping workforce.

Working in archives during these stressful and often traumatic periods can take its toll and this report, written by Dr Kostas Arvanitis and Jen Kavanagh, examines the effects of rapid-response collecting on archive staff and volunteers.

The report assesses current gaps in support, resources and training, and provides recommendations for mitigating the effects on wellbeing.

You can find out more about The National Archives’ guidance by following this link: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sector/advice-and-guidance/managing-your-collection/rapid-response-collecting/

MI5: Official Secrets exhibition opens in the spring

Today, we can announce a groundbreaking exhibition in partnership with MI5 exploring the vital work of Britain’s domestic intelligence agency.

It is the first time in MI5’s 115-year history that it has collaborated on an exhibition in this way, with their input providing an insider’s perspective on the evolution of espionage in response to changing security threats.

Opening this Spring at The National Archives, MI5: Official Secrets will take visitors on a journey through pivotal moments in MI5’s history, from its formation in the lead-up to the First World War, through the fight against fascism in the Second World War, exploring the spies and scandals of the Cold War, and then into the contemporary challenges of dealing with terrorism.

Showcasing a compelling collection of original case files, photographs and papers, alongside authentic espionage equipment used by spies and spy-catchers over the last 115 years, MI5: Official Secrets will offer a captivating glimpse into the world of British intelligence.

Among the fascinating stories being explored are never-before-seen papers being released by The National Archives today: namely the first-hand account of Kim Philby’s confession in 1963; and papers related to the past activities of Cambridge spy Anthony Blunt.

The exhibition will also feature exclusive video insights from former MI5 directors general, intelligence experts including Professor Christopher Andrew, author of MI5’s official history, and Baroness May, former prime minister and one of Britain’s longest serving home secretaries.

Sir Ken McCallum, Director General of MI5 said: “We are pleased to partner with The National Archives to share our history through MI5: Official Secrets.

“While much of our work must remain secret, this exhibition reflects our ongoing commitment to being open wherever we can.”

Saul Nassé, Chief Executive and Keeper at The National Archives, said: “It’s a privilege to work with MI5 on this exhibition exploring the extraordinary story of what they do.

“As the official archive for the UK Government we hold and make available MI5 files in our reading rooms and online.

“This exhibition adds to that by creating an immersive experience that will challenge perceptions and provide new perspectives. Stand by for the inside track on famous spy scandals and uncover secrets that will amaze you.”

Mark Dunton, historian at The National Archives and curator of MI5: Official Secrets, said: “The joy of the MI5 files are that many can be read as though they were a gripping spy novel. The difference is that these are the authentic, official records which give us rich layers of detail about famous espionage cases.

“Many people will have heard of the Cambridge Five, Klaus Fuchs and the atomic spies, or the double cross agents of the Second World War, but we will also be highlighting the astonishing work of dedicated MI5 officers, like Major ‘Tin Eye’ Stephens and Jane Sissmore, the first female MI5 officer, who tirelessly investigated espionage suspects. And even the work of the Girl Guides who acted as messengers in the early years.”

Other individuals being highlighted include, Vernon Kell, MI5’s first and longest serving director, and William Melville, a man who could be described as a founding father of MI5 investigations, while explorations of the Portland Spy Ring, the infiltration of the Communist Party of Great Britain, and the evolution of spy methods and surveillance techniques will provide visitors with new insights into Britain’s intelligence work.

MI5: Official Secrets opens at The National Archives this Spring. For more information, visit: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/mi5-official-secrets

Latest release of files from MI5

Today we have made available a selection of previously top secret files from MI5.

The records cover a range of subjects predominantly from the organisation’s early years before the First World War, up until the mid-1970s.

The release reveals new details in the cases of the Cambridge spies Kim Philby, Anthony Blunt, and John Cairncross, including their confessions, and also sheds light on related cases including Constantin Volkov, and Philby’s first wife Litzi.

Also included are historical reports and other papers from 1909 until 1959, a wartime ‘watchers’ guide offering surveillance advice to MI5 officers, papers related to investigations into the Communist Party of Great Britain, and communications between MI5 and the FBI.

All the files in the release are available to explore, view and download from Discovery, our catalogue, here.

Some of these files will also be put on display in our upcoming exhibition, MI5: Official Secrets. Read more about our exhibition here.

Read more about the release in our blog: Confessions from the Cambridge Five.

KV 1: The Security Service: First World War Historical Reports and Other Papers

KV 2: The Security Service: Personal (PF Series) Files

KV 3: The Security Service: Subject (SF series) Files

KV 4: The Security Service: Policy (Pol F Series) Files

Click here to find out more about previous MI5 releases.

World leaders who signed No 10 Downing Street visitor books

Three Downing Street visitor books are included in this December’s Cabinet Office file release. The red leather-bound volumes are the first ever released by the Government and provide a fascinating insight into eminent visitors passing through the doors of Number 10 between 1970-2003.

The late Queen, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, and her husband Philip, the late Duke of Edinburgh, signed the books on several occasions, as did their son, the King, and other members of the Royal family.

Message from Nelson Mandela saying visiting Downing Street is always an unforgettable experience, with his signature July 10,1996

Many other heads of state also left their signatures, some with personal messages. On 10 July 1996, six years after his release from prison, South African president Nelson Mandela wrote: “Visiting Downing Street, No 10, is always an unforgettable experience.”

Other world leaders who signed included Ronald Reagan, Benazir Bhutto, Mary Robinson, Idi Amin, Vaclav Havel and Haile Selassie.

The visitor books are among 328 Cabinet Office documents released today under the 20-year rule. Most are correspondence and work on government policies during Tony Blair’s Labour administration 2003-2004.

They cover a wide range of subject matter including climate change, counterterrorism, organised crime, Ofsted inspections, foot-and-mouth disease and GM food.

Of these files, The National Archives has digitised more than 140 which are available to download and view below from today. The rest of the files are available to order and read at The National Archives in Kew.

PREM 49 – Records of the Prime Minister’s Office: 1999-2003

PREM 53 – Downing Street Visitors Book

CAB 128 – Conclusions of Cabinet Meetings. Meetings 1-39,

CAB 129 – Cabinet Memoranda Legislative Programme: papers 1-10

CAB 130 – Ministerial Committee on Freedom of Information: meetings 1-7, papers 1-18

CAB 134 – Miscellaneous Committees: Minutes and Papers (General Series)

Extraordinary new clue about the Princes in the Tower found at The National Archives

Extraordinary new evidence has been found at The National Archives which offers a fresh clue about what happened to The Princes in the Tower.

An entry in a 16th century registry of wills shows a treasured possession belonging to elder prince, Edward V – his chain – being bequeathed by a member of Sir James Tyrell’s family.

Tyrell was implicated in the princes’ murder by Thomas More, in his The History of King Richard the Third, though many historians have dismissed that as Tudor propaganda.

However, Tyrell is on record as working for Richard III and the discovery raises the question: why did one of his relatives have such a personal item of the elder boy in their possession?

The evidence is in a registry copy of the 1516 will of Lady Margaret Capell, half-sister of Sir James Tyrell’s wife, Anne. (Doc ref: PROB 11/19)

The entry reads: “I bequeath to my sonne Sir Giles his fadres Cheyne which was Yonge kynge Edward the Vth.”

The extraordinary discovery came to light when Prof Tim Thornton, Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University of Huddersfield, began searching through documents at The National Archives for clues about what might have happened to the young princes’ possessions.

“Their clothes, their belongings just seemed to disappear, no one ever seems to refer to them,” said Prof Thornton who published his finds in the journal, History.

“The debate over Richard III’s responsibility for the disappearance of the Princes in the Tower will no doubt run and run, but we now have a unique reference to the survival of an object that was very personal to Edward V to add into the mix.”

“It’s exciting to be able to shed further light on one of the most controversial and mysterious episodes in British history.”

Sean Cunningham, Head of Collections (Medieval & Early Modern) at The National Archives, said: “Margaret’s reference to a chain once owned by the uncrowned teenage king Edward V is a new piece of evidence that raises more questions than it answers.

“Edward vanished from public view within the walls of the Tower in summer 1483 – thirty-three years before this will was written. It is fascinating to speculate how the Capell family came to own an expensive piece of jewellery that once belonged to Edward during his short life and why it was identified in this specific way, such a long time after his disappearance.“

 

Latest accredited archive services announced

Following a recent Archive Service Accreditation Panel, the UK Archive Service Accreditation Committee is pleased to announce that the following archive services have been awarded accredited status for the first time:

  • Cardiff University Library
  • Northamptonshire Archive Service

All accredited archive services must apply again for accreditation six years after their initial award to retain their accredited status. At the same panel, the following archive services were awarded accreditation for the second time:

  • East Anglian Film Archive
  • Kingston University Archives and Special Collections
  • Knowsley Archives Service
  • Newcastle University Library Special Collections and Archives
  • Northumberland Archives
  • Oxfordshire Health Archives
  • Teesside Archives
  • University of Bristol Theatre Collection
  • University of Leicester Archives and Special Collections

By attaining accreditation, archive services demonstrate that they meet the UK standard for collections management and access to collections, showing resilience and the ability to manage changing circumstances successfully.

Archive Service Accreditation is supported by a partnership of the Archives and Records Association (UK), Archives and Records Council Wales, National Records of Scotland, Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, Scottish Council on Archives, The National Archives, and the Welsh Government through its Museums, Archives and Libraries Wales division.

View the full list of accredited archive services

Find out more about Archive Service Accreditation

The National Archives Welcomes New Board Members

 

The National Archives welcomes the appointment of two new non-executive Board members, Lopa Patel MBE and Nigel Baker. They replace Baroness Ros Scott of Needham Market and Mark Richards who both step down on 30 December 2024 after highly successful 6.5 year appointments, where they supported the organisation through the pandemic and advised and contributed on the strategic direction of The National Archives and the delivery of its ambitions.

Chair of The National Archives’ Board, Professor Andrew Wathey CBE said:

“I am delighted to welcome Lopa and Nigel to The National Archives’ Board. They bring a range of skills highly relevant to the next phase of our development, as digital capability becomes ever more important to the public record, and I greatly look forward to working with them. I also take this opportunity to thank Baroness Ros Scott and Mark Richards for their outstanding service to the Board over the last six years.”

Chief Executive and Keeper of The National Archives, Saul Nassé said:

“I look forward to welcoming Lopa and Nigel to the Board, and working with them as we look to become a living digital national archive, preserving the contemporary record of government and radically widening access to our historic collection.”

Lopa Patel MBE is a Digital Entrepreneur, Chair, Non-Executive Director and Trustee with strengths in governance and risk oversight. The founder of two ventures in online media and a data-driven marketing consultancy, she is also the Chair of equality charity, Diversity UK, focussing on race and gender equity in Britain. She is an ambassador for entrepreneurship, innovation and technology and has been recognised with many accolades including an MBE for services to the creative industries and an Honorary Doctorate conferred by the Open University.

Nigel Baker is a media executive with wide experience at senior management and board level in for-profit companies and the charitable sector.  His career has immersed him in creating and curating factual content with an early background as a journalist in Fleet Street and with ITN. He holds a business doctorate from Chester University, examining the impact of Big Tech’s ethics on corporate philanthropy, and a master’s from Brunel University London in multimedia computing for e-Commerce.

Both Lopa and Nigel will start on 1 Jan 2025 for five-year terms.

 

Royal Flying Corps and Successors: World War One Gallantry Award Medal Index Cards Released

The National Archives, in partnership with Forces War Records, the leading military family history website from Ancestry®, has launched a digital collection of Royal Flying Corps and successors: World War One Gallantry Award Medal Index Cards. 

The collection contains almost 12,000 cards and are a mixture of handwritten and typed records, and include a rare ‘Mentioned in Despatches’ cards that consist of members of the armed forces who were mentioned in an official report by a superior officer and sent to the high command. This mention is considered a commendation for a noteworthy act or service of gallantry.

“This collection is such an important one for Forces War Records and our community” shared Ancestry’s Military Genealogist, Simon Pearce, “because it offers a fascinating insight into the bravery and dedication to duty of those who served with the aerial forces during WWI. The war accelerated huge advances in technology and aerial warfare, and our ancestors were at the forefront of these developments. Perhaps you’ll discover a family member who was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross or the Military Medal for their actions, or maybe they gained an award from one of Britain’s allies.”

Head of Modern Collections at The National Archives, Dr William Butler,  said “this is such a fascinating collection and one which will no doubt be of great interest to those looking to uncover more about their family history, and those wishing to better understand the activities of the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force during the First World War.”

Older posts

Also in About us