A file release from MI5
New
Over 100 MI5 files are released at The National Archives today. In this blog, Mark Dunton explores some of the notable names and stories found within.
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The collection blog
Learn how the stories hidden in our documents are uncovered by our experts and volunteers. Find out behind-the-scenes information about how we care for our records, and get tips on how you can do your own research.
Most recent posts
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Follow the acorn: Designing a symbol for long distance national trails
In this blog post, Lucy Razzall and Giorgia Tolfo investigate some of the administrative history behind marking rights of way.
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Finding a new copy of the US Declaration of Independence
In May 2026, a volunteer working on a cataloguing project at The National Archives made an astonishing discovery.
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The day a missile struck The National Archives' site
When Chris Ransted learned that during the Second World War, a V1 flying bomb hit the site where The National Archives now stands, he chose to investigate.
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Researching LGBTQ+ histories in the archives of government
In this blog post Vicky Iglikowski-Broad explains how you can get started in researching LGBTQ+ histories through government records.
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Celebrating Volunteers’ Week 2026
To celebrate Volunteers' week, The National Archives’ Keith Mitchell reflects on the achievements of our volunteers and their projects.
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Cataloguing the copyright collection
In this blog post, Katherine Howells explores how our volunteers have catalogued copyright records and highlights the stories they can tell us.
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The A–Z of the Royal Navy Captains' letters project – 'N' to 'Z'
Bruno Pappalardo reports on the final findings of the volunteer Royal Navy Captains’ letters project.
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Cataloguing British Army officer service records
Find out how our volunteers have improved catalogue descriptions for 19th-century military service records.
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Cataloguing the BT 51 and BT 50 registered designs
Explore how a team of volunteers have transcribed The National Archives’ records of registered designs from 1885–1888.
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Accessing the digitised Northern Ireland Troubles records
Explore how to access material related to the Troubles online through The Northern Ireland Digitisation Project.
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Launching the Northern Ireland Troubles Digitisation Project
Today, we launch the first release of the Northern Ireland Digitisation Project, a major four-year research and access initiative.
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The Ministry of Munitions and a surprise discovery in the archive
Finding a tiny object attached to some paper documents reminded me how the materiality of archives can connect us to the past.
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