The National Archives Podcast Series

The census documents information about the population taken every ten years. How and when did the system start? Where can you find the records? What can you see online? Find out the answers from Audrey in this short podcast. You can also use the research guides on our website to find out about census records and the 1939 Register. Please note that at the moment The National Archives is closed to visitors until further notice. Advice in the podcast about visiting us and using the facilities in our reading rooms will apply once we re-open.

Matt Norman talks to Keith Mitchell about civil registration – the system for recording births, marriages and deaths in the UK. How and when did the system start? Where can you find the records? What can you see online? Find out the answers from Keith in this short podcast. You can also use the research guides on our website to find out about birth, marriage and death records in England and Wales, Scotland and Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, as well as at sea and abroad and in the armed forces. Please note that at the moment The National Archives is closed to visitors until further notice. Advice in the podcast about visiting us and using the facilities in our reading rooms will apply once we re-open.

Matt Norman talks to Nigel Taylor about wills – the document used for centuries to control what happens to property when somebody dies. Who would have left a will? What information can you find in them? Are they all at The National Archives? Find out the answers from Nigel in this short podcast. You can also use the research guides on our website to find out about wills or administrations before 1858, death duties 1796-1903, and wills or administrations after 1858. Please note that at the moment The National Archives is closed to visitors until further notice. Advice in the podcast about visiting us and using the facilities in our reading rooms will apply once we re-open.

Matt Norman talks to Roger Kershaw about records relating to people that came to England and Wales from other countries to live and work. What records were created when people arrived here? How did people become British citizens? What can you see online? Find out the answers from Roger in this short podcast. You can also use the research guides on our website to find out about immigration and immigrants, passengers, refugees, naturalisation, registration and British citizenship. Please note that at the moment The National Archives is closed to visitors until further notice. Advice in the podcast about visiting us and using the facilities in our reading rooms will apply once we re-open.

Tutankhamun lay in his tomb undisturbed until 1922, when British archaeologist Howard Carter and his wealthy patron, Lord Carnarvon, revealed him to the world. But the discovery of the century came with a price. Or rather three prices – the three curses of Tutankhamun: overwhelming popularity, damaging political blunders, and lingering ancient dark magic. This talk was presented by Juliette Desplat, Head of Overseas, Intelligence and Security Records at The National Archives in January 2020.

Despite having clear liberties and the protection of the Crown in the mid-12th century, the thriving Jewish communities of medieval England were soon targeted for their perceived wealth and religious practices. As Christian-Jewish relationships declined, violence, heavy taxation and restrictions forced many Jews to leave England even before Edward I’s fateful decision to expel the entire community from the kingdom in 1290. In this talk, Sean Cunningham, Head of Medieval Records at The National Archives, explores the story of England’s medieval Jewish communities to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day 2020 (27 January).

The National Archives’ Cold War season drew to a close in November with a series of events intended to whisk you back to the night of the fall of the Berlin Wall. There was dancing, videogames, exhibition tours, and a series of expert talks including this one given by Dr Tony Shaw. He discussed the connection between author George Orwell, the CIA and the representation of the Cold War in contemporary cinema.

Voices of the Windrush Generation: The real story told by the people themselves by David Matthews is a powerful collection of stories from the men, women and children of the Windrush generation – West Indians who emigrated to Britain between 1948 and 1971 in response to labour shortages, and in search of a better life.

How do we know what we think we know about the past, and why do even the best historians occasionally get it wrong? In this talk Dr Ian Mortimer explores the use of historical methodology and the importance of avoiding complacency when researching and writing history. Ian is a writer, novelist and broadcaster, and a Fellow of both the Society of Antiquaries and the Royal Historical Society. He was awarded the Alexander Prize by the Royal Historical Society in 2004 for his work on the social history of medicine. This talk is associated with Reimagining Records, an academic conference held at The National Archives in June 2018.

490 years ago Thomas Wolsey – King Henry VIII’s former favourite – fell from grace following his failure to secure the king a divorce. This talk by Daniel Gosling examines the records held at The National Archives which detail this fall – from records relating to Wolsey’s failure to grant Henry an annulment, to the legal processes which sealed his fate.

Charlie Higson, author of the best-selling Young Bond books, discusses the genesis of 007 – James Bond, Ian Fleming’s life in the secret service, and how the Bond books and films relate to real world events.

Arguably the most important ‘atomic’ spy of the 20th century, Klaus Fuchs was a German physicist who worked on the British and US-led atomic projects of the Cold War era. In 1950, Fuchs was caught passing vital secrets to the Soviet Union and sentenced to 14 years’ imprisonment.Our exhibition curator Mark Dunton delves into Security Service files in our collection to uncover how the authorities managed to unmask Fuchs and secure his confession, and reveals a fascinating local connection with Kew.

The East German Stasi had the reputation of being one of the most effective and repressive intelligence and secret police agencies ever to have existed, as they forced their methods for collecting information on their citizens.Thirty years after German citizens regained control from the Stasi in 1990, Dagmar Hovestädt – Head of Press at the Stasi Records Archive – explores this controversial corner of history. She explains also just how the Stasi Archive today manages its wealth of top secret material never meant for public eyes.

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 release of Security Service files to The National Archives in September 2019.

T E Lawrence’s role in the First World War is best remembered as that of a young, dashing officer leading the Arab Revolt in white billowing robes. This talk by The National Archives’ Overseas Records Specialist, Dr Juliette Desplat, looks beyond hero worship, at lesser-known aspects of Lawrence’s war – and some of his failures.

Fifty years ago, the Rolling Stones gave a concert in Hyde Park that turned into a memorial to founding member Brian Jones. It was an event that passed into legend. But back in 1968, when Peter Jenner, manager of Pink Floyd, wrote to the authorities asking for permission to hold a concert in Hyde Park, he received a negative reply, which he described as ‘crusty’. So how did it come to pass that a whole series of pop concerts was held in this royal park between 1968 and 1969? Find out in this talk with Contemporary Records Specialist Mark Dunton.

The Ministry of Information was established by a government which recognised that the understanding and morale of the civilian population in the UK – and elsewhere – was critical to a successful outcome. To this end the Ministry used every form of communication available to it, including newspapers, comics, radio, films, even model aeroplane kits. Join Professor Simon Eliot, Professor Emeritus of the History of the Book, University of London, as he explores the difficult early years of the Ministry and its bid to win public confidence. This talk is part of The National Archives’ Summer Lecture Series, exploring the theme ‘State and Society: Cultures of Communication’.

In 1962, while working as a clerk in the British Embassy in Moscow, homosexual civil servant John Vassall was caught in a ‘honey trap’ sprung by the Soviet Secret Service. He was blackmailed into passing secrets to the Soviet Union and as a result sentenced to 18 years’ imprisonment for espionage. Our contemporary records specialist Mark Dunton delves deeper into this scandal – one of a series that rocked the Macmillan government in the early 1960s, feeding into a national obsession with spy culture at the time. This podcast was recorded as part of The National Archives’ Cold War season, a programme of events to coincide with the exhibition, ‘Protect and Survive: Britain’s Cold War Revealed’.

There is more to the Ministry of Defence UFO files than reports on strange sightings in the sky. They provide insight into the public’s perception of the Cold War and technological advances, as well as extra-terrestrial life, through an increase in sci-fi-related television, publications, and media reporting. In this podcast, recorded as part of The National Archives’ Cold War season, Keith Mitchell, a specialist in our UFO records, delves into this fascinating topic.

John Dobai was born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1934. To mark Holocaust Memorial Day, John delivered a talk at The National Archives on 25 January 2019 about his personal story and the plight of Hungarian Jews.