The National Archives Podcast Series

Everyone researching 19th century English or Welsh ancestors is familiar with birth, marriage and death certificates, but how much thought do we give to the origins of the General Register Office which was created to look after these records? Not everyone was in favour, and the legislation passed in 1836 (Births and Deaths Registration Act 1836) was not the first attempt at setting up a system of civil registration. Its first few years were surprisingly turbulent, and files in The National Archives tell of the difficulties faced by the early registrars. Most people happily complied with the new law, but in some places these men encountered non-compliance, ignorance and, in one instance, riots!Audrey Collins is a family history specialist at The National Archives. She is a regular speaker at family history conferences and events in the UK and overseas, and is the author of numerous books and articles. Her most recent publication is Birth, Marriage and Death Records: a guide for family historians (Pen & Swo

In all but the most specialist accounts of Victorian histories the poor are often represented through generalisations, graphs or summed up in 'averaging' paragraphs. More detailed work might look at the experiences of individual poor people through pulling together accounts from contemporary newspapers, the letters of the wealthy, or poor law officials and government inspectors who write about the poor. Few historians have looked at accounts of poor people's lives written by the poor themselves. There are good reasons for this: many poor people were unable to write and many letters undoubtedly do not survive; and the letters that survive are scattered across a great many archives, usually unlisted in large collections. This talk will concentrate on a collection of such pauper letters, statements and petitions which demonstrate the concerns, thoughts and feeling of the poor themselves.Paul Carter is the principal domestic records specialist in the Advice and records knowledge department at The National Archive

The security service files held at The National Archives in series KV 2 reveal that many people involved in espionage, like Foreign Office clerk Ernest Oldham, were ordinary folk who entered an extraordinary world by chance - often with tragic consequences. His story, told through phone intercepts, surveillance notes and secret service reports, reveals the human cost of spying in the 1920s and 1930s.Dr Nick Barratt works in the Advice and Records Knowledge department. Previously he ran was involved in researching and presenting a number of television series. He has published several books, most recently Greater London: The Story of the Suburbs, and he lectures regularly about history and the media.

James Cronan, Diplomatic and Colonial Records Specialist at The National Archives, outlines the events around the United Kingdom's entry to the European Economic Community.

At the end of the last century the great heritage debate transformed thinking about public engagement with the past in historic sites and museums. Do new initiatives in archives promise something similar in public engagement with history now, and how might new digital initiatives help?Sarah Rees Jones and Victoria Hoyle give an overview of some of the current new developments in public use of archives that are developing in York, from digital initiatives and new archival search software using artificial intelligence to the development of new public services. What is the value in cross-sector collaboration between the arts and sciences and between universities and archives in developing new archival practice? Where do we go next?Sarah Rees Jones is a medievalist and the Director of the Institute for the Public (IPUP). Victoria Hoyle is a part-time PhD student in the Department of History, University of York.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Contemporary records specialists Mark Dunton and Simon Demissie discuss the latest batch of government records to be released to The National Archives. The year was 1984 and Margaret Thatcher's appointment diary, included in this collection for the first time, shows she was as busy as ever. The year-long miners' strike dominated the headlines and occupied much of the Cabinet's time but it was also the year WPC Yvonne Fletcher was shot outside the Libyan People's Bureau and Mrs Thatcher herself narrowly escaped death in the Brighton hotel bombing. The new files also provide a fascinating insight into the first meeting between Mrs Thatcher and future Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

In the early evening of 16 October 1834, to the horror of bystanders, a huge ball of fire exploded through the roof of the Houses of Parliament, creating a blaze so enormous that it could be seen by the King and Queen at Windsor, and from stagecoaches on top of the South Downs. In front of hundreds of thousands of witnesses the great conflagration destroyed Parliament's glorious old buildings and their contents. No one who witnessed the disaster would ever forget it - yet today this national catastrophe is a forgotten disaster. Find out about one of the most seminal events of the 19th century, which not only changed the face of London, but also led to the creation of The National Archives itself. Caroline Shenton is Clerk of the Records at the Parliamentary Archives, and a former senior archivist at The National Archives, where her interest in the fire of 1834 was first kindled. She has worked in and around collections relating to the old Palace of Westminster for over 20 years, and is a Fellow of both the So

In this talk Tony Heaton examines the vision for The National Disability Arts Collection and Archive and the wider historical and social context. Tony Heaton OBE has been involved in the disability arts sector as an artist and activist for many years and he has led on the development of the project. He is CEO of Shape, the disability-led arts organisation. He created the lecterns for Lord Coe and Sir Peter Craven for the opening ceremonies of the Olympic and Paralympic games.

This talk covers the record sources for those who served in the air forces, their formations and machines. It also explores a case study of a famous airman to illustrate some of the inventions and developments that led to final victory in 1918. Clive Hawkins is a military specialist at The National Archives. Clive has worked for The National Archives for 37 years. He has always had a deep interest in military history and is an avid collector of steel helmets. Sponsored by the Friends of The National Archives.

This talk explores the deeds and misdeeds of one family, using documents in The National Archives and elsewhere. The tale involves deception, divorce, and the deliberate destruction of official records. Although the main narrative concerns one man, Captain George Boynton, several other members of his family also had encounters with either the civil or the criminal law. If they appeared in a work of fiction, his and his family's exploits might seem far-fetched, but they are all true, and we have the evidence to prove it. Audrey Collins is a family history specialist at The National Archives, where she has worked for ten years. She is a regular speaker at family history conferences and events in the UK and overseas, and is the author of numerous books and articles. Her most recent publication is Birth, marriage and death records: A guide for family historians (Pen & Sword 2012), which she co-wrote with Dave Annal.