The National Archives Podcast Series

It was a year when England won the World Cup and led the world in all aspects of popular culture, including pop music, fashion, and film. But it was also a time of sterling crises, wage and price freezes, and industrial strife. Contemporary specialist Mark Dunton looks at a nation caught between optimism and decline.

Professor Maggie Andrews discusses some of the key campaigns and concerns of the Women's Institute, from its origins in the First World War to the 1950s when, with half a million members, it was firmly established as the largest women's organisation in Britain.Maggie is a Professor of Cultural History at the University of Worcester; she has published widely on women, domesticity and the home front in 20th century Britain.

In this talk medical historian Richard Barnett explores surgery during the 19th century, from the application of antisepsis to experiments with hypnosis. What happened in the early operations that used anaesthesia, and why were patients initially reluctant to agree to it?Richard Barnett is a writer and broadcaster on the cultural history of science and medicine. He teaches on the Pembroke-Kings Programme in Cambridge, and in 2011 received one of the first Wellcome Trust Engagement Fellowships. His books include Medical London: City of Diseases: City of Cures, The Sick Rose (described by Will Self in the Guardian as 'superbly lucid and erudite') and Crucial Interventions: An Illustrated Treatise on the Principles and Practice of Nineteenth-Century Surgery, which was published by Thames & Hudson in cooperation with the Wellcome Collection in October 2015.

The Campaign for Homosexual Equality (CHE) is the oldest surviving LGBT organisation in the UK. With more than 150 local branches and over 6,000 members, it has grown from a small regional committee lobbying for law reform with local MPs, into Britain's largest democratic gay organisation.Playwright and journalist Peter Scott-Presland examines CHE's roots in Manchester, the traditions it grew out of, and the secret of its survival and ultimate success

This presentation discusses the role that the material and intellectual heritage of a community can play in shaping and reshaping its identity, along a historical continuum. With a brief history of the Ismaili Muslims in focus, the presentation highlights some of the challenges faced by the modern Ismaili community in conservation of, and engaging with their heritage, dating back over a millennium. The talk features the heritage conservation initiatives organised by the community, especially in digital media, together with some of the finest pieces from the institutional archives and collections.Zehra Lalji is among the key contributors who created the heritage sites archive at the Institute of Ismaili Studies (IIS). At present, she serves the Institute as the Website Productions Officer, where she is leading a number of creative digital adaptations based on the Institute's published research.

Guy Burgess was a brilliant young Englishman who rose through the ranks of MI5 and MI6 during the Cold War. But as a member of 'The Cambridge Spies', he betrayed his country by regularly passing on highly sensitive secret documents to his Soviet handlers.Historian Andrew Lownie, author of 'Stalin's Englishman: The Lives of Guy Burgess' - a Guardian Book of the Year and The Times Best Biography of the Year - will talk about how Burgess was able to avoid exposure as a traitor to his country through his trademark charisma and a network of powerful political connections.

Millions of soldiers were scarred by their experiences in the First World War trenches, but how new was what we now know as 'shell shock'? What treatments were on offer? And what happened after the men came home?Writer and researcher Suzie Grogan reveals the First World War's legacy for soldiers and looks at the impact of the Spanish influenza outbreak, air raids on the Home Front, the trauma experienced by the survivors, and why the conflict still resonates into the 21st century.

Screenwriter Heidi Thomas shares the process of transforming Jennifer Worth's memoirs into the BBC period drama 'Call the Midwife', a TV series about midwives working in the East End of London in the late 1950s

Wax seals have been widely studied in terms of how they look, what they depict and what they might mean. But their physical characteristics and their importance as a method of communication are still not fully understood.Our 'Wax Seals in Context' project investigated the material composition, manufacture and use of medieval wax seals, to understand how this important medium of communication was made. It used visual examination, material analysis and archival evidence.The project focused on English royal and governmental seals of the 12th and 13th centuries.

We apologise for the variable sound quality of this podcast.This year is the 800th anniversary of the granting of Magna Carta - King John's Great Charter. This charter guaranteed a number of vital rights and privileges and is still seen as being the foundation of many modern liberties. To mark this important anniversary, we are holding a range of events and exhibitions.In this discussion chaired by Dr Sophie Ambler world experts come together to debate the importance of Magna Carta.Nicholas Vincent, Professor of Medieval History at University of East Anglia, is an expert on 12th and 13th century English and European political and administrative history, and author of Magna Carta: A Very Short Introduction (OUP, 2012). He is the Honorary Secretary of the Pipe Roll Society.Louise Wilkinson, Professor of Medieval History, Christ Church College Canterbury, is an expert on women in the age of Magna Carta, and 13th-century political and administrative history. She is the honorary General Editor of the Pipe Roll Soc

The preparations had been made well in advance. Now Britain was at war, and as the uniformed army prepared to face the enemy, a civilian army was mobilised at home. National Registration Officers, registrars, and 65,000 enumerators set about the huge task of registering every man, woman and child in a single weekend. It all went remarkably smoothly. This is the story of the 1939 Register for England and Wales, how it was taken, and what happened next.

Over a million Indian soldiers fought in the First World War, many travelling from remote villages in India to the muddy trenches of France and Flanders.In her book For King and Another Country, writer and journalist, Shrabani Basu, delves into archives in Britain and narratives buried in villages in India and Pakistan. She recreates the War through the eyes of the Indians who fought it, and examines how the war led, ultimately, to the call for independence.

'Battle is not a game to plug into a computer but a piece of living history: messy, bloody and real.'Richard Overy, Professor of History at the University of Exeter, Fellow of the British Academy and Member of the European Academy for Science and Arts, will discuss his latest book that distils the history of warfare into 100 momentous battles, recording epic moments that have shaped our world.

This presentation introduces the concept of Freedom of Memory, which Elizabeth is currently developing. The talk proposes a possible definition for this potential new human right and explain why such a Freedom is necessary at this point in time. The presentation identifies both the benefits and responsibilities arising from Freedom of Memory. This session will also encourage discussion with attendees to consider whether such a freedom is necessary, how it could be improved and in what fora this concept could fruitfully be developed.Elizabeth Oxborrow-Cowan is a professional Archivist and qualified Management Consultant. She has run her own consultancy since 2003, working right across the archives sector throughout the UK as well as with policy bodies and professional organisations.

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 October 2015.

Stephen Twigge head of modern collections at The National Archives in conversation with Professor Christoper Andrew former official historian of MI5 and author of 'The Defence of the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5', and Gill Bennett former chief historian of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, discussing one of the most famous spy cases in history along with some other highlights from the release of Security Service files to The National Archives in October 2015.

Barbara Hepworth's life and work examined through records held by selected archives, including The National Archives and the Tate archives, marking the 40th anniversary of her deathInga Fraser is Assistant Curator of Modern British Art 1890-1945 at Tate Britain and assistant to curators of the exhibition, Barbara Hepworth: Sculpture for a Modern World at Tate Britain. Briony Paxman is a modern records specialist at The National Archives.Morwenna Roche and Bianca Rossmann from Tate Archives discuss their project to catalogue Barbara Hepworth's personal and professional papers, which provide a fascinating and rich insight into her life and work.This podcast was recorded live in July 2015, as part of an afternoon of events at The National Archives, Kew.We apologise for the variable sound quality of this podcast.

When Britain's Empire went to war in August 1914, rugby players were among the first men to volunteer. Leading from the front, they paid a high price. After four long years, Armistice came and it was time to play rugby again. In 1919, Twickenham saw the crowning of the first ever rugby world champions.Hear award-winning author, Stephen Cooper, tell the story behind his new book, After the Final Whistle: The First Rugby World Cup and The First World War. Stephen is also the winner of Rugby Book of the Year 2013 with his previous First World War sporting work, The Final Whistle: The Great War in Fifteen Players

Our collection of First World War records is one of the largest in the world. It includes, among many other documents, service records, letters, diaries, maps and photographs. Part of Britain's folk memory of the First World War is of long lines of Tommies bravely going over the top, resolutely kicking and passing a football as they walked into a hail of machine gun fire.Iain Adams, of the International Football Institute, looks at what really happened when the London Irish Rifles performed the first football charge at the Battle of Loos on 25 September 1915.The International Football Institute is a research partnership between the University of Central Lancashire and the National Football Museum.

In 1939, on the eve of the Second World War, the British government introduced an Act that would allow them to gather vital information about the country's population. This information would inform their decisions on identity cards, rationing and conscription.The night of 29 September 1939 was National Registration Night, and that evening, at 6:30pm, the Registrar General broadcast this message to the nation.In our collection we have the script (catalogue reference RG 28/164) of the Registrar General's broadcast, read here by Gary Thorpe.