Latest news from The National Archives features the release of hundreds of UK government files from the year 1983, to the TNA, as the government begins the ten year transition to a '20 year rule', down from the previous 30 years, for transfer and release of files and information.
The National Archives website states that two years' worth of government records will be released every year until 2022 and files from 1984 will be released by December.
The latest files detail the end of Mrs Thatcher's first term in office as victory in the Falklands War helped propel her to a second successive election triumph in June 1983. There are files on the US-led invasion of Grenada which was one of a number of foreign policy challenges that year. There was also the arrival of American cruise missiles in Greenham Common amid a general deterioration in East-West relations.
There's more information available from The National Archives website.
What's been happening at The National Archives can be seen in their new communications release entitled 'a year in archives 2012-13'. To find out what's been going on in archive services all over the country over the last year and to see future plans go the National Archives website.
From funding to community archive heritage projects, it's definitely an interesting read.
Latest news from The National Archives is that eleven items have been selected from the UK's libraries, archives and museums to represent our outstanding heritage in the UK Memory of the World Register. From Domesday Book to Hitchcock's silent films, these valuable works span nearly 900 years, come from across the country and embody pivotal moments in the history of the UK.
This is the third group of inscriptions to the UNESCO UK Memory of the World Register, an online catalogue promoting some of the UK's exceptional documentary riches across the world.
The 11 items and collections being inscribed to the UK Memory of the World Register are:
The National Archives via their website are inviting aspiring filmmakers to take one of their suggested 'documents' and make a short film about it .
The competition, supported by the friends of the national archives, is aiming to encourage filmmakers to use the diverse collection of documents and pictures available from the TNA as the inspiration for an original feature .
Ten documents from the archives, ranging from the floor plan of a 19th century lunatic asylum to a West Indian view of life in post-war Britain, have been put online and entrants will need to use one or more of them as the starting point for a three-minute short film . it could be a character, a line, or the whole document - according to The National Archives website it is up to you to decide!
For more information go to The National Archives website for details on how to enter and closing dates .
Latest news from The National Archives is the appearance of their Chief Executive and Keeper, Oliver Morley, who will be on hand on three separate occasions in July to answer any questions on the future direction and management of the TNA and also to respond to any other views us family historians may have on The National Archives.
On the 2 and 18 July 2013, Oliver will be available in person to answer questions and on the 23 July will take part in a webinar on the TNA website. There's more details available including how to book on the events at the TNA website.
One of the latest podcasts available from The National Archives covers that all too frequent problem for family historians- hitting those genealogical brick walls. This podcast from Dave Annal provides some strategies to help you get around those brick walls and dead ends in your research.
Dave Annal pays particular attention to getting the most out of online databases and advanced techniques such as 'family reconstruction'. If you'd like to find out more you can listen to the podcast at the TNA website hereDave Annal worked at the National Archives for ten years, at the Family Records Centre and at Kew. He is now a resident expert on Your Family History magazine.
Further to the merger a couple of years ago between the National Archives of Scotland and the General Register Office for Scotland, it appears there is finally one cohesive website with information about both organisations in one convenient place under the name of 'The National Records of Scotland'.
Tim Ellis, the new Registrar General of the Archives, has just announced that the NRS now has a more dedicated main portal site up and running at http://nrscotland.gov.uk. This web address previously led to a site that told you there had been a merger and contained links to the old GRO and National Archives websites. Now there is substantially more information available to view on the new site on areas such as Valuation Rolls and Census Information for example. To find out more trythe following link.
The National Archives have recently made a podcast available to download for those interested in Scottish history around the time of William Wallace.
The talk featured on the podcast is given by leading historian John Reuben Davies, who has published a number of works on Scottish and Welsh ecclesiastical history. He covers the time of crisis in Scotland following the death of Alexander III leading to the eventual conquest by Edward I. The podcast can be found by clicking on this link.
Latest news from The National Archives is that there are a number of new, previously top secret files from the past now available to view by the public. The files contain records of the role of British Intelligence in World War 2 and the period during the early Cold War.
463 pieces from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office are now available covering the years 1939 to 1951 as well as a selection from 1903 to 1913.
Some of the fascinating subjects covered in the files include the assassination priorities of Operation Overlord (D-Day) suggesting targets such as German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel and the security matters relating to Wallis Simpson and the abdication of King Edward VIII in 1936.
There's more information about the new available files from The TNA website.
New secret files released by The National Archives
The National Archives at Kew has, according to their website, made a further 20,000 digitised Home Guard records for County Durham available online, which adds to the 40,000 records already available from the site as part of a pilot project.The records are a great way of finding details of a relative who may have been part of the defence organisation of the British Army consisting of 4.5 million volunteers in World War Two. There's more details at the TNA website here.
