On the Record at The National Archives

Illustrator Louis Wain changed the way we think about cats and their welfare. Richard, better known as Dick, Whittington's charity helped ensure St. Bart’s hospital's survival. Brave Nellie Spindler lied about her age to serve as a frontline nurse. In our final episode on heroic deeds, we tell their stories. Documents: C 66/434; COPY 1/221; COPY 1/229; SC 8/121; WO 95/345/2; WO 399/7850. Listeners, we need your help to make this podcast better! Visit smartsurvey.co.uk/s/ontherecord/

A spy named Pearl jumps from a plane under cover of night. A Thai shopkeeper named Boonpong risks everything for strangers from the other side of the world. A knight named George defies an Emperor and kills a dragon. In this episode, we’re sharing stories of individuals whose heroic deeds made an impact during wartime. Documents: C 66/234; E 101/496/17; HS 9/355/2, HS 9/356; WO 325/35; WO 361/1701 Listeners, We need your help to make this podcast better! Visit smartsurvey.co.uk/s/ontherecord/

In 1921, W.E.B. Du Bois sent a letter to Winston Churchill which illuminates the Pan-African and anti-colonial activism of the period. Then, a design registration record from the Victorian era asks the question, “can design improve health?” We follow the paper trail of a doctor who believed it could. Documents: BT 45/5/950; BT 45/5/973; CO 323/878; MH 13/196/81 Listeners, we need your help to make this podcast better! Visit smartsurvey.co.uk/s/ontherecord/

In this three-part series we’re exploring the theme of heroic deeds. You’ll hear about spies parachuting into enemy territories and knights slaying dragons, but you’ll also hear about health inspectors improving the living conditions of poor Londoners and leaders organising for change. In this series you’ll hear famous names alongside those of everyday people from history who made a difference.

“Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” That iconic Churchill line has framed our remembrance of the Battle of Britain, but it’s also been said that the few were supported by the many. We’ve joined forces with the Royal Air Force and the Royal Air Force Museum to commemorate the few and the many by telling lesser-known stories from Britain’s great defence of our skies. Listeners, we need your help to make this podcast better! Visit smartsurvey.co.uk/s/onthere

To mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Britain we have joined forces with the Royal Air Force and the Royal Air Force Museum to share some lesser-known stories of Britain’s great defence of our skies.

Refugee Week is an annual event that celebrates the contributions of refugees to Britain. Many refugee stories have found their way onto our repository shelves. In this special episode, we’re sharing a few of them and going beyond the documents as two of our records specialists interview their own parents about their refugee experiences. Documents: DO 142/416; ED 128/66; MH 8/9; MH 37/322 Listeners, we need your help to make this podcast better! Visit smartsurvey.co.uk/s/ontherecord/

To mark Refugee Week we are sharing just a few refugee stories from our vast collection. In a special episode we will also be going beyond the documents, as two of our records specialists interview their own parents about their refugee experiences.

In 1936, Edward VIII abdicated the throne to be with the woman he loved. A century earlier, an pauper named Daniel Rush and his wife faced a terrible choice: enter the workhouse and be separated or try to survive in poverty. Who made the greater sacrifice for love, the king or the pauper? Documents: MH 12/6846; PC 11/1; TS 22/1/1; TS 22/1/2 Daniel Rush's letter read by Adrian McLoughlin Listeners, we need your help to make this podcast better! Visit smartsurvey.co.uk/s/ontherecord/

In 1588 Queen Elizabeth received a letter from the Earl of Leicester which she kept by her bed for 15 years. In 1919 a sailor, James Gillespie, faced leaving Cardiff and returning to Jamaica after race riots without his family. He wrote to the government asking for help. These letters are united by the theme of love divided. Documents: CO 318/350/400; SP 12/215. Read by Daniel Norford and Sean Patterson. Listeners, we need your help to make this podcast better! Visit smartsurvey.co.uk/s/ontherecord/