What its like to volunteer with us

In volunteering at The National Archives, you will be contributing to the future of historical research.

Our volunteers are vital to our work at The National Archives, engaging in a wide range of activities from helping to conserve and preserve our collections, to improving access and enhancing our records online.

Volunteering can benefit you by:

• improving your IT and other work-related skills
• providing a better sense of being part of a community
• improving confidence when job hunting
• increasing social life and gaining new friends

Volunteering also supports individuals returning to work after periods of unemployment by providing training in new skills and exposure to new sectors.

Katrina Lidbetter

A few years ago, I was delighted to become a volunteer at The National Archives.  Upstairs in the Reading Rooms, I had discovered how the wonderful work of the organisation had made it possible for me to follow the story of my father’s experiences in the Eighth Army, as recorded in the regimental war diaries.

I was very fortunate that there was an opportunity for me to volunteer on Project WO 416, cataloguing German records, mainly about Allied prisoners of war (PoWs). Under the expert and patient guidance of my tutor, Kelly, I learned to decipher a variety of different German record cards and log them onto a spreadsheet.

After years of work by our team of dedicated volunteers and staff, the task is now done!  I am sad that our project has now come to an end, but proud of the result: you can now search WO 416 records on Discovery and trace the many stories of those PoWs. 

I am proud to be part of the team of volunteers helping to preserve and improve access to these heroic stories for future generations.

Elizabeth Prior

Volunteering has enabled me to see behind the scenes of history and enjoy the company of fellow history fans. I began just over three years ago when I joined the team cataloguing the Carlton Papers (PRO 30/55) – a fascinating mix of the military, the personal and the mundane. From there it was a back in time to the 1630s, when I joined the cataloguers of the Privy Council registers covering the period of Charles l’s personal rule (PC 2), got to grips with 17th-century secretary hand and discovered that micro-management is nothing new.

Currently I am a volunteer on two projects, State Papers Domestic George I (SP 35) and George II (SP 36) covering the years not dealt with in The National Archives’ Jacobite project undertaken to commemorate the respective anniversaries of the 1715 and 1745 Risings.

There have been several high spots: in SP 35 a document signed by Sir Isaac Newton and in SP 36 coming across a letter from John Cleland explaining how he came to write Fanny Hill.

My only regret is not volunteering sooner.

Laura Robson-Mainwaring – Records Specialist, Health

In August 2020 I began working on the cataloguing of our collection of First World War Medical Case Sheets in the series MH 106.

The cataloguing project focuses exclusively on cataloguing the medical sheets and cards. Despite this being a relatively small sample, the collection contains an impressive 306 boxes, with an estimated 100,000 individual case sheets.

As project lead I came to the collection from a medical history background, with almost no knowledge about any of the military aspects. The volunteers currently working on the project have a wealth of knowledge about military history and I have often made use of their expertise to help decipher a tricky military abbreviation or to work out an obscure regimental name.

I have discovered the wonderful relationships and experiences that can be built when working with volunteers. I was delighted when the MH 106 Cataloguing Team were announced as winners of the Best Team category at the London Heritage Volunteer Awards in 2021.

Katherine Howells – Principal Records Specialist – Visual Collections

In September 2019 I began supervising two established volunteers working on a project to catalogue paintings and drawings in our copyright collection. Since then, the project team has grown, with the addition of six brilliant new on site volunteers.

These records consist of copies of artworks which were being registered for copyright protection with the Stationers’ Company between 1892 and 1912, attached to entry forms detailing the people involved in the registration: the copyright owner and the artist. It is a fascinating and surprising collection, containing examples of fine art, illustration, advertising and branding material, greetings cards, board games and much more.

Over the last few years, it has been wonderful to see how the skills and expertise of the team has developed and long-standing volunteers are able to help new volunteers get to grips with the material.

I have learned a great deal from working with volunteers on this project. Their knowledge and enthusiasm for the records and the history behind them has inspired me in my own work and they have offered feedback from their experiences which has helped to shape the way we approach cataloguing the collection in the future.

Cliff Van Dort – Head of Library

I’ve been working with the Library volunteers at The National Archives since May 2018, when we had a large group of 12 ranging from newly qualified postgraduates, library students, apprentice bookbinders and retired professionals – an eclectic mix of individuals who, though shy to start with, blossomed into a productive and effective team.

We meet every Monday to work on conserving and protecting the Library’s collection of more than 60,000 monographs, starting with a morning coffee to discuss the previous week and work to come.

The work of the volunteers provides essential support to the many projects we have running within the Library; it has allowed us to initiate and work on tasks we would normally never have the time to do. To date we have surveyed the collection, noting down books that need care and attention. We have made a start on re-labelling and re-cataloguing some of the collection, covering and protecting vulnerable books, and, importantly, found some treasures among the masses.