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The first Paralympics took place in Rome in 1960. But this was not the beginning of competitive sport for people with disabilities; indeed, the origins of the Paralympics can partly be traced to the aftermath of the Second World War and the work undertaken at Stoke Mandeville Hospital.Archers at Stoke Mandeville Hospital | The Sphere | 21 August 1948And nor was it the culmination of such work; the Paralympics in Rome were only open to those with mobility or physical disabilities, who made…

This week has been a buzzing one at The Archive, as we have an incredible nine brand new titles available to search, with specialist trade union publication the Bee-Hive joining us, as well as new titles from across England, Scotland and Wales. We’ve added 108,440 new pages over the last seven days, whilst we have also been busy updating 35 of our existing titles.So read on to discover more about our new titles from Teignmouth to Kilmarnock, and also to find…

As we continue to celebrate Black History Month at The Archive, in this special blog we will take a look at six pioneering Black British sporting heroes and their amazing stories.Using pages taken from the British Newspaper Archive, we will take the opportunity to tell the inspiring stories of these Black British sportsmen, whilst attempting to understand the prejudice they faced and overcame in pursuing their different sports.From left to right: J.E. London, Arthur Wharton, Len Johnson and…

This week we have a lot to celebrate here at The Archive. Not only is it our 8th birthday (The Archive was launched on 29th November 2011) – we have also reached the remarkable milestone of 35 million pages – all now available to search.We have added 128,362 new pages to our collection this week, with one brand new title – the Sporting Gazette – joining us. We also have updates to six of our existing titles, with extensive updates to Scottish title the Elgin Courant,…

When the Blitz began on 7 September 1940, ‘It was the people of London who took command…Men, women, and children went straight to the safest place they could think of – the Underground stations.’In this special blog, over 80 years after the beginning of the Blitz, we take a look at how London’s main transport system – the Underground –  became a popular place of shelter for those seeking protection from the German bombing campaign, using an assortment of articles and photographs all to be…

Performing a search for cricket in our oldest British Newspaper Archive publications (the Archive’s earliest pages run from 1699) it is possible to discover the fascinating history of the enduringly popular sport. In this special blog we will look at cricket’s early association with royalty, its emergence as a gambling sport, and its inevitable explosion in popularity.Kentish Gazette | 23 June 1773An early and passionate advocate for the sport was Prince Frederick of Wales, father of George III, who was popularly thought…

The first recorded mention of women’s cricket was in 1745, in Surrey. We searched our Archive for early mentions of women’s cricket, and we came across a treasure trove of articles describing the early history of the sport.Harrow versus Pinner | Graphic | 18 August 1888One of these comes from the Sherborne Mercury, published in August 1849. It describes a match between ‘nine married ladies’ and ‘nine single ladies’ played at Picket Post, in the New Forest. The single ladies were defeated by one…

This week we have added 57,277 new pages to The Archive. We are excited to welcome specialist sporting title – the Football Post (Nottingham) – to our collection, with 1069 issues added so far. We now have thirteen specialist sporting newspapers available to search – you can find a comprehensive list of sporting newspapers here, as well as hints and tips for using The Archive for sporting research here.We have also updated five of our existing titles, including three of our London titles – the…

We are delighted to feature a guest post this week by Peter Manning, who used The Archive to research his new book Palace at the Palace – A History of The Crystal Palace & Its Football Club 1851-1915.My project started out as research into the Crystal Palace football teams that played at the old Crystal Palace at Sydenham, but the history that was revealed by searching the BNA’s archives was so interesting and so compelling that I ended up writing a book…

In honour of Remembrance Day, during the month of November, The British Newspaper Archive will be focusing our attention on military in the newspapers.  Coming up this month we will feature blogs about our special military titles, researching military history, women and war, and wartime rationing and fashion, as well as a guest blog about a remarkable Great War discovery from The Archive.  To begin our military month, we are delving into the newspaper headlines through the years for the…