In spite of the hot weather here at The Archive we are delighted to bring you 209,493 brand new pages from across the world, with new pages joining publications from the likes of England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Canada and Barbados. We have extensive and exciting updates to some of our wonderful regional titles, which span the years 1742 to 1997, as well as to one of our special illustrated titles, Black & White.So read on to discover more about our updated titles of…

This week we are delighted to welcome 69,150 brand new pages to The Archive, with the addition of one very special brand new title from London. Meanwhile, we have updated twelve of our existing titles, with updates to our newspapers from Scotland, Wales and England, as well as to one our of special political titles.Meanwhile, this week marks 125 years since writer Oscar Wilde was released from prison, having been sentenced to two years’ hard labour for ‘gross indecency’ in 1895. So…

On 27 September 1888, in the midst of a series of horrific murders in Whitechapel, the Central News Office in London received a letter, signed by ‘Jack the Ripper’.Known as the ‘Dear Boss’ letter because of the way it was addressed, the letter changed the way British newspapers reported the Ripper murders.Read newspapers from 1888Facsimiles of the ‘Dear Boss’ letter in the newspapersThe name ‘Jack the Ripper’ reached the British press and general public on 3 October 1888, when Scotland Yard…

Suzie Grogan used The British Newspaper Archive extensively while researching her book, Shell Shocked Britain: The First World War’s legacy for Britain’s mental health. She got in touch to show us the heart-breaking story she found about her own ancestors and some of the terrible accounts about life during World War One.**************My book is the product of two years of intensive research into the trauma of the Great War and its aftermath. But it was a chance find during…

After watching Sainsbury’s Christmas advert, Kate Cole was inspired to research the real story behind WW1’s Christmas Truce. She used The British Newspaper Archive to unearth the experiences of soldiers on the Western Front in 1914.**************In December 1914, during first year of World War One, a remarkable event known as the Christmas Day Truce occurred in small pockets along the Western Front. 100 years later, one of Britain’s largest grocery shops has released a Christmas advert re-enacting the famous truce.With the…

It’s hard to believe, but The British Newspaper Archive has now reached the grand old age of three. We launched on 29 November 2011 with 4 million fully searchable historic newspaper pages and have come a long way since then.Please click the image to enlarge itA treasure trove of informationYou can now search more than 9 million pages, from over 300 British and Irish newspaper titles, spanning 1710-1954. Reading all of those pages would be no mean feat – we’ve estimated that it would…

Not only does 2014 mark the 100th anniversary of World War One, it is also the 75th anniversary of the start of World War Two.  Britain declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939, following Nazi Germany’s invasion of Poland on 1 September.  Take a look at the newspaper headlines from Sunday 3 September, announcing that Britain was at war once more.Search newspapers from World War TwoNewspaper headlines from the beginning of WW2Derby Daily Telegraph | Sunday 3 September 1939Portsmouth Evening News prints WW2…

England took part in the World Cup for the first time in 1950. Like this year’s tournament, the football matches were held in Brazil. The English national team met the United States in the group stages and suffered a shocking 1-0 defeat.The game has gone down in football history and has a rather interesting urban myth attached to it. Many say that English newspapers reported a 10-1 win, assuming that there had been a typing error in the message they received from…

Today we commemorate the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings.On 6 June 1944, Allied forces invaded Normandy which was, at that point, occupied by the German Army. It is estimated that over 8,000 people lost their lives on this one day.D-Day reported in British newspapersNews of the invasion reached British newspapers during the day on 6 June 1944, so you’ll find initial reports in late editions or in the copies published the following day.Explore D-Day reports in local newspapersHere’s a…

The 30 mph speed limit was introduced in built-up areas of Britain on 18 March 1935.Not everybody appreciated the new signs – newspapers reported that eight signs were fished out of a pond a week later!View the whole newspaper pageNottingham Evening Post – Friday 29 March 1935Image © Local World Limited. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.…