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 …
Headlines from History
We’ll be giving away some fantastic prizes and celebrating the different types of research our newspapers can help with next week. Simply check The British Newspaper Archive’s Facebook page at 12pm (GMT) every day from Saturday 27 December – Friday 2 January to take part. Visit The British Newspaper Archive’s Facebook page Win some great prizes with The British Newspaper Archive There are lots of exciting gifts on offer, whether you’re interested in genealogy, local history, studying World …
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Today’s most-popular Christmas toys include Frozen dolls and tech gadgets, but it was a very different story 100 years ago. Newspapers from the time reveal there was a clear trend for ‘British-made’ military toys in the year that Britain joined World War One. Daily Mirror – Friday 04 December 1914 Image © Trinity Mirror. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. View the whole newspaper page The ‘Great Miniature Battle’ of 1914, with trenches and barbed wire An …
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While researching A Visitor’s Guide to Jane Austen’s England, author Sue Wilkes discovered an amazing romance which could have appeared in an Austen novel. We love hearing about what you’re finding in the newspapers. Tell us about your own discoveries in the comments section below. ************** Heiress Augusta Nicholson, a most intrepid young lady, showed great ingenuity when she fell in love with handsome John Giles, a penniless comedian. Miss Nicholson was a ward of chancery and …
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Every year on 5th November, people in Britain celebrate the failure of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605 with bonfires, effigies of Guy Fawkes and fireworks. You’ll find thousands of descriptions and images of Bonfire Night celebrations from the past in our collection of historical newspapers. We’ve selected some of our favourite examples for you to enjoy. 1861: Burning the Guy on the fifth of November Penny Illustrated Paper – Saturday 09 November 1861 Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS …
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The British Newspaper Archive is full of grisly stories about the unusual and the unexplained. We’ve selected some of the oddest tales, including a description of a monster with the head of a sea lion and a rumour that Germany was turning dead soldiers into explosives during the First World War. Let us know if you’ve found a story to rival these. You can comment below or post on our Facebook page. 1) 1877: A bizarre 70-foot beast A very strange creature …
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Simon Read is currently using The British Newspaper Archive to research Winston Churchill’s adventures as a war correspondent. He got in touch to show us some examples of Churchill’s journalism. ************** Hear the name Winston Churchill, and what comes to mind? Most likely, it’s Churchill the war leader with his ever-present cigar, bulldog scowl, and never-surrender spirit. But long before Churchill’s Finest Hour, there was Winston Churchill the young adventurer. Between 1895 and 1900, Churchill covered wars of …
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The first person to be arrested and charged for driving under the influence of alcohol was George Smith, a London cabdriver. Charged with drunk driving on 10 September 1897 This article from the Morning Post reported that at about 00:45 on Friday 10 September 1897, Smith’s vehicle ‘swerved from one side of the road to the other, and ran across the footway into 165 New Bond Street’. George Smith admitted that he’d had ‘two or three glasses of beer’ and …
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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 Two Newspaper headlines from the beginning of WW2 Derby Daily Telegraph …
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The Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser, like other British newspapers, reported that Britain joined the First World War on 4 August 1914. The Courier makes for especially fascinating reading because it reported the news in a very different way. Manchester Courier: ‘Keep your country out of a wicked and stupid war’ Many newspapers included an advert encouraging unmarried men between 18 and 30 years old to join the Army on 5 August 1914. This example is taken from another …