From David Lloyd George’s Welsh terrier to John Major’s sunburnt goldfish, British politics has a rich history of parliamentary pets. These pets in office often stole the limelight from their human colleagues, and were sometimes even officially employed in their roles. In this special blog, we detail twelve parliamentary pets, from canaries to cats. We look at how some animals became symbols of good luck, and how others contributed to political storms. We tell their stories using pages from our …
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Cats have been companions to humans for an estimated 10,000 years, and in this special blog, we present fourteen remarkable cat tales taken from the pages of our newspaper Archive. From felines with a predilection for travel, to heroic cats responsible for saving lives, as well as those who made use of all of their nine lives, we’ve scoured our collection to bring you some of the most extraordinary cat stories from history. Register now and explore the Archive 1. …
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This week we have added another 256,709 brand new pages to our collection, with an amazing ten brand new publications joining us from across England and Scotland. Meanwhile, we have updated 64 of our existing titles over the past seven days, with additions to some of our international titles, to our Welsh language titles, and to our national and regional titles. So read on to discover more about all of our new titles of the week, which hail from Erdington to Stanmore, as well as to discover …
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The British Newspaper Archive is a veritable visual treasure trove, and we have come across a selection of wonderful and historic doggy portraits which we can’t help but share. The Sphere | 23 November 1938 So read on to discover our very special selection of canine photographs, from ‘Herbert’s Wonderful Dog’s to the ‘Most Wonderful Dog in the World,’ from Cruft’s contenders to Battersea rescues, our Archive features some of the best historical dog photography around. Register now and explore The …
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On 20 March 1966, an audacious robbery was orchestrated at Westminster Central Hall. On show were rare stamps with a total value of £3 million; but these were not the target of the very literal daylight robbery, undertaken under the noses of no less than six security guards. For also on display was the Jules Rimet Trophy, the solid gold prize presented to the winners of the football World Cup, which was to be held in England that summer. Sunday …
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In this our latest animal-themed blog, we take a look at the extraordinary story of Tirpitz the pig. A shipwreck survivor, and charity fundraiser, we look through our newspapers to tell her remarkable and unlikely story. Register now and explore The Archive Tirpitz and friend | Daily Record | 24 March 1916 The tale of Tirpitz begins on board the SMS Dresden, a light cruiser of the German Imperial Fleet. Pigs were often kept on board battleships to supply fresh meat, but …
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Every Army, Air Force, Navy and Secret Service in the world has its feathered battalions, and when the story of the war is written finally it will be found that many a battle has been won, many a ship preserved and many a life saved through the help of the feathered soldiers. These were the words of Victor Newton as he wrote for the Aberdeen Press and Journal in 1943, describing ‘how pigeons play their part in war.’ And so, in this …
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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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You’ll find lots of amusing stories in The British Newspaper Archive about the strange events that happened both in the United Kingdom and around the world. A number of local newspapers, including the Grantham Journal, Portsmouth Evening News and Sheffield Evening Telegraph, reported on one such event in 1890. Women shrieked and children cried According to newspapers that are now available to search online, a huge brown bear interrupted a church service on Sunday 20 April 1890 after it …
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Hannah Velten recently got in touch to tell us how she uses The British Newspaper Archive to research a rather niche subject – the history of animals within society. Show us what you’re researching at the moment by emailing [email protected] ************** One day it could be a toad emerging from a rock or a person kicked by a horse – I never know what I’m going to find when I log into The British Newspaper Archive each day. …