American-born jazz age superstar Adelaide Hall (1901-1993) was a Black music legend, who from 1938 onwards made Britain her home. She went on to have a long and successful career in the UK. In this very special blog, as part of Black History Month on The Archive, we will celebrate this jazz age queen who came to Britain and entertained thousands of people via her stage and radio performances, using newspapers taken from our Archive. A Star Is Born To …
Second World War
The aristocratic Mitford sisters – Nancy, Pamela, Diana, Unity, Jessica and Deborah – hit the headlines throughout their lifetimes, with tales of scandal and intrigue filling the pages of the press from the 1920s and beyond. Born to David Freeman-Mitford, 2nd Baron Redesdale, and his wife Sydney, alongside brother Thomas, the Mitford sisters often shocked society, whether it be through their political views, or their private lives. In this special blog, we shall unravel the remarkable stories of the six …
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It’s the most romantic time of the year, and to celebrate Valentine’s Day, we’ve selected twelve of the most romantic marriage proposals from our Archive. From wartime proposals, to engagements formed at the opera, our newspapers showcase romance from across the ages. So without any further ado, let’s launch into our list of the twelve most romantic marriage proposals from our newspapers, beginning in 1898 and going all the way up to the 1960s. Register now and explore the Archive …
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A walk along Piccadilly in the black-out is one of the many queer experiences of this war. The once brilliant centre of London’s night life is now as dark as any forest, and indeed, like a forest, the darkness is full of rustlings and whisperings, of half-seen shapes, and of a sinister feeling of eager, but invisible, life. Daily Herald | 26 April 1940 So began a Daily Herald article on blackout crime in London during the Second World War. …
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As a result of the Second World War, over 60,000 British women married American soldiers (colloquially known as GIs), many of them returning with their new husbands to live in the United States once the war ended. In this special blog, we are going to take a look at how the so-called GI brides were reported on by the press of the United Kingdom. We will examine how they faced warnings over their choice of husbands, and how they were …
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When war broke out in August 1914, and again in September 1939, women across the United Kingdom played a pivotal role in the war effort, taking on jobs that we previously seen as the preserve of men. By July 1916 it was estimated that 750,000 women across Britain had taken up ‘war work,’ working in heavy industries and in munitions factories, working as drivers, as well as nurses and as doctors. This represented a seismic shift in the way that women …
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As part of Black History Month this October, we have taken a look at the extraordinary life of Learie Constantine (1901-1971), a cricketer from Trinidad who would go on to become the United Kingdom’s first ever Black peer. The first player to take a Test match wicket for the West Indies, and described as one of the best all-round cricketers the world has ever seen, Learie Constantine’s career extended beyond sport, as he fought tirelessly against racial discrimination, as he became a writer, broadcaster, and even …
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From South Shields to Saint Lucia, from Carmarthen to Canada, we’ve added 155,351 brand new pages to The Archive this week, spanning over 180 years of headlines. Furthermore, we’ve updated eighteen of our existing titles, with updates covering our regional titles from England, Scotland and Wales, as well as some of our international titles from Canada and the Caribbean. So read on to discover more about our updated titles of the week, as well as to learn about the bombing of a newspaper …
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In March 1954 news broke that former Second World War fighter pilot and racing driver Roberta Cowell (1918-2011) had become the first known British transgender woman to undergo gender affirmation surgery, an important part of British LGBTQ+ history. Roberta Cowell, or Betty as she was known to her friends, soon became the ‘most talked of woman in England,’ making headlines across national and regional newspapers. And the way that Roberta used print media to tell her own story is a story in …
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This week at The Archive we have added 53,195 brand new pages, as we continue to augment our regional newspaper holdings from across England and Wales. Over the past seven days, we have added new pages to nineteen of our existing titles, from Bedfordshire to Birkenhead, from Harrow to Hertford, from Retford to Runcorn. So read on to discover which of our titles we have added to this week, as well as to find out about the Royal Ordnance Factory (ROF) Bridgend, which …