The Churchill Archives Centre (CAC) is one of the largest repositories in the United Kingdom for the preservation and study of modern personal papers. It is best known for housing the Churchill Papers, the massive archive of Sir Winston Churchill, as well as the private papers of Baroness Margaret Thatcher. Yet it also holds a whole range of political, diplomatic, military and scientific collections, capturing many of the great personalities of the modern era, including: Ernest Bevin, Enoch Powell, Lord Kinnock, Sir John "Jock" Colville, Lord Hankey, Admiral Lord Fisher, Field Marshal Lord Slim, Sir John Cockcroft, Sir James Chadwick, Professor Lise Meitner, Dr Rosalind Franklin and Sir Frank Whittle. Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC (Can) (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was an English statesman, soldier, and author, best known as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. ... Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS (born 13 October 1925), is the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, in office from 1979 to 1990. ... Ernest Bevin (9 March 1881 - 14 April 1951) was a British labour leader, politician, and statesman, born in the small village of Winsford in Somerset, England. ... Simon Heffers biography of Enoch Powell, published in 1999 John Enoch Powell, MBE, PC, (June 16, 1912 – February 8, 1998) was a right-wing British politician and Conservative Party Member of Parliament (MP) between 1950 and February 1974, and an Ulster Unionist MP between October 1974 and 1987. ... Rt. ... Maurice Pascal Alers Hankey, 1st Baron Hankey (April 1, 1877-January 26, 1963) was a British civil servant who gained prominence as the first Secretary to the Cabinet and who later made the rare transition from the civil service to ministerial office. ... ... Field Marshal Sir William Slim (pictured here as a Major General) Field Marshal William Joseph Slim, 1st Viscount Slim (6 August 1897 - 14 December 1970), British military commander and 13th Governor-General of Australia, was born near Bristol, Gloucestershire. ... See also: John Cockroft (politician) Sir John Douglas Cockcroft (May 27, 1897 - September 18, 1967) was a British physicist. ... Sir James Chadwick Sir James Chadwick (20 October 1891 – 24 July 1974) was an English physicist and Nobel laureate. ... Lise Meitner ca. ... Rosalind Elsie Franklin (25 July 1920 – 16 April 1958) was an English physical chemist and crystallographer who made important contributions to the understanding of the fine structures of DNA, viruses, coal and graphite. ... Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, OM, KBE FRS (1 June 1907–9 August 1996) was a Royal Air Force officer who invented the jet engine. ...

Located in the grounds of Churchill College, Cambridge, itself the National and Commonwealth Memorial to Sir Winston, the Centre has been awarded ‘Designated’ status by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council. It is open to the public and welcomes enquiries about its collections. The mission of the Centre is twofold: to preserve the collections in its care so that they can continue to inform the debates of future generations, and to strive to make those collections as accessible as possible. Full name Churchill College Motto Forward Named after Sir Winston Churchill Previous names - Established 1966 Sister College Trinity College Master Sir John Boyd Location Storeys Way Undergraduates 210 Graduates 440 Homepage Boatclub Churchill College Churchill College was founded in 1960 as the national and commonwealth memorial to Winston Churchill. ... The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) is a government-funded body (a national development agency) in the United Kingdom with a remit in the area of museums, libraries and archives. ...

Holdings

Collections

Although it is the papers of Sir Winston Churchill that give the Churchill Archives Centre its name, this institution houses more than simply Churchilliana; nor is it limited simply to the papers of politicians and statesmen like Churchill. Instead, the nearly 600 collections at the Archives Centre are delightfully diverse, containing the records of lives lived as soldiers, sailors and airmen, journalists, reformers and activists, public servants, diplomats, physicists, chemists and biologists, not to mention as the wives, mothers, fathers, siblings, and children of these figures. Between them, the collections span the world, offering a multiplicity of perspectives of twentieth-century history.

Subjects

This range in the nature of the collections means that a similarly wide array of subjects can be explored through them. For instance, most aspects of the Second World War can be traced in the archives, while records pertaining to both the birth (with Churchill’s so-called Iron Curtain Speech) and death of the Cold War are found in CAC archival boxes. Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... Warsaw Pact countries to the east of the Iron Curtain are shaded red; NATO members to the west of it — blue. ... For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ...

In addition to serving as a valuable resource for military, political, and diplomatic history as well as the study of international relations, the collections at the Churchill Archives Centre are as relevant for research into aspects of social and cultural history, colonialism, as well as labour, science, and women’s history. This is particularly true of these themes as they pertain to the British context, with countless files of letters from constituents, correspondents, fans and opponents to political, military and scientific personalities, not to mention their own letters penned to family and friends, as well as personal diaries and scrapbooks. Many such series read like an issue of National Geographic as diplomats, secretaries, journalists, and society wives travelled the world photographing and noting down their experiences. Political history is what most people refer to simply as history. ... Sometimes referred to as Rankian History, diplomatic history focuses on politics, politicians and other high rulers and views them as being the driving force of continuity and change in history. ... International relations (IR), a branch of political science, is the study of foreign affairs of and relations among states within the international system, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations (IGOs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and multinational corporations (MNCs). ... Å…Social history is an area of historical study considered by some to be a social science that attempts to view historical evidence from the point of view of developing social trends. ... Cultural history (from the German term Kulturgeschichte), at least in its common definition since the 1970s, often combines the approaches of anthropology and history to look at popular cultural traditions and cultural interpretations of historical experience. ... Pith helmet of the Second French Empire. ... Labor history refers to the political, social and legal struggle, working people, in their collective demands for fairer and more humane treatment from their employers and the social law (reformist movements) or to the struggle to abolish all forms of exploitation (revolutionary movements). ... Science is a body of empirical and theoretical knowledge, produced by a global community of researchers, making use of specific techniques for the observation and explanation of real phenomena, this techne summed up under the banner of scientific method. ... The National Geographic Society was founded in the USA on January 27, 1888, by 33 men interested in organizing a society for the increase and diffusion of geographical knowledge. ...

Types of documents

The collections at the Churchill Archives Centre include speeches, memoranda, reports, minutes, letters, postcards, diaries, appointment books, telegrams and memoirs, diagrams, maps, sketches and doodles, audio and video recordings, and photographs. The Archives Centre attempts to preserve these whilst rendering them accessible to the public.

The collections include

Examples of a few of the many figures, events, themes or broader topics in CAC's holdings:

People

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC (Can) (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was an English statesman, soldier, and author, best known as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. ... Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, OM, KBE FRS (1 June 1907–9 August 1996) was a Royal Air Force officer who invented the jet engine. ... Alexander Guthrie (Alastair) Denniston (1 December 1881 – 1 January 1961) was a British codebreaker in Room 40 and first head of the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS). ... Clementine Churchill, Baroness Spencer-Churchill (April 1, 1885 - December 12, 1977) (née Clementine Ogilvy Hozier) was the wife of Sir Winston Churchill. ... Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS (born 13 October 1925), is the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, in office from 1979 to 1990. ... Lise Meitner ca. ... Sir Percy James Grigg, better known as Sir P.J. Grigg (December 16, 1890-May 5, 1964) was a British civil servant who was surprisingly moved from being the Permanent Under-Secretary of State at the War Office to become Secretary of State for War, the political head of the... ... Sir William Deakin (1913-2005) was a historian, World War II veteran, and literary assistant to Winston Churchill. ... Simon Heffers biography of Enoch Powell, published in 1999 John Enoch Powell, MBE, PC, (June 16, 1912 – February 8, 1998) was a right-wing British politician and Conservative Party Member of Parliament (MP) between 1950 and February 1974, and an Ulster Unionist MP between October 1974 and 1987. ... See also: John Cockroft (politician) Sir John Douglas Cockcroft (May 27, 1897 - September 18, 1967) was a British physicist. ... The Rt. ... William Thomas Stead (July 5, 1849 - April 15, 1912), English journalist, was born at Embleton, Northumberland, the son of a Congregational minister. ... Florence Gertrude Horsbrugh, Baroness Horsbrugh (13 October 1889 - 6 December 1969) was a British Conservative politician. ...

Events & Broader Topics

Appeasement is a policy of accepting the imposed conditions of an aggressor in lieu of armed resistance, usually at the sacrifice of principles. ... A Pratt and Whitney turbofan engine for the F-15 Eagle is tested at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, USA. The tunnel behind the engine muffles noise and allows exhaust to escape. ... Yalta Conference. ... The Eliza Armstrong case was a major scandal in the United Kingdom involving a child supposedly bought for prostitution for the purpose of exposing the evils of white slavery. ... The Subsidised Mineowner - Poor Beggar! from the Trade Union Unity Magazine (1925) Foraging for coal in the strike Tyldesley miners outside the Miners Hall during the strike The UK General Strike of 1926 lasted nine days, from 3 May 1926 to 12 May 1926, and was called by the General... For the generation of electrical power by fission, see Nuclear power plant An induced nuclear fission event. ... Combatants British Empire Australia India Newfoundland New Zealand United Kingdom France Ottoman Empire German Empire Commanders Sir Ian Hamilton Otto von Sanders Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Strength 5 divisions (initial) 14 divisions (final) [] 6 divisions [] Casualties 150,000 [] 250,000 [] The Battle of Gallipoli took place at Gallipoli from April... Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament logo In British politics, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament has been at the forefront of the peace movement in the United Kingdom and claims to be Europes largest single-issue peace campaign. ...

Access

The Churchill Archives Centre is open to the public, though appointments must be arranged in advance to guarantee a place in the Reading Room.

The aim of the Archives Centre is to open up as much material for research as possible, but there may be closures on conservation, personal, or official grounds.

Preservation & Conservation

A core policy of the Archives Centre is to preserve archival material as far as possible in perpetuity for the use of present and future generations. This policy impacts on almost every activity within the Archives Centre and is quite a challenge given that some collections are used very heavily while others contain badly damaged items.

Although most of the archive material is in the form of loose papers, there are many other exciting types and formats including large photograph albums, posters and plans, cine film and artefacts such as one of Lady Thatcher’s handbags!

Only a small proportion of the papers are significantly damaged, but these require attention in order to make them useable. Often, they will need intervention to render them more chemically stable for long-term preservation. Sometimes the damage is extremely disfiguring and dramatic:

Conservation staff at the Archives Centre undertake the following treatments in order to conserve damaged archive material:

• Surface dry cleaning to remove abrasive, oily and acidic dirt
• Relaxation of creased/warped items and flattening
• Washing out acids or impurities from paper and photographs to stabilise them chemically
• De-acidification of acidic and brittle papers and the addition of alkaline 'buffers'.
• Repairs to tears or weak areas using fine acid-free tissues/papers and reversible adhesives.
• Removal of pressure-sensitive tapes, mounts etc which can cause damage over time.
• Stabilisation of mouldy material
• Housing in conservation bindings

Key to preserving the archives at the CAC is the specially equipped storage facility or strong room, which features a sophisticated fire detection system which suppresses fire using a mixture of inert inergen gases. The strong room, which is monitored against insect pests, provides a stable, cool and relatively dry strong environment with clean filtered air. Inergen agent is a mixture of inert atmospheric gases. ...

The archives themselves are stored in protective packages made from high-quality acid-free (alkaline buffered) paper and card and sometimes inert polyester film. This not only protects archival materials physically, but also provides a safe, non-acidic environment. Sturdy boxes are used to further shield files from light, dust and disaster.

To maintain the physical integrity of the archives, all staff and visitors or readers are instructed regarding appropriate handling procedures, while all exhibition of original material is strictly controlled.

History

Churchill College began to collect papers in 1965, with the papers of Clement Attlee being the first collection. The Archives Centre was purpose-built in 1973 in order to house the papers of Sir Winston Churchill. His papers dealing with his life after 1945 were given to the college by his wife but the papers dealing with his life pre-1945 remained in family ownership (though housed in the Archives Centre) until 1995 when they were bought for the nation. The grant to purchase the papers also included funding for a dedicated team of archivists to catalogue the papers. This task took a team of five archivists five years to complete: the catalogue to the Churchill papers was finished at the end of 2000 and was made available online 12 months later. Full name Churchill College Motto Forward Named after Sir Winston Churchill Previous names - Established 1966 Sister College Trinity College Master Sir John Boyd Location Storeys Way Undergraduates 210 Graduates 440 Homepage Boatclub Churchill College Churchill College was founded in 1960 as the national and commonwealth memorial to Winston Churchill. ... Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, FRS, PC (3 January 1883 – 8 October 1967) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from 1945 to 1951. ... The Right Honourable Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill KG, OM, CH, PC, FRS (November 30, 1874 – January 24, 1965) was a British statesman, best known as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during World War II. At various times an author, soldier, journalist, and politician, Churchill is generally regarded... Clementine Churchill, Baroness Spencer-Churchill (April 1, 1885 - December 12, 1977) (née Clementine Ogilvy Hozier) was the wife of Sir Winston Churchill. ... For alternate uses see: Archive (disambiguation). ...

Meanwhile the Centre had continued to collect personal papers from other figures from the fields of politics, the military, diplomacy, technology and science. By the end of the twentieth century, the Archives Centre was running out of space in which to store these archives. In 1997, Margaret Thatcher gave her papers to the Archives Centre. Funding was raised to build a new wing of the centre to house the Thatcher papers and to ensure that the Centre could continue to add to its collections in the 21st century. Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS (born 13 October 1925), is the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, in office from 1979 to 1990. ...

The Archives Centre has collaborated with organisations around the world on projects and exhibitions about Winston Churchill. One highlight has been a joint exhibition with the Library of Congress. The Great Hall interior. ...

Another milestone for the Archives Centre was reached in 2006 when catalogues to all the collections (excluding Churchill and Thatcher) were made available online via the Cambridge-based JANUS webserver.

For a detailed history of the Churchill Archives Centre, please consult the official website.

External Links

• Churchill Archives Centre home page
  
• The Churchill Papers Online Catalogue
  
• The Janus Online Catalogue for all other collections
  
• Churchill College
  
• The Churchill Centre in Washington D.C.
  
• The Churchill Museum & Cabinet War Rooms
  
• The National Archives, UK