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Cambridge University Library

 

We are delighted to announce that the Churchill Archive has been acquired for full access to all members of the University of Cambridge. Access the Archive by clicking here.

Cambridge University Library would like to acknowledge the generosity of the private donation made with the support of Bloomsbury that led to the acquisition of this important archive for all our students and researchers.

The Archive can also be accessed via the Cambridge LibGuides Databases A-Z here. Access is alternatively available via Shibboleth login on the www.churchillarchive.com site if you prefer to go to the site directly when off campus. 

The Churchill Archive is a unique resource that brings nearly 800,000 documents amassed by Winston S. Churchill throughout his life, together online for the first time. The original documents, produced between 1874 and 1965, include Churchill’s personal correspondence with his family and friends; financial and legal papers; political and constituency-related materials; ministerial and official correspondence; drafts of his speeches; as well as notes, drafts, and proofs of his many articles and books.

To complement the core content, the Churchill Archive offers an expanding range of additional materials, including pedagogical resources and secondary materials, plus editorially-selected links to other resources, video and audio content, and biographical and bibliographic databases.

A “Collection Highlights” section reveals themes of special interest in Churchill’s career and over the historical periods covered by the Archive, including how he used the power of words to boost the nation’s morale, how some exceptionally influential women supported him in his work and personal life, and most recently highlighting how he fostered the “special relationship” between this country and America, in the era of Soviet expansionism after the Second World War in particular.

For readers coming to the Archive afresh, or who are unfamiliar with researching with archival materials, there are heplful pages (FAQsMyArchive) on interpreting documents and navigating the Archive’s content, with some advice about microfilm transcriptions and conventions of cataloguing and taxonomy in the organization of the papers over time.

A “Teaching and Research” page demonstrates the wealth of potential sources in the Archive for the study of topics in twentieth-century history, including for example an in-depth guide on Winston Churchill and the Islamic World by Warren Dockter, University of Cambridge.

Read the blog of the Churchill Archive and keep up to date with the Churchill Archives Centre at Churchill College at their site here.