Celebrating volunteers across the capital

31 Oct 2019 03:20 PM

Last night we welcomed volunteers from the museum and archive sectors for the London Heritage Volunteer Awards. We were the first archive to host the awards, which celebrate the achievements of volunteers across heritage sites in London.

Speaking at the event, Jeff James, Chief Executive and Keeper of The National Archives, said “Collectively our volunteers dedicate 18,000 hours each year to support our work. It’s important to us that we take time to say thank you for the invaluable contribution they make”.

The contributions of many volunteers at The National Archives were recognised at the event. Principal Records Specialist Bruno Pappalardo, who led a joint volunteer project with the National Maritime Museum, was highly commended for the Special Award for Volunteer Management. The project, which involved cataloguing over half a million letters to the Navy Board, was also runner up in the Best Team category. Elsewhere, Brenda Mortimer was runner up in the Going the Extra Mile category and the Transparent Papers Project was runner up in the Bringing Innovation group.

An array of original documents that have recently been catalogued were on display, highlighting the vast and varied contributions of our volunteers. The documents range from seal moulds to petitions relating to 19th century criminals which thanks to the volunteer projects, are now easier to find on our catalogue. In addition, the Library volunteers displayed some rare books.

Our catering partner Graysons provided wine and refreshments for guests.

Click here for more information on volunteering at The National Archives.