British Newspaper Archive hits milestone with 40 million pages
The British Newspaper Archive (BNA; britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) has reached its target of digitising 40 million pages held by the British Library within 10 years.
BNA was created as a result of an agreement between the British Library and Findmypast ( findmypast.co.uk) in November 2011. It met its target ahead of schedule, in the week of its ninth birthday.
The most recently digitised pages include the 1931–1949 editions of the Leicester Evening Mail. These include an article from August 1942 reporting on the first stage appearance of actor and director Richard Attenborough, who grew up in Leicester. It notes: “A few hours before he made his appearance on the West End Stage last night Richard Attenborough, the 18-year-old actor in ‘Awake and Sing’ at the Cambridge Theatre, was sworn in by the RAF.”
BNA’s collection is also available to ‘Pro’ members of Findmypast.