Re your thoughtful editorial (20 June) on the future of important British political archives: the Churchill Archives have been carefully digitised over the past four years and have been published by Bloomsbury Academic on behalf of the archives. To mark the 50th anniversary of Winston Churchill’s death, these archives have been made available free-to-view in perpetuity by every schoolchild in US and UK, through the generosity of the philanthropist Laurence Geller, with a wealth of new content to help children understand the impact of Churchill on modern history (churchillarchiveforschools.com). The Guardian is right to be concerned about the preservation of modern political documents; it is wrong, however, to paint an overly gloomy picture of an impending “dark age”. Schoolchildren in the UK now have online access to a wealth of primary material about 20th-century history. The pressing need is to ensure the same for 21st-century political leaders.
Jonathan Glasspool
Managing director, Bloomsbury Academic & Professional
