Archive Your Life

Did you realise that you are a living archive? You are the walking product of everything you have experienced during your life, as are your parents, grandparents, friends and relatives. We all have personal memories of major events that have shaped our lives - from those who recall the dark days of the Second World War to more recent memories, such as the day Princess Diana died or what we were doing on 9/11. Our experiences, impressions and thoughts concerning these events are important to us as individuals, but have a far greater relevance when brought together - yet so few of us bother to record our daily lives any more. Yet, as living archives, we almost have a duty to future generations to deposit this information somewhere so that they can better understand who we were as individuals, and collectively as a society. Imagine how many times we wish we could ask our great-grandparents what life used to be like? Well, we have a chance to create a legacy for our own great-grandchildren so that they won't have to wonder!

Equally, it is important to gather as much information as we can about our ancestors, our former homes, the places we grew up, so that these fragile links with the past are nurtured and cherished, not lost and abandoned. At Nations' Memorybank, you can do all this and more. We can help you to archive your life by giving you the opportunity to create your own memory pages, uploading directly into the communities we're building or, as a subscriber, keeping them safe, secure and private in our Member's Zone. We've designed Memorymapping, so you can link memories with locations - helping you to record the history of your house, for example; and our interactive communities provide you with all the research guidance you need, as well as giving you the opportunity to talk to other users and post questions about your research.

Nations' Memorybank - creating the people's archive by helping you to archive your life.

"The National Archives welcomes The Nations' Memorybank."

"We need everyone to help guarantee the survival of today's information for tomorrow, and this project is a big step. The preservation of digital material is an enormous challenge and it is vital that the stories and lives of ordinary people are safely recorded alongside official and published documents. The Nations' Memorybank will be a rich resource and will help create a fuller picture of all of our lives; past, present and future."

James Strachan
Director of Public Services and Marketing
The National Archives