There are around 50 reader advisers working at Kew. We spoke to James who has worked as a reader adviser for 9 years.

James, what does your job involve?

I'm a reader adviser, so I spend half my day on public duty in either the map room, the microfilm room, on the research enquiries desk, in the contact centre, or on email duty, giving out advice on how to begin research.

The rest of my time involves lots of administrative and paper work. I'm a training manager so I organise records related courses for new staff by compiling the training packs and setting up sessions. I also keep track of people's development projects – people in the department pick a study project in a certain sphere to increase their knowledge of research techniques, and I monitor their progress on these.

What do you like about being a reader adviser?

Dealing with the public is rewarding, and having time to delve through records oneself is enormously enjoyable.

Have you ever done any of your own research here?

Yes I have done lots of my own research here. I have found that on one side of the family 11 of my ancestors were in the merchant navy, a subject on which The National Archives records are very comprehensive. The other side of my family came over from Ireland in the 1850's at the time of the potato famine.

My great grandfather William Cronan worked for the White Star Line ocean liner the Olympic in the 1920's. He rose up to become a chief electrical greaser, however conduct records show he was demoted for starting a fire on board. He was on the ship the Britannic when it was sunk in the Aegean in 1916. Luckily he survived along with nearly all the crew and passengers.

Less fortunate was my other great grandfather, who by chance also worked for the White Star Line and was working on the Titanic when it sank. It seems he made it off the ship but sadly froze to death in the water. For many years his wife was misinformed that her husband's body had been lost at sea, in fact he was buried in Halifax, Nova Scotia. By way of compensation for the loss of her husband her daughter received piano lessons from the Titanic fund.

Are there any topics you would like to research in the future?

I would like to research the story of the brothers Van Ness - they were two British brothers whom the Portuguese imprisoned in Angola in the 1780's.

At that time piracy was very common, pirates would often take hostages and hold them hostage for a ransom. This happened to some very important Portuguese people. The brothers Van Ness stepped in and offered to broker their release, however things went wrong and the Portuguese hostages were executed, so the Portuguese government put the brothers Van Ness in jail.

Being interested in colonial history, I am interested in the ways and means by which the British authorities were able to negotiate and intervene on behalf of the brothers.

What is the most exciting document manuscript that you have seen or handled?

I am interested in South West Europe and small Mediterranean islands, particularly Corsica. At The National Archives there is a really beautiful old map of a star fort in port Mahon in Minorca built by the British, it was called St. Phillip's Castle. I say it was called St Phillip's Castle because unfortunately the French destroyed the fort by bombardment.

Plan of St. Phillip's Castle.

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What do you think about becoming The National Archives?

I look forward to it. The National Archives is a more recognisable and self-explanatory name than the Public Record Office, yet it is about more than just a name change, the Historical Manuscripts Commission are joining us, which makes good sense and I think we will become more accessible.