We are extremely fortunate that Dr John Cardwell took up the Bradfield Archivist role in 2022. John brings with him a wealth of experience, his doctorate in Modern History is from the University of Oxford. He has held research fellowships at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge and the National Maritime Museum in the fields of British political, literary, medical and military history. John has written several books and articles and was co-author of Nelson’s Surgeon: Sir William Beatty, Naval Medicine and the Battle of Trafalgar (2005) which won a prize from The Royal Society of Medicine. Before joining Bradfield he was Curator of the Royal Commonwealth Society Collections at Cambridge University Library.
As Archivist, John is creating the college’s first online catalogue of its records which will make them more accessible to students, staff, alumni and the wider community. He also organises digitisation and conservation projects. John promotes the archives via blog posts and recently published an article on the Bradfield Club in Peckham in Bright the Vision: Public School Missions in the Victorian Age (2023).
He works closely with The Bradfield Society to answer enquires about the college’s history and accepts new acquisitions of photographs, artwork, manuscripts and printed books.
