Transforming the Sandhurst archives into a searchable, revenue-generating digital collection was driven by a clear ambition to move beyond digitisation alone and unlock long-term access, discovery, and sustainability.
For custodians of historic archives, digitisation is only the first step. The real value emerges when digital records become discoverable, searchable, and accessible to the audiences who need them most. This was the guiding principle behind the Sandhurst archive project, led by Dr Anthony Morton, Curator of the Sandhurst Collection at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
The Sandhurst Collection contains some of the Academy’s most historically significant records. Central to the project were cadet registers dating back to the opening of the college, alongside end-of-term reports and personal detail sheets that provide rare insight into cadets’ backgrounds and early careers.
As Dr Morton explains:
“The project was and remains digitising all our most valuable and most historically important archive material.”
These records hold deep significance for family historians and academic researchers alike, while also forming a vital part of Sandhurst’s institutional history.
Digitisation was driven by a clear sense of responsibility to both the public and the collection itself. Making records available online ensures they can be explored widely, while also protecting fragile originals from unnecessary handling.
Dr Morton highlights this dual purpose:
“We wanted to make our records and our archive material more accessible to the general public, partly because we believe we have a duty to do that.”
He also notes the preservation benefit:
“If people can access our cadet registers online, it means they do not have to come here and physically turn the pages and actually wear out these registers, some of which are about 200 years old.”
After reviewing a number of potential partners, Sandhurst selected TownsWeb Archiving to deliver the digitisation programme. The decision was based on quality, clarity, and overall value.
As Dr Morton recalls:
“TownsWeb Archiving gave not only the best presentation but also the best value for money, so we picked them.”
The resulting digital files are exact facsimiles of the originals and are now used extensively by archive staff as well as external researchers.
“They capture every bit of data on the original document. They are perfect facsimiles. We are very happy with the quality of them.”
Digitised content reaches its full potential when users can easily find what they are looking for. By publishing the Sandhurst collection through our online access and discovery platform PastView, the Academy has transformed static digital files into a searchable, user-friendly discovery experience on its new collection website, opening the collection to a global audience.
As Dr Morton explains:
“We wanted people to be able to search by name and by year on our website to be able to find the records of their ancestors.”
This shift from digitisation to discovery ensures the archive is actively used, not simply preserved.
Moving from a legacy archive platform to PastView was a significant but essential step in the evolution of the Sandhurst digital archive. The transition required extensive planning, data preparation, and processing to ensure that the Academy’s complete archive could be successfully migrated into a modern platform designed not just for storage, but for discovery.
The scale of the upgrade was substantial. Sandhurst’s existing archive management system contained a vast volume of complex data that needed to be accurately transferred and restructured. This included over 100,000 individual pages and more than 133,000 named entries, many of which appeared multiple times due to the Academy’s historical recording practices. With cadets recorded separately for each academic term, individual names often appeared across several registers, all of which needed to be preserved, linked, and made searchable.
The result is a far more research-focused archive experience. Previously, users were limited to accessing single records, such as individual cadet entries. Now, through PastView, researchers can explore entire registers or volumes via subscription access, supporting deeper historical analysis and more meaningful engagement with the collection. This shift reflects Sandhurst’s long-term commitment to encouraging continued use of its archive, rather than restricting access to isolated records.
Beyond public access, PastView also provides Sandhurst with greater control over the ongoing management and growth of the collection. Different permission levels can be applied to support internal workflows, future digitisation projects, and controlled publication, ensuring the archive remains both accessible and carefully managed as it continues to expand.
This move from a legacy system to a discovery-led platform represents a critical step in turning digitised records into an actively used, sustainable digital collection.
A core element of Sandhurst’s new collection website was the design of an intelligent, highly flexible search experience, tailored specifically to the complexity and character of its archive. Rather than applying a one-size-fits-all approach, search functionality was shaped around Sandhurst’s vision for how its distinct collections should be explored and understood.
This was particularly important given the varied nature of the data. The archive contains both typed records, processed using Optical Character Recognition (OCR), and handwritten material requiring transcription, through Handwritten Text Recognition (HTR). Across both formats, critical information such as names, dates, and contextual details needed to be accurately captured and surfaced through search.
Using PastView, each item within the collection is enriched with structured metadata, including attributes and linked entities. Once subscribed, users can search confidently across individual collections or narrow their focus to specific record types. This allows magazines, cadet records, photographs, and other materials to be explored independently, without losing the ability to connect them where relevant.
Photographic material was separated into its own dedicated collections before being intelligently linked back to named individuals appearing in registers and written records. This connection process enables users to follow individuals across multiple archival formats, building a fuller and more coherent historical picture. To support this, a range of user controls, including date filters, toggles, and intuitive search refinements, guide users quickly to the most relevant results.
By organising content by year and collection type, Sandhurst has unlocked entirely new ways to explore its archive. Researchers can now move seamlessly between registers, magazines, and photographs within the same time period, uncovering connections that were previously difficult or impossible to identify. The result is a more targeted, efficient, and rewarding research experience that saves time while significantly deepening discovery.
The online collection now supports a wide range of users, from members of the public to academic historians, as well as Sandhurst staff responding to research enquiries.
Dr Morton notes:
“They are used by the general public. We have many hits on our website where family historians are looking for ancestors who they think may have trained at Sandhurst.”
He adds:
“They are also being used by academic historians who are looking at the impact of Sandhurst and the history of officer training.”
A key requirement of the project was financial sustainability. The Academy needed a way to recoup some of the investment made in digitisation, without restricting access.
Before the move to PastView, access to the Sandhurst archive was limited to individual records, such as single cadet entries. Today, the collection supports a far richer research experience, with users able to access complete registers or entire volumes through subscription-based access.
Subscriptions are designed to be simple and consistent, enabling users to explore material within a defined access period. Sandhurst adopted a standard seven-day subscription window, providing clarity for users while supporting sustained engagement with the collection. Once subscribed, researchers can open an entire register or volume and explore it in full, mirroring the experience of consulting physical volumes in a reading room, but delivered digitally and remotely.
Alongside subscription access, the collection also offers high-quality digital downloads. Individual volumes and publications, including journals, can be purchased as complete digital facsimiles. These open within PastView’s immersive book-viewing environment, designed to replicate the experience of handling a physical book, while also providing downloadable PDF copies that support full-text searching through OCR.
This combination of subscription access and digital downloads allows users to choose how they engage with the archive, whether conducting short-term research or acquiring material for long-term reference. Since launching this model, Sandhurst has seen strong uptake, demonstrating that revenue generation can sit naturally alongside open discovery. The approach provides a sustainable way to maintain, manage, and expand the digital collection while continuing to meet the needs of researchers worldwide.
Dr Morton describes the approach:
“A customer will go to the website and have a free search for the name they are looking for.”
Users can explore basic information at no cost, but when they wish to download a full high-resolution facsimile of a document, a small fee applies.
“Once they decide they want to download the full facsimile of the actual document, they will pay a small fee to get the download.”
The built-in shop functionality provided through the platform makes this process seamless and sustainable.
From high-quality digitisation with TownsWeb Archiving to discovery and monetisation through PastView, the Sandhurst project demonstrates how archives can move beyond preservation alone. It shows how historic collections can be protected, discovered, and financially supported for the long term.
As Dr Morton concludes:
“We are still working with them and for any further digitisation that I wanted, I would go straight to TownsWeb.”
This journey from digitisation to discovery ensures the Sandhurst archives remain accessible, relevant, and sustainable for generations to come.
View the Sandhurst Collection on their dedicated archive website, powered by PastView: sandhurstcollection.co.uk
To learn more about how we help military archives thrive in the digital age, read the full article here.
For further information on PastView, our immersive access and discovery platform, please visit our website pastview.com