Following an outstanding response to this year’s digitisation grant programme, we were delighted to reveal the three winners during a special announcement at the ARA Annual Conference in Bristol, on 28th August 2025.
As ever, the quality of applications was exceptional, reflecting the remarkable breadth and depth of collections that together form the foundation of the UK’s rich cultural heritage.
Our judging panel, Sara Pink, John Chambers, and Casper Smithson, faced the challenging but rewarding task of reviewing every application in detail. Each submission represented significant time, dedication, and passion, and the judges were grateful for the opportunity to encounter such diverse and inspiring projects.
After careful consideration, three winners were selected, each offering an important and distinctive contribution to the preservation and accessibility of our shared heritage.
So, who are the winners? Find out below...
The J.A. Baker Archive at the University of Essex is a rare and significant literary and environmental collection centred on the celebrated author of The Peregrine (1967), widely considered a landmark in modern nature writing.
Spanning the 1940s to the 1980s, it comprises over 300 items, including original field notebooks, annotated drafts, birdwatching maps, personal correspondence, unpublished works, and artefacts such as Baker’s binoculars. These materials reveal his poetic precision, meticulous observations, and deep emotional connection to the Essex landscape, alongside personal struggles and reflections on environmental loss.
Currently only accessible in person, the archive will be digitised ahead of Baker’s 2026 centenary to protect fragile originals, expand global access, and inspire engagement with his work at a time when his environmental warnings are more relevant than ever. This initiative will build on growing interest following the 2024 Chelmsford Museum exhibition, which highlighted Baker’s legacy as a working-class writer who brought international attention to a provincial landscape.
Digitisation will open the archive to students, researchers, creative practitioners, and local communities worldwide, supporting new research, creative projects, and public engagement. The materials will be integrated into teaching, exhibitions, and community programmes such as writing workshops, nature walks, and heritage initiatives, with opportunities for volunteers to help interpret and curate the collection.
Researchers will benefit from improved access to ecological and literary insights, including baseline data on peregrine populations and evolving environmental conditions, while new tools like mapping and textual analysis will enable innovative scholarship. Hosted on the University’s CollectionsIndex+ platform with full metadata, OCR, and accessibility features, the digital archive will remain freely available and preserved long-term.
As the University’s first literary digitisation project, it will serve as a model for future initiatives, ensuring Baker’s voice continues to inspire reflection on nature, place, and environmental responsibility for generations to come.
The Fusilier Museum plans to digitise its Second World War collection in honour of the 80th anniversary of VE and VJ Day and to preserve the memory of the Lancashire Fusiliers’ service and sacrifice.
The archive documents pivotal events including Dunkirk, the Normandy landings, Sicily, Monte Cassino, Monte Ceco, and the Chindits’ operations in Burma, with unique materials such as rare war diaries and previously unseen photographs of the European and Far Eastern peace agreements.
Digitisation will safeguard these fragile items from deterioration or catastrophic loss, while making them accessible to a global audience. This will protect the originals, support long-term preservation, and ensure future generations can explore the bravery and contributions of soldiers from Lancashire and Greater Manchester - ordinary people who performed extraordinary acts, such as Francis Jefferson’s Victoria Cross-winning action at Monte Cassino.
The project will use TownsWeb Archiving and our PastView platform to publish the collection online with full metadata, OCR searchability, and integrated access with other museum systems for a rich visitor experience.
Digitisation will expand opportunities for education, research, and community engagement, supporting schools, historians, genealogists, creative practitioners, and the public. It will encourage intergenerational connections, enable worldwide participation regardless of geography or mobility, and foster community pride in local heritage.
Researchers will gain easier access to primary sources, improved search capabilities, and the ability to apply new digital methods for analysis. For the museum, it will streamline archive enquiries, enhance exhibition development, and generate income.
This initiative is not only about preserving the past, it will transform the collection into a dynamic resource for learning, creativity, and remembrance.
The Glyndebourne Archive holds a rich collection of original correspondence from 1934 to the present, including significant letters relating to the 1946 world premiere of Benjamin Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia.
This project will digitise approximately 2,569 items, capturing metadata via OCR to ensure long-term preservation, safeguard against loss, and make them accessible to researchers, opera directors, cultural historians, and the public.
The correspondence features leading figures such as Britten, Eric Crozier, John Piper, Peter Pears, and influential Glyndebourne directors, alongside major cultural bodies like the BBC and Arts Council of Great Britain. Together, they provide a detailed account of the creative and logistical processes behind one of the most pivotal works in British operatic history, offering insights into the artistic innovation and collaboration that helped shape post-war opera. With 2026 marking both the 50th anniversary of Britten’s death and the 80th anniversary of Lucretia’s premiere, the digitised collection will carry renewed historical resonance and cultural value.
Making this material freely accessible online via Glyndebourne’s CollectionsIndex+ platform will expand engagement beyond the archive’s traditional audience, overcoming geographical barriers - especially significant given Glyndebourne’s rural location.
Digitisation will benefit a wide range of users, from academics and students to heritage organisations and creative practitioners, supporting research into topics such as performance practice, women in opera, queer studies, national identity, and British cultural life in the mid-20th century. It will strengthen educational partnerships with institutions including the University of Sussex, UAL Wimbledon, and the University of Brighton, and encourage interdisciplinary collaboration with other archives such as The Royal College of Music and The Red House, Aldeburgh.
Beyond academic value, the collection will inspire exhibitions, public programming, and new creative interpretations, helping ensure Glyndebourne’s history remains relevant and accessible as the company approaches its centenary in 2034.
While we wish it were possible to award every application (each one highlighting collections that are both deserving of preservation and wider public access) our funding can only stretch so far.
To help more applicants take their projects forward, we’re delighted to reintroduce last year’s popular Match Funding Pot, open to all who applied - officially opening on 29th August, closing on 10th October 2025.
For every eligible application received, TWA has contributed £500 to the pot. Any applicant who did not secure one of the three main grants can claim up to £1,000 in matched funding to support their project.
Demand is always high, and once the pot is empty, it’s gone, so if you’re ready to move ahead and have some funds in place, we recommend claiming as soon as possible.
Huge congratulations to our winners, and a massive thank you to all of this years applicants!
To explore your options and discuss your project in more detail, simply choose a date and time below to speak with a member of our team.