Save the Thomas Cook Archive!

Posted on by Steph

Please pass this on to anyone who has used, or who has an interest, in the Thomas Cook Archive!

You will have seen the news about the collapse of Thomas Cook and it is obviously a dreadful time for the staff and for holidaymakers caught up in all of this. Some of you will be aware that the company has a hugely important Archive covering over 170 years of the company’s existence. The Business Archives Council, through the Crisis Management Team for business archives, is coordinating a response to ensure that the Archive is secured for the future. To this end we need letters and statements of support from those who have used, or who have an interest, in the Thomas Cook Archive. Please contact me if you can help in making the case for the value and significance of these records and for the need for them to be properly maintained and made available to current and future users.

Thank you.

Mike Anson

ABH Archives Representative

michael.anson@bankofengland.co.uk

Published by Steph

I am a professor at the University of Birmingham Business School specializing in organizational history and international strategy.

12 thoughts on “Save the Thomas Cook Archive!”

  1. The archives were essential for my recently published book, Flamenco Nation. Paul Smith was a great help to me. Please make sure that the archives are saved–they’re a treasure-trove of valuable information for scholarly research!

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  2. There should surely be a legal requirement that long established companies maintain, or hand over to the government archive system, their signficiant archives. For instance the respected and longstanding company Costain apparently destroyed all their prewar archives, greatly frustrating historical research.

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  4. My late mother was organising a Church flower festival the theme of which was famous people of the East Midlands. Thomas Cook archive provided copies of some of their early posters. Following the festival I had them framed and they remain on my lounge wall.
    The archives should go to the British Library or the National Archive at Kew to ensure they remain available to future historians.

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  5. Thomas Cook sold travel to New Zealand, and in particular on the Whanganui river boats, one hundred years ago. The archive is likely to contain material of interest to NZ transport historians. I hope your efforts to save it are successful.

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  6. The archive is of enormous importance to a wide range of historians. The change in the life of working people, the development of tourism, transport history, history of costume and fashion, mass communication, art history – the potential is huge. Given the ephemeral nature of much of the archive it will be difficult to access the information elsewhere.

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  8. […] But it’s also important to take the long view. With this 178-year-old firm, its heritage is also about to be lost and a number of business historians—myself included—are fighting to save it. […]

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  9. […] despite its demise, is still a brand loved by many. Since the Business Archives Council started its call for support, they have received nearly 100 emails in support of the Thomas Cook archive and are contacting the […]

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  10. […] The collapse of Thomas Cook left 155,000 tourists stranded overseas, forcing the UK government to step in to orchestrate the biggest ever peacetime repatriation. The company’s 9,000 employees woke up on September 23 with no job. The focus is, justifiably, on the people immediately affected by this terrible news. But it’s also important to take the long view. With this 178-year-old firm, its heritage is also about to be lost and a number of business historians – myself included – are fighting to save it. […]

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  11. Please save the Thomas Cook archives. I worked for British Midland for 30+ years and had some lovely friends in Thomas Cook, bless them all. We need to save all the records!

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