Historian Lucy Worsley and Archivist Geoff Pick to be Honoured by All Party Parliamentary Group on Archives and History
Historian Lucy Worsley and Archivist Geoff Pick to be Honoured by All Party Parliamentary Group on Archives and History
Eleventh annual ‘Lifetime Achievement Awards’ to be Presented on 12th November in Westminster
The committee of the (UK) All Party Parliamentary Group on Archives and History has announced that it will honour the work of historian Lucy Worsley and archivist Geoff Pick with its annual ‘Lifetime Achievement Awards’.
The winners will receive their certificates formally at a special lunch in the House of Commons on Wednesday 12th November.
About the winners of the Lifetime Achievement Awards:
Lucy Worsley
Lucy Worsley is one of Britain’s best-known historians. As the Chief Curator of Historic Royal Palaces, a position she stepped down from last year after 21 years, she was responsible for overseeing the curatorial team and directing the visitor experience at the Palaces. Always passionate about bringing history alive to the widest audience, she combined her HRP role with a growing portfolio of broadcasting and literary projects.
Through her television work, Lucy has pioneered a new kind of storytelling personal and interrogative, often with female stories at its heart. She has reframed historical events through the lens of female experiences which are often neglected in retellings of history. Lucy has presented a number of series for television including the BAFTA award winning Suffragettes (BBC1), Six Wives with Lucy Worsley (BBC 1) Agatha Christie, Lucy Worsley on the Mystery Queen (BBC2) and most recently Lucy Worsley Investigates (BBC 2).
Lucy has written a number of books including Agatha Christie, Jane Austen At Home and If Walls Could Talk: An Intimate History of Your Home which accompanied the TV Series (BBC 4). She is currently working on A Royal Progress, an idiosyncratic history of British Monarchy. Lucy is also the host of the massively popular BBC podcast series Lady Killers and Lady Swindlers, which investigate the crimes of Victorian women from a feminist perspective and are among the BBC’s most downloaded podcasts.
Geoff Pick
Geoff was born and brought up in Lancashire, moving to Bristol University to study Classics for his BA. After qualifying as archivist at Liverpool University, he worked first at Worcester Cathedral Library, cataloguing the archives of the medieval Benedictine Priory, before being appointed to Lambeth Palace Library to work on the papers of early twentieth century Archbishops of Canterbury. In 1986 he moved to for the City of London Corporation in what is now known as The London Archives, working particularly on the archives of London’s metropolitan government, including the London County Council and the Greater London Council, and those of the organisation’s supplying water to the capital, from the New River Company in the seventeenth century to the Metropolitan Water Board in the twentieth. He was head of the Archives’ public engagement portfolio from 1995 to 2010 and served as Director from 2013 to 2021. During his time with the City Corporation, he also managed Keats House in Hampstead from 2002 to 2013 (seeing it through its major refurbishment funded primarily by the National Lottery) and the Guildhall Art Gallery (including London’s Roman Amphitheatre) 2010 to 2013, overseeing its first significant rehang since the 1990s.
Geoff was awarded an OBE in 2019 for services to the management of records and archives in London. Under his direction, the Archives played a pioneering role in areas such as the preservation of digital archives and in broadening the vision for public engagement, not least in its work with London’s LGBTQ+ and BAME communities.
Alongside his ‘day job’, Geoff has worked for many years to promote and advocate for the archives sector, particularly but not exclusively through the following roles:
• National Council on Archives: Vice Chair 2006-2008, Chair 2008-2010
• Archives and Records Association of UK and Ireland (ARA): Board member 2010-2014, Vice Chair 2014-2016; Chair 2016-2018
• Chair of the ARA National Surveys Working Party 2001-2021
• National Heritage Memorial Fund Expert Panel: member 2015-2024
Through his work in museums he also served as Vice Chair of the London Museums Group 2005-2012 and as co-founder and committee member of LitHouses (Literary Homes and Museums of Great Britain) 2003-2012
Geoff retired as Director in 2021 but since then has continued to chair the UK’s Committee on Archive Service Accreditation, helping to guide the scheme through the hugely difficult times of COVID-19 and introduce major changes this year reflecting the present day priorities of the sector - in sustainability, digital preservation and particularly in inclusive practice.
About the APPG Archives and History
The (UK) All Party Parliamentary Group on Archives and History is a cross-party, non-partisan body that aims to support the record-keeping sector and promote the study of history. The Group was established in 2010 under the chairmanship of the (now-retired) Dr Hywel Francis, MP. It is co-chaired by Chris Evans, MP and Lord Clark of Windermere, PC.
About the APPG Archives and History Lifetime Achievement Awards
This is the tenth All Party Parliamentary Group Lifetime Achievement Awards to honour the work of record-keepers and historians. Previous recipients are:
· Eric Hobsbawm and Lord (Hugh) Thomas in 2011
· Lord (Asa) Briggs and Sarah Tyacke CB in 2012
· Professor José Harris and Gerry Slater in 2013
· Lord (Kenneth) Morgan and George Mackenzie in 2014
· Sir Keith Thomas and Patricia Methven in 2015
· Professor Sir Michael Howard and Heather Forbes in 2016
· John Dunbabin and Michael Moss in 2017
· Sir Tom Devine and Bruce Jackson in 2018
· Margaret MacMillan and Jeff Cargill in 2019
· Due to COVID-19 no awards were made in 2020/21/22/23
· Baroness Lola Young and Anne Barrett in 2024