News & Articles

Find out about the latest news from NCAP and discover in-depth stories about NCAP collections, activities and projects.

A black and white oblique aerial photo of a wide sandy beach. Lines of wooden constructions designed to trap tanks cover the beach, and several figures are visible running and hiding from the approach of the reconnaissance aircraft.

VE Day and the Crucial Role of Photographic Reconnaissance and Intelligence

Intelligence gathered from the aerial reconnaissance imagery now cared for by the National Collection of Aerial Photography played a critical, though often overlooked, role in bringing about the Allied victories that led to Victory in Europe Day on the 8th of May, 1945.

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A member of NCAP staff in a blue lab coat and wearing a patterned face mask examines a black and white photographic print within a fume hood.

How the Directorate of Overseas Surveys Collection Came to NCAP

This second article in our series for the exhibition ‘Reinterpreting the Directorate of Overseas Surveys’ looks at what happened to the DOS collection after operations ceased, and how the collection came to the National Collection of Aerial Photography.

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3 overlapping black and white vertical aerial photos of a volcanic crater. A mile scale runs along the bottom of the image.

The Story of the Directorate of Overseas Surveys

Digitising the Directorate of Overseas Surveys Collection has been the National Collection of Aerial Photography’s largest print preservation and digitisation project to date, but how did the Collection come to...

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A black and white vertical aerial photo of a river delta. The main channel undulates along the bottom edge of the image, with smaller channels running above it.

Reinterpreting the Directorate of Overseas Surveys Collection

The Directorate of Overseas Surveys (DOS) commissioned aerial photography to create mapping of Commonwealth countries. A new exhibition illustrates the great potential of the DOS Collection (cared for by the...

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A sepia historic photo of a woman in glasses next to a window. She is looking down at 2 photographic prints in her hands.

The Women of Medmenham: Sarah Spencer-Churchill

Sarah Spencer-Churchill served as a Photographic Interpreter at RAF Medmenham between October 1941 and November 1945, going on to become a prominent actress and frequently discussing her military service in...

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A black and white historic photo of a woman smiling at the viewer over her left shoulder.

The Women of Medmenham: Ursula Powys-Lybbe

This women’s history month, read about Ursula Powys-Lybbe, who began her career as a society photographer, before joining the WAAF in 1941 and working as a Photographic Interpreter at RAF...

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