Overview
The Their Finest Hour Online Archive holds thousands of visual items, from photographs and scanned pages to letters, diaries, postcards, and more. However, because the collection is so large and diverse, many of these visual materials are difficult to locate. Numerous photographs are embedded within longer PDF files or grouped under broad titles, meaning that a significant amount of visual content remains unseen when people search the site.
This project focuses on using AI to uncover and describe these hidden images. By testing new tools for image recognition and captioning, the team aims to make the archive's visual content more searchable and discoverable, while also reflecting on the challenges and responsibilities that come with applying AI to historical imagery and personal family collections.
Project Team
The project is led by Prof Stuart Lee (Principal Investigator) with Dr Matthew Kidd and Miguel Arana-Catania as Research Associates. The team brings together expertise in digital humanities, technology, and historical research, building directly on their work with Their Finest Hour.
