On Sunday, December 14, 2025, at the Floating Naval Museum of the Battleship “Georgios Averoff”, the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation presented the digitized archive of Greek interest of Admiral Thomas Cochran, entitled “Chieftains to Lord Cochrane: The unpublished correspondence during the years of the Revolution”.
The archive presents to the public a body of evidence of exceptional historical importance, which sheds light on the activities and contacts of Lord Cochrane during his stay in Greece, during the years of the Greek Revolution. Through the correspondence with his associates, Greek chieftains and political figures of the time, a perspective emerges that complicates the picture we have had until today.
About the Cochrane Archive
The archive of Admiral Thomas Cochrane is kept in the national archives of Scotland. The part of the archive of Greek interest, i.e. 1,200 letters, was digitized in Edinburgh, by Dr. Alan Borthwick, and sent to the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation, after consultation between Cochrane’s descendant, Douglas Dundonald, and the Foundation’s president, Mr. Panagiotis Laskaridis. Recognizing the importance of this archive for a better understanding of a critical phase of the Greek Revolution, the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation proceeded with the processing and free access to the letters it contains.
Initially, the text of the letters was transcribed from English, French, Italian, Greek and Spanish. As the authors of the letters had different handwritings, paleography methods had to be used to identify some letters and often to identify words. Subsequently, the transcription, summary and metadata of the letters were entered into an information system compatible with Europeana, while following modern practices users have the opportunity to listen to the letters but also to “converse” with Thomas Cochrane, retrieving information about the organization and execution of military operations, the fight against pirates, his contacts with Greek and foreign politicians, military and philhellenes and his attempt to overturn his conviction and restore him to the British Navy.
Scientific supervision: Dr. Ioannis Papadopoulos
Design: Marina Tzatzo, Synthesee
Implementation: Vlassis Kosmas, Pavla
Photos from the event:
