A volunteer was cataloging Royal Navy papers at the UK’s National Archives. Then he found a rare copy of the Declaration of Independence

A rare copy of the Declaration of Independence has been found at The National Archives in Kew, London.. It is the only known copy of its kind outside the United States, according to the BBC. The document was discovered earlier this year by a volunteer who was cataloging papers that belonged to Royal Navy captains from the American Revolutionary War.

The volunteer, Michael Scurr, was going through the records in February when he came across the document. He said he felt nervous excitement after he opened the paper and understood what it was. He said, “I called over to my boss and said, ‘I think you need to come and have a look at this’.”

For a long time, the document was simply treated as another paper belonging to the captain who had originally taken it.

The document is one of just eleven known copies from a specific printing in 1776

This copy is one of only 11 known copies printed in Exeter, New Hampshire, in July 1776. These copies were printed to spread news of American independence across the colonies before British forces could act. Dr Graham Moore from The National Archives said the discovery is one of the rarest known forms of the Declaration.

He explained that the document was never meant to last, since it was made for quick distribution rather than being kept. He said, “After the original printing on 4 July, the news of the Declaration is travelling fast around North America and its being reprinted as it reaches each successive colony.” The exact date of that original printing has even come up in recent political discussion, including a comment about America’s founding year.

The document’s path to the UK involved a long journey. It was seized by the Royal Navy on December 24, 1776, when the HMS Raisonable captured an American ship called the Dalton off the coast of Portugal. This happened after a seven-hour chase. Once the ship reached Britain, its papers were taken, including the privateer’s commission, instructions from the Continental Congress, and the Declaration itself.

The document was later found folded in among the letters of Captain Thomas Fitzherbert. It had arrived in Plymouth in January 1777, before being moved to Whitehall in London.

Saul Nassé, chief executive of The National Archives, called the find “an extraordinary discovery.” He said, “It’s a vanishingly rare surviving copy of the Declaration of Independence, found not in America, but here in the UK.” This is believed to be the only known copy of the Declaration that was taken through military action.

To preserve the document for the future, it has gone through conservation work to stabilise the paper and repair a small tear. This has made it safe to handle, study, and display to the public. The National Archives already holds three official copies printed by John Dunlap in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776, but this New Hampshire printing is a different and rare addition to the collection.

The document is now on display as part of the exhibition Revolution 250: America’s Independence Story, 1763-1783 at The National Archives, which opened last month. The timing coincides with America’s 250th anniversary year, an occasion that has itself drawn mixed reactions, including criticism of the anniversary celebrations.