An alternative home movie; mother and daughter participate in Air Raid Precaution Training, captured at the family home by amateur filmmaker Trevor Spittle.
Filmed within the grounds of the filmmaker’s family home in Cambridge, Civil Defence Ambulance Attendants, recognisable by their dark blue battledress with yellow “CD” initialled insignias, and Air Raid Precaution (ARP) Wardens, recognisable by their black coats and steel helmets marked with a big “W” - all volunteers, receive emergency first aid training, practicing their skills on others wearing everyday dress who play-act the part of injured civilians.
A great example of war effort. Amateur filmmaker Trevor Spittle was a Cambridge University Don, and his family stayed in Cambridge throughout war. His wife organised the ARP Training, being a Civil Defence volunteer, and is featured in uniform throughout the footage. At 0:57 she smiles for her husband, and the camera. The filmmaker’s daughter, a young Heather Spittle, the lightest of the volunteers, plays the part of an injured civilian, carried on a stretcher and lowered out of a first floor window of the family home (7 Herschel Road).
An air raid could come at any moment and Derby had to be ready to deal with the casualties. The people of Littleover were so well prepapred they filmed one of their exercises.
Whether it’s the height of the war or its aftermath makes no difference to these children enjoying themselves: at the seaside, on V E Day and around the bomb sites of Sheffield.
Amateur film193915 minsSilent
Location: Welwyn Garden City
A great example of ‘despite war, life continues’, Welwyn Garden City residents continue with annual traditions, festive occasions and celebrations, during wartime.
Life in Broadwater seems unaffected by the war in this film - especially when friends and relations drop by - though a closer look reveals that all is not quite what it seems.
Focusing on each town’s university colleges, main streets, gardens, statues and memorials with a narration of the history of the buildings, notable scholars, and traditions.
Without Bounds to Beat is an experimental documentary that recounts a town’s revival of an ancient folk tradition, placing it in contrast to today’s digital technologies.
A drama set in the near future where virtual reality allows a person to see life through the eyes of someone very different, which questions whether experiences become shared or commodified.
An upbeat drama about 14-year-old oddball Toni who is having a tough time with the bullies at school. One day, the internet and a passion for performance saves her.
A short documentary exploring the challenges of being young and chronically ill in a carefully curated online culture. When you’re too ill for IRL, where do you turn?
In search of an identity, Candy wanders through the digital landscape, leaving fragments of herself behind in this experimental short drama.
About the archive
The East Anglian Film Archive, the first and largest Regional Film Archive in England, was established in 1976. Since 1984, EAFA has been owned and operated by the University of East Anglia, Norwich (UEA), to support research and work to preserve our moving image heritage. More than 250 hours are freely available online as examples of the wide range of film which attracts interest the world over.
