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Barnstaple's experimental concrete-hulled ship gets a visit from a jolly Italian admiral.
Non-Fiction 1918 5 mins Silent
Surprising as it sounds, reinforced concrete was the British Admiralty's first choice of material for shipbuilding when steel stocks ran low during the First World War. The experimental method saved 60% of the steel. This attractive newsreel visits the impressive timber-and-steel frame (no concrete yet) of one such vessel in her Barnstaple shipyard, in the rather jolly company of the Italian Navy admiral Sir Giuseppe de Lorenzi.
The Ill-fated Cretepath (referred to here as the Crepath) was completed later in 1918, but was wrecked on a sandbank after her launch. A follow-up attempt, the Cretepond, was more successful, but was completed after the war was over.
Biopic 1918 126 mins Silent
Morale-boosting exploits intended to inspire war-weary citizens.
Comedy 1918 25 mins Silent
Mr Butterbun presides over a tribunal dealing with cases of men presenting excuses to avoid the First World War draft.
Industry sponsored film 1918 8 mins Silent
Who wears the trousers while the men are at war? The women of Britain, who pick up a surprisingly wide range of jobs
Documentary 1918 24 mins Silent
Growing potatoes in Green Park plus some handy uses for your old tin cans – it’s all part of the war effort on the home front.
War 1918 5 mins Silent
Dramatic footage of Italian and British troops on the front line and airborne.
Fantasy 1918 17 mins Silent
Guests find things that go bump in the night.
Current affairs 1968 5 mins Location: Barnstaple
Children of a Devon primary school try to explain what happens on All Hallows Eve.
Non-Fiction 1915 3 mins Silent Location: Barnstaple
Roll up, the fair's in town - even with a war on.
Non-Fiction 1926 5 mins Silent Location: Barnstaple
Join the crowds in Barnstaple for fairground attractions
Non-Fiction 1898 2 mins Silent Location: Barnstaple
A 'phantom ride' along a fondly remembered Devon railway, crossing the distinctive Taw Bridge into Barnstaple on the way to Ilfracombe
Sport 1980 0 mins Location: Barnstaple
Barnstaple in pre-season friendly against Exeter City
News 1979 2 mins Silent Location: Barnstaple
Heavy snow fall in Barnstaple during the Winter of Discontent
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1936 8 mins
Spoiler alert! The fox is always going to outsmart the hounds in this delightful, balletic cartoon that heads from the countryside into 1930s suburbia.
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1936 9 mins
Carmen get your cartoon opera fix in this (very!) loose version of Bizet’s classic tale of romance and treachery.
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1909 4 mins
Toy Story meets Fatal Attraction in this tale of an Edwardian childhood romance scuppered by poor finances and a stalking dolly
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1940 8 mins
Who does he think he’s kidding? This parodic day-in-the-life portrait of Mr Hitler is one of the very few British examples of comic cartoon propaganda from WW2.
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1919 10 mins Silent
Remember when Charlie Chaplin went into space? Reality is no obstacle in this endlessly inventive silent cinema cartoon of the 'Little Tramp'
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1925 6 mins
1920s canine icon Bonzo the Dog tests the Entente Cordiale to the limit in this silent British cartoon
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