Calling Blighty (Walsall)

War-weary servicemen far from home reconnect with relatives and friends in this touching collection of filmed messages

This touching collection of filmed messages from troops stationed in India would have played to packed houses back home - an emotional reunion of a kind for family, friends and lovers missing their distant loved ones. The Picture House, on Bridge Street in Walsall provided the venue for this sometimes stilted but always loving message home.

The filmed message format was briefly adopted by the Movietone and Pathe newsreels, and was repurposed by the Directorate for Army Welfare in India to boast morale and facilitate better communication with troops in the Far East. The men often didn't know one another and were brought together just to film their messages. The North West Film Archive's website has a database and more information on the Calling Blighty films.