The Media Archive for Central England is the public screen archive for the East and West Midlands. An independent charity and company based at the University of Lincoln, MACE acquires, catalogues, preserves and makes widely available moving image materials that inform our understanding of the diverse cultures and histories of communities between the Lincolnshire coast and the Welsh border.
This film is part of Free
Churchill Portrait
Was Churchill the greatest Englishman? Not if you live in a Nottinghamshire pit village where memories of the General Strike live on.
From the collection of:
Overview
When Mansfield artist Edna Ricks presented a portrait of Winston Churchill to the Sir Winston pub at Annesley Woodhouse in Nottinghamshire she probably expected the locals to welcome the gift. Not so, as a Labour stronghold with memories of the General Strike the locals wanted to 'chuck it on waste ground'. Luckily for Edna down at Woodford Halse in Northamptonshire there's a pub with an ex-RAF landlord and not a miner in sight.
Confusingly reporter John Swallow refers to the Northamptonshire village in the second half of this story as Woodhouse Apse. He must have been still thinking about Annesley Woodhouse in Nottinghamshire. The correct location for the Sir Winston is Woodford Halse in West Northamptonshire. Not to be confused with Woodford in the same county.
Related
Watch for free
Getting it Back: The Story of Cymande - Q&A Getting it Back: The Story of Cymande - Q&A
Inside Film 2024 22 mins
The director of a documentary about British funk pioneers Cymande joins the band at BFI Southbank to talk about the film.
Watch for free
The West Case The West Case
Action and Adventure 1923 28 mins Silent Location: Tilbury
Plotting world domination, Devil Doctor Fu-Manchu steals plans for a new aero-torpedo in this earliest surviving thrill-a-minute serial instalment.
Watch for free
Enter the Scala!!! Enter the Scala!!!
Inside Film 2024 16 mins
Filmmakers Jane Giles and Ali Catterall discuss their documentary Scala!!!, revisiting the legendary and inspirational cinema venue and some of the most notorious films that screened there.
Watch for free
Smith Smith
Charity appeal 1939 10 mins
Long thought lost, this Powell-directed promotional short for a veteran’s charity was only rediscovered in 2003.
Watch for free
An Airman's Letter to His Mother An Airman's Letter to His Mother
Documentary 1941 6 mins
A poignant, stirring letter from a recently deceased pilot to his mother is read by John Gielgud.
Watch for free
The NHS75 Celebration The NHS75 Celebration
Short documentary 2023 3 mins
Former Bristol Poet Laureate, Miles Chambers reads a poem specially commissioned for the 75th anniversary of the NHS.