The IWM Film Archive is the oldest film archive in the UK, holding over 20,000 hours of film, video and digital material and covering the two World Wars and all conflicts involving British or Commonwealth Forces since the start of the Twentieth Century to the present. Our collection also reflects aspects of civilian life in wartime, military life in peacetime, military exercises and operations.
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Control Room
A behind the scenes look at civil defence work during and after a Luftwaffe bombing raid on Bristol during the Second World War.
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Overview
The civil defence network grafts tirelessly to combat the mounting casualty lists and bomb damaged streets on Bristol’s home front. Coordinated by a Control Centre, which comes into its own under challenging circumstances. Picking a way through the devastation, ‘Control Room’ offers a different perspective of civil defence work, sometimes overlooked in the retelling of the Blitz experience.
This government film is a public record, preserved and presented by the BFI National Archive on behalf of The National Archives, home to more than 1,000 years of British history.
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