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Over 3000 men and women of York keep the war effort on target making tank periscopes and gun sights
Promotional 1939 22 mins
This York manufacturer kept the war on target - literally - by making a variety of gun sights, telescopes and tank periscopes. The expansion required to meet wartime needs saw some 3,300 employees pour into the factory - including some 1,400 women. Many of their faces are documented for posterity in this detailed film, scripted by the company's own staff, who were clearly proud of their wartime achievement.
With roots back to the 1820s, the firms that made up Cooke Troughton & Simms became a subsidiary of the better known Vickers company in 1924. The Haxby Road factory building seen at the start of the film was newly built in 1938, and the works continued making theodolites, microscopes and other optical tools into the 1980s.
Industry sponsored film 1940 8 mins
An enticing government call for men to retrain as skilled engineers to help with the war effort.
Government sponsored film 1945 9 mins
Wartime news magazine for factory workers, sponsored by the Ministry of Supply. News items often stressed the value of the 'factory front'.
Amateur film 1939 13 mins Silent Location: Hythe
Women train for war work at Marchwood Park House in this remarkable film which features camouflaged factories, barrage balloons, gas masks and a netball match.
Government sponsored film 1945 11 mins Silent Location: Hackney
A wartime magazine made to motivate and inform war workers, commissioned by the Ministry of Information in 1942 and exclusively screened in factories.
Government sponsored film 1941 5 mins
An appeal for citizens to give up their old bed frames and garden tools, as part of a government drive to salvage resources for the war effort.
Government sponsored film 1943 10 mins
Wartime news magazine for factory workers, sponsored by the Ministry of Supply. News items often stressed the value of the 'factory front'.
Non-Fiction 1929 9 mins Silent Location: York
In this colour tinted film, made in-between the wars, York’s army servicemen proudly march before expectant crowds in front of York Minster.
Non-Fiction 1924 3 mins Silent Location: York
In this intriguing short film from the 1920s, a selection of York’s long gone imposing 18th Century judicial buildings are centre stage.
Amateur film 1987 3 mins Silent Location: York
This significant film, shot in the late 1980s, preserves the history behind Rowntree Halt Station shortly before it was permanently closed.
News 1984 8 mins Silent Location: York
A devastating fire engulfs and destroys a significant section of York Minster in this poignant film from 1984.
Amateur film 1966 6 mins Silent Location: York
Teenage members of a York cine club document the last hurrah of a much-loved picture house – in CinemaScope!
Amateur film 1938 8 mins Silent Location: York
In this fascinating film, made before the introduction of health and safety, workmen carry stacks of bricks on their head instead of hardhats.
Non-Fiction 1898 1 mins Silent
The Victorian great and good mark the passing of a political titan
Non-Fiction 1900 2 mins Silent
For Britons during the Boer War, a welcome opportunity to support the troops - and march alongside them
Non-Fiction 1900 1 mins Location: Barrow-In-Furness
Factory gate glimpses at - we think - Barrow-in-Furness
Non-Fiction 1898 1 mins Silent Location: Worthing
Worthing waves at us in this mesmerising early film
Comedy 1898 1 mins Silent
Film's first joke? A fresh take on an old prank.
Non-Fiction 1895 0 mins Silent
This was one of a series of actuality films made by the Victorian pioneer Birt Acres during 1895. The film is thought to have been shot on June 20, on the occasion of the opening of the Kiel Canal by the German Kaiser Wilhelm II. Acres shot other films at the same time, but they have not survived.
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