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London schoolchildren wave their flags for the first official Empire Day, as soldiers parade in the playground.
Non-Fiction 1916 2 mins Silent
Flying the flag for patriotism, London schoolchildren offer gifts (of cigars, perhaps?) to wounded soldiers on the first official Empire Day - captured beautifully by Topical Budget's newsreel cameras. The event was held on 24 May, the birthday of Queen Victoria, and was intended to remind children "what it meant to be sons and daughters of such a glorious Empire". It was rebranded as Commonwealth Day in 1958.
Non-Fiction 1916 1 mins Silent Location: London
Colonial recruits from Trinidad meet the Lord Mayor of London during WWI
Non-Fiction 1916 1 mins Silent Location: Hayes Common
Excitable children in their Sunday finery gawp at cameras during the parade for London’s May Queen.
Non-Fiction 1916 1 mins Silent Location: Osterley
Soldiers show off a fine crop of sprouts, grown at the Army Service Corps depot at Osterley Park in Hounslow.
Non-Fiction 1916 2 mins Silent
Was this a lesson in how to shell out on frontline firepower?
Non-Fiction 1916 1 mins Silent
High milk prices during WWI drive mother and child onto the street in protest
Drama-documentary 1937 26 mins Silent Location: London
And… Action! Workers become filmmakers in this realist drama steeped in period detail.
Advert 1934 16 mins Location: London
Romance blossoms over a discussion of fluid flywheels in this cinema ad for BSA cars directed by Zoltan Korda.
Amateur film 1964 4 mins Silent Location: Havant
Watch as the countryside around Havant disappears under the tarmac of the future M27 - with nostaligic shots of Langstone Harbour and a very leafy Pook Lane
Amateur film 1985 3 mins Location: London
Relive the 1980s in this nostalgic film from Alan Stingemore - featuring a variety of flagship cinemas, the relocation of Eros as well as a few cinemas that have since disappeared
Amateur film 1977 11 mins Silent Location: Brighton
Tony Mitchell captures a variety of events during Jubilee year - including day trips to Brighton and a bunting covered London as well as an accident at an airshow
Amateur film 1936 20 mins Silent Location: Brentford
Enjoy a nostalgic trip down river with members of the St Faith community - with tea at Kew, feeding penguins at London Zoo and lots of chatter - all in sign language!
Comedy 1919 35 mins Silent
A protective father masquerades as an automatic doll in this bonkers interwar comedy.
1937 11 mins Silent
May Day – a significant day for the labour movement – is covered by the cameras of the Film and Photograph League.
Performance 1986 55 mins
An exploration of the life and work of the controversial British composer.
1935 9 mins
Let it bleed? This exemplary education film gets to the heart of the matter.
Non-Fiction 1935 12 mins Silent
Punchy political film capturing mass protests against unemployment.
1937 15 mins Silent
A spirited satire on the coronation of George VI made by members of the Film and Photograph League.
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