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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
Non-Fiction 1901 1 mins Silent Location: London
Capital scenes thanks to Victorian filmmakers
Non-Fiction 1900 2 mins Location: London
Vivid images of Victorian London - but where?
1899 2 mins Silent Location: London
A sports day gives the young residents of the Foundling Hospital a chance to let off steam
Non-Fiction 1900 1 mins Location: London
Londoners turn out in their thousands to greet the returning Boer War hero after his famous defence of Ladysmith
Non-Fiction 1901 1 mins Silent Location: London
Horse-drawn traffic on one of London's busiest thoroughfares
Non-Fiction 1897 1 mins Silent Location: London
The Band of the First Life Guards approaches Westminster Bridge during Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee.
Industry sponsored film 1960 24 mins
A new luxury express is put through its paces. This film looks over the shoulders of the select band of craftsmen, engineers and operators, whose combined skills try to ensure that a train journey is a delightful experience.
Documentary 1973 15 mins
British Transport Films record the varied daily lives of their neighbours as seen from the high roof of their building in London’s Marylebone.
Travelogue 1953 21 mins Location: York
The Stationmaster at York guides us through a typical day, from dawn to dusk.
Industry sponsored film 1957 20 mins
Illustrating the efficiency of express freight trains, and how they link manufacturers with their customers at the other end of Britain.
Documentary 1952 30 mins
Examining a day in the life of what was then the busiest railway system in the world – British Railways.
Industry sponsored film 1957 9 mins
A 1957 film examining the future for British Railways, and some of the opportunities provided by a new modernisation plan.
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