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.
This film is part of Free
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Fire of London
This British propaganda film, made in 1945 for newly liberated countries in Europe, takes a positive view of British resilience during the Blitz.
From the collection of:
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Overview
Filmed by the Army Film Unit, the National Fire Service and newsreel cameramen, the ‘Fire of London’ is a retelling of how relentlessly the fires burned in London, and other British towns and cities, during the Blitz. It pays tribute to members of the home services, who endured nightly raids and disruption to their daily lives to save what they could.
Originally made in sixteen different languages for liberated Europeans, the film’s defiant propaganda message serves to remind the audience of how the ‘Blitz spirit’ eventually prevailed.
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