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Professional footballers answer the call of duty and get in training; many would go on to fight in the Battle of the Somme.
Non-Fiction 1915 1 mins Silent
Can you imagine today's star footballers going off to fight a war? Or staying behind and playing games while others fought and died in their thousands? Despite the hi-jinks in this film, and their propaganda value, the 17th Service Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment - or the Football Battalion - was no gimmick, and proved to be all-too 'final' for many, who would fall at the Somme and elsewhere.
News 1968 7 mins Location: Belfast
Flush on wages of £160 per week, George Best ponders money in the game, the pressures of fame and his footballing future.
News 1962 8 mins Location: Cleobury Mortimer
Lionel Martin is just fifteen years old but with eight top football clubs wanting to sign him his future appears mapped out.
Non-Fiction 1912 5 mins Silent Location: Wrexham/Wrecsam
Action shots of the great Billy Meredith, the ‘Prince of Wingers’, the legendary soccer star who played for Manchester City, Manchester United and Wales.
Sport 1976 5 mins Location: Plymouth
Argyle's Mariner scores in front of Bobby Robson
News 1964 5 mins Location: Sunderland
A day in the life of stylish “Gentleman George” Hardwick, the new manager of Sunderland Football Club.
News 1977 5 mins Location: Leicester
What does it take to manage a football team? Two former players talk of the tough role at the top in a world where players are demanding Ј200 a week in wages.
Amateur film 1975 1 mins Silent Location: Shepherd's Bush
A short but sweet show of stylish and colourful characters, parading to bring pride and power to the queer community in Central London.
Amateur film 1996 8 mins Silent Location: Shepherd's Bush
Sandcastles and sound systesms replace cars and bikes as 6,000 protestors 'reclaim' the M41 Motoway in the name of community ownership.
Amateur film 1969 8 mins Silent Location: Spitalfields
From Petticoat Lane to Portobello Road, London's street markets are always full of life.
Sport 1923 2 mins Silent Location: Shepherd's Bush
Goals from the 1923 FA Cup 4th round, featuring QPR v Sheffield Utd, Charlton Athletic v Bolton Wanderers & Tottenham Hotspur v Derby County.
Comedy 1910 12 mins Silent Location: Shepherd's Bush
A fascinating visual record of London's White City fairground, in which an elderly couple experience some bizarre rides.
1924 12 mins Location: Kennington
Part of Wonderful London, the BFI National Archive’s programme of restored London travelogues, filmed in the capital in the 1920s.
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.
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.
Travelogue 1953 21 mins Location: York
The Stationmaster at York guides us through a typical day, from dawn to dusk.
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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