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Colonial recruits from Trinidad meet the Lord Mayor of London during WWI
Non-Fiction 1916 1 mins Silent
These Trinidadian soldiers are only a handful of the 15,600 men of the British West Indies Regiment who served in WWI. Having volunteered or been conscripted, many such soldiers saw active combat. Devastating casualty numbers meant Britain needed all the help from the Empire it could get, and yet despite their willingness to serve 'the mother country', many recruits suffered discrimination while on service. The ranks here are scrutinised by the Lord Mayor of London, Sir William Dunn, outside Mansion House.
Before WWI, British colonial troops had been used for imperial defence, but during this truly global conflict the BWIR joined Allied forces on the front line in Palestine and Jordan, as well as performing auxiliary duties in France, Italy and Egypt. The men who formed the 11 battalions of the Regiment came from Caribbean nations including Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, St Lucia, Grenada, Barbados and the Bahamas. Officers also came from the pre-existing West India Regiment, originally formed in 1795.
Documentary 1946 21 mins
Soldiers from the far reaches of the British Empire arrive in London to take part in the official commemoration of the end of war in Europe.
Non-Fiction 1917 0 mins Silent
Keep calm and carry on - these East End schoolkids dance to lift the spirits of Kiwi troops
Documentary 1940 18 mins
In 1940 the war still seemed distant to US citizens. But what it was like for the 11 million ‘other Americans’ who were already at war? The March of Time cameras go north of the border to Canada to find out.
Amateur film 1935 12 mins Silent
Everyday life and places of interest around the areas of Midnapore and Chittagong, including steamers and Indian boats along the Damodar river.
Non-Fiction 1941 15 mins
Indian soldiers in Singapore, while their compatriots are trained in the manufacture of war munitions
1957 14 mins
It's smiles all round in this snapshot of postcolonial Ghana, born from the British imperial territory of the Gold Coast
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 1897 1 mins Silent Location: London
The Band of the First Life Guards approaches Westminster Bridge during Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee.
Non-Fiction 1901 1 mins Silent Location: London
Horse-drawn traffic on one of London's busiest thoroughfares
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1933 2 mins
Hand-drawn sound experiment by Bauhaus professor László Moholy-Nagy.
Advert 1974 1 mins Location: Shaftesbury
A classic slice of British advertising history, though that hill's not as Northern as it looks...
Non-Fiction 1901 3 mins Silent Location: Rotherham
Edwardian workers react to the camera at one of Rotherham's major employers.
Non-Fiction 1900 1 mins Silent Location: Great Moor St, Bolton
Eager youngsters burst out of the gates of a Victorian cotton mill.
Sport 1901 1 mins Silent Location: Henley-on-Thames
It's the first weekend of July 1901, and high society are on the Thames
Advert 1898 1 mins Silent Location: St Pancras
An unusual farewell in this charming early film
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