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Experience the dinge and gloom of the smog shrouding London's Trafalgar Square in the 1920s.
Non-Fiction 1924 Silent
There's a playful futility to this bitesize Topical Budget newsreel item, which comically showcases just how difficult photography in the fog actually is: this smog almost completely shrouds London's Trafalgar Square in darkness. But the newsreel manages to spin the story of "the worst fog for 20 years" into a technical triumph – its "special lenses pierce the gloom"… barely.
Digitisation supported by the London Topographical Society.
Non-Fiction 1910 1 mins Silent Location: Trafalgar Square
Spot the changes and continuities in this majestic Edwardian panorama of Trafalgar Square.
Documentary 1937 34 mins Silent Location: Houses of Parliament
Follow working narrow boats as they make their 60-hour trip from London to Birmingham along Britain's longest industrial waterway.
Documentary 1971 12 mins Location: Croydon
Do you remember when the moon men came to Croydon? You can bet these kids never forgot the day Dogg's Troupe landed
1977 13 mins Location: Hammersmith
Environmentalists wage war on the Greater London Council in this eye-opening account of a battle to save Hammersmith's open spaces.
Amateur film 1963 3 mins Silent Location: Westminster
Excellent if somewhat jerky aerial shots of London taken from a helicopter and featuring close-ups of Waterloo, the docks and Tower Bridge.
1963 3 mins Silent
London in 1963 was a city in flux, as this spectacular aerial footage shows.
Non-Fiction 1900 1 mins Location: Trafalgar Square
With the Boer War raging 1,000s of miles away, Victorian Londoners pay tribute to the military
Documentary 1944 27 mins Location: Trafalgar Square
"Why in the height of a world war, should there be this terrific interest in painting?"
Non-Fiction 1913 1 mins Silent Location: Trafalgar Square
A suffragette demonstration led by Sylvia Pankhurst ends in chaos as police prevent a march on Downing Street.
Non-Fiction 1910 1 mins Silent Location: Trafalgar Square
Votes for Women protesters swamp Trafalgar Square, brandishing placards and petitions.
Non-Fiction 1910 1 mins Silent Location: Trafalgar Square
Spot the changes and continuities in this majestic Edwardian panorama of Trafalgar Square.
Amateur film 1962 25 mins Silent Location: Aldermaston
A fascinating record of the 1962 Aldermaston March featuring Canon John Collins, Michael Foot and thousands of marchers of all ages.
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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