The Box is a major cultural and heritage attraction and archive, which opened in Plymouth’s city centre in September 2020. Its collection, formally the South West Film and Television Archive (SWFTA), is the regional film archive for the South West of England, comprising the combined programme libraries of Westward Television and Television South West (TSW). It also includes a significant number of donated film collections dating back to the early 1890s.
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Looe's new fire engine
Children in the historic Cornish fishing port of Looe cheerfully chase after the town's brand new motor fire engine.
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Overview
The inhabitants of the historic Cornish fishing port of Looe gather to witness their new fire engine respond to an emergency call. See the drama unfold and watch a fully-manned 1930s fire engine drive through the streets of this picture-postcard town all the while being chased by an excited mob of schoolchildren. You can almost smell the smoke!
In 1928, Richard Bolitho put up the money to buy two 45hp Dennis motor pump fire engines for Penzance. Other local fire brigades in Cornwall followed suit. This shows Looe's first motor fire engine, a Merryweather. This early footage is damaged but shows our industrial past when horse-drawn and steam fire engines were replaced by motor fire engines.
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