New Lives for Old

David Prowse (the frame of Darth Vader) appears as the iconic Green Cross Code Man, heaping praise on a young GXC expert.

An enticing government call for men to retrain as skilled engineers to help with the war effort.

Dusty the kangaroo catches a shadowy figure in the act of dumping an old mattress in this campaigning cartoon

Long before the ‘Charley Says’ campaign of the 1970s and ‘80s, another cartoon Charley was used to demystify the newly created NHS.

TB or not TB – that is the question travelling x-ray screening programmes are out to answer on a large scale

Another of Richard Massingham’s snappy public information fillers finds the oafish everyman’s personal hygiene in question again.

Members of the Surrey Flying Club erect their clubhouse at Croydon aerodrome while a few miles to the south we see Gatwick's pre-war terminal

Shot only five years after its opening, this film showcases the Croydon Flyover in all its concrete glory.

Join the Hinchcliffs at Bracklesham Bay in this family film from 1937 - with beachside frolics, sand yachts and Uncle Bert’s fishing lessons

It's all bell bottoms and bunting as families gather to celebrate the Queen's Silver Jubilee.

Jaunty, optimistic look at Croydon being reconstructed in the 1960s, with large concrete towers presented as a symbol of a bright new future.

Join the Ross family and friends - and a frisky fox terrier - for fun in the garden, frolics on the beach and plane-spotting at Croydon Aerodrome

Take a fighter jet, a Top Gun pilot with sunglasses and a brand new SAAB 900 and you have a sure-fire vehicle to launch a Hollywood career.

A wandering warrior dreams of a new form of expression, in this promo for UNKLE’s album The Road: Part II / Lost Highway Pt. II directed by Warren Du Preez and Nick Thornton Jones.

A rare glimpse of 1930s London in colour: the Thames has never looked lovelier.

Life is looking up! The war is over and the “Corona” Man can visit his “Corona” families once more, door-to-door.

Cinema advertisement for Marine Lake & Ocean Beach, Rhyl, a popular destination for crowds set on a day's fun on free rides.

Who could deny these advertising claims: "Attractive hair is the ambition of every woman", and "Your family will enjoy Lincoln potatoes"?