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

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.

British Transport Films record the varied daily lives of their neighbours as seen from the high roof of their building in London’s Marylebone.

Illustrating the efficiency of express freight trains, and how they link manufacturers with their customers at the other end of Britain.

Examining a day in the life of what was then the busiest railway system in the world – British Railways.

The Stationmaster at York guides us through a typical day, from dawn to dusk.

A 1957 film examining the future for British Railways, and some of the opportunities provided by a new modernisation plan.