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Girls gut herring on the quay at North Shields while a Showman tries to stir up trouble.
Non-Fiction 1901 2 mins Silent
One of the most impressive sights of the year on the English coast was the herring harvest. Hundreds of women would assemble in a race against time to gut, salt and barrel the fish before they went off. Their rapid gutting technique fascinated filmmakers. The trawler men, down from Scotland and the Islands, were famous for brawling, but they won't be persuaded to throw a fist for the camera.
Mitchell and Kenyon's films abound with images of workers, but because the lack of light made filming indoors impossible in the early 1900s, relatively few of them show anybody actually working - which makes this film particularly special.
Non-Fiction 1901 1 mins Silent Location: Liverpool
Early league football, with the team who will become Birmingham City losing at Anfield in a relegation year.
Non-Fiction 1899 2 mins Silent Location: Rhyl
Fun on Rhyl seafront as E. H. Williams and his troupe entertain crowds with much ducking and diving in this hectic act.
Non-Fiction 1901 3 mins Silent Location: Oldham
The evolution of Rugby League in a top of the table match between rival Lancashire clubs.
Non-Fiction 1901 4 mins Silent Location: Fartown Ground, Huddersfield
The annual championship meeting of England's premier athletics association.
Non-Fiction 1901 5 mins Silent Location: Accrington
Marching bands and local volunteers fill the streets of the Lancashire town.
Non-Fiction 1901 2 mins Silent Location: Carlisle
The circus comes to town in wintery Carlisle.
Amateur film 1947 9 mins Silent Location: Newcastle upon Tyne
Downriver with a movie camera for a special launch of the Tynemouth lifeboat.
Documentary 1980 26 mins Location: South Shields
Captain Purvis muses on his long life as a river pilot and the generations of men in his family who guided ships on the Tyne.
Amateur film 1931 16 mins Silent Location: North Shields
The casual heroes of the shipyards – workers and the ships they build on Tyneside are captured in beautiful monochrome by an early cine club.
Documentary 1959 14 mins Location: North Shields
A gripping ballad of fishermen aboard the Ben Torc trawler chasing the cod shoals on the black night seas to bring the catch back to North Shields.
Documentary 1964 25 mins Location: Seaton Sluice
A fishing rod is a stick with a hook at one end, and a fool at the other.
Documentary 1962 25 mins Location: North Shields
A striking documentary captures the waning fortunes of the herring industry as an old steam drifter braves a squally North Sea to bring in a fresh catch to North Shields.
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.
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.
Travelogue 1953 21 mins Location: York
The Stationmaster at York guides us through a typical day, from dawn to dusk.
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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