London’s Screen Archives enables Londoners see their past come alive on film. Managed by Film London, we are a unique network of historic film collections that cares for, collects and screens heritage film across the city. Together we preserve London’s rich film heritage from feature films to home movies, public information films, newsreels, and records of the capital’s many different industries.
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Princess Mary and the Babies
An Indian nurse and newborn babies greet Princess Mary at the British Hospital For Mothers And Babies in Woolwich.
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Overview
This film of Princess Mary, King George V’s third child and only daughter, visiting a maternity hospital in Woolwich is notable for three reasons: the crowd made up entirely of new mothers that greets her arrival; the Indian nurse (or midwife) dressed in a sari who converses with the princess in the ward; and the extremely awkward photocall on the steps of the hospital that ends the footage.
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