This film is part of Free
Shirley Schools
The care and education of Bermondsey's orphans and abandoned children - before the introduction of the welfare state.
Overview
This film was produced to show the work of the Bermondsey Guardians in providing for the south London district's orphans and abandoned children. Before the post-war welfare state these children were cared for under the old Poor Laws, evoking an image of Dickensian horrors; the film is keen to show the schools as progressive, clean, caring and practical.
The children are well-fed and accommodated in brand-new houses in leafy streets. They are educated to high standards, while elaborate displays of dancing and drilling show off the school’s proficiency. No doubt this proved of enormous value a decade later when these boys, now young men, were called to war and the girls left to serve on the home front.
Related
Morgan's Wall Morgan's Wall
Documentary 1978 51 mins Location: Battersea
Murals around London, notably Morgan's Wall in Battersea, painted by local artists.
Help for Russia Help for Russia
Documentary 1941 12 mins Silent Location: Bermondsey
"Your money means death to Nazism": Bermondsey holds a great parade in aid of Russia during WWII.
The Story of Our Food Supply The Story of Our Food Supply
Public Information Filler 1928 20 mins Silent Location: Bermondsey
The original foodie city: from bustling Bermondsey Wharves through Smithfield and Billingsgate to London's street markets and general stores.
Public Health Service Public Health Service
Documentary 1931 14 mins Silent Location: Bermondsey
White-coated scientists, doctors, chiropodists, dentists, and midwives unite in their mission to eradicate disease and ignorance from Bermondsey.
Tower Bridge Road Market... Tower Bridge Road Market...
1931 5 mins Silent Location: Bermondsey
Scenes of thronging street life and market trading along Tower Bridge Road, Bermondsey Street and Southwark Park Road.
Worker and War Front No. 12 Worker and War Front No. 12
Government sponsored film 1944 11 mins Location: Bermondsey
A wartime magazine made to motivate and inform war workers, commissioned by the Ministry of Information in 1942 and exclusively screened in factories.
Getting it Back: The Story of Cymande - Q&A Getting it Back: The Story of Cymande - Q&A
Inside Film 2024 22 mins
The director of a documentary about British funk pioneers Cymande joins the band at BFI Southbank to talk about the film.
The West Case The West Case
Action and Adventure 1923 28 mins Silent Location: Tilbury
Plotting world domination, Devil Doctor Fu-Manchu steals plans for a new aero-torpedo in this earliest surviving thrill-a-minute serial instalment.
Enter the Scala!!! Enter the Scala!!!
Inside Film 2024 16 mins
Filmmakers Jane Giles and Ali Catterall discuss their documentary Scala!!!, revisiting the legendary and inspirational cinema venue and some of the most notorious films that screened there.
Smith Smith
Charity appeal 1939 10 mins
Long thought lost, this Powell-directed promotional short for a veteran’s charity was only rediscovered in 2003.
An Airman's Letter to His Mother An Airman's Letter to His Mother
Documentary 1941 6 mins
A poignant, stirring letter from a recently deceased pilot to his mother is read by John Gielgud.
The NHS75 Celebration The NHS75 Celebration
Short documentary 2023 3 mins
Former Bristol Poet Laureate, Miles Chambers reads a poem specially commissioned for the 75th anniversary of the NHS.