This film is part of Free
Village School
WWII evacuees adapt to village life in a patriotic documentary starring a real Buckinghamshire school teacher.
Overview
A real Buckinghamshire schoolteacher - the kindly Mrs James - is the star of this persuasive WWII propaganda film. Shot on location in Ashley Green, it shows how evacuees from surrounding towns adapt to village life and wartime conditions. With its images of happy, healthy children, the film was clearly designed to give reassurance to city-dwelling mothers separated from their offspring.
Village School was shown in national cinemas and was also available free of charge from the government's central film library for screenings in village halls, schools and factories, to community groups and the general public. As well as this 11-minute film, a shorter version was released later the same year - under the title Ashley Green Goes to School - which is gentler in tone and may have been considered more suitable for younger audiences. This government film is a public record, preserved and presented by the BFI National Archive on behalf of The National Archives, home to more than 1,000 years of British history.
Related
Task of the Teacher Task of the Teacher
School programme and Educational film 1973 43 mins Location: Northcourt
London’s school kids get to grips with teaching methods, technology and cows in this film from the 1970s explaining educational theories at different London schools.
District Nurse District Nurse
Government sponsored film 1952 27 mins Location: Wadhurst
Never a dull moment for a rural district nurse in the early days of the NHS.
Pakistani Bus Driver Pakistani Bus Driver
News 1974 2 mins Location: Birmingham
Bus timetables are sacrosanct to some but to others there are more important things in life - and faith is one of them.
Dustman Dustman
Documentary 1928 3 mins Silent Location: Sheffield
Refuse collection you cannot refuse with some state-of-the-art bin business in 1920s Sheffield
Mobile Shop Mobile Shop
News 1975 4 mins Location: Ullesthorpe
It's an Aladdin's Cave of household goods: Donald Sansome's travelling store is a lifeline for the people of rural Leicestershire
These Are the Hands These Are the Hands
Charity appeal 2020 2 mins
Beautiful NHS fundraiser, setting Michael Rosen’s poem to powerful archive images.
Khichdi Khichdi
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2023 16 mins
The interwoven stories of four best friends who reunite in the UK, thirty-five years after training together as nurses during their teens in Ferozepur, Punjab.
Dr XYZ: A Medical Drag Transthology Dr XYZ: A Medical Drag Transthology
2023 15 mins
A satirical take on the healthcare service announcements of the 1960s and 70s.
Every Moment Counts Every Moment Counts
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2023 9 mins
A short animation that offers a window into the world of children’s palliative care.
Police Story: Panel Discussion Police Story: Panel Discussion
Inside Film 2024 24 mins
Panel discussion on Jackie Chan's 1985 action classic Police Story, with Chase Armitage, Sam Mak and Jadey Duffield.
China O'Brien: The Reunion China O'Brien: The Reunion
Documentary 2024 60 mins
Cynthia Rothrock, Richard Norton and Keith Cooke reunite three decades on from the groundbreaking martial arts classic.
Women in Action Panel Discussion Women in Action Panel Discussion
Inside Film 2024 28 mins
Action Xtreme - the UK's leading action film studio - hosts this panel discussion with four leading women in action cinema - Soo Cole, Jo Rolison, Jadey Duffield and Ioanna Karavela.