The Box is a major cultural and heritage attraction and archive, which opened in Plymouth’s city centre in September 2020. Its collection, formally the South West Film and Television Archive (SWFTA), is the regional film archive for the South West of England, comprising the combined programme libraries of Westward Television and Television South West (TSW). It also includes a significant number of donated film collections dating back to the early 1890s.
This film is part of Free
Woman Police Officer in Buckfastleigh
Pam is the new police constable in the village of Buckfastleigh
In partnership with:
Overview
TV reporter John Doyle visits Buckfastleigh to talk to the area’s first woman police constable, Pam. The residents and officer discuss the new opportunity. Women have been associated with policing since the 1880s, with roles as matrons or wives of police officers who volunteered at local stations. The Sex Discrimination and Equal Pay Act of 1975 allows women to be admitted to the police force on equal terms to their male counterparts.
The Women’s Volunteer Police was founded in 1914 in London by Nina Boyle and Margaret Dawson, Edith Smith became the first police constable in England in 1915. The WVP was associated with militant feminist causes and Dawson left to form the Women’s Police Service. The National Women’s Council formed a branch entitled the Special Women’s Patrol Committee overseen by Sofia Stanley. In 1923 women are given the power of arrest and are able to be sworn in as constables. In 1937 women police officers are allowed to take fingerprints and in the 1970s women can become dog handlers.
Related
Watch for free
Recollections of Our Summer Holiday at Babbacombe South Devon August 1931 Recollections of Our Summer Holiday at Babbacombe South Devon August 1931
Amateur film 1931 10 mins Silent Location: Babbacombe
Bowling along country lanes in the family's Austin motor car plus dancing on the beach: the delights of a holiday in Devon
Watch for free
The Inauguration of the Dart Valley Railway by Lord Beeching The Inauguration of the Dart Valley Railway by Lord Beeching
Current affairs 1969 1 mins Silent Location: Buckfastleigh
Lord Beeching inaugurates a privately run Dart Valley Railway
Watch for free
Railways - Derelict and Preserved Railways - Derelict and Preserved
Amateur film 1975 33 mins Silent Location: Rainhill
Come and see Rocket 150, and visit a selection of railway locations, past and preserved.
Watch for free
The Country Railway The Country Railway
Current affairs 1976 5 mins Location: Buckfastleigh
David St John Thomas talks about his book The Country Railway
Watch for free
The Dart Valley Railway The Dart Valley Railway
Current affairs 1977 1 mins Silent Location: Buckfastleigh
The Dart Valley Railway operates a quaint steam service on the Primrose Line
Watch for free
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.
Watch for free
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.
Watch for free
Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 24 mins
Daniel Kokotajlo talks to Nia Childs about Starve Acre, his folk horror about a couple digging deep into grief in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.
Watch for free
Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 30 mins
Sky Peals director Moin Hussain and lead actor Faraz Ayub talk to Tomisin Adepeju about their magic realist drama.
Watch for free
Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell
Documentary 2024 42 mins
Documentary exploring the BFI National Archive’s role in rediscovering and remastering the early films of Michael Powell.
Watch for free
Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels
Short documentary 2024 12 mins
Bryony Dixon, curator of silent film at the BFI national archive, explores the origins of a series of comic travelogues, and Michael Powell's involvement in making them.