This film is part of Free
Audley Range School, Blackburn (c.1905)
Lancashire children perform physical education exercises in (almost) perfect unison.
Overview
These straight-faced boys and girls are doing something akin to calisthenics, an exercise regime favoured by the armed forces to promote discipline and cohesion as much as physical strength. More than similar examples in the Mitchell and Kenyon collection, this film demonstrates how Edwardian schooling was adopting some militaristic elements in the wake of the Boer War and the 1902 Education Act.
Related
4 and 20 Fit Girls 4 and 20 Fit Girls
1940 11 mins Silent
Flock to your local keep fit class - there's a war on and Britain needs its citizens in tip-top shape.
Long Distance Runner Long Distance Runner
News 1974 4 mins Location: Woodsetton
They breed them hard in Dudley - running non-stop for 24 hours is nothing to Ron Bentley: his next challenge is to race over 800 miles.
National and Country Dancing National and Country Dancing
School programme and Educational film 1952 14 mins Location: Leigh-on-Sea
Want to learn to dance the Swedish Masquerade, Dutch Hakke Toone, or maybe the Italian Tarantella? Essex schoolchildren show us how it’s done.
Haggis Hurling Haggis Hurling
News 1980 6 mins Location: Belfast
Meet the president leading the haggis hurling revival and learn how delivering lunch became a sport for kilted gentlemen.
Cycling the Channel Cycling the Channel
Non-Fiction 1929 1 mins Location: Dover
A Fine Feat of Endurance. Why swim the Channel when you can go by hydrocycle?
Stoke Mandeville Sports Stadium for the Disabled Stoke Mandeville Sports Stadium for the Disabled
Amateur film 1967 19 mins Silent Location: Stoke Mandeville
Rare home movie capturing sporting action in 1967 at Stoke Mandeville Stadium, birthplace of the Paralympics.
Sir Robert Baden Powell attends the Scout Rally in Witton Park Sir Robert Baden Powell attends the Scout Rally in Witton Park
Non-Fiction 1924 12 mins Silent Location: Blackburn
A show of scouting skills in Blackburn, Lancashire.
The National Party The National Party
Current affairs 1976 26 mins Location: Blackburn
A fiery and harrowing investigation into the rise of the far-right in Blackburn
L.S. Lowry - The Industrial Artist L.S. Lowry - The Industrial Artist
Documentary 1973 17 mins Location: Mottram in Longdendale
Matchstick men and so much more - the work and world of Lawrence Stephen Lowry, recorder of the industrial north.
Waterfall Mill, Blackburn Waterfall Mill, Blackburn
Amateur film 1950 12 mins Silent Location: Blackburn
Mill workers and machines - a detailed look at the Lancashire textile industry.
Not So Much a Facelift... Not So Much a Facelift...
Documentary 1976 25 mins Location: Norwich
An enjoyably odd public information film shot on the streets of Blackburn, Norwich and Oxford.
Attack on a Mission Station Attack on a Mission Station
War 1900 1 mins Silent Location: Blackburn
Dramatised account of Chinese rebels' violent confrontation with Christian missionaries, made in the wake of the Boxer Rebellion.
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.