At Wessex Film and Sound Archive you can see and hear history, from late Victorian times to the present day, through moving images and sound recordings. The Archive contains over 36,000 film and sound recordings relating to Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, including film and tapes of local TV and radio.
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Opening of the Civic Centre, Guildhall and Art Gallery
Southampton's civic leaders are on display in this pre-war film, starting with the homecoming of the Royal Family from Canada.
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Overview
This interesting compilation of films made in the 1930s starts with scenes showing the people of Southampton lining the Bargate to witness the homecoming of the Royal Family after their visit to North America. In other scenes we see various civic leaders at a number of events and locations in Southampton including a new hospital, at the naming of a fire-engine, at a cricket club reception, at Southampton's airport and at the official opening of the city's new Civic Centre.
The area around Southampton's Bargate has been extensively redeveloped since this film was made.
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