London’s Screen Archives enables Londoners see their past come alive on film. Managed by Film London, we are a unique network of historic film collections that cares for, collects and screens heritage film across the city. Together we preserve London’s rich film heritage from feature films to home movies, public information films, newsreels, and records of the capital’s many different industries.
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Drumhead Service
A London concert singer attends a military religious service to bless two new ambulance held in a London park.
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Overview
A drumhead service is a traditional military religious service held in the field, using drums as a makeshift altar. This service took place on the home front, Downhills Park in Haringey, and features Winnie Melville, a popular London concert singer. Holding a bouquet, she presents two new ambulances to the Middlesex Volunteer Transport Corps. Soldiers then watch as the vehicles are blessed by a local vicar.
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