Collins: Mansfield at War

The north Nottinghamshire town of Mansfield prepares for the threat of advancing Nazism.

Beginning with a late 1930s preamble, including scenes taken during the Coronation celebrations of 1937, this reel, which was probably shot by Mr Collins, a Mansfield-based chemist, shows the efforts the town went to during the Second World War. From the local searchlight battery to the crashed German aircraft set up as a visitor attraction, it's characterised by a sense of wartime unity topped off with small town civic pride.