Set up in 1977, the North West Film Archive preserves moving images made in or about Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Cheshire, Merseyside and Cumbria and offers a variety of access services to users in the public, academic and commercial sectors.
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The Launch of Formby Lifeboat
Out on the sands of Formby beach for an unusual glimpse of lifeboatmen at work.
From the collection of:
Overview
In this rare fragment of film, shot during World War One, lifeboatmen conduct a practice launch on Formby Beach, with horses from an artillery regiment stationed nearby towing the lifeboat 'John and Henrietta' out into the waves. Tints in primary colours were added to silent nitrate films to enhance the mood, and the blue colour on this film shows how it would have originally appeared.
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