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Woolwich candidates face the voters in the first of 1910's two general elections.
Non-Fiction 1910 mins Silent
Edwardian elections were a passionate affair. Today's politicians can only dream of matching the attentive throng gathered outside Woolwich's famous arsenal in this 1910 hustings, in which sitting MP Will Crooks (Labour) and his opponent Major William Augustus Adams (Conservative) face off. Curiously, the newsreel leaves both behind to catch Home Secretary Winston Churchill on a more sedate visit.
Politics in 1910 was balanced on a knife edge, much as it is today. Two elections that year - in January and December - failed to do much to break the deadlock between Conservative and Liberal. The constituency of Woolwich in South East London neatly expressed the volatile mood, with Crooks, who had held the seat since 1903, ousted by Adams in January, only to win it back in December. The fact that this newsreel - believed to be Pathé - puts Crooks first and gives him more screen time suggests that it was shot when Adams was still the sitting MP - that is, in January.
Non-Fiction 1910 1 mins Silent Location: Trafalgar Square
Spot the changes and continuities in this majestic Edwardian panorama of Trafalgar Square.
Documentary 1937 34 mins Silent Location: Houses of Parliament
Follow working narrow boats as they make their 60-hour trip from London to Birmingham along Britain's longest industrial waterway.
Documentary 1971 12 mins Location: Croydon
Do you remember when the moon men came to Croydon? You can bet these kids never forgot the day Dogg's Troupe landed
1977 13 mins Location: Hammersmith
Environmentalists wage war on the Greater London Council in this eye-opening account of a battle to save Hammersmith's open spaces.
Amateur film 1963 3 mins Silent Location: Westminster
Excellent if somewhat jerky aerial shots of London taken from a helicopter and featuring close-ups of Waterloo, the docks and Tower Bridge.
1963 3 mins Silent
London in 1963 was a city in flux, as this spectacular aerial footage shows.
Documentary 1959 23 mins Location: Castle Donington
Light bulbs, television tubes and nuclear power stations: electrifying the world with AEI.
Documentary 1939 16 mins Location: Woolwich
Documentary on the history of the Royal Arsenal Co-operative Society’s and its education programme inspired by the Rochdale Pioneers.
Amateur film 1962 16 mins Silent Location: Woolwich
The good folks of Woolwich & Plumstead appear busiest at their leisure, even finding time to put this film together
Non-Fiction 1929 1 mins Silent Location: Woolwich
Charging horses and blazing guns at the Woolwich Garrison tattoo, leading to a toy soldier massacre.
Non-Fiction 1917 1 mins Silent Location: Woolwich
Women workers receive a visit from Queen Mary, as she inspects their work at the munitions factory in Woolwich.
Non-Fiction 1927 1 mins Silent Location: Woolwich
Hat-waving, barely controlled crowds surge around the Prince of Wales as he pops into Beresford Square market in Woolwich.
Comedy 1919 35 mins Silent
A protective father masquerades as an automatic doll in this bonkers interwar comedy.
1937 11 mins Silent
May Day – a significant day for the labour movement – is covered by the cameras of the Film and Photograph League.
Performance 1986 55 mins
An exploration of the life and work of the controversial British composer.
1935 9 mins
Let it bleed? This exemplary education film gets to the heart of the matter.
Non-Fiction 1935 12 mins Silent
Punchy political film capturing mass protests against unemployment.
1937 15 mins Silent
A spirited satire on the coronation of George VI made by members of the Film and Photograph League.
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