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.
This film is part of Free
Freedom of Bexley Heath
Prime Minister Edward Heath becomes the first recipient of the Freedom of the Borough of Bexley
From the collection of:
Overview
Dignitaries look on as Prime Minister Edward Heath accepts the casket and scroll from the Mayor of Bexley to become the first Freeman of the Borough. 'Ted' Heath, who was elected to parliament in 1950 as MP for Bexley, was one year into his Prime Ministership at the time this film was shot. The ceremony took place at the Sidcup and Chislehurst Grammar School on Friday 30th April 1971.
Just days after the ceremony, four home-made bombs thought to be planted by the Angry Brigade were found nearby the school. The Brigade was a left-wing revolutionary group in the late 1960s and early 1970s who took direct action to demonstrate against various government policies at home and abroad including Britain's entrance into the European Economic Community which was overseen by Heath. They were responsible for a series of bomb attacks in England between 1970 and 1972 and sent a number of communiques to the press threatening Heath and other officials. . This film is from the collection of Bexley Local Studies and Archives, a member of the London's Screen Archives Network.
Related
Christmas 1970 Christmas 1970
Amateur film 1970 4 mins Silent Location: Bexley
Join a Bexley Family for all the traditional Christmas trimmings in this rare example of filmmaking inside the home.
New House New House
Amateur film 1969 8 mins Silent Location: Bexley
Welcome home a new arrival from Bexley Maternity Hospital and share in the joy it brings a South London family
Michelle's Sports Day Michelle's Sports Day
Amateur film 1970 5 mins Silent Location: Bexley
Danson Park, Welling, is the setting for a quintessential sports day featuring egg and spoon, sack and parents race.
Getting it Back: The Story of Cymande - Q&A Getting it Back: The Story of Cymande - Q&A
Inside Film 2024 22 mins
The director of a documentary about British funk pioneers Cymande joins the band at BFI Southbank to talk about the film.
The West Case The West Case
Action and Adventure 1923 28 mins Silent Location: Tilbury
Plotting world domination, Devil Doctor Fu-Manchu steals plans for a new aero-torpedo in this earliest surviving thrill-a-minute serial instalment.
Enter the Scala!!! Enter the Scala!!!
Inside Film 2024 16 mins
Filmmakers Jane Giles and Ali Catterall discuss their documentary Scala!!!, revisiting the legendary and inspirational cinema venue and some of the most notorious films that screened there.
Smith Smith
Charity appeal 1939 10 mins
Long thought lost, this Powell-directed promotional short for a veteran’s charity was only rediscovered in 2003.
An Airman's Letter to His Mother An Airman's Letter to His Mother
Documentary 1941 6 mins
A poignant, stirring letter from a recently deceased pilot to his mother is read by John Gielgud.
The NHS75 Celebration The NHS75 Celebration
Short documentary 2023 3 mins
Former Bristol Poet Laureate, Miles Chambers reads a poem specially commissioned for the 75th anniversary of the NHS.