This film is part of Free

Rotatiller and Caterpillar Tractor, Oct. and Nov. 1938

David Lloyd George, ex-prime minister of Britain, hosts a demonstration of two marvellously big machines at work on his farm at Churt.

Home movie 1938 5 mins Silent

From the collection of:

Logo for National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales

Overview

Horses are old hat, it's the age of the machine and the bigger the better thinks ex-prime minister Lloyd George, perhaps, as he watches two mechanical monsters being put through their paces on his land at Bron-y-de, in Churt, Surrey. Increasing the productivity of the land was one of the major issues of the moment and industrial farming was on the horizon. Lloyd George is also seen being filmed for a newsreel item.

Making best use of the land and increasing productivity was an issue close to Lloyd George's heart. He was particularly interested in, and impressed by, Hitler's land reclamation schemes (that thereby 'dealt' with the issue of unemployment) and he visited such schemes when on a trip to Germany in 1936 [see title 'Visit of the Rt.Hon. D. Lloyd George, OM, MP to Germany, September 2nd-16th, 1936.'].