This film is part of Free

To Defend the East Coast

Magnificent artillery horses and their youthful riders parade the streets of Eltham as rapt locals look on.

Non-Fiction 1914 1 mins Silent

Overview

This vivid newsfilm of the mobilisation of men of the Royal Field Artillery in Eltham was shot shortly after the outbreak of war in August 1914. Elegantly-dressed ladies and children stand to watch the spectacle of magnificent horses and mighty gun carriages, while in a later scene (familiar from dozens of wartime newsreels) troops wave cheerily as they set off by train to defend England's shores.