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.
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Wimbledon Election
A wonderful newsreel showing scenes at the 1916 by-election in Wimbledon, featuring charismatic challenger Kennedy Jones.
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Overview
Kennedy Jones was a journalist who entered politics at the 1916 Wimbledon election. This film opens with him speechifying to camera, to the bemusement of two tough-looking youths. It’s followed by terrific scenes from outside his campaign HQ, where there’s a busy crowd of men, boys, dogs and bikes, plus one policeman in a poncho. Then to the polling station – his car is decorated by a banner featuring his face between two union flags – where five soldiers accompany him inside.
Kennedy was known as KJ and had pioneered tabloid-style populist journalism. In Wimbledon, he ran an insurgent campaign against Conservative Stuart Coats. Kennedy opposed the wartime political truce and stood as an independent, in favour of “a more vigorous prosecution of the war, the equality of sacrifice for all and the destruction of German trade in home markets”. He lost by 1800 votes but entered Parliament later that year after winning an election in Hornsey. Jones died in 1921 of pneumonia.
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