This film is part of Free
Hands Off Baby's Milk
High milk prices during WWI drive mother and child onto the street in protest
Overview
It took an unusually well-judged protest to stir the sympathy of the newsreels, who tended to toe the Establishment line. Surrounded by evocative slogans, women hold their crying babies up for the cameras as they protest at high milk prices. A hot political topic in autumn 1916, the rising cost of milk brought vociferous objections. The long final shot of a bawling infant seems to invite moral indignation - who would take milk out of this baby's mouth?
Rationing wasn't introduced until early 1918, the tail end of WWI. Price controls led to frequent food queues, though, and the war drastically affected supply. Agricultural workers moving to munitions production and restricted imports of fertilisers and feed were logical causes of price hikes, but the practice of feeding pigs whole milk caused anger. There was even consternation at milk being diverted to cheese production - a concern dismissed by Board of Trade President Walter Runciman. While he understood children's need for milk, he told the Commons, "other people must have cheese".
Related
Empire Day Empire Day
Non-Fiction 1916 2 mins Silent Location: London
London schoolchildren wave their flags for the first official Empire Day, as soldiers parade in the playground.
From Trinidad to Serve the Empire From Trinidad to Serve the Empire
Non-Fiction 1916 1 mins Silent Location: London
Colonial recruits from Trinidad meet the Lord Mayor of London during WWI
London's May Queen London's May Queen
Non-Fiction 1916 1 mins Silent Location: Hayes Common
Excitable children in their Sunday finery gawp at cameras during the parade for London’s May Queen.
Army Economy Army Economy
Non-Fiction 1916 1 mins Silent Location: Osterley
Soldiers show off a fine crop of sprouts, grown at the Army Service Corps depot at Osterley Park in Hounslow.
Shortage of Munitions Shortage of Munitions
Non-Fiction 1916 2 mins Silent
Was this a lesson in how to shell out on frontline firepower?
China O'Brien: The Reunion China O'Brien: The Reunion
Documentary 2024 60 mins
Cynthia Rothrock, Richard Norton and Keith Cooke reunite three decades on from the groundbreaking martial arts classic.
Women in Action Panel Discussion Women in Action Panel Discussion
Inside Film 2024 28 mins
Action Xtreme - the UK's leading action film studio - hosts this panel discussion with four leading women in action cinema - Soo Cole, Jo Rolison, Jadey Duffield and Ioanna Karavela.
Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 24 mins
Daniel Kokotajlo talks to Nia Childs about Starve Acre, his folk horror about a couple digging deep into grief in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.
Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 30 mins
Sky Peals director Moin Hussain and lead actor Faraz Ayub talk to Tomisin Adepeju about their magic realist drama.
Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell
Documentary 2024 42 mins
Documentary exploring the BFI National Archive’s role in rediscovering and remastering the early films of Michael Powell.
Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels
Short documentary 2024 12 mins
Bryony Dixon, curator of silent film at the BFI national archive, explores the origins of a series of comic travelogues, and Michael Powell's involvement in making them.