LONDON BLITZ SCENES REVISITED - 1946 [Main Title]

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  • Title: LONDON BLITZ SCENES REVISITED - 1946 [Main Title]
  • Film Number: MGH 1354
  • Other titles: AMATEUR FILM BY GEORGE EVES [Alternative Title]
  • Summary: Amateur film shot by former Auxiliary Fire Service (AFS) fireman, George Eves, documenting life in London in the years immediately following the end of the Second World War. Well shot and edited, this film not only records the impact of the war on London's buildings and the devastation caused by enemy bombing raids on the capital, but the beginning of post-war reconstruction too.
  • Description: Exterior of brick building, Hot Water Court on Golden Lane, Finsbury. Post-war prefabricated bungalow and bomb damaged buildings including a row of three storey houses. The end house has clearly been destroyed during a bombing raid during the war, as the remains of old fire places are visible. A washing line full of clothes runs from the corner of the row of houses to a fence. A group of children play in the rubble next to a line of pre-fabricated bungalows surrounded by larger buildings [The bungalows have been built to replace houses destroyed by enemy action]. Well-kept gardens outside the bungalows, full of flowers in bloom [suggesting filming took place in late spring/early summer of 1946] Focus on exterior of bungalow, with sign on door indicating that the bungalow is number 35G. Slightly underexposed scenes inside the bungalow, featuring a small table laid with a teapot, cups and saucers, jug and sugar bowl, a bookcase full of books and a cat lying on a bed. Man [possibly Eves] dressed in shirt, tie, trousers, braces and hat, uses a stirrup pump and fire bucket as used by firemen to put out incendiary bombs during the war, to water the roses and geraniums in his garden. He glances up at an Auxiliary Fire Service (AFS) helmet hanging by the front door, having been upturned and transformed into a hanging basket full of flowers [The helmet is labelled 11-X, indicating that it was issued at Station 11 on Edgware Road]. The man empties the remainder of the fire bucket and enters the bungalow. Man re-emerges from bungalow smartly dressed, turns and waves to someone unseen in the house, then walks smoking a pipe past the camera. He walks along a street where he is quickly followed by four young boys, one on a tricycle. He walks past damaged buildings and large piles of rubble covered in wild flowers and weeds. He pauses to look at a sign: “Corporation of London – On this site at 12.15am on 25th August 1940, fell the first bomb on the City of London in the Second World War”. The remains of Fore Street textile warehouse destroyed during a raid on London on the night of 29th and 30th December 1940 are seen, only the cellar walls and some concrete steps have survived. Exterior view of the remains of the City Sale and Exchange shop [this shop believed to be on Bartholomew Close, was one of a chain of shops in London specialising in photographic equipment]. Man walks slowly past more piles of rubble. View of the London skyline including St Paul’s Cathedral. Man surveys the remains of a church near St Paul’s, glass missing from all the windows, and wild flowers and weeds growing amongst the remains. A Grecian temple like memorial to a number of men killed during the First World War is seen next to the church remains, having apparently survived enemy action intact [the camera does not linger on the names long enough for the names to be readable]. Man walks away from the church remains and follows the path along the south bank of the River Thames with the Houses of Parliament visible in the background on the other side of the river. He walks up a flight of steps towards Lambeth Bridge [bridge not visible] and is then seen entering the London Fire Brigade Headquarters in Lambeth where he joins a crowd of people sat on tiered seating. Firemen march onto the central square inside the headquarters where they are inspected by a visiting dignitary in civilian clothing [identity unknown but it is not the Lord Mayor of London]. The firemen run and break as a number of fire engines enter the square. A demonstration of various means of fighting fires follows, emphasising how fire crews work as a team. After a final inspection the fire men march out and those watching the spectacle start to depart. After inspecting some of the fire engines, the man leaves the building and walks past more piles of rubble and bomb damaged buildings including another heavily damaged church. View of street with St Paul’s visible in the background, and road bollards painted black and white in the foreground [the bollards would have been painted in this manner during the war so that they could be detected more easily during the blackout]. Man continues into Bartholomew Close past Dominion House, partly destroyed by enemy action during the war. He pauses to read a sign attached to railings: “In memoriam – Charles East, Albert Golden, Pat O’Neil, William Teague, London Auxiliary Fire Service killed by enemy action on this spot, 10th May 1941”, and takes his hat off in respectful recognition [Location is Clifton Gardens – On 10 May 1941 a bomb landed on a block of flats in Clifton Gardens, followed by a number of smaller incendiary bombs, and the whole four storey building caught fire. The first fire crew to arrive on the scene were inside the building when the top floor collapsed and three of the crew were killed instantly, another two badly wounded]. Man continues his journey, past more piles of rubble. Film ends with a brief shot of the remains of a stained glass window in an unidentified church.
  • Alternative Title: AMATEUR FILM BY GEORGE EVES [Alternative Title]
  • Colour: B&W
  • Digitised: Yes
  • Object_Number: MGH 1354
  • Sound: Sound
  • Access Conditions: IWM Attribution: © IWM (MGH 1354)
  • Featured Period:
  • Production Date: 1946
  • Production Country: GB
  • Production Details: Eves, George W (Production individual)
  • Personalities, Units and Organisations:
  • Keywords:
  • Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W Sound format: Sound
  • Technical Details: Format: 16mm Number of items/reels/tapes: 1 Footage: 587 ft; Running time: 10 mins
  • HD Media:Yes
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    MGH 1354

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