Film double-bill puts 1950s Perthshire in the spotlight

Two films featuring rarely seen footage of Perth and Perthshire from the 1950s will be screened in the Fair City as part of a celebration of local history.

The documentaries will be shown at Perth’s AK Bell Library on Thursday May 31.

The event is one of a number of talks, workshops and drop-in sessions lined up in libraries across the region to mark Local and Community History Month.

The first film called Perthshire Panorama – which was created for Perth Town and County Councils and Films of Scotland – gives an introduction to Perthshire and highlights places of interest for leisure and tourists, while The Tay Valley – created by Educational Films of Scotland – shows the towns, landscape, farming and industries around the River Tay.

This is a unique opportunity to see both of these colour films which are on loan from the Moving Image Archive catalogue at the National Library of Scotland.

The audience will be treated to highlights from the AK Bell’s Sound Archive.

Local History Officer, Dr Nicola Cowmeadow said: “We particularly hope to trace the families of those who participated in this project as we do not have contact with relatives of those who were recorded and want to reunite them with the voices of their relatives.”

The Historic Film Screening on May 31 is from 6-8pm. Tickets, costing £3, are available from the website culturepk.org or by phoning 01738 444949.

Another highlight of Local and Community History Month is a talk by legendary former Perth archivist and author Steve Connelly at the AK Bell Library on May 24 from 6.30-7.30pm.

Over his 38-year career, Steve has helped to ensure the safety and survival of the historic local records for generations to come.