FILM ARCHIVES
Including film archives in the research toolkit means we can see our family history in action. The UK has a wealth of film archives, both national and regional, that are free to use, easy to access and fun to explore, says Amanda Randall
Explore this often overlooked resource with Amanda Randall. You might even spot an ancestor on screen…
The value of a film archive to your family history may not be immediately obvious, but just a few minutes delving into the catalogue of such an institution will be enough to persuade you what an enlightening resource film can be.
Britain has a rich film heritage dating back to 1896 and the surviving footage brings history to life in a way that other documents simply cannot. It’s quite a magical (and often emotional) experience to stumble upon film footage of the village or town where we grew up, or that our grandparents inhabited. If you’re very lucky you may even see your long-gone relatives on screen.
The great thing about films made locally is that local people feature – perhaps in a carnival procession, bank holiday or Armistice celebrations, on a promenade, at work or at school. We can see how once thriving trades operated; witness famous sporting events; see the royals at work; go on steam train or tram journeys; watch people watching the camera. Cataloguing can tell us when and where a film was shot, perhaps who shot it and, even better ( but more rarely), who is on screen.
Film not only reveals the
environment people lived in, it also allows us to share the films they watched for entertainment, news or learning. Educational films, especially on science subjects, were often screened in schools.
For its first two decades, film was seen as a working-class entertainment and shunned by the wealthy. No one thought film worth preserving for its visual content. Nitrate film stock had intrinsic value in the silver coating, which could be retrieved by melting it down. Hence the majority (perhaps 90 per cent) of all early film is lost. However, attitudes changed during the First World War, when it became clear that film could record important events and tell stories for a variety of purposes – not least propaganda. It could help us remember events and people and entertain even the loftiest members of society.
Finding film archives
By the 1920s, the cinema was the most widespread form of mass entertainment in the world and some people began to discuss how film could be preserved. In 1931, the British Film Institute (now the BFI) was established and, in 1935, it opened the National Film Library (now the BFI National Archive) with a remit to “maintain a national repository of films of permanent value” and to provide educational films to schools and other places of learning. From two-minute actualities (footage of real places and events) to short advertisements to full-length features, films of all types became increasingly important to every level of society, especially during the Second World War. Fast forward to the 21st century and film archives exist in just about every country in the world. Film heritage has become highly respected and valued. So how can the family historian use film as a research tool?
Each country within the UK has a national film archive, under the umbrella of the BFI. These archives collect important films, video and TV that tell our national stories, whether through drama or documentary. The UK’s regional film archives specialise in collecting footage that was made in or is relevant to a particular region, reflecting strong regional identities. Each one is a treasure trove of visual treats that can bring history alive. Many online film archive catalogues provide free access to digitised collections; however, it’s unlikely that an archive’s entire collection will be accessible on the web. This is due to funding shortfalls as well as copyright restrictions. Most archives can be visited in person, but check before making a special journey. Some allow customers to purchase DVD copies of specific film clips for personal use only. Many sell DVD collections of, for example, films related to war in the region, transport, trade, or urban development.
Try these examples to whet your appetite: • Discover the aftermath of the 1953 Gorleston Floods in Norfolk by watching this film held at East Anglian Film Archive ( www.eafa.org.uk/catalogue/242). • Do you know what a ‘climmer’ is? Yorkshire Film Archive holds a six-minute film shot in 1908 of men – climmers – who collected eggs from birds’ nests at Flamborough ( bit.ly/climmers). • Did your ancestor work at the Holmes and Baxter factory, lace manufacturers of Nottingham in 1955? MACE holds this film ( bit.ly/ MACEarchive). • The Evacuation of St Kilda is held at the
For its first two decades, film was seen as a working-class entertainment
National Library of Scotland Moving Image Archive. Filmed by John P Ritchie, an amateur cine enthusiast and ornithologist, during an egg-collecting trip in 1935 when Scottish Office regulations prohibited any photos or newsreel recordings of the evacuation. This unique footage was kept secret until 1979 ( movingimage.nls.uk/ film/ 0793).
Edwardian England
The genealogist’s favourite film collection could well be the Mitchell & Kenyon archive, comprising hundreds of short ‘actuality’ films shot in Edwardian England. This enterprising Blackburn-based company operated between 1897 and 1913, travelling around the north and the Midlands filming ordinary people going about their lives. At this time, early film-makers tended to record visits by royals or other celebrities, rarely bothering to film ordinary folk. But Sagar Mitchell & James Kenyon realised the commercial potential of filming bustling streets, children at play, people at work, or streaming through factory gates and then screening those two-minute films that same evening in the local bioscope or town hall. People would gladly pay a penny to see if they could spot themselves or their friends on the big screen. Moving images were a novelty and hugely exciting. There is, of course, an element of stage managing the crowds by the film makers, but these are not officially made records of the times and the collection is all the more fascinating, and valuable, for that. These films were lost until 1994, when three large metal drums were discovered in the basement of an empty shop in Blackburn. Inside lay more than 800 reels of 35mm nitrate film, many with scraps of handwritten paper describing the location, the date or the name of the exhibitor and shot by the long-forgotten Mitchell & Kenyon company. The Mitchell & Kenyon films make up the third largest collection of films made by one company from this early period. They are best searched via the BFI Player ( player.bfi.org. uk/search/? q= Mitchell+ and+ Kenyon+).
Home movies
Amateur film is a fantastic resource for genealogists, providing the context is known. Many of us remember our dads endlessly filming our childhood antics in the 1960s and ‘ 70s, but did you know that home movies date from the 1920s, when moving image cameras, safety film and projection equipment started to become available to the wealthy enthusiast? This expensive hobby gradually became more popular and affordable, especially after the Second World War. Amateur cine clubs flourished from the 1930s onwards and some fascinating films were created, recording civic events, local personalities, family life and travelogues. Some regional film archives hold substantial home movie collections and you may be lucky enough to find some relevant to your family. Search the online catalogue of your preferred film archive using the term (for example) ‘cine club’ or a location, event ( bank holiday fairs or civic occasions for instance) or try a name and see what happens!
If you have old home movies stored in the loft or shed then think about discussing them with your regional archive; perhaps your films would enhance their collection. Each archive has an acquisition policy, which can be found online. If you choose to have your precious films transferred to DVD, find a reputable firm and ask for the originals to be returned to you. Old films are fragile and need to be stored in cold, dry conditions or irreversible deterioration can be swift. DVDs are not a reliable form of storage so, as you would do with all your research, back up to several formats and treasure those originals.