Want to know what Britain was like in the 1940s? Over 120 films providing fascinating snapshots of the UK’s cultural, sporting, industrial and political heritage have been launched online today thanks to funding from Google and the British Council.
Watch the film above to see how British women contributed to the war effort during World War II, or explore the full archive.
Greatest discovery of the day! Thank you Google and the British Council!
In the 19th Century having a photograph taken was a lengthy process. Frustrated by the difficulties of getting children to sit still long enough to snap a proper photo , photographers in the 1800’s conceived of a technique called “The Hidden Mother”. Draping a sheet over the mothers head in an attempt to camouflage her as a part of the furniture to better emphasize the child, the mother was then able to hold her infant and keep them still long enough for the camera to get an exposure. Vintage photographs already have a eerie feel to them, but these images of moms as cloaked phantoms take the creep factor to the next level.
(via jack5615)
London in the 1920s.
![Ver[n]ona Jarbeau](http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5065/5589060848_80a5e1185f_m.jpg)
![Ver[n]ona Jarbeau](http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5303/5588467181_1bfe245355_m.jpg)
On StoryVault we’ve been collecting first hand accounts of what it was like to be a child during the Blitz.
Hear our Blitz memories here
picture courtesy of the National Archives
The Women of Station X - Bletchley Park during WW2
Another good source of bits and pieces that I stumbled across is http://www.archive.org/movies/
There’s lots of good stuff there, but you have to be quite cunning in your searches to find it. I did find the 1920s classic of horror cinema, The Cabinet of Dr Calagari.
http://www.archive.org/details/TheCabinetOfDrCaligari1920
The funeral of Queen Victoria. She died on the Isle of Wight, where this procession was filmed, and was laid to rest at Frogmore.
Archibe newspaper report on the funeral from The Times
