Coventry on film

New to me, but has to be submitted to the forum - Coventry 1935

Good find Foxcote I especially liked the view of St John's from the opposite side of Fleet Street

These links to British Path

The links you have put on are fab, well done for putting them on

It was odd watching a procession go down Gosford Street, they usually travelled in the other direction. All those lovely medieval shops opposite the Old Morris building had disappeared within a few years of the film being made.

Fascinating stuff, trying to work out where these old films are taken, and buildings long gone. Also found this Pathe news film of the Cathedral Consecration which I posted on another thread, but here it is again to add to this collection: Cathedral Consecration 1962

Great footage Rootes, thanks for sharing, if you look above at Dutchman's comment, he says what streets are in the footage. Here's some more I found, only the first minute viewing of Coventry the rest of the footage is London on the first link. Coventry aka Coventry Cathedral 1940 Lady Godiva Re-Enacted At Coventry 1936 Does any one know what factory this is. Coventry Factory 1970-1979

Hi Dutchman, I recognised Corporation Street too although who wouldn't, and I could see Lady G wore a body stocking and managed to look very modest all the way. I remember that parade very well. That was what you would call a good turn out.

Hi everyone I'm the Development Manager at the Media Archive for Central England (MACE). We're the screen archive for the East and West Midlands and as a registered charity we exist to preserve the moving image heritage of the Midlands and connect people with their screen heritage. I came across this forum today and I thought some of you may be interested in our Coventry related material. We have 1483 catalogue entries on Coventry that can be read through on our website at www.macearchive.org and out of these 191 video clips can be viewed online for free. To view these, simply put the word 'Coventry' into our top search bar (ticking 'With Video Only' if you only want to look at entries with video clips). We have also recently released a DVD, Rebuilding Coventry, which contains 65 minutes of rarely seen archive films dating from 1948 to 1980. We have released this, and other titles on the Midlands to provide wider access to the footage we hold and to raise funds to sustain ourselves now and in the future. The DVD is £14.99 + £1.50 postage. It is available to purchase securely on our website or through Amazon, Ebay, Play.com and Waterstones Marketplace. I hope you enjoy looking at our website, if you have any questions about our work you can email on us on info@macearchive.org or contact me here. Thanks for taking the time to read about us. Best wishes Emma Morley Media Archive for Central England

Thanks for sharing DBC. I enjoyed watching the Bishop, I wonder if any one recognises themselves in the Precinct, I reconised an elderly lady in the background, I used to play with her granddaughter, Jane Raven, and the Baginton Pageant with the planes, I had to type in Coventry then chose Warwickshire to get the pageant if anyone else can't find it on the main page of DBC link

Hi everyone I'm Emma Morley from the Media Archive for Central England (MACE). A registered charity we aim to preserve moving images of the East and West Midlands and provide affordable public access to our collections. You can view (for free) 192 video clips of Coventry and also browse over 1500 catalogue entries on our website. Simply Google MACE Archive to find us online. We have joined the forum as a new way of connecting with people who may have an interest in our collections, as we have noted through our website that we do have quite a few visitors to our website each week who have linked from the forum. To raise funds to help us achieve our charitable aims of caring for our collections and providing access, we have recently released a DVD with a specific focus on post-war Coventry, from motor production to the rebuilding of the Cathedral. The DVD is called Rebuilding Coventry and is £14.99 + p&p through our webshop. We do hope you enjoy looking at some of the titles we hold of Coventry on our website. Thank you taking the time to read my message. Please do get in touch with us through the forum if you have any questions/comments. Best wishes Emma

Hi Emma, Thank you for getting in touch with us all, and for providing such a great archive, too. Hopefully this forum will provide you with some business in return for the wonderful nostalgia that you've put together on your website. Best wishes, Rob

Civilian Deaths I found interesting the paragraph of if food cards were found on the deceased they were to go to the food controller. Industrial Heritage

Coventry Gymkhana - old footage with motor bike stunts

I have just taken delivery of a set of discs from the British Film Institute containing the complete works of the renowned documentary maker Humphrey Jennings. Among the gems on volume 2 is a ten-minute film made in 1940 called "The Heart of Britain". About half of this film is made up of scenes of Coventry, shot just after the November 14 raid. According to the notes "Alerted to the raid Jennings and his tiny crew soon found themselves filming amid the smoke and rubble, quietly recording for posterity a workforce shocked but resilient". The section on Coventry starts with a long panning shot which includes the damaged Gaumont cinema, and the wreckage-strewn Jordan Well. There are also scenes which seem to have been shot in Much Park street, with firemen working on the damaged buildings, with the Council House in the background. We then see Pearl Hyde talking directly to the camera, praising the power of a cup of tea to help the rescuers and rescued. There are then scenes shot in the Baginton factory of workers assembling Whitley bombers, with a final shot of one of the planes taking off from the airfield. The discs are available from Amazon, you get both a DVD and Blu-ray version in each package, and have been expertly restored by the boffins at the BFI . Also included are such well known films by Jennings as "Fires Were Started" and "Listen to Britain".