Detail
Theme Public Services
Screen Archive South East holds many films commissioned by civic and public bodies in the region. Significant collections of films in the archive made for public services and institutions include; the Surrey Fire Brigade, West Sussex County Council, as well as several hospitals, children’s homes, charities and other organisations in the region. Many pre-NHS hospitals and charities relied heavily on fund raising opportunities and used film as a medium to demonstrate their work and to appeal for donations.
The archive holds several pre-NHS hospital films in its collection including film of the Princess Alice Memorial Hospital in Eastbourne (1937 - 1938), and The Royal Surrey County Hospital Fundraising Film (1936 - 1937). A much later film A New Way of Caring (1974) from the Chichester Health Authority focuses on the changes in heath provision since the introduction of the NHS. The archive also has a number of films on residential homes and orphanages such as The Southern Railway Servants' Orphanage at Woking made in 1928 - 1933 and a further film made there in 1950-52, Patcham House Special School (1974) for disabled children in Sussex and 'Murray House' (1976), for people with learning disabilities in Ottershaw, Surrey.
Films in this theme:
Showing 1 to 15 of 122 results.
![[A 'Capitol' Newsreel by Clifford Spain III] (1927-1934) A still from [A 'Capitol' Newsreel by Clifford Spain III] (1927-1934) showing a pillow fight](/wp-content/uploads/films/1518/image_a_thumb.jpg)
[A ‘Capitol’ Newsreel by Clifford Spain III]
Date | 1927 - 1934 | ID | 1518 |
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A compilation of films of local interest which which were exhibited in a newsreel format at the Capitol Cinema in Walton-on-Thames by its manager Clifford Spain. The films record community events including parades, local election results and sports meetings. The camera pays special attention to the locals who visit the events.

The Southern Railway Servants' Orphanage at Woking
Date | [1926? - 1933] | ID | 1586 |
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This compilation illustrates life for the children and their relatives, staff and local volunteers at the Southern Railway Servants' Orphanage in Woking during the late 1920s and early 1930s. Each sequence is introduced with intertitles.
[Bushey Fire Brigade; The Joke]
Date | [ca. 1930s] | ID | 548 |
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Scenes of a building after a fire and an Inex Motion Picture comedy sketch, produced by Jack Ellam in the 1930s.

St Bartholomew’s Hospital
Date | [ca. 1930s] | ID | 1186 |
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A tour of St Bartholomew's Hospital, a voluntary hospital in Rochester. This professionally made film with intertitles informs the viewer of the costs involved in the delivery of modern and efficient health care. It was made to serve as a fundraising tool.
Fan Court: Preparatory School for Boys
Date | [ca. 1930s] | ID | 1370 |
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This amateur film with intertitles contains outdoor shots of the pupils, staff and grounds of Fan Court Preparatory School for Boys at Chertsey. Many of the images are posed group shots, capturing the participants between classes and during sporting activities.
[Girls at Claremont School]
Date | [ca. early 1930s ?] | ID | 1368 |
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A compilation of amateur film recording outdoor events at Claremont School For Girls in Esher. In the late 1970s the school amalgamated with Fan Court Preparatory School for Boys to form Claremont Fan Court School.

Ramsgate General Hospital: Hospital Appeal
Date | [1932?] | ID | 973 |
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A short promotional film about the appeal to raise funds for the extension of Ramsgate General Hospital. The Chairman of the Extensions Committee presents the film, appealing to people to donate towards the new casualty and outpatients departments. The film includes plans of the proposed new buildings.
[Funeral of King George V; King's Mead School Sports and Recreation; Royal Navy Fleet]
Date | [1935]; 1936 | ID | 2954 |
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A compilation of amateur material which includes footage of King George V's funeral cortege, pupils of King's Mead School playing a variety of sports and participating in a range of recreational activities, and a flotilla of Royal Navy ships on exercise.
[War Time at Mile Oak School; Boys Camp; Family Scenes]
Date | [ca. 1935]; 1937; 1942 | ID | 239 |
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A compilation of amateur material shot by the Headmaster of Mile Oak Approved Boys School. The film includes footage showing the impact of the Second World War on the school - pupils are filmed building air-raid shelters, as is the aftermath of a bombing raid.
[Opening of Otford Methodist Church]
Date | 11 July 1935 | ID | 6155 |
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This short film appears to show the opening of the new Otford Methodist Church on July 11th 1935. People stand outside the doors of the church and mingle in a garden.
![[The Royal Surrey County Hospital Fundraising Films] (ca.1936) A still from [The Royal Surrey County Hospital Fundraising Films] (ca.1936) showing a patient leaving the hospital](/wp-content/uploads/films/1664/image_a_thumb.jpg)
[The Royal Surrey County Hospital Fundraising Films]
Date | [ca. 1936] | ID | 1664 |
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Two films, one a short drama and one a factual film, from a pre-NHS era, both made to encourage the public to make donations and raise funds for the Royal Surrey County Hospital.
Somerset County Council. The County Education Committee. Physical Education
Date | [ca. late 1930s] | ID | 312 |
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"This film shows the modern methods now being practiced in many primary and secondary schools in the county. It demonstrates certain developments in the syllabus of physical training for schools issued by the Board of Education in 1933..."

Mädel im Landjahr
Date | 1936 | ID | 9318 |
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This commercially produced educational film entitled: 'Mädel im Landjahr ' or 'Girl in the Country Year' documents the process girls are educated in the rural German countryside.
![[Fire Brigade] (1937-1939) A still from [Fire Brigade] (1937-1939) - firemen](/wp-content/uploads/films/2573/image_a_thumb.jpg)
[Fire Brigade]
Date | [ca. 1937]; 1939 | ID | 2573 |
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A compilation of films made by amateur cameraman Sid Horton showing the work of the fire brigade in Surrey and Sussex. Sid Horton went on to become one of the founding members of Haywards Heath & District Amateur Cine Society.
Ashford Hospital Appeal
Date | 1937 | ID | 7497 |
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A film by amateur film-maker Dr. Victor Don, advocating the important and costly work carried out by ambulance attendants, doctors, chemists, anesthetists and nurses at Ashford Hospital in Kent during 1937. A short narrative sequence opens the film, during which a man is taken to hospital after being hit by a car.
Showing 1 to 15 of 122 results.