Crown Film Unit

Documentary style presentation of the work of RAF Coastal Command. Shows their work in protecting convoys and attacking enemy aircraft, ships and U-boats, all done by the actual men & women of the RAF.

Focuses on the work of the Air Transport Auxiliary or ATA. By 1941, literally hundreds of RAF fighters and bombers needed to be flown each day between aircraft factories, maintenance depots and RAF aerodromes. This vital task was carried out by the men and women of the ATA, a civilian air force operating from their own pools and stations all over Britain. Essentially a dramatised account of typical ATA deliveries, the film features coverage of the ATA's own fleet of Ansons, as well as being notable for some excellent Spitfire film and very rare footage of the Whitley bomber, including take off and in-cockpit sequences.

A narrator recounts the state of Great Britain near the end of WWII via a visual diary for the titular baby boy born in September 1944.

British film written and directed by Humphrey Jennings, filmed in documentary style showing the lives of firefighters through the Blitz in World War II.

A short film about how builders help contribute to the war effort.

Poetry by Rudyard Kipling, John Milton, and William Blake, and excerpts from speeches by Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill, all read by Laurence Olivier, illuminate documentary footage of England during its defense against the Nazi blitz in World War II. This short film serves as both propaganda and as a rallying cry to the British people.

An African tribe in the Eastern Nigerian village of Umana work to build a maternity hospital, with the aid of government officials, and against the opposition of some tribal members.

The true story of the massacre of a small Czech village by the Nazis is retold as if it happened in Wales.

One of the first European films commissioned by the countries that signes the Brussels treaty and filmed in the museums of Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris, London, Ghent and The Hague. The film shows, by means of 59 works of art, how painting discovered the landscape once it left the strictly religious context behind. Henri storck wrote, "We have tried to eliminate the artificiality of filming. We have tried to hide the camera in order to immerse the audience in the world of the painting and the landscape that it depicts. We want the viewer to discover the feeling of nature for himself, through the artists.... It is not our ambition to make a critical or informative work." This iconic journey from Bosch to Manet and Turner is accompanied by music by Georges Auric.

A World War II drama-documentary showing the struggles of Merchant Navy seamen following an attack by a U-Boat. Western Approaches is a vast area of ocean control covering thousands of square miles of the Atlantic. In these waters is set this single incident in the fiercest and longest sea battle in history. The players are not professional actors but serving officers and men of Allied Navies and Merchant Fleets. This film is dedicated to them and their comrades who made the Allied victory possible.

A story acted and narrated by men of the Merchant Navy illustrates the way their war is fought: a merchant ship in convoy is sunk by a torpedo; the crew are rescued and later join another ship; and a young seaman among them is motivated to take a gunnery course.

Short documentary on the use of the V-1 Flying Bomb during the German bombings of London.

British educational documentary film about the principal instruments in the modern symphony orchestra, illustrated through Benjamin Britten's composition, "The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra", for which it was commissioned.

In a follow up to 'A Welcome to Britain', Burgess Meredith returns to look at a post-war Britain.

Documentary about an average day during the Blitz.

Dramatised documentary, intended for schoolchildren, showing the work of a youth employment officer.

Perhaps the characters in this film are stupid or even laughable. Before YOU laugh at them remember that people behaving like them often cause accidents on the roads - and country roads are no exception.

A Letter From Ulster (1943). Northern Ireland's greatest film director Brian Desmond Hurst directed the film and his assistant director was fellow Ulsterman William (Bill) MacQuitty who went on to make the ultimate Titanic film A Night to Remember. The script was written by Terence Young who went on to direct the early Bond films. All the components were in place for a fine film and this short (32 minute) by the Crown Film Unit remains an important part of Ulster and America's cultural history. As the opening credit says "This film is dedicated to those members of the US Forces Who are our guests in these islands". The film shows American soldiers landing in Northern Ireland and settling into their new camps. The arrival of mail from 'back home' helps camp moral, however, two brothers receive none. Their commander realises that the two brothers have not sent any letters back to their parents and gives the order to write a letter home- A Letter From Ulster.

A woman blames herself for her husband's death. To overcome her grief and her guilt she becomes a nurse but then a patient dies while under her care.

Santa Claus threatens to go on strike, as a result of people posting mail too late!