The British Pathé Archive

It is 70 years since the final surrender of the Axis powers in North Africa in May 1943. British Pathé has footage of the conflict in that region, a selection of which can be seen here.

Faces of Evil - our new gallery looks at some of the criminals of the past.
 
Image: Hitler’s racially motivated policies and absolute rule culminated in the deaths of an estimated 50 million people during World War II.

Faces of Evil - our new gallery looks at some of the criminals of the past:

Image: Goebbels had a murderous anti-semitic agenda.

Faces of Evil - our new gallery looks at some of the criminals of the past.

Image: Himmler used his racist Nazi ideology to justify the murder of millions.

Hitler Bomb Plot - 1944

On 20 July 1944, an attempt was made to assassinate Adolf Hitler by several groups within the German Resistance. It was very nearly successful. This film shows good footage of the bombed headquarters and Hitler greeting Mussolini with his injured arm.

On 13th Feb 1945, the bombing of Dresden began.

Contemporary newsreel.

Buchenwald was one of the largest of the Nazi concentration camps. The images in our gallery are taken from footage that was filmed after Buchenwald’s liberation. At the time of broadcast Pathé stated, “We believe it is our duty to screen these pictures as a warning to future generations.”

70 years ago, Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt met at Casablanca to discuss the war effort. A 1943 newsreel covers the event. View it here.

In our new blog post, we look at the important anniversaries coming up in the next 2 weeks.

Click here to take a look:
http://britishpathe.wordpress.com/2013/01/11/british-pathe-picks-14th-31st-january-2013/

HAPPY 150TH BIRTHDAY LONDON UNDERGROUND! Celebrate with this clip collection.
 
You can see construction footage from as early as the 1920s, with extensive coverage of the 1960s work on the Victoria Line. Also featured are the duties of cleaners and technicians, various innovations, and the use of the tunnels used as air raid shelters during WW2.

Aldwych Station is used as an air raid shelter during the Blitz.

British Pathé celebrates 150 years of London Underground: https://britishpathe.wordpress.com/2013/01/07/150-years-of-the-tube/
 

Timeline World War 2

This was recently on the Telegraph’s list of essential apps. Produced by Ballista Media in association with British Pathé. Presented by Dan Snow.

150th Anniversary of London Underground

British Pathé celebrates 150 years of the Tube with a collection of clips featuring construction footage dating from 1922. You can also see the tunnels used as air raid shelters during the Second World War, extensions of the lines in the late 1940s, and the work of cleaners and technicians after-hours. The innovations of the 1950s also get a look-in, while there is extensive coverage of the building of the Victoria Line, as well as its opening by the Queen. There are also some images from the 1970s and a brief documentary on the 7/7 London Bombings. Click here to explore the collection.

Firefighters battle flames during the Blitz, London (1941). From our “London in Wartime” collection. Explore it here.

Wife of the First Lord of the Admiralty thanks a War Pigeon – 1944

BBC News reports on 23 November 2012 that a dead pigeon with a secret code attached to its leg has been found in a chimney in Surrey. A red canister was found fastened to the WW2 carrier pigeon and inside the container was a piece of paper containing the code. The cipher was sent off to the intelligence service GCHQ but they have been unable to make sense of what the 27 blocks of code mean and so they have asked the public for help.

Sadly Pathé are unable to help on that front. However, we thought it a good opportunity to pay tribute to these army carrier pigeons who were extensively used as military messengers during WW1 and WW2. Over 100,000 pigeons served Britain in WWI and over 250,000 served the UK in WW2. These winged warriors were used for their homing ability, rapidity and elevation to carry important information from behind enemy lines.

WW1 Army Pigeon

The most heroic pigeon during WW1 was Cher Ami. Despite being shot through the breast, Cher Ami still managed to deliver a message in his capsule and in turn saved 200 US soldiers of the 77th Infantry Division’s “Lost Battalion”.

GI Joe was an American hatched pigeon who carried a message through an artillery bombardment in Italy during the Second World War and consequently saved the inhabitants of Calvi Vecchia in Italy and the units of the 56^th London division. The village was due to be bombarded by the Allied forces but the message that the British had captured the village, delivered by G.I. Joe, arrived just in time to avoid the bombing. G.I Joe’s tenacity, strength and bravery saved over a thousand lives. He was awarded the Dickin Medal, the Victoria Cross of the feathered world, in 1946.

G.I. Joe with his Dickin Medal

34 pigeons were decorated with the Dickin Medal and we have a few of the awards ceremonies within the archive. Watch Paddy and Gustav receive their Dickin Medal. Paddy was an Irish carrier pigeon and received the award having flown 230 miles across the English Channel in 4hrs55mins. He was the fastest pigeon to arrive back in England with news of the D-Day victory.

Paddy and Gustav with their Dickin medals – 1944

Watch Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) and her sister Princess Margaret despatch a homing pigeon.

Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret with a homing pigeon – 1943