Armistice Day Poppies
Newsreel tribute to the WWI fallen on the 10th anniversary of the war's end.
The annual Armistice Day events inevitably had special significance on the 10th anniversary of the end of WWI. This short Topical Budget item isn't so much news in itself as a film memorial - a sombre yet proud tribute to the fallen - and also, perhaps, an implicit exhortation to those watching who had yet to buy their poppies.
The lines that start the item come from John McRae's poem 'In Flanders Fields', while the rest are taken from Sir John Stanhope Arkwright's O Valiant Hearts, which had by this time been put to music and included in the hymn book Songs of Praise.
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The First World War: Remembrance
These poignant films return us to a time when the war was still fresh.
The First World War came to an end at 11am on 11 November 1918 - the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month - a day that was immediately commemorated as Armistice Day (Remembrance Sunday was an innovation of the Second World War). The annual parades and wreath laying became a staple of the newsreels, and subsequently television.
But the act of remembrance began long before the guns stopped firing. During the war, cinemas across the country regularly screened 'Roll of Honour' films, paying tribute to members of the local community who had been killed, captured or wounded in the conflict. And of course, while the war itself faded into history, filmmakers would revisit those world-shattering years for generations after.
16 videos in this collection
1
2
Armistice
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Armistice Day Poppies Topical Budget 898-2
4
The Lads of the Village
5
Victory and Peace
6
Liverpool Honours Heroes Topical Budget 230-2
7
Royal Honour for Famous School
8
Preston and District Roll of Honour, 10th Series
9
The Somme
10
Remembrance Day 1925 Topical Budget 742-1
11
Peace Celebrations at Haslingden July 19th 1919
12
Leeds Jewish ex-Servicemen's and Women's Association at Rememberance Service 1948
13
At Home in Shanghai and a Trip to Hong Kong
14
Fallen Heroes Topical Budget 339-1
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Demonstration of the Churches Topical Budget 268-1
16