Shipbuilders
Shipwrights, plate-fitters and riveters support the war effort as their ships take majestic shape in this tour of British shipyards.
Shipwrights, plate-fitters and riveters are busy at work in shipyards around Britain, but make time to talk to well-known newsreader, E.V.H. Emmett, about the nature and importance of their work - with the occasional dig at the expense of their colleagues. From Clydeside to the North East of England there's an intensive war effort underway and this propaganda film aims to "Let everyone know that we're building ships that we're proud of", as shipwright Charlie puts it.
E.V.H. Emmett was a household name as a result of his job as commentator for the contemporary newsreel Gaumont British News. Cinema newsreels were the key source of wartime information for millions across Britain, and Emmett's voice would have conveyed a sense of authority, here deployed with a characteristically buoyant, jokey aspect. Emmett also had an active sideline working in films of the 1930s-50s, usually as narrator.
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Keep the Wheels Turning
Production went into overdrive. Workforces in key industries like coalmining and shipbuilding were classed as 'reserved occupations' and spared the draft, while an army of women took to the machines to meet the constant demand for munitions and uniforms. In hindsight, we can see that the foundations of the postwar settlement were being laid. The wartime economy was formidable: workers pulled together to meet ever-increasing demand for resources and government oversight kept the motors running.
13 videos in this collection
Shipbuilders
Out Working
Her Father's Daughter
Good Value
Furnaces of Industry
A Job to Be Done
The New Crop
A Call for Arms!
Wartime Factory
British Made 'ameri-cans' Something to Focus On
Dai Jones