Ed Cohen at Oval Nets

1939
Silent
8m

A dream comes true for this schoolboy as he practices in the nets at the Oval, captured in wonderful Kodachrome

Thousands of cricket-crazy school boys have dreamed of playing at the Oval. Young Ed Cohen's experience in the nets must have been a dream come true, and happily it was captured for posterity on Kodachrome film for him, his family and now us to enjoy. The rest of his family are also introduced in the garden at the start of the film, while the end features a trip to see the guards at Buckingham Palace.

Family scenes: Cohen family in back garden posing for the camera. Boy (Ed Cohen) in cricket pads at the nets at the Oval. Coach bowls to him. Various bowlers in action in the nets. Boy batting again. Boy coming off the field. Boy in school clothes with cricket kit. Guards parading at Buckingham Palace, watched by boy.

Jewish Britain

Jewish life on screen: a century of insights and hidden histories

This collection uncovers insights, injustices and hidden histories across a century of Jewish life on British screens. It brings together documentary and first-person accounts of Jewish life in the UK, alongside historical dramas and artists’ work exploring the 20th century Jewish experience. The earliest surviving depictions of Jewish characters in British cinema offer a troubling insight into antisemitic representation, yet prejudice was later tackled head-on, with newsreels documenting the anti-fascist movement of the 1930s.

Drop in on joyous family weddings and community gatherings, and see the ways in which UK Jewry supported Jews young and old, and those fleeing persecution, in a selection of fascinating films from the 1900s to the 1980s.

This collection is generously supported by the Neil Kreitman Foundation, Shoresh Charitable Trust, John S Cohen Foundation, and Harold Hyam Wingate Foundation.