Lieutenant Pimple and the Stolen Submarine
- Twickenham
- 1914
8,000 Men on Strike at Woolwich Arsenal
Munitions workers down tools, weeks before Britain enters WWI.
Just weeks before Britain entered WWI, thousands of munitions workers went on strike at Woolwich Arsenal - a major site of armaments manufacture. Characteristically, the British press were quick to lampoon the strikers. But, whatever their grievances, the jovial cloth-capped workers in this Topical Budget newsreel item show no sign or rowdiness or rioting - even the policemen are smiling.
The cause of the strike was a dispute around the Arsenal's use of non-union labour. A few days after this film's release, The Spectator magazine disapprovingly reported the "sudden surrender of the Prime Minister (Herbert Asquith) to the demands of the strikers." Topical Budget's coverage of the Woolwich walk-out (probably choreographed for the camera) makes an interesting counterpoint to the common 'factory gate' film, as perfected by Blackburn-based filmmakers Mitchell and Kenyon.
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The First World War: The Road to War
Hindsight is 20:20: how looking back at the films of the early 1910s reveals glimpses of what few at the time saw coming - a world-changing war.
The outbreak of war in July 1914 came as a shock to most. But from our privileged position today, we can find among the films produced in the early 1910s scattered hints of the looming conflict that would split Europe in two.
One ominous sign was the proliferation of stories of international espionage and intrigue (played as drama or comedy), while newsreels offer evidence of the prominence of the armed forces in British society. Even so, the overwhelming majority of films of the period point to a nation blissfully unaware of the horrors to come.
21 videos in this collection
1
Lieutenant Pimple and the Stolen Submarine
2
The German Spy Peril
3
Balloon Accident at St Cloud Topical Budget 152-1
4
Servants Superceded
5
Fife and Forfar Yeomanry Topical Budget 164-1
6
8,000 Men on Strike at Woolwich Arsenal Topical Budget 150-1
7
Carpentier and Gunboat Smith Topical Budget 151-2
8
Army Cross Country Topical Budget 136-2
9
The Great East End Anarchist Battle
10
New Type of Cruiser Topical Budget 11-2
11
Aerial Submarine A Startling Forecast. Piracy in Sea and Air
12
Millionaires at Play Topical Budget 136-2
13
Lord Lovat's Scouts Topical Budget 164-1
14
The Airship Destroyer
15
The Paris Sensation: Scenes at the Funeral of M. Calmette, The Murdered Editor of the 'Figaro' Gaumont Graphic No. 313
16
From the Fighting Top of a Battleship in Action
17
The English Switzerland
18
Bobs and the Baby Marksmen
19
The Opening of New Drill Hall at Haltwhistle
20
From Antwerp to Ostend
21