Ostend in War-Time
Belgian soldiers and civilian refugees gather in Ostend in early WWI, before evacuating to England.
Belgium suffered a refugee crisis when German forces invaded in August 1914, as troops and civilians fleeing Antwerp and other occupied towns poured into West Flanders. This newsreel item, shot in the coastal city of Ostend, captures something of the chaos as soldiers, civilians, horses, wagons and weaponry flood in, alongside hundreds of refugees hoping to board boats for England.
Ostend was a popular seaside resort until WWI broke. From Antwerp to Ostend, a travelogue filmed in the same year, points out the beach bathing machines - which became makeshift housing during the refugee crisis - and shows fashionable holidaymakers strolling on the promenade. Many of the opulent buildings seen in both films would be destroyed in the years of fighting.
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The First World War: News from the Battlefields
Rare images from the theatres of war for anxious audiences back in Blighty.
The military high command maintained a tight grip on what was permissible for audiences to see, and for the most part film cameras weren't allowed anywhere near the frontlines - partly for the safety of the film crews, but more for fear that the images they sent back could seriously damage public morale.
But such was the public demand for more information that eventually the government was forced to take notice, and in 1917 the Topical Budget newsreel was requisitioned by the War Office. Images of combat remained largely off limits, though, and instead the cameras were dispatched in search of more uplifting stories of heroism and endurance.
53 videos in this collection
1
2
Rescue Work in No Man's Land Topical Budget 332-2
3
Australian Troops at the Pyramids
4
Shower Baths in the Trenches Topical Budget 228-1
5
From Trinidad to Serve the Empire Topical Budget 230-2
6
Christmas at the Front Topical Budget 175-1
7
Funeral at the Front Topical Budget 210-2
8
Outposts of Empire: British East African Troops Entraining on an Expedition against German Territory
9
Red cross Dogs Topical Budget 175-1
10
Our Submarines Topical Budget 173-1
11
Gallant Defenders Topical Budget 165-2
12
German Prisoners Topical Budget 162-2
13
Fife and Forfar Yeomanry Topical Budget 164-1
14
King's Visit to Belgium Topical Budget 172-1
15
Lord Lovat's Scouts Topical Budget 164-1
16
Christmas Church Parade Topical Budget 175-1
17
Sons of the Empire Topical Budget 165-2
18
Ostend in War-Time Topical Budget 165-2
19
Our Naval Losses Topical Budget 168-1
20
The Attack on Antwerp Topical Budget 164-1
21
From the Fighting Top of a Battleship in Action
22
The British in Belgium
23
British Nurses in Serbia War Office Official Topical Budget 222-1
24
A Patrol in the Desert
25
The E13 Avenged
26
The Eyes of the Fleet: A Destroyer Flotilla Scouting
27
Russia's Great Haul
28
Fight for the Dardanelles
29
Seeing the New Year In
30
French Machine Gun in the Wooded Country of the Argonne
31
War Scenes in Italy Topical Budget 197-1
32
Lord Charles Beresford in France
33
General Haig Visits General Joffre Topical Budget 229-1
34
Italian and Greek Troops in Action: Italians Decorated by Prince of Wales
35
Lines of Communication Topical Budget 306-1
36
Wreck of L. 39 Topical Budget 292-1
37
British Airships in the East
38
With the British Troops in Macedonia
39
Scenes of the First World War
40
Waiting and Watchful Pictorial News (Official)/War Office Official Topical Budget 344-1
41
Surrender of the German Fleet
42
General Allenby's Entry into Jerusalem
43
Life at Iwerne Minster in Wartime, August 7th & 8th 1918.
44
Freed from Turkish Bondage Pictorial News (Official)/War Office Official Topical Budget 346-1
45
Artillery at Alost Topical Budget 162-2
46
The Battle of Lebbeke
47
British Naval Activities after the Great British Victory of Jutland
48
Preparing the Rations Topical Budget 167-1
49
Empire Troops
50
History of the War: Russian Front
51
History of the War: Ypres
52
Surrender of the German High Seas Fleet
53