Films of history

One of the best free websites for historians is run by British Pathe at www.britishpathe.com. This is where you can see all of the newsreels made by the company between 1897 and 1970. As well as the great events of history - coronations, wars, and Miss World - there is a huge number of films relating to minor happenings and the lives of ordinary people, such as this clip of a darts match in 1938 at http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=13667. And you can download items for personal use. I've used clips in talks about pubs of the 1930s. It is also brilliantly indexed often with interesting notes provided by the film archivists and indexers. But now the company wants local historians and anybody with an interest in the past to add more information or make corrections if they spot something wrong. - perhaps you recognise one of the darts players. So why not give it a go. If you see something which needs correcting email localhistory@britishpathe.com.