Rare films never before publicly screened will be shown between September and December (2019) by the Wessex Film and Sound Archive, courtesy of a grant of £1,500. The films – with LIVE musical accompaniment – show the role of women in building components for Spitfires in one of the many Shadow Factories of the 1940s.
For a sneak preview click on Working in Shadows.
It’s 1943 and it’s all hands to the pump on the Home Front.
When the Second World War was declared in 1939, the female population of Britain was called upon to fill all manner of roles. Women stepped up on the Home Front and abroad, which saw their lives drastically change.
Elliott’s of Newbury was a manufacturing firm whose workforce, during the 1940s, was predominantly female. The factory was adapted to war work, and amongst other things was responsible for producing various Spitfire components as one of many Shadow Factories. The firm commissioned a series of films from this period. These films are held in the extensive collection of Hampshire County Council’s Wessex Film & Sound Archive on behalf of West Berkshire Museum.
Following on from a recent appeal to help identify some of the workers seen on screen we are now pleased to present an unmissable opportunity to see archive footage that has not been publicly shared in over 75 years, brought to life with an exclusive improvised live score.