Metadata
WORK ID: YFA 5365 (Master Record)
| Title | Year | Date |
| COLLECTING BOOKS FOR THE FORCES | 1944 | 1944-03-01 |
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Details
Original Format: 35mm Colour: Black & White Sound: Silent Duration: 2 mins 25 secs Credits: Production Company: Debenham and Company Director of Photography: E.F. Symmons Subject: Wartime |
| Summary Made by Ernest Symmons of Debenham & Co, this film features the children of Beverley collecting books for members of the armed forces in March, 1944. |
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Description
Made by Ernest Symmons of Debenham & Co, this film features the children of Beverley collecting books for members of the armed forces in March, 1944.
Title - BEVERLEY CHILDREN play a big part in collecting large numbers of BOOKS for the MEN and WOMEN in our Forces. March 1944.
The film begins with two men leafing through a pile of books on the floor. They sort the books into two lots. One pile is passed to a man who rips the covers off the books before they are put into a bailing...
Made by Ernest Symmons of Debenham & Co, this film features the children of Beverley collecting books for members of the armed forces in March, 1944.
Title - BEVERLEY CHILDREN play a big part in collecting large numbers of BOOKS for the MEN and WOMEN in our Forces. March 1944.
The film begins with two men leafing through a pile of books on the floor. They sort the books into two lots. One pile is passed to a man who rips the covers off the books before they are put into a bailing machine. A long line of children come from around a corner and from up a street. They are each carrying an armful of books. The children throw the books onto the floor, making a large pile. These too are sorted. Then more children arrive bringing more books. Having deposited their books, the children pose for the camera with the two men. The children disperse, waving to the camera. The man operating the bailing machine winds it down to compress the paper from the books.
Title - The End
Context
Like a scene from the film Fahrenheit 451, school children carrying bundles of books march in single file through the streets of Beverley to deliver their offerings to two men, who swiftly choose which books should go to forces abroad and which to be ripped apart and put in a bailer. This 1944 paper salvage drive presents a chilling foretaste of what is happening now in libraries across the country.
This is one of many films of wartime events in Beverley made by local filmmakers Debenhams....
Like a scene from the film Fahrenheit 451, school children carrying bundles of books march in single file through the streets of Beverley to deliver their offerings to two men, who swiftly choose which books should go to forces abroad and which to be ripped apart and put in a bailer. This 1944 paper salvage drive presents a chilling foretaste of what is happening now in libraries across the country.
This is one of many films of wartime events in Beverley made by local filmmakers Debenhams. The book recovery and salvage drive was part of a national campaign in 1944. This garnered 56m books, 5m for troops, the rest pulped. This included some valuable first editions as books weren’t allowed to be rescued for resale. As early as November 1939 a special Directorate was set up and a Salvage Controller appointed as part of a National Salvage Campaign. Paper salvage became compulsory in late 1940, and from 1942 those refusing to sort their waste could be fined £2500 and face two years in prison. Local authorities competed to collect paper, which fetched £5 per ton. This compulsion wasn’t removed until June 1949. A novel children's show was organized in connection with the book and paper salvage drive. Admission to the special film show was free, but to gain entrance, children had to bring books or magazines and the more books they brought the better the seat they got. A large queue of excited children waited outside the cinema for a considerable time, so many that they almost filled it to capacity. As a result of the show nearly a ton of paper was collected for allocation to either the forces or munitions. (pg 41 The Home of Beautiful Pictures) |
