Voices from the Past

A selection of archival documentary films and a discussion with Bill Laws on using testimony film.

Fieldwork - Farming Memories from the 20th Century

UK 1900s. 45 minutes. British Film Institute.

When farm worker Ron Langford wanted a job, he simply went to the hiring fair at Hay, and when a Bromyard farrier lost his hand in a chaff cutter, his wife drove him to hospital by pony and trap, his wrist wrapped in cobwebs. A series of two-minute digital stories about life in the countryside in days gone by, this is a Rural Media Co. project in partnership with Bromyard and Eardisley Local History Societies and Herefordshire Council Museum and Archive Services.

Housewives' Choice: British Women on the ‘Home’ Front, 1926-1955

UK 1926-1955. 45 minutes. Rural Media.

Not so long ago housewives had very good reasons to be desperate. Not only did they have to look after their families in an age of depression, war and austerity, but they did so without the consumer durables that we now consider essential. With humour frequently in its sights, this series of short films explores the lives of British housewives through documentaries, cinemagazines, propaganda films and adverts.

Welsh National Screen and Sound Archives

UK/Wales. 30 minutes.

A selection of images and sound recordings.

Discussion with Bill Laws

20 minutes.

A discussion about using testimony film.