The Queen’s Speech

On May 8th, Queen Elizabeth II officially opened Parliament and read the speech prepared for her by the Government listing the bills that would be put to the Houses during the Continue reading →

Imphal and Kohima

The British people have voted for their “greatest battle” in a poll conducted by the National Army Museum. The combined victories at Imphal and Kohima against the Japanese in the Second World Continue reading →

In the News: Boston, Texas, and the Queen’s birthday

There’s been many traumatic incidents over the last few days – earthquakes, shootings, terrorist atrocities, industrial accidents… Sadly, these are nothing new, and the British Pathé archive contains a great Continue reading →

Funerals of Former Prime Ministers

As thousands of mourners including world leaders and dignitaries get ready to pay their respects to Margaret Thatcher, we take a look at the funerals of previous British Prime Ministers Continue reading →

The Royal Yacht Britannia – Launched 60 Years Ago

Queen Elizabeth II’s beloved yacht Britannia was launched on 16th April 1953. British Pathé has a wealth of material featuring Britannia and her various expeditions around the world. Crucially, the archive has Continue reading →

Margaret Thatcher, 1925-2013

It has been announced that Margaret Thatcher, the former Prime Minister, has died at the age of 87. Although British Pathé ended newsreel production in 1970, before Thatcher came to Continue reading →

The 2013 Grand National

This weekend, the 2013 Grand National race will be held at Aintree. The sometimes controversial competition (equine deaths are common, and you can read CNN’s interesting article here) has a long Continue reading →

This Week’s Anniversaries and News

The Rolling Stones have announced that they will be returning to Hyde Park in the summer for the first time in 44 years. The last time they performed there it Continue reading →

Unknown Yom Kippur War films

The British Pathé archive holds nearly 90,000 individual clips. Most of the descriptions you’ll see on the website were taken from handwritten notes, composed either by the cameramen at the time Continue reading →

The First Mobile Phone

You may have seen in the news today that it is the 40th anniversary of the first mobile phone call. However, there may be competition for the title. Only a few Continue reading →

Everest Climbs

George Lowe, part of Edmund Hillary’s team that conquered Mount Everest in 1953, died on Wednesday at the age of 89. Obituaries can be read online - The Guardian‘s is here. There are now no Continue reading →

The Closing of Alcatraz

On 21st March it will have been 50 years since that well-known prison, immortalised in numerous films and television shows, shut its doors in 1963. British Pathé covered the news in Continue reading →

HMS Belfast: 75 Years

This weekend, HMS Belfast, the famous ship which has inhabited the Thames since 1971 as a museum, will celebrate the 75th anniversary of her launch. The Royal Navy cruiser was launched on 17th March Continue reading →

On this day… This week round-up

70 years ago, the submarine HMS Thunderbolt sank for the second time, with the loss of everyone aboard. It had sunk four years previously, raised, and renamed. British Pathé has Continue reading →

Prince Charles Guest-Edits Countryfile

Last night, the BBC aired a special edition of its popular Countryfile series, guest-edited by Prince Charles. Reviews today have been good and it seems there is agreement that the Continue reading →

The Korean War Truce

North Korea has terminated any peace agreements made during the Korean War. The signing of the original truce in 1953 was covered by Pathé News and the newsreel can be viewed here. Continue reading →

International Women’s Day

It’s International Women’s Day 2013! If you’re not familiar with it, do take a look at the official website for the occasion. Given the nature of the day, you might Continue reading →

Unknown Distant Plane – The least interesting clip in the archive?

We came across this clip in our archive quite recently called “Unknown Distant Plane” from some time between 1910 and 1920 and it was quickly proclaimed the least interesting clip Continue reading →

60 years since the death of Stalin

Today marks two notable anniversaries for which the British Pathé archive has some relevant footage. Most importantly, Joseph Stalin died 60 years ago, on 5th March 1953. Stalin, the former leader Continue reading →

80 years since the Reichstag Fire

On 27th Feb 1933, Berlin’s Reichstag building was destroyed. A newsreel covers the aftermath and there is footage of the ruined building. Click here to see the collection, or click Continue reading →

Arctic Convoy and Bomber Command Veterans Get Medals

It has been in the news that, after many years of campaigning, Arctic Convoy and Bomer Command veterans will receive medals for their service during the Second World War. There Continue reading →

Artificial Limbs of WW1

The British Government has announced that all wounded veterans will get the most advanced artificial limbs. This involves increasing funding by £6.5 million. A report by The Daily Telegraph, including an Continue reading →

Ypres – 1925 film

Watch the film here. In 1925, with the cooperation of the War Office, British Instructional Films set out to make a dramatic, feature-length reconstruction of the five Ypres battles in which 1.7 million soldiers lost their Continue reading →

Popes of the Twentieth Century

Today’s news is full of stories about the Pope’s resignation. After eight years, Benedict XVI will step down due to ill health. He will be the first pope to relinquish Continue reading →

Scott of the Antarctic

On Sunday, 10th February 2013, it will have been 100 years since Robert Falcon Scott and his colleagues Henry Bowers and Edward Wilson were discovered dead in their tent in the Continue reading →

150 Years of the F.A.

Earlier in January, the Football Association kicked off celebrations to mark its 150th anniversary. The FA was established in 1863 and codified the modern rules of that great English sport. Not too long Continue reading →

Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address

Barack Obama took the oath of office for his second term as President of the United States yesterday in Washington D.C. His speech at the event emphasised the need to Continue reading →

HMV Goes Into Administration

It has been reported in the papers today that high street retailer HMV has gone the way of Woolworths, Jessops, Comet, Zavvi (until rescued by HMV), and Fopp (until rescued by HMV) – Continue reading →

British Pathé Picks: 14th – 31st January 2013

Here’s our selection of British Pathé footage that relates to anniversaries coming up in the next two weeks. Click the links below to take a look! You can also keep Continue reading →

150 Years of the Tube

British Pathé celebrates 150 years of the Tube. London Underground, known colloquially as “the Tube”, is the oldest subway system in the world. Since the first service was launched 150 years Continue reading →

90,000 Historical Newsreels For Use in Your History Lessons

The British Pathé Education service has been nominated for a 2013 BETT Award for its digital resource available to British schools and academies. For any of you who are interested, here’s a Continue reading →

British Pathé Picks: Early Jan 2013

Twice a month we blog about footage in the archive relevant to upcoming events or important anniversaries. There are always plenty, so we can only present a selection and you can search the Continue reading →

The Launch of the QE2

There’s been some sad news that the famous liner Queen Elizabeth 2 (or “QE2″) has been sold as scrap. [UPDATE: It appears that these headlines have been exaggerated. Although the QE2 Continue reading →

Review of the Year 2012 – A Pathé Tradition

From 1922 to 1969, British Pathé produced lengthy round-ups of the year’s news stories that collected together the most dramatic images and covered the most important events. Not confined to Continue reading →

Christmas Greetings From Space

We’ve been promoting our Space Archive a great deal recently as part of our “Alternative Pathé” drive. So it seemed appropriate to share this Christmas message from the British Pathé staff Continue reading →

From the Dark Ages

King Arthur and his legendary Knights of the Round Table; the heroic King of Wessex, Alfred the Great; hordes of Viking invaders – there’s nothing like a good early-medieval tale. Nostalgia for Continue reading →

A History of British Invention

2012 has been an ego-boosting year for the British. With the success of the Diamond Jubilee, the Summer Olympics and the Paralympics, it wouldn’t be a bad year to go Continue reading →

British Pathé Picks: Christmas 2012

As we mentioned in late November, we’re now doing a regular blog post pointing out events or anniversaries coming up that the archive holds some relevant footage for. So here are our picks Continue reading →

London: A Tribute

2012, if we do indeed survive the predicted apocalypse, will be remembered for many things, but without a doubt it will be considered London’s year. The Diamond Jubilee, the Summer Continue reading →

British Pathé Spreads Its Wings

This quick message is to tell you about our brand new Social Media pages. Don’t worry, we’re not neglecting the old ones. In fact, we’ve recently updated our WordPress blog Continue reading →

Pathé’s Undersea Antics

Continuing our series on “Alternative Pathé“… There’s plenty in the British Pathé archive for those not so interested in history and British politics. For those more intrigued by science and Continue reading →

Royal Baby Names: Take the Poll

There’s nothing like a royal pregnancy announcement to get the media’s mouths watering. So we thought we would join in the speculation and fun of guessing the future King or Continue reading →

Twentieth Century Hall Of Fame

Around the time that what was then called “British Pathé News” was producing A Day That Shook The World with the BBC, work also began on a companion series entitled Continue reading →

British Pathé Picks: Early Dec 2012

Earlier in November we blogged about four upcoming anniversaries which may have been of interest (see here). From now on, we’ll be doing this on a regular basis, pointing out events coming Continue reading →

Out of this World: The Pathé Space Archive

British Pathé has an extensive Space Exploration collection which often goes unmined. In this post, as part of our promotion of “Alternative Pathé“, we briefly summarise the contents of the collection and provide Continue reading →

Secret Code Found on Dead Pigeon

BBC News reports on 23 November 2012 that a dead pigeon with a secret code attached to its leg has been found in a chimney in Surrey. A red canister Continue reading →

Pathé News on the Vietnam War

22nd November marks forty years since the first B52 bomber was shot down in the Vietnam War in 1972. Although we have no coverage of that particular incident, the anniversary has prompted Continue reading →

Annus Horribilis: 20 Years On

Believe it or not, it has been twenty years since the Queen had her annus horribilis – that terrible year, 1992. Specifically, 20th November marks the anniversary of the Windsor Continue reading →