Three more wonderful Pathe films

Royal Visit to Allotments – Queen Mary and King George V – 1914

Shot of King and Queen along with Mayor and probably Mayor’s wife; heading up a group of people on this tour; walking along through a garden. Pan as they pass rose bush. Next a man is holding up a piglet. The Queen laughs, pats the critter and scratches its ears.

Shot of the King and 5 other men standing in a garden. George points with his cane at what seems to be a huge prize lettuce. Pan to Queen. Then CU Queen Mary in a line with others; looking down at something.

Note: Queen Mary looks positively jolly in some of these shots! Location of events unknown – somewhere in Britain.

See the film here.

More films on the next page.

Holiday Push Allotments 1914

World War One. Homefront. Location of events? British civilians preparing wartime garden allotments. Old man using shovel, younger man and a woman turning up soil, others in background also working. MS 2 elderly men digging a narrow ditch. Man weeding, woman planting. CU same woman kneeling, planting & securing string to divide plots, other women with rakes in background, little girl wandering around. CU man planting potatoes into ditch, other man rakes soil over them.

See the film here.

Digging For Victory 1943

Ministry of Information trailer – Digging for Victory.

Filmed in a studio location. Man is played by comedian Ted Ray.

Quirky comedy sketch: man sits a vegetable patch which has been elevated to look like a table. Man calls out to waiter and man dressed as Father Time steps forwards. Father Time makes a crop of lettuce magically appear on the vegetable patch. Father Time asks man if he would like to order his winter course now? Man jeers and sends him away.

Man sitting at vegetable patch, this time it is covered in snow. Man looks distressed and shouts to sky: “Father Time, bring me some food”. A plate of earth appears and man looks disappointed. CU poster “No Winter Greens Today – signed Father Time”. Man curls up on vegetable patch. Father Time appears and lays a lily on him, he then speaks to camera about the importance of planting a winter food crop, he points to a Ministry of Agriculture leaflet.

See the film here.