Yorkshire films bring moving memories back to life

Their children may remember an advert for Melbourne beer in 1934 and their grandchildren will perhaps reminisce about a visit to Billy Smart's Circus in Halifax in the 1950s.

Now thanks to the latest addition to the Yorkshire Film Archive's interactive moving image resource, this previously unseen footage will be available for generations to come.

The images are among more than seven hours of footage from West Yorkshire which have been pulled together to be released online.

From early next month people logging onto www.yfaonline. com will be able to discover more than 25 new films from across West Yorkshire.

The new footage, which adds to more than 120 films already online, ranges from the pioneering early filmmakers Bamforth and Company of Holmfirth to the portrait of different faiths in Leeds in 2009, vibrant cine club productions, and films that capture the renowned textile industries of the West Riding.

Graham Relton, YFA Online project manager said: "Whether it's the story of your fish and chips in Frying Tonight or the Hunslet locomotive works in 1968, local groups such as the Rothwell ramblers, a wedding from the 1920s, wartime holidays at home in Bradford or Women's Rights in 1899 there really is something for everyone on YFA Online. And we don't just want people to view the films; we want users to get interactive, to add their local knowledge, memories and images related to the films. These oral histories make it an even more interesting and enjoyable experience."

YFA Online also features Waddington's Card Making in 1939 featuring the lettered card game of Lexicon; Children's Day Leeds in 1951 – a 16mm film documenting the celebrations at Roundhay Park; Isaac Button – Country Potter – a story of the craftsman who produced earthenware pottery at Soil Hill Pottery near Halifax until 1965; and documentary films such as Berry Brow, 1965 in Huddersfield and the colourful Bradford Festival Mela in 1998.

Visitors to the National Media Museum will be able to log onto the resource through a new dedicated YFA Online portal at the museum in Bradford – which was last year designated as the World's first Unesco City of Film.

The portal will offer a gateway to the region's moving image heritage featuring films including Bradford Under Snow in the 1910s, Billy Smart's Circus in Halifax in 1953 and an early candid camera film from the mid-60s that features a man being fitted for an oversized suit in a Leeds' menswear shop.

Colin Philpott, director of the National Media Museum and chair of the YFA trustees, said: "Available at a click of a mouse, visitors to the museum will be able to access powerful historic and personal images that inspire, entertain, inform and leave deep impressions on us."

The new access point, available from early May, will allow visitors to browse an ever-growing online collection of archive films from across Yorkshire.

Mandy Tennant, the museum's audience development co-ordinator, said: "Over the past two years the Yorkshire Film Archive and the museum's Reminiscence Group have been working together. Via special screenings we have engaged the group with their moving image heritage.

"We have selected films to feature online and have captured memories and stories about the films, such as holidays on Shipley Glen, the Queen's coronation and the life in the textile mills to name a few, these stories are now featured online and help to bring alive the films even further."

Other highlights include amateur productions such as Kelly's Eye – a comical story about a man who takes up filmmaking with disastrous consequences; Yorkshire Curiosities' – a search for the strange and unusual through the White Rose county; and Behind the Scenes – a slapstick film by the Hebden Cine Club.

EVENTS TO MARK ONLINE UNVEILING

To celebrate the unveiling of the Yorkshire Film Archive Online access point and the new footage available online, the National Media Museum will host events for the public on May 4.

Visitors can find out more about the resource at 1pm via 'Tea and t'internet' – a screening of Yorkshire Film Archive material including the formation of the Homeguard in Thornton, the production of Wimsol cleaning products in Keighley in the 1950s and the last journey of the Bradford Trolley Buses in 1972.

The official launch screening of the YFA Online project in West Yorkshire at 6pm features West Yorkshire highlights from the Yorkshire Film Archive collections.

To book a place at any of the events contact Mandy Tennant on 01274 203359 or email mandy.tennant @nationalmediamuseum.

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