British Pathe

Reel 1. Unedited material and some newsreel extracts. A drunken man holding a small flag staggers up a street (this shot also used in "Fruits of Victory".) Shot of St Paul's Cathedral with York (?) aircraft flying overhead. Large crowd of people gathered in front of Buckingham Palace. Various travelling...

Reel 1. Unedited material and some newsreel extracts. A drunken man holding a small flag staggers up a street (this shot also used in "Fruits of Victory".) Shot of St Paul's Cathedral with York (?) aircraft flying overhead. Large crowd of people gathered in front of Buckingham Palace. Various travelling shots of the crowds, top shots and closer shots. A brass band in military uniform play (short shot). People sitting on steps applaud. Clock tower. Very short shot of Winston Churchill sitting at a desk about to speak into microphones. St Paul's illuminated at night. Night shot of crowds applauding and waving. Aerial shots of London (rather dark) including Tower Bridge and St Paul's. Air to air shot of several planes flying over the city. Crowds in Trafalgar Square (?) A woman in an aeroplane looks out of a window. Aerial shot of St Paul's. Pathe Pictorial end title - a book being closed.

Fireworks - faces of royalty (?) picked out in fireworks. Fountains lit up at night. Fireworks being set off above the Thames. Floodlights. View of St Paul's at night. A group of people with linked arms dance in front of a bonfire at night. This is probably VE day celebrations. "Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament" - title card from a Pathe Newsreel. Aerial shots of aforementioned buildings, also of Buckingham Palace and the Mall, Trafalgar Square and St Paul's. Various dignitaries and military men walk up steps to Cathedral - including Winston Churchill and wife, King George and Queen Elizabeth and the princesses and Queen Mary. Shots of the Royal family walking down the steps and climbing into the royal carriage. "St Paul's Cathedral Bombed" - Pathe Gazette title card. Exterior and interiors of the cathedral showing bomb damage including piles of rubble. Night shots of illuminated St Paul's. Bomb damage to the building. Pathe Gazette title card: "The King and Royal Family attend Thanksgiving Service at St Paul's Cathedral." Man in large busby conducts a band as the Royal family climb into a royal carriage - large number of sea cadets (?) seen in the background.

Reel 2 is on *PM1395*.

Note: November 2011 - The plane flying over St Paul's was an Avro Lancaster B Mk III, Reg. LM550 and was being flown by FO J. A. Heaton. This information was provided by a visitor to the site.