Blitzed Cities of Bristol and Bath

Vivid colour footage of the wartime devastation wreaked on Bristol and Bath - and the barely affected village of Chew Magna.

This ambitious amateur colour film vividly captures the devastation wreaked on Bristol and Bath by the bombing raids of winter 1940-41. Also featured are rare glimpses of the nearby picturesque village of Chew Magna, which was barely affected. Film stock was rationed during the war and nearly all wartime footage was shot in black and white - so this film is remarkable for being in colour.

The film has an unlikely production company - a local Bristol optician - and was 'produced especially' for Ernest D Fear in Kansas City, USA, whose connection with the filmmaker is unclear. The optician appears to have been successful in business too - there is still a Bristol optician trading under the name M.W. Dunscombe.