London’s Screen Archives enables Londoners see their past come alive on film. Managed by Film London, we are a unique network of historic film collections that cares for, collects and screens heritage film across the city. Together we preserve London’s rich film heritage from feature films to home movies, public information films, newsreels, and records of the capital’s many different industries.
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The Hillingdon Show
Were you there? Women motorcycle acrobats and crime-fighting female police officers show how it's done at Hillingdon Show.
From the collection of:
Overview
Enjoy the spectacular Hillingdon Show in this family film from the early 1970s. First up are a couple of health and safety nightmares: a squad of women motorcycle acrobats and a daredevil military attraction that invites civilians to climb the tower at their own risk. A highlight is a martial-art-style demonstration by feisty female police officers who wrestle male attackers to the ground in an impressive display of force.
This unique footage of the Hillingdon Show in 1973 demonstrates the variety of events it encompassed from a military exercise where soldiers construct a make-shift bridge to show jumping, sheep dog trials and marching bands. As well as countryside pursuits, there are exhilarating and large-scale demonstrations such as a daredevil who races through a ring of fire on his motorbike and a mass gymnastics display in the warm sun. The show, usually held in June, began as the Uxbridge and District Horticultural Show in 1909 before becoming the Hillingdon Show in 1965. This film is from the collection of Hillingdon Local Studies, Archives and Museum Service, a member of the London's Screen Archives Network.
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