Calling Blighty (Wolverhampton)

“Hello Wolverhampton”. British troops in Bombay send poignant messages to their families back home

“Hello, Nelly darling. When I say I miss you that covers almost everything”- one of many messages delivered to camera by British troops in a soldiers' mess in Bombay (Mumbai). The filmed message format was briefly adopted by the Movietone and Pathe newsreels, and was repurposed by the Directorate for Army Welfare in India to boast morale and facilitate better communication with troops in the Far East. Sometimes stilted but always moving, the Calling Blighty series was screened in specific towns and cities back home, in this case Wolverhampton.

The men often didn't know one another and were brought together just to film their messages. The North West Film Archive's website has a database and more information on the Calling Blighty films.