Rare film shows South Tyneside's roads and how they looked on a busy Saturday 70 years ago
Take a trip back in time for a truly stunning and rare piece of South Shields cine film from the 1950s.
Look at the fantastic detail in this movie excerpt which shows the streets of South Tyneside on film - and it was all filmed through the window of an unmarked police car in 1952.
The amateur film was made by Harry Winship who was a Traffic Inspector for South Shields Borough Police.
Its aim was to highlight the dangers caused by people walking in between moving traffic to cross roads in South Shields.
It was shot while driving around town in an Austin Somerset unmarked police car and has been preserved for future generations by the wonderful North East Film Archive.
We thank them for sharing an outstanding part of South Tyneside history.
It has previously shared other memorable moments from the borough’s past including;
A look at the crowds which lined the pavements to catch a glimpse of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s car.
A South Tyneside Santa Claus in animated footage which was created in 1979 by the award-winning animator Sheila Graber.
The North East Film Archive library has a vast collection. Its team has painstakingly taken on the task of preserving, cataloguing, and digitising these vital collections of reminders of our past.
NEFA has a huge catalogue of over 70,000 items of original film, video tape, and born-digital material. Its team painstakingly preserves, catalogues, and digitises these vital collections of reminders of our past.
NEFA operates the The Yorkshire Film Archive in York, and the North East Film Archive, in Middlesbrough.
It also has a new rental section which is available by visiting here https://yfanefa.vhx.tv/
Each title is available at £1.99 for a 7-day rental.
If you have cine or video footage of the borough’s past to share, email [email protected] to tell us more.