Public Information Films

A hard-hitting WWII Food Flash warning about the dangers of rickets - and how to avoid them

You're asking for trouble when you play with fire - and this public information film is the stuff of nightmares

John Krish’s haunting fire prevention film prowls through a carefully designed burned-out shell of a set.

National insurance made amusing by the eccentric Richard Massingham.

One of the most disturbing public safety films depicts six children being picked off one-by-one by deadly farming machinery.

The Sewing Machine is a disturbing, 60 second road-safety film in which a mother, who sits at her sewing machine inside her house, warns her daughter to stay on the pavement, to no avail.

Quirky photo-montage film warning of the perils of drink driving.

Invaluable advice for the careful cyclist in a quintessentially British safety film.

The tyranny of traffic is given suitably rough treatment in this powerful film sponsored by town planner Colin Buchanan.

Having your car nicked is one thing, but then you're branded a loser – by this unsympathetic crime prevention film about car theft

Wouldn't budge an inch for a centimetre? This guide to the new-fangled system of metrication may change your mind.

Return to sender? A posh postie – in the shape of Terry-Thomas - appeals to the public to "address your letters clearly and correctly"

Power cuts, housing shortages and exorbitant rents – Aberdeen man Norrie Williamson goes head to head with his greedy landlady

Wonderfully eccentric 'make do and mend' message from public information genius Richard Massingham.

Bad eggs and cracking jokes put a frown on Hitler's face in this advert for National Savings

Hard-hitting depiction of the danger to children of burns and scalds

Matter-of-fact wartime instruction in how to fit your gas mask efficiently - leaving no margin for error.

Who needs to talk to strangers when you're the only one who can understand the garbled mewling of your best buddy cat, Charley?

Killjoy, or conscience of a generation? Charley cat scuppers a playdate, but earns a fishy picnic through doing the right thing

Kids don't always listen to their parents. But in the 70s they certainly listened to a giant ginger tabby cat...

Home safety is child's play if you have the feline guardian angel of the 70s on hand

Charley's cat-astrophic teatime hijinks leave him with a burning message to share

If you can't stand the heat, Charley, get out of the kitchen and spread your message

Children beware strangers is the message contained in this public information film. Charley the cat, acting as a young boy’s guardian angel, sounds the alarm.

School children learn that mistakes made when cycling to school aren't always forgiven - in this instructional film made by their headmaster

A creepy clown brings balloons and death in this dreamlike road safety film, along with some not-so-subtle product placement

Boy meets girl. Boy loses girl to another because he's no fish. Message to any boy viewer: learn to swim at your local pool and become a great catch!

Public information film directed at children, who are advised, where ice-skating is concerned, always to let their parents go first!

A well-made and light-hearted instructional film which demonstrates how your own clothes can save you from drowning

Hold please. Enter a distinctly British bureaucracy as the post-war Civil Service learns to be civil on the telephone

Don't get caught cold by cold calling – this TV public information short advises caution before buying on the doorstep

Zippy public information animation on how to keep up with the Joneses - by getting a rebate on rates.

Drinking chocolate flashes before your eyes and makes an offer you can't refuse

Learn how to report paramilitary activity in complete confidence with this shocking television advert by the Northern Ireland Office.

Dive into a typing pool of the 1940s and see the delightful Miss Brown learn to master her craft

A provoking film on the place of women made by the inimitable Richard Massingham

The Ministry of Labour exhorts women to return to industry – the post-war production drive depends on them.

Poetic tribute to Mrs Turner's vegetable growing prowess, plus the delights of "wartime steaks"

Johnny Barleycorn issues a rousing call for help with the Scottish harvest in this woodcut-style animation

At 65 Tom's still a better man than many a youngster - and decides that a tranquil retirement is not for him

The effortlessly comic Richard Massingham abandons the stress of his city job to work on a farm

From the Thames Barrier to Covent Garden, this public information film looks at the responsibilities of the GLC and future of London.

Dramatic public information film exploring the role of the GLC and featuring numerous shots of London streets, people, parks and institutions.

From schools to sewers, this film explores the roles and responsibilities of local councils, visiting almost every London borough in the process.

This poignant Public information film from Northern Ireland publicises elections for a new Assembly.

Will level headedness triumph? Hear how the peace and good neighbourliness of one town contrasts with the violence and tension prevalent elsewhere in Northern Ireland.

Terror on the home front - literally - in this heady and eccentric brew.

Is this the scariest public information film ever? This hard-hitting warning against 'stranger danger' was considered too distressing to be broadcast on television.

Policemen in mufti act out accident scenarios to an assembly of school children, while Safety Sam drives the road safety message home

Therapists from the East Surrey Mobile Physiotherapy Unit bring relief to many elderly patients in the comfort of their own homes

Nonagenarian croquet players and Brighton day trips feature in this study of social services in Croydon, focussing on help given to the elderly, lonely, sick and disabled.

A dancing radio stops partying to transmit an announcement on fuel conservation in this WWII cartoon short

Empire buying begins at home: John Bull gets a makeover in this cartoon promoting British farmed goods

A circus act – of sorts – combines with gallows humour in a shatteringly effective reminder to "clunk, click" even on the shortest trip.

A witty, eccentric guide to safety on two wheels under the watchful eye of a pedalling angel.

Stark 70s firework safety film which mixes the everyday and the uncanny

Stylish 70s road safety film with a sting in the tail.

Careful Colin Welland warns hazardous Herberts of the dangers of night-time driving

An immensely charming toy story in which a distracted pupil becomes an attentive teacher and explains road safety to dolls

The grim message of this film for youngsters shows how a lack of road sense combined with faulty bicycle brakes results in more than broken bones

The car-free, Kodachrome streets of 1950s London offer an idyllic environment for acting out the 'wrongs' of cycling safety.

Forthright reminder that children's milk rations are for their wellbeing, not the whole family's.

The perils of Britain's roads are seen in this chilling 1951 film as the carelessness of Johnny, Fred and Mary results in disaster and death!

A mysterious stranger foreshadows Death, but is good enough to give a handy driving safety tip along the way

Pedal power saves a dad's day in this colourful cycling safety film set in a sunny 60s South East London.

Ever wondered what it’s like to spend 24 hours in the RUC? Watch this 1976 recruitment film and decide if this was the career for you.

Keep Wales Tidy! That’s the message for everyone, not just the children who are seen here attacking the litter in a Conwy Castle picnic area.

A farm can be rife with danger so farmers must take safety seriously. This public information film has under a minute to ram the message home.

Be aware: perfectly respectable dogs, gentle, friendly dogs, dogs who have never lifted a paw in anger are, when it comes down to it, dogs, and capable of worrying sheep.

A commercially produced Ministry of Information film, explaining how vital information could be carelessly leaked to prying enemy ears on the home front.

Delayed trains, crowded carriages, and standing room only: Blitz spirit makes a parent's nightmare commute a walk in the park

How can professionals get ahead in 1960s Belfast? Find out in this muzak-filled public information film.

An enticing government call for men to retrain as skilled engineers to help with the war effort.

Digging a way out of the 1930s Depression in the Cleveland Hills.

With its soothing Elgar soundtrack and calm commentary, this retrospectively poignant public information film aimed to reassure a pre-war Britain.

Three Handsworth households get paid to breathe more easily in this jaunty promo about Sheffield's switch to smokeless fuels.

One of a series of animated films designed to provide instructions on how to survive a nuclear attack.

Portentous imagery and John Hurt’s grave voiceover define this key film from a £5 million campaign to combat the AIDS epidemic.

Simple and devastatingly effective, a key advert from the UK's first major AIDS awareness campaign.

One of several highly entertaining films from Richard Massingham about the dangers of uncontrolled sneezing.

Another of Richard Massingham’s snappy public information fillers finds the oafish everyman’s personal hygiene in question again.

TB or not TB – that is the question travelling x-ray screening programmes are out to answer on a large scale

Long before the ‘Charley Says’ campaign of the 1970s and ‘80s, another cartoon Charley was used to demystify the newly created NHS.

Dusty the kangaroo catches a shadowy figure in the act of dumping an old mattress in this campaigning cartoon

An appeal to the youth of the day to take into account the needs of the elderly when out and about. A role model is shown to be cool and yet also helpful and considerate.

Melodrama and misery are washed away by a mix of soap and elbow grease

Dusty the kangaroo patrols a train in this campaigning cartoon - until she comes upon a litter strewn carriage...

Nothing beats a relaxing picnic on the beach – but beware Dusty the kangaroo

Here in this tuberculosis nest lived the family of John M'Neil...

The Happy (Christmas) way to save! Santa plugs Premium Bonds in a 'prize-winning' 1950s TV ad.

A cartoon city clerk escapes the binds of daily drudgery – thanks to a win on his Premium Bonds.

Mr Brian Camp, an engineering inspector from Gravesend, is a lucky Premium Bonds winner.

Buying Premium Bonds leads a Gonerby villager up the path to prosperity - and the local parish church.

Molly Butters hits the jackpot, winning £1,000 with one of her two Premium Bonds.

Buy more Premium Bonds and maybe your ship will come in - it has for lucky winners Mr and Mrs Shum

Healthy eating advice goes down easy in this fun public information film.

Rat traps, house boats and London’s ports all feature in this public information film looking at the work of the Port Of London Health Authority.

White-coated scientists, doctors, chiropodists, dentists, and midwives unite in their mission to eradicate disease and ignorance from Bermondsey.

The face mask comes of age in this intriguing wartime guide to germ prevention.

Need some post-war parenting advice? Then this is the film for you.

Warning - not safe for work lunch! This public health film on the common house fly is designed to make you squirm

Glenda Jackson makes a song and a dance about giving blood – in a wise-cracking double act with Ernie Wise.

Alakazam! The fuel demon conjures up some fuel-saving tips for a wasteful family to help the war effort

Road safety film, or warning of the dangers of flared trousers – you decide

The man in the moon learns about hygiene in this 1929 public information short promoting the benefits of all-electric mod cons.

The National Mark is marching on - for progress and prosperity!

In this surrealist short, John Krish and Michael Gilmour tell a perilous tale at the railway station. Mind the gap - this is going to get scary.

A talking cabbage plant will win you over in this Second World War cartoon trailer, which has a surprising charm.

‘Keep on saving’ – A plea to avoid waste during the Second World War.

Burrows, baths and benzyl benzoate – advice is shared on how to understand and treat the scourge of scabies.

The British tradition of queuing is parodied in this amusing short trailer, an ingenious piece of advertising by the General Post Office