Royal Geographical Society

A colour film of African wildlife by the ‘Ker, Downey and Selby Safari Company’, set up by Donald Ker, Sydney Downey and Harry Selby.

Percy Wyn-Harris' filmic record of the 1933 expedition, led by Hugh Ruttledge.

Released by British-Gaumont in 1934, this film documents The ‘Houston Mount Everest Expedition’ organized by Major L V Stewart Blacker, to fly over Mount Everest

Colour film of Sikkim / Tibet (no sound), photographed by Scottish explorer and plant collector George Sherriff in 1935.

Amateur film taken during the first flight over Everest, showing stunning aerial views of the mountain

Unedited amateur footage of the scenery and wildlife of the Tibetan plateau, taken during the Mount Everest Expedition 1933.

Colour film of Sikkim / Tibet (no sound), photographed by Scottish explorer and plant collector George Sherriff in 1935.

Colour film of Sikkim / Tibet (no sound), photographed by Scottish explorer and plant collector George Sherriff in 1935.

Footage from the ‘Mount Everest Expedition 1936’, which was led by Hugh Ruttledge.

Amateur colour footage dating from c. 1950 of people and mountain scenery in Bhutan. Filmed during a visit by Michael Ward.

Unedited amateur footage of the Mount Everest Expedition of 1933, which was led by Hugh Ruttledge.

Amateur footage directed by Peter Oliver documenting the ‘Mount Everest Expedition 1938’, which was led by Bill Tilman.

A fascinating insight into the ‘British Museum (Natural History) Expedition to East Nepal 1961-1962’ capturing the lives of researchers and locals alike in this stunning setting.

Additional film from the ‘British Museum (Natural History) Expedition to East Nepal 1961-1962’.

News Bulletin reviewing evidence (and possible existence) of the Abominable Snowman, or Yeti, from the Eric Shipton-led Everest expedition of 1951

Film directed by Peter Oliver of his expedition to Garhwal, or the ‘Valley of the Flowers’ with Frank Smythe, in 1937.

Colour footage shot in Delhi on the 1953 Everest expedition's return. Includes group receiving gold medals from Nehru and an official welcoming reception by the Indian Government.

Extracts from a BBC documentary of footage from the British expedition to Kangchenjunga in 1955, led by Charles Evans.

Amateur footage of the British expedition to Kangchenjunga in 1955. Led by Charles Evans, this expedition saw the first ascent of the mountain.

During the 1930s Sherriff and Ludlow carried out a series of plant and bird collecting expeditions working eastward along the main Himalayan ranges.

Fascinating footage of Indian customs, shot in 1927 by intrepid plant hunter Major George Sherriff during his tenure as Vice Consul at Kashgar.

Intrepid plant hunter Major George Sherriff captures local customs during his tenure as Vice Consul at Kashgar.

Fascinating footage of Indian customs, shot by intrepid plant hunter Major George Sherriff during his tenure as Vice Consul at Kashgar. This film shows a journey undertaken by George Sherriff from Gilgit to Kashgar.

Kashgar Vice Consul Major George Sherriff captures the destruction of seized opium in this film from 1927.

A trek from the Pamirs to Karghalik, shot by intrepid plant hunter Major George Sherriff during his tenure as Vice Consul at Kashgar.

Black and white silent film, shot by intrepid plant hunter Major George Sherriff during his tenure as Vice Consul at Kashgar.

Costumed performances from traditional Chinese theatre are captured in this film by Kashgar's Vice Consul, Major George Sherriff.

Another in the series of amateur films shot by intrepid plant hunter Major George Sherriff during his tenure as Vice Consul at Kashgar between 1927/8.

Amateur shot by intrepid plant hunter Major George Sherriff during his tenure as Vice Consul at Kashgar between 1927/8.

Amateur colour footage by Sir Clarmont Skrine from 1943, showing the people, landscapes and landmarks of numerous places in Iran.

Footage revealing the devastating aftermath of one of Asia’s most destructive earthquakes that took place in Quetta, Pakistan in 1935.

Amateur footage of the devastation caused by one of South Asia's worst earthquakes

Experience what life was like across China in 1939 prior to the outbreak of World War Two in Frances Hotham’s fascinating documentary film.

This 1931 travelogue records a trip from Canada to Honolulu, journeying across China before completing the homeward journey via Singapore, the Red Sea and Port Said.

Amateur film from the Shaksgam Expedition of 1937, detailing the unexplored country around the Shaksgam river.

Kathakali performance featuring the great Indian dancer Guru Gopinath, filmed in remarkable colour by ‘envoy of the Raj’ Clarmont Skrine

A trip to the spectacular city of Bundi and a Kathakali dance performance, filmed in vivid colour by 'envoy of the Raj' Clarmont Skrine.

Gorgeous colour film of Burma / Myanmar from 1960. Places shown include Yangon, Bagan, Mandalay and Bhamo. Plus views of the Irrawaddy River.

Amateur silent colour film by a British diplomat showing buildings and gardens in Lahore, New Delhi and Kashmir, ending with views of distant Mount Everest.

A whistle-stop tour of Southern India by plane documenting life from Hyderabad, Mysore and down to the coastal town of Cochin.

British Diplomat Clarmont Skrine records footage of an early long-haul flight from Europe to India, documenting their stop-offs in British territories en-route to their destination.

Silent, pre-World War Two documentary recording the people, landscapes and industries of the Federated Malay States, (1895-1946), which were to become modern-day Malaysia in 1963.

An episode of the MGM's 1930s travelogue FitzPatrick Travel-Talks, following a ship en route to Java, taking in the sea port of Batavia (modern-day Jakarta).

Amateur colour film of Java taken by Mrs. Patrick Ness, F.R.G.S. showing Batavia (now Jakarta), Mount Papandayan, Kawah Kamojang and Borobodur temple.

Re-enactment of an expedition undertaken by George M. Dyott, which explored the jungles of Brazil and Ecuador in search of Colonel Percy Fawcett.

This film of an expedition to Borneo between 1915-17 has claims to be the first motion picture taken in Borneo.

Take a trek with a research expedition as they traverse the dense rainforest floor, hacking their way through the vine-entangled undergrowth that ensnares their every turn.

Documentary about a 1988 research project, showing scientists at work on location and interacting with aboriginal peoples.

Short film showing members of the ‘pinto’ aboriginal tribe in Central Australia. Scenes of daily life including preparation for a dance ceremony.

A hunting party tracking wild game in the uplands of the Middle-east/Asia,1934.

A fascinating glimpse into the world of the Ellesmere Island Inuit. Footage from the Haig-Thomas Arctic Expedition 1937-1938

An ambitious second expedition to the Norwegian Svalbard archipelago led by George Binney, student, artic explorer and seaplane pioneer, 7 July – 5 September 1924.

Join James Wordie on his 1937 Arctic expedition venturing the frozen seas of Baffin Bay encountering native Greenlandic Inuit along the way.

Documentary footage of the Bullock-Hornby expedition across the Canadian Sub-Arctic revealing the pairs struggle for survival against the harsh elements in this unforgiving landscape.

Film of the Canadian Army and Air Force Exercise ‘Musk-Ox’ in 1946, documenting the journey from Churchill in Hudson Bay to Grand Prairie in Alberta.

A military film from 1946 “Chronicling a journey of exploration by the Canadian Army through the interior of Northern Canada in midwinter.”

Colour scenes showing mountaineer and explorer Bill Tilman bound for Greenland in 1961-62 in search of new mountain challenges on board “Mischief”.

Film directed by John R. Rymill showing team members with their dog sledges during the 'East Greenland Expedition 1932-33'.

Amateur film showing this University-led expedition to study the geography, geology and botany – as well as cultural contacts between the Inuit peoples – of Greenland.

Silent colour rushes of English mountaineer and explorer Bill Tilman bound for Greenland in 1961-62 in search of new mountain challenges on his boat 'Mischief'.

Colour film documenting one of H.W. Tilman’s expeditions on board ‘Sea Breeze’ to Greenland.

Additional / deleted scenes from a film of one of H.W. Tilman’s expeditions on board ‘Sea Breeze’ to Greenland.

Colour film entitled ‘Mischief in Greenland: the story of H.W. Tilman’s expedition to East Greenland 1964’. Filmed by Roger Coward.

Colour film entitled ‘Mischief Goes South’ by Mike Edwards, documenting Bill Tilman’s voyage to the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Shetland Islands, 1966-67.

Deleted scenes from ‘Mischief Goes South’ by Mike Edwards, which documented Bill Tilman’s voyage to the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Shetland Islands, 1966-67.

A silent documentary film exploring the people, natural landscapes, industry and culture of this dramatic North Atlantic island nation; the most sparsely populated in Europe.

A silent colour film documenting the study of the 1947-48 eruption of Icelandic volcano Hekla – one of the world’s largest eruptions between 1900 and 1970.

A silent documentary film produced, directed photographed and edited by student member of the expedition, Charles Swithinbank.

Colour film of the very first international science expedition to Antarctica, outlining its aims, and recording the outbound journey of the ‘Norwegian-British-Swedish Expedition 1949-52’ team.

Amateur footage of the Oxford University Iceland Expedition 1947, led by F.H. Whitehead.

An educational film from 1936 using moving models and diagrams of the earth and sun to demonstrate the fundamentals of physical geography.

Colour film showing the restoration of a historic house and views in the Bahamas, dating from the mid-20th century.

Wartime training film instructing bomber pilots on the dangerous art of navigation for low-level flying. R.A.F produced film 1943

Gerald Thompson's record of the 1938 Oxford University Cayman Islands Expedition. The first natural history survey of all three islands (Grand Cayman, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac) reports were written about the flora, fauna, geology and wetlands.

Amateur holiday footage of a family’s trip to the Caribbean and the Panama Canal.

Amateur film from 1955 showing the people, landscapes and architecture of numerous islands in the Caribbean by Everild Helweg-Larsen, F.R.G.S.

Deleted scenes of an amateur colour film from 1955 showing numerous islands in the Caribbean, by Everild Helweg-Larsen, F.R.G.S.

Scenes from a documentary or educational programme filmed in South America on the subject of how to prepare for an expedition.

Unused scenes from a documentary film visit to Lord Alfred Bossom’s home and garden at Stoneacre, Otham near Maidstone.

Film record of a visit to the Royal Geographical Society by the President of Peru, on 25th February 1960.

Amateur footage (no sound) by Sir Clarmont Skrine shot during family holidays at ‘Aix les Bosquets’ (Aix-en-Provence, France) during the 1930s.

A silent black & white and colour information film with inter-titles showing the city of Strasbourg, the Alsace region of France and the Swiss Alps.

Amateur film by British diplomat Clarmont Skrine recording the alpine foothills and Basque coastline of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department of south-western France bordering with Spain.

Amateur film documenting architectural and historic sites in and around the city of Lisbon, Portugal, dating from 1963.

Dr Catherine Delano-Smith captures the local colour of Funchal, Madeira, during the ‘Oxford University Women's Expedition Madeira 1961’.

Documenting an expedition, organised by Dr Catherine Delano-Smith. Of the Oxford University Women's Expedition Madeira 1961.

A series of excerpts of colour and black and white film recording diplomatic life at the British legation in Tehran in 1943.

Amateur colour film, by Sir Clarmont Skrine, showing various monuments and places in Southern Iran including Rey, Qom, Isfahan, Persepolis, Shiraz, Bushire, Yazd, Kerman and Mahan.

Amateur colour film, by Sir Clarmont Skrine, (Counsellor for Indian Affairs in Teheran 1946 to 1948) showing personal and professional events through this time.

Scientific endeavours along the ancient shoreline of the Musandam peninsula in the straits of Hormuz, Oman 1971-72

A 1955 film illustrating travels in central-northern Iran, bordering the Caspian Sea and Alborz Mountains capturing the landscapes and daily life of the region.

Footage documenting various excavations led by E.W. Gardner at archaeological sites situated across Greece during the late 1920s and early 1930s.

This silent colour film documents the south-western coastline of the present-day Republic of Yemen, from the port of Mukalla to the region bordering Saudi Arabia.

Silent amateur film of the lower reaches of the Nile in Uganda from 1932.

Documenting a journey by camel across the desolate wasteland of the Kharga Oasis in 1932.

The film shows Port Louis, the capital; workers on sugar plantations and road mending as well as colonial life in the then British dependency.

Amateur film footage showing wildlife in Iran, Pakistan and India taken in 1950 by Sir Clarmont Skrine.

Silent 1930s black & white amateur film of a European party travelling by riverboat to view the Murchison Falls on the White Nile in Uganda.

The landscapes of the southern regions of the Arabian peninsula observed via land, sea and air by British flying officer, Aubrey Robert Maxwell Rickards.

Ralph Bagnold, pioneer of desert exploration, pushed the limits of automotive technology, culminating in his 1932 expedition – the first east-west crossing of the Libyan Desert.

Amateur film footage from 1953 showing landscapes, architecture and people of Jerusalem and Jordan (including Petra), by Sir Clarmont Skrine.

Short colour, silent, compilation of unedited film footage of Istanbul, Baghdad and Iran: 1944 to 1958. Showing major tourist attractions and Sir Clarmont Skrine’s family.

Short colour, silent, compilation of unedited film footage of areas of Cyprus, Crete and Israel (including Jerusalem).

1943 film of Peshawar, Kabul, Bamiyan, Herat and Mashhad; documenting a journey through the North West Frontier territories by British diplomat Clarmont Skrine during WWII.

Colour amateur documentary from 1939 on life in South Africa and Southern Rhodesia, produced by Frances Hotham.

Hugh Bennett’s visit to South Africa in 1944, as filmed (in colour) by C.J.J. Van Rensburg of the Soil Conservation Division, Department of Agriculture.

Amateur colour footage showing architecture, people and landscapes in South Africa (including Pretoria), filmed c. 1950.

Three geographers survey village and compound life in the Gambia, including the dissection of a hippopotamus.