The IWM Film Archive is the oldest film archive in the UK, holding over 20,000 hours of film, video and digital material and covering the two World Wars and all conflicts involving British or Commonwealth Forces since the start of the Twentieth Century to the present. Our collection also reflects aspects of civilian life in wartime, military life in peacetime, military exercises and operations.
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Behind the Guns
A Second World War propaganda film, looking at the industrial might behind Great Britain’s armed forces.
From the collection of:
Overview
A propaganda film whisking the audience through a tour of Britain’s wartime industries, sending a clear message that Britain’s war workers are an “army without uniform”. The fervent propaganda builds momentum as the film progresses. One wartime viewer commented that the film; “builds-up picture and music into a series of hammer blows”, making a direct link between the workers and the war front.
This government film is a public record, preserved and presented by the BFI National Archive on behalf of The National Archives, home to more than 1,000 years of British history.
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