Animals on Film

Wisdom of the Wild

Mary Field

A wildlife film with a difference: it has A Message for any humans in the house. "The squirrel in the tree, the fox below, the birds, insects, all know that a time of plenty will not last forever". Austerity-stricken wartime viewers can learn from their economical feeding habits. An entertaining hybrid of public information and natural history from the makers of wildlife series Secrets of Life.

Dog Years (2004)

Sam Hearn Richard Penfold

A beautiful, simple and funny short film about our profound love of pets. Ben is 39 in dog years and, approaching mid-life, reflects on the complex relationship he has with his master. Made on 8mm film for just £5, Dog Years shows how far an innovative idea and a good script can go. Witty, moving and authentic, Dog Years is a wonderful example of the possibilities of the 'no-budget' film.

Beetle Racing (1959)

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After finding a suitable beetle from the wood pile around the back of the pub, news reporter Pat Cox is allowed to enter the next race. Her steed, now known as Beady Eyes, takes its place on the start line only to witness the disqualification of a cockroach - oops! The final result is unclear - but we think the winner was Beady Eyes. Nevertheless, Pat, bettle trainer extraordinaire, is presented with a cup for her efforts.

Alligator on Lizard

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Daisy the pet alligator has its teeth brushed by owner Gwen Roberts. Gwen is interviewed by TV reporter Del Cooper about owning and looking after pet alligators at her home in St Keverne on the Lizard Peninsula in Cornwall. The word alligator comes from the Spanish word el lagarto meaning lizard. Alligators are native only to America and China but Chinese alligators are an endangered species. Taming exotic animals to become pets became fashionable in the 70s - although keeping them in cramped conditions in the bathtub, as Gwen does, is hopefully no longer acceptable.

Anoop and the Elephant

David Eady

Young Anoop, on a school camping trip, unexpectedly ends up adopting a baby elephant from a circus pitched nearby. He and his friends team up with a concerned clown to prevent the pachyderm being sent away with a mean businessman and his silly son, who want to take it abroad. This charmingly old-school circus comedy for kids is full of fast and furious fun.

Open Your Eyes (1967)

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Naturalist and amateur filmmaker Dorothy Maxey observes the wildlife in her native Norfolk capturing on Super 8 film a variety of interesting flora and fauna, including at Thompson Common where ponies wade into the pingos and steal the heads from the water violets, and in her own back garden stumbling across wrestling toads. The filmmaker even recalls a story of nursing a poorly mouse following a frosty night by returning home with it to kindly warm him up under the grill!

The Living Rainbow

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Showing all the wonderful flora and fauna found in and around Norfolk that one could possibly find should they look close enough, including some rather exotic looking critters that are lesser known in the region. Captured on Super 8 colour Kodachrome by amateur filmmaker and naturalist Dorothy Maxey. The filmmaker created a commentary that was intended to be screened with the film, however, unfortunately the audio is not available.

Moorlands (1962)

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A lovely whimsical film made by York amateur filmmaker May Webb. This has her pet poodle "Mimi" comically narrating her view of a walk through a colourful wood accompanied by two women, Janet and Valerie, in equally colourful dresses, reflecting the fashions of 1962. Mimi has a rather different take on the walk than her minders, wanting to be let off her lead and then managing to lose the two ladies, and wistfully awaits for them to turn up.

Tower Circus Elephants Bathing and Stanley Park

George Lockhart

What are elephants doing on Blackpool beach? Enjoying the seaside like everyone else, it seems - a scene from the great Lancashire resort that you wouldn't see every day. This fascinating film from circus ringmaster and amateur filmmaker George Lockhart also shows us a family and dog enjoying their garden, takes a stroll through Stanley Park, and then takes to the water on the busy boating lake.

Whale in the Tamar

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Cetacean stranding is a common occurrence. Cetacea means large sea creature in Latin or sea monster in Greek, in this case a whale finds its way up the Tamar as far as the Lynher or St German's River and the change in tide leaves it stranded. Whales are marine mammals but many can survive in freshwater. Reasons given for beaching may include disturbance from active military sonar.

Pond Life (1934)

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In the pond, many things are stirring - freshwater earthworms, and tiny aquatic creatures known as infusoria and daphnia. This remarkable amateur scientific documentary investigates microbes in a drop of pond water as seen through a microscope. The film was made by using a binocular eyepiece developed specifically for the purpose, and won many awards, including a Bronze Plaque at Budapest in 1934.

Pond Life (1935)

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This unusual and fascinating amateur film from the 1930s features microscopic images of a village pond's tiniest inhabitants - using techniques which, while familiar today, are remarkable for the time. In this hidden world we see planiarian worms and daphnia, a common water-flea, which is food for creatures like the hungry mayfly larva which follows. Last of all is the remarkable hydra, waving its sinister stinging tentacles about, waiting for that unwary passer-by.

Everywhere is a Wildlife Park

Mr A.G. Hodges

Amateur filmmaker and wildlife enthusiast Mr A.G. Hodges, known as 'Budge' to friends and family, captures on film over a number of years the mammals, birds, and insects in his local Norfolk. Species filmed includes the now scarcely populated Red Squirrel suckling on the sap of a silver birch, and another threatened species, the tern, a seabird.

Peacocks and Tragopans

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The Bornean Tree Partridge, Chinese Bamboo Partridge, and Indian Peafowl are some of the most colourful, most beautiful, and rarest species of pheasant in the world. Native to Asia, they can be found at The Ornamental Pheasant Trust at Norfolk Wildlife Park, Great Witchingham where the Trust's devoted founder Philip Wayre has set up a breeding programme to save several species threatened with extinction.

Kingsbridge Bird and Rabbit Show

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Common British heritage includes large agricultural events such as the annual Bird and Rabbit Show in Kingsbridge. Agricultural societies up and down the country begin to stage shows for rabbit societies and bird fancier groups. Visitors to the shows are able to see competitions involving rabbits and fancy and rare birds. John Edward or Ted Watmough from Bradford was one of the first to influence competitions and he went on to found the magazine Fur and Feather.

Almost Human (1943)

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In the days before shock tactics were used to deliver road safety messages, a completely canine cast (on loan from a local police officer) feature in this film produced for the Cambridge Accident Prevention Council. As the story goes, Jill the Golden Labrador drives her car to the Doggie Stores. As she heads home, Jill waits patiently as a pack of pups cross the road before her. Thankfully, these dogs know their "kerb drill" and are safe to cross the road.

Parsons' Pets

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In the 1930s keeping pets for pleasure would have been the preserve of the wealthy. This charming compilation shows the Parsons' pouches, pigeon, parrot, peacock, pony, magpie and ducks. A servant in a French maid uniform holds the cat while Eileen in her jodhpurs plays with the dogs on the lawn. Pat tries to ride the pet dog like a pony but is unceremoniously unseated.

The Romance of the Swan

Edward Charles Le Grice

Gold Medal winner of the 'Home Movies' filmmaking competition, portraying a swan courtship, then nesting period on the Norfolk Broads, until a cygnet brood is produced, captured by amateur filmmaker E.C. Le Grice in 1933.

Pheasants to Formosa

Philip Wayre

Tells the story of the return to Taiwan of Swinhoe's pheasants, bred by The Pheasant Trust and released in their native land to reinforce the wild population which was threatened with extinction. The filmmaker travels with the pheasants, stopping at Taipei, then leaving the heat and smog of the capital, taking a trip into the remote interior of the island in search of wildlife, before returning to the city and investigating Taiwanese practices to provide Chinese medicine.

Pheasant - from egg to larder

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This fascinating film about pheasant rearing takes place between early spring and the 7th December, 1929. We start with cock pheasants chasing hens about presumably prior to conception. Next we see Bert handling a clutch of pheasant eggs before these are placed in pens, with domestic chickens acting as foster mothers. The hatched chicks, or poults, are filmed growing over the following 16 weeks, before their untimely demise - shot for the pot by tweed-clad men with dogs.

Roaming Wallabies at Whipsnade

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A wolf pack, baby brown bears, and the iconic hillside chalk figure - the Whipsnade White Lion, all feature in this home movie captured on a day trip to Whipsnade Wild Animal Park circa 1933. Situated within the Chilterns, Whipsnade is surrounded by the arresting landscape of the Dunstable Downs, the subject of the film's beginning. There follows the mammals, birds, and reptiles captive at the zoo including wandering wallabies, and playful polar bears splashing in water.

Monkey Mischief at Whipsnade

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The zoo keepers at Whipsnade Wild Animal Park certainly have their hands full as they enjoy afternoon tea with the chimpanzees in this home movie from the 1930s. We also see feeding time for the giraffes, the rhinos, and the penguins, as well as a lovely view of the surrounding Chiltern countryside.

Chimps Tea Party at Whipsnade

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Watching captive animals at feeding time has always been a favourite pastime for zoo visitors. In this home movie footage at Whipsnade in the 1930s we see a chimps tea party, lions fighting over a haunch of meat, and visitors enjoying a ride on an elephant. Pigmy hippos, zebras, kangaroos, gibbons, gnus, bears, and more besides, all provide a great spectacle for the visiting public.

Just Call me Bubbles

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TV reporter Clive Gunnell meets the owner of the Polgooth Inn St Austell, Arnold Bax and its unusual customers, a pony, a dog and Bubbles the crisp-eating sheep. Historically local tales describe punters sharing the bar with various animals including horses, ducks and chickens. One joked at having to wipe feet on the way out of the pub rather than on the way in.

Horse Transport (1975)

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ATV Today reporter Tony Maycock doesn't appear to be taking the suggestion of riding to work by horse very seriously. Perhaps the fact that he's trying to get into the centre of Birmingham on a damp February day amongst the bemused pedestrians and potentially angry motorists is not helping. It does give him a chance to do battle with one of the city's then much derided parking meters and traffic wardens.

Falconry Demonstration at Great Torrington School

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A falconer visits Great Torrington Community School shows a kestrel, a buzzard and a peregrine falcon in a hunting and flying display on the school field. Pupils hold the birds for themselves. Kestrels are a type of falcon often seen hovering in the air over open fields and they use ultraviolet light to visually locate their prey. Small rodents lay scent trails which reflect UV light giving the kestrel hovering above the chance to trace and swoop.

Horses (1949)

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This delightful short film shows a chestnut mare grazing in a paddock accompanied by her recently born foal. The foal is very frisky and darts about as it explores its surroundings though never straying too far away from mother. This sequence is followed by an equestrian cross-country event - featuring several riders tackling some quite severe looking obstacles, in front of numerous spectators. Watch out for the horse that refuses to jump a set of gates.

Bungay May Horse Fair

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The first Bungay Horse Fair held at Mettingham Castle in May 1976. One of the East Anglian Fairs that ran during the 1970s, another being Barsham Fair. These fairs became a significant feature in the Suffolk calendar, a place for travellers, new agers, and locals to gather. The East Anglian Fairs, later called the Albion Fairs, were a hybrid of a music festival and a centre of interest for rural community living. Captured on 8mm Kodachrome by amateur filmmaker Mr A. Taberham.

Foal's First Footsteps

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This charming film begins with a group of tweed-clad hunters assembling in a country lane before moving to a race course where horses and jockeys get ready to race. We then see a mare and her newly-born foal in a paddock. The foal is very excited by its new surroundings but never strays too far from its mother. Scenes of a hunt with hounds follow before we return once again to see the mare and her playful and inquisitive youngster.

Eileen and her show horse

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This is bespectacled Eileen happily riding her horse in a field at her home, at a meet and in competition accompanied by a male companion. Horse-riding is not the male preserve but riding astride, unless you were Joan of Arc, is considered improper for most women until the 1930s when jumping competitions become a popular sport. Women over 30 gain the right to vote in 1918 followed by women over 21 and with that new freedoms emerge.

Tofield: Racing

Kenneth Tofield.

Racing. "The High Peak Hunt Races, held on Flagg Moor". We see various shots of the races and a close up of a programme showing the date of the meeting to be 14 April 1936. "The Adjacent Hunts' Race". The Hartington Plate Ladies Race". "The High Peak Cup Race". "The Nomination Open Race". "The Adjacent Hunt's Maiden Race". "Well Dressing". "Tissington". We see shots of the Derbyshire village of Tissington and dressed wells. "This festival takes place on Holy Thursday in thanksgiving for the boon of water". "Somewhere in Cornwall". Unidentified countryside, a man with a canoe and waves breaking on a shore. "Matlock". "The Thermal Swimming Pool". We see people swimming at an outdoor pool (lido) at the New Bath Hotel at Matlock Bath. "Snow Plumes". Snow drifting across fields.

This Horsey Business

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This short film summarises most aspects of the British equestrian scene - as well as explaining its origins. We start with a children's gymkhana where young riders negotiate a course and attempt some jumps. Then we see riders at Hickstead, demonstrate their skills with hounds followed by carriage racing. Next, jockeys assemble for a point-to-point while Princess Anne, riding Columbus, completes a showjumping circuit. We end with shots of the next generation of riders.

Turkey and her Poults

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This amusing film from 1945 features a turkey farm in Heptonstall - where the first peacetime Christmas turkeys are being fattened for the festive table. We see the poultry farmer reaching underneath a turkey who is sitting on her newly-hatched poults. After enduring some furious pecking he pulls out the poults before being attacked again. He lets a young girl hold the young birds before putting them in a box. Meanwhile, their mother is unceremonially dumped back in her pen.

Lena Partridge At the Livery

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This charming film from Lena Partridge shows the activities of a pony club livery in the New Forest. We see riders of all ages setting off from the livery across a busy road after which we see a very small child riding her own little pony in the back garden. This is followed by the gathering of a hunt with hounds and various gymkhanas featuring cross-country events and show-jumping. We then see children at their own gymkhana and a couple of newly born calves delighting the family.

Pet Crow (1983)

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Anthony Fisher keeps a pet crow at his home in Devon. The crow is considered to be among the world's most intelligent animals but they are rather noisy to keep owing to their harsh caw which can make their owner less than chirpy. In pairs they are aggressive and quarrelsome. Believed to have originated in central Asia, the crow is part of the corvus species which includes the chough, jackdaw, jay, nutcracker, magpie, raven and rook.

Pigeon Fancier

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A local pigeon fancier, Reg, talks to TV reporter Clive Gunnell about his passion for homing pigeons. The sport uses the racing homer, a specially bred pigeon whose homing instincts are strong. The homer is a cross of breeds, the smerle, French cumulet, English carrier, dragoon and the horseman. The homer has endurance and can fly for hours on end without tiring and from the carrier pigeon, it inherited the ability to find its way home from great distances

Bentley Wildfowl

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This short film by Doreen Coombes takes us on an early spring visit to the Bentley Wildfowl Collection at Hallam in East Sussex. Here we see a wide variety of waterfowl, both domestic and foreign, including barnacle geese, black-necked swans, black swans, cereopsis and magpie geese as well as paradise shelduck and crowned cranes. We also see a peacock and a gaggle of happy camera-toting human visitors.

Charity Ferret Walk

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Chris Tarrant, always on the look-out for the local news eccentric, visits Evesham where he meets Nicky Roberts who, together with other regulars from the Gardener's Arms, is planning to raise money by walking the 13 miles from Worcester back to their pub. This may not sound too much of a challenge but as Nicky is doing it with ferrets stuffed down his trousers and coal man Norman Staite is lugging one of his sacks on the journey it will be quite feat.

Lloyd George with Dogs and Book

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The 'Welsh Wizard' in good company: David Lloyd George, British prime minister 1916-22, walks through a garden [probably on his farm 'Bron-y-de', Churt, Surrey] accompanied by several dogs, and sits at his ease in a basket chair, reading a book. His leisure time is being recorded for a newsreel item and he declaims to the cameraman. He was keen on the Chow Chow breed of dog and had a particular favourite (probably seen here) known as 'Y Chow Du' [The Black Chow].

The Solihull Rat Club

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Not a film for the squeamish or those looking for images of soft and cuddly animals. This amateur reel shot by Reginald Patterson shows the Solihull Rat Club at work, as the subtitle has it, 'for sport and social benefit'. The rats don't stand a chance against dogs, ferrets and men with sticks, clubs and, in one case, a hockey stick. And when the dogs aren't chasing rats they're fighting each other!

A Day at the Races - Bangalore

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Mrs Karolie Kathleen Buckley (nee Kemmis), wife of Lt Col W H Buckley, does her best on horse no. 2 in the Ladies Race but her mount is exhibiting crab-like tendencies - i.e. walking sideways – and so it proves not to be her day. Her husband, a member of the Buckley's Brewery (Llanelli) family, was stationed in India – Karnataka state (then Mysore) - between 1925 and 1929/30 with the 5th Inniskilling Dragoon Guards, a calvalry regiment. He founded the Bangalore Hunt Club.

Who Killed the Bears?

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Who did kill the bears? Seventy five years after the brutal killing of two performing bears in the Forest of Dean the villagers of Ruardean and Cinderford are still accusing each other of the crime. It's a tale of touring entertainers, child murders, foul rumours and mob justice. Lionel Hampden attempts to find out what really happened with one of the last eye witnesses to the events of 24th April 1889.

A Day at the Zoo (1950)

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In the shadow of the imposing ruins of Dudley's Norman castle is a zoo, which has been entertaining and educating visitors since 1937. This amateur record of a day trip to Dudley was shot by Ewart Smallwood and follows a group of boys taking in the sights: from the polar bears (complete with their art deco concrete home) and lions to a ride on the zoo's miniature railway. Chipperfields Circus, promoting a visit to Hay Mills in Birmingham, also makes an appearance late in the reel.

It’s The Circus Parts I & II, Olympia

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These two films capture entertainment at the circus after the war, with performing animals featuring prominently. It's rather discomforting watching bears in grass skirts balance on balls, and there are also elephants, chimps and tigers. Human performers feature as well, including clowns, trick cyclists and a little person on a pony. The Bertram Mills Circus was held every Christmas at Olympia for decades either side of the war.

Mills Chimps, Olympia

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The Bertram Mills Circus held their annual show at Olympia since 1920 - the first was staged to win a bet – and was credited with reviving the circus as a form of entertainment in the UK. The Christmas show was held until the 1960s and this short reel comes from the mid-1950s. It demonstrates a very different attitude to animals, with the performing chimps dressed in clothes, riding bikes, climbing tightropes and pushing prams for the amusement of a large crowd.

Stars In A Ring, Olympia

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The huge scale and international flavour of the Christmas circus at Olympia neatly captured in this film, which features credits introducing acts and footage of the programme. Highlights include an impressively choreographed fight routine, a beautifully lit carriage – the film is subtitled "Highlights of Olympia's league of illuminations" – and a troupe of Chinese contortionists. Dancing horses, performing dogs and elephants also appear - with the acrobats climbing on the elephants displaying a rather outdated attitude to animal welfare.

Post-War Backstage Stables and Ring Scenes, Ascot & Olympia

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This short film of the Bertram Mills Circus mainly features backstage footage, showing animals being fed and trained, including elephants, a chewing cheetah, horses and chimps, one of which simulates combing its hair while looking in a mirror. There are also scenes of horses training in the ring. The Bertram Mills Circus performed each Christmas at Olympia and wintered at Ascot.

The Circus Is Back, Olympia

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Filmed by Associated Rediffusion for ITV, this film shows the huge cast of the Bertram Mills Circus entering the ring at Olympia during their big Christmas season. It's a vast enterprise and some of the costumes are spectacular. Highlights include the clown with a kangaroo and the stiltwalkers, as well as several dazzling outfits and slightly sinister fancy dress.

Bertram Mills Circus, Olympia

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Shot on Kodak, this film captures scenes from the big annual Christmas show by the Bertram Mills Circus at Olympia. Beginning with the bright lights outside, it also features marching elephants, stilt-walkers (including a Mickey Mouse), tumblers and acrobats, trick cyclists and stunt horsemen. Interestingly, while some of the acts are strange or cruel to today's eyes – particularly the horse carrying numerous riders – many would not look out of place in a modern circus.

Lobsters (1936)

László Moholy-Nagy

From seabed to seafood restaurant, this charming short documentary follows a band of intrepid Sussex fishermen as they venture out to sea to lay their lobster pots. The action moves below the waves for some fabulous underwater scenes illustrating the life cycle of this "most pugnacious creature", as the endearingly plummy narration puts it. A jaunty score by Arthur Benjamin adds to the fun.

The Fly (1932)

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Flies are dangerous, disease-spreading pests which must be eradicated at all costs, warns this public health film produced for Bermondsey Borough Council. The level of vitriol is such that you could almost feel sorry for the humble fly - but at a time when disease outbreaks could be deadly, especially for children, public health came first. Simple precautions could make a big difference, and the cinema was an ideal way to disseminate this information to mass audiences.

Winged Workers

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This is another example of the talent, dedication and imagination of Leeds amateur filmmakers, the Ramsdens. Made in 1949, not long after the end of the war, they have made a wonderful early wildlife film in Kodachrome colour observing, in remarkable detail for the time without any specialised equipment, the behaviour of many of the species of bees as they feed from flowers, open and closed. It may even feature one of the two species that have subsequently become extinct.

The Sheep Stealer

William Haggar

One of film pioneer William Haggar's longer productions, this film shows a man desperate to provide for his starving wife and children. Oblivious to the chickens pecking about outside his cottage, he decides to steal a sheep - not, as is evident, an easy item to carry away from the scene of the crime. Like all Haggar productions, this is a family affair: William's son James plays the sheep stealer, and James's own wife and children play the poor man's family.

Studies in Animal Motion

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Slow-motion photography is put to educational - and surprisingly beautiful - use in this short film explaining the variety of ways animals leap, slither and glide. From mountain goats with their pointed hooves to the toad's lightning-fast tongue and even the humble snail, slow-motion revealed these wonders to 1920s cinema audiences. Boxing with a kangaroo, though it does perfectly demonstrate the animal's ability to balance on its legs and tail, is less appealing to modern sensibilities.

Pupils at Chester Zoo 1969

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Remember your school trip to the zoo? This delightful colour film will bring back memories, as pupils from Major Lester primary school in Liverpool pay a visit to Chester Zoo. From elephants to prairie marmots, children meet the animals and have fun in the sun. And at the end of an entertaining day, teachers count their pupils back onto the coach - it wouldn't do to leave anyone behind...

Fire Fighting Wolf Hounds

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Topical Budget viewers were treated to a "display of sagacity and prowess" by some German Shepherds at a dog show in Roehampton. Challenges included hurdling a small barrier, climbing over a nine-foot fence – eventually – and jumping back-and-forth through a flaming obstacle.

Crufts 1962

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Dogs, large and small, smooth and shaggy, fill the cavernous interior of London's Olympia in this colourful record of the Crufts Show. Hairy hounds, working dogs, miniatures, and the most glamorous of all the furry participants - the Afghan hounds - take their turn in the spotlight. Proud owners groom and fuss over their canine companions before they take to the ring to strut their stuff.

Totnes Course for Dog Trainers

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Owners take to the field with their dogs to receive practical guidance on effective training as well as tips in understanding canine behaviour. Training dogs for herding purposes dates back to Roman times, these early techniques are now universally recognised. Dogs may be trained to perform tasks for owners including hunting, herding, assisting the military, police and border and security personnel and aiding persons with disabilities such as guide or hearing dogs.

Dog Show Classes

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Dog shows are no laughing matter, from the serious faces of the young people in this delightful film, though the dogs themselves are far more enthusiastic about the whole affair. The junior dog owners are clearly not quite in full control of their pets, and the watching crowd in this Cheshire field seems as interested in the camera as in the canine competition.

Sparta the Dog

Thelma Dowding

Mrs Thelma Dowding from Great Yarmouth captured on film the family's most adored pet, Sparta the Springer Spaniel, as she bounds about on the Yarmouth-Caister marshes, wades through dykes, and at home, celebrates her third birthday. We are also introduced to 'Annie', who hand feeds worms to a quite unbelievably tame garden bird. PLEASE NOTE: A section of this film features a family member preparing a cow carcass, that some viewers may find difficult to watch.

A Cat Is a Cat

Vera Linnecar

Are you a dog or a cat person? If you favour the felines then this animated meditation on cats of all shapes and sizes is for you. The film grew out of industry veteran Vera Linnecar's play with applying mottled coloured paints directly onto animation cels. Paired with the piano music these scenes are a playful experiment, mixing abstraction with careful observation of cat behaviour.

Chester Zoo 1952

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Come and join three generations of the Pownall family on a traditional day out at Chester Zoo. An enjoyable day, too, though zoos many years ago were not fun for all, and some of the animal inhabitants seem sad and bored in their concrete pens. The sea lions look happiest, sunning themselves in their rocky pool, and the polar bears too, at play and rolling around in the water.

The Burial of Jackdaw

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Inspired by a family funeral, three children in Cockermouth, Cumbria, give the recently deceased 'Jackdaw' a dignified send-off. Heather Harris, the youngest child, officiates as a priest. Sadly, no-one can now remember whether the deceased was a family pet or just a wild bird found in the garden, but this film remains as a fleeting, yet touching, picture of a moment in childhood.

Blackpool Outdoor Dog Show 1960

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The Blackpool sun shines upon the show dogs and their proud owners in this delightful colour film. Onlookers and judges cast an expert eye on the - mostly - well-behaved canines padding and prancing around the ring. The great and small of the dog world are here, from Irish wolfhounds to tiny terriers, and of course, the photogenic Afghan hounds, ears and tails blowing in the breeze.

The Taming of the Elephant

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Khedda: acceptable training practice or the obtaining of dominance by cruelty? Either way, the trapping and taming of wild elephants using already tamed elephants fascinated W H Buckley, a member of the Buckley's Brewery (Llanelli) family who was stationed with the 5th Inniskilling Dragoon Guards, a calvalry regiment, in Bengaluru (Bangalore), Karnataka state (Mysore) in the late 1920s and who was amongst a crowd of spectators watching part of the process.

Who's Zoo at Belle Vue

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Beware The Clutching Hand! Discover more, and meet Larry the Llama and Joey the Boxing Chimp - just two of the assortment of animal characters featured in this entertaining colour film shot at the Belle Vue Zoological Gardens in Manchester. People and animals alike enjoy the sunshine, while children take a ride on an elephant and watch Joey the Boxing Chimp - somewhat discomfiting viewing from a modern animal welfare perspective. Still, this is a delightful record of family leisure time in austerity Britain.

Nursery Island (1936)

Mary Field

Mary Field's delightful documentary showcases the birdlife of Northumberland's Farne Islands: courting kittiwakes, baby oyster-catchers, guillemots and of course the puffin, described as "the ridiculous-looking bird on the left". Un-aided by modern stealthy cameras, Oliver Pike's breath-taking photography stands the test of time, while the wry commentary is refreshing and at times very funny.

Once We Were Four

Mary Field

The Secrets of Life series (1934-50) may not conform to modern expectations of nature filmmaking, inclined as it is towards giving cute fluffy creatures human names and characteristics. But it couldn't be accused of shielding kiddies from the harsher realities of the food chain, as this exercise in ruthless Darwinism demonstrates to unintentionally hilarious effect.

Market Town (1942)

Mary Field

This promotional film bills the market town of Newark as central to the farming industry, with a seductive array of regional produce and livestock. It was sponsored by the British Council and intended for an international audience. Experienced nature director Mary Field had worked for Gaumont-British Instructional for years, and was drafted in to send a strong message about wartime agricultural production in the UK.

"Around and About" 1949

Gary Hill

It's August and it's show time! First up is Rumney Horse Show Society's Show where there is sack racing with a horse in tow. Then it's the Vale of Glamorgan Agricultural Show, offering sewing competitions for men and women, and lastly Usk Farmers' Club Show with jumpers and hunters in the ring. There is also a family trip to the zoo in Bristol, the film-maker's home town, where children are seen riding on an elephant.

Whipsnade Zoological Park

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Smut, a terrier seen enjoying life on Welsh beaches in various Cox family films, is here given a bath in a tub in the garden, prior to which his owners are shot with a parrot at Whipsnade Zoo. Mr and Mrs Cox's son, Harold, a keen amateur film-maker is doing the filming, recording the zoo's animals and people riding on an elephant - evidence of the rather different attitude to zoo animals at the time. The Warwickshire family regularly visited Dyffryn Ardudwy, where Harold and his brother had neighbouring holiday/retirement bungalows.

Horses at Ascot, Winter Quarters, Ascot

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Fascinating colour film of training sessions at Ascot for the Bertram Mills Circus' annual Christmas show – the circus quartered in Ascot every winter. It includes extended exterior and interior footage of various training sessions involving horses, with the human participants wearing non-stage clothes as they work through routines. There are also a small number of spectators.

Barnstaple's Pet Puma

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This film shows a man walking his exotic pet puma by a school in Barnstaple. The Exotic pet trade started as a fashion statement in the 1960s and 1970s, Harrods Pet Kingdom famously sold exotic animals for almost 100 years including Christian the lion cub. The Endangered Species outlawed the practice in 1976.

Lost Mother April 1925

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When 'Mother' goes missing and her two 'daughters' are distraught and lost in the wild woods, a faithful if slobbering hound comes to the rescue, playing his part in this 'Plas Newydd' family drama with gusto and delight. It was shot by the 6th Marquis of Anglesey in the grounds of his ancestral seat at Llanfair Pwllgwyngyll, and features two of his daughters - Ladies Caroline and Elizabeth Paget – and a relative, Pauline Stapleton-Cotton.

To the Rescue (1952)

Jacques B. Brunius Ronald Weyman

When young George's pedigree poodle Candy is stolen by a mysteriously Machiavellian moustachioed thief, he and his sister Joyce enlist eccentric dog-lover and village grocer Mr Polly to help them get the pooch back. The tenacious grocer leads the chase, clutching his trusty telescope, as local residents pursue the dastardly villain across the Kentish countryside in this charmingly crackpot canine comedy.

Juno Helps Out

William C. Hammond

When two school kids step in to try and help their peaky mum with the housework, family dog Juno is enlisted too. After being sent off to do the shopping, she's a genial guest at a tea party for dolls and pets. The happy-go-lucky hound digs into a sizeable slice of cream cake before it's time for a bath in her personal bathroom.

Fricker's Trained Alsatians

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Made just at the end of the war in 1945, this film of renowned dog trainer Charles Fricker of Pudsey reveals the training that Alsatian dogs would have received for war as well as for non-combative work for which they would usually be trained. Fricker puts the dogs through their paces for warzone situations, being attacked, fetching buckets of water and going up and down a ladder blindfolded. The latter perhaps more for the benefit of his own travelling dog show.

Sheep Dog (1939)

John Alderson

Tom Jones, a shepherd who lived in one of the Ystradfechan Cottages at Old Farm, Treorchy, was employed by the Ocean Coal Company who owned the land above ground and coal (the Park and the Dare Collieries) beneath. A farrier who lived in the adjoining cottage tended to all the Park and Dare pit ponies. Tom Jones was known world-wide as the "Wonder Shepherd" for his remarkable skills as an animal trainer which, together with his concern for his flock, are recorded here.

Turners Hill Outing

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This film from Eddie Morris captures the atmosphere of an angler's outing to Turner's Hill, West Sussex. We begin with members loading their tackle onto the coach, which takes them to the venue. On arrival, the fishing begins. Every fish caught is kept in a keep net. Eddie also manages to film the lake's pretty surroundings. After a relaxing day's fishing the contented anglers reel in their catches for the weigh-in before returning to Eastbourne onboard the same coach.

Fish Conservation (1964)

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Anglers do some very necessary work in this fascinating film from the Eastbourne Angling Club. Beginning with views of the lake, we hear why its stock of young bream must be removed. Volunteer teams play out a floating net across the lake, which is very gradually drawn closer to the lake's edge - passing through weeds and bulrushes, until thousands of fish appear. Large fish like pike are returned while the bream are loaded into tanks aboard a lorry for re-stocking elsewhere.

Rover Makes Good

John Dooley

On holiday in Cornwall, youngsters Sheila and Tony find themselves in unexpected danger when they get trapped in an old, disused tin mine, in this vintage drama for kids. Luckily, rascally sheepdog Rover – though considered useless by their uncle, a farmer - is on hand to go to their rescue.

A Journal of the Outdoors No. 11

John Taylor Grahame Tharp Leon Clore

Ever wondered how to adopt a duck? That's just one of the wildlife topics covered in this varied short. Cricket commentator John Arlott narrates an item exploring a national project to record wildfowl numbers, followed by a look at wallabies and their young, voiced by actress Barbara Mullen. The final story's the quirky keeper, with Robert Beatty doing vocal honours: a steeplejack's office is home to a parrot, cockatoo, toucan, alligator and a marmoset who snacks on live fish.

Three Dogs in a Boat

Mr Parson

Not a witty tour up the River Thames but amusing nonetheless, a trio of Parsons' dogs including one called Rub are set adrift on an unwaterworthy craft on the pond. It's sink or swim. A Labrador retriever and two Jack Russells are playfully filmed sinking and retrieving a rubber duck.

Animal Crackers

John Pullen

Sue Jay takes a gentle look at some Midlanders who have a keen interest in animals. While a bird eating spider, that was considered to be an unusual pet back in 1975, is now quite common, Sylvia Wise's dyed pink toy poodle and Molly Badham's chimps (allegedly they get a sharp slap if they step out of line) belong to an age that is long gone.

Home for Ned

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This well-made amateur film, with a commentary by the Voice of Pathé News, Bob Danvers-Walker, highlights the work of an equine sanctuary located at 'Cherry Tree Farm' in Newchapel, Surrey. Here we see a variety of horses, donkeys and ponies, including a recently rescued Dartmoor pony that had gone blind, living in comfortable stables and paddocks. We also see numerous visitors petting and feeding the animals as well as signing the visitors book.

Billy Smart’s Circus

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This unique amateur film captures a circus parade passing through Brighton's town centre. It features many circus performers, both human and animal, including elephants, llamas, camels, clowns, dancers, cowboys on horseback, acrobats and trapeze artistes. Cigarette adverts adorn many of the wagons and one even appears on an elephant!

Do you remember? (1950)

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This hilarious compilation begins with the Dinnage family and their Irish donkeys followed by a bizarre gymkhana. There's a parade in the arena followed by children playing games on donkey-back. An extraordinary donkey race follows with children and adults joining the racers round the circuit. Next we see a new playground slide being officially inaugurated by the Lord Mayor - who takes the first slide and the film ends with some stunt riding by celebrity cowboy Buck Ryan.

Beer-drinking Billy

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A beer-drinking billy goat stops off for a pint at the 17th Century pub, the Clinton Arms in Frithelstock near Torrington in North Devon. Pets welcome, though many of us will occasionally bring our dogs along to our local it is not a common sight for a goat to be having a cheeky pint. Some animals such as monkeys, elephants and bears will eat fermenting fruits or steal alcoholic beverages, although neither the intent nor the effects are known.

Abbotsbury Swannery

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Secrets of the Coast episode three The Pebbled Shore is presented by broadcaster and naturalist Su Ingle and filmed at Chesil Beach and this excerpt is on Abbotsbury Swannery based on the Fleet Lagoon in Dorset. The unique natural wildlife habitat is one of the only places in the world where there is a public walk through a managed colony of nesting mute swans. Once a year the swans are rounded up during the moult when they are flightless to check on their health.

Outing to Longleat Wildlife Park

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This lovely film from John Mitchell starts with the family's Morris Marina being loaded up for the trip to Longleat. Soon we see giraffes, camels, baboons and elephants running wild amongst the cars. Then we're in the big cats compound, though the lions and cheetahs look a bit sleepy. Later in the day the family samples the funfair - Mum plays the slot machines while the kids go on various rides like the Astrobounce. We end with donkey and llama petting and ice-creams for all.

The Princess and the Pirate

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Secrets of the Coast episode seven The Princess and the Pirate is presented by broadcaster and naturalist Su Ingle and filmed on the North Cornish Coast. It documents the return of a flock of breeding Peregrine Falcons to Cornwall. The princess peregrine looks after the young eyasses high on the cliff ledge and a raven, the pirate of the piece, moves in next door. The raven lives on scrounged carrion chooses to nest beside the peregrine and her young.

Elephants in Plymouth

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Six Indian elephants visit Plymouth, getting off at Plymouth's Friary Station on Beaumont Road. Large crowds gather to watch as the elephants are led one by one through the streets by their handler, an Indian mahout with an ankus or metal hook. The Chipperfield Circus is in town in time for Easter.

The Animal World (1935)

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In this delightful pictorial record, amateur filmmaker Reginald Rigby takes a close look at the animal world. From a wobbly young owl discovering how its wings work to elephants from Bertram Mills Circus enjoying welcome free time in the fresh air; from an extremely enthusiastic lamb to some decidedly unimpressed cattle, this film casts a humorous eye upon aspects of animal and avian behaviour.

Tiger Cubs holiday in the South West

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Tiger Cubs holiday in the South West

Tiger cubs born at Paignton Zoo

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Two small Bengal tiger cubs born at Paignton Zoo are captured on their first outing since being born. These cubs would have been bred for educational purposes and hybrids of actual Bengal tigers. In the late 70s and early 80s zoos turned their breeding programmes into important conservation work. These two cubs eventually found their way to another zoo and Paignton now has Sumatran tigers.

Ginger Tom

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Nothing but the best china for Ginger Tom. In the 1950s it was common to give food to your pet animals off old pieces of crockery. The cobalt blue suggests a piece of Spode. Ginger Tom is a tiger in his own domain. He even matches the pond goldfish for Kodachrome colour.

I Guinea Pig

Sheila Graber

A cute, vegetarian guinea pig pitches pet care to kids and explains his origins – descended from South American rodents called the "restless Cavies", no less. This delightful cartoon was created by the popular South Shields-born artist Sheila Graber as a pilot for a children's television series that was broadcast around the world in the 1980s.

I Dog (1983)

Sheila Graber

A young pup dreams of a long lineage of pampered breeds and teaches new owners about his desired doggie domain as a pet. Sheila Graber followed her successful traditional animations of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories with the delightful children's television series, Best Friends, which pitches pet care to kids with characteristic warmth and flair.

I Pony (1983)

Sheila Graber

An adorable pony cheerfully dispenses pet care advice to the young. This is one of a series of ten traditional colour animations from the Best Friends television series that delighted children around the world in the 1980s, hand painted by the renowned South Shields-born artist Sheila Graber.

Feeding Time at the Zoo

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A young girl takes on the Desmond Morris (or perhaps Johnny Morris) role for this enchanting film of a family birdwatching in their back garden.

Mingo & Jerry, Thea and Jerry

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Dogs, dogs, glorious dogs: several terriers, a pekinese, a sheep dog at full pelt, a terrier/doberman shaped dog and a bull-dog/boxer type. But which answers to the name Mingo, Jerry or Thea, the names given on the original film can? Or are these names belonging to the people seen? What is certain is that all of them – whether human or animal – will be connected with the film-maker, Isla Johnston, of 'Bryn Mêl', Glyngarth, Anglesey.

A Year and a Day

Cyril Ramsden Betty Ramsden

This remarkable early wildlife film reveals the dedication of its makers, Leeds amateur filmmakers, the Ramsdens. Made over a period of two years in 1953 and '54, it shows the entire life cycle of an Emperor Moth, winning a national film award. Shot in close up, the film follows the insect from its beginnings as a small caterpillar feeding on heather through to its transformation into a moth.

Pigeons (1985)

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One West Yorkshire club of pigeon fanciers, based at the Lofthouse Athletic Club (now The Royale Restaurant), gets the Clegg treatment, with his usual easy manner, as part of his 1980s series with Yorkshire TV. Club President, Jack Sheldon, talks about his passion for racing pigeons, and then joins his fellow fanciers with their pigeons at the club. Here he sets the clocks, and the birds are driven 130 miles away to fly back home, before back at the club to announce the winner.

Hot Dogs (1970)

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Shipley amateur cine filmmaker Eric Hall reveals once again his knack of capturing perfectly a typical local custom as practiced in 1968. The film is worth watching just for Eric's wry commentary, in his broadest Yorkshire accent, but it also wonderfully shows behind the scenes at a day's whippet racing in West Yorkshire. Another interesting facet of the film is that it was made when the whippet community divided over racing pedigree or non-pedigree dogs.

Sally the Sparrow

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Never mind the polar bears, penguins and giraffes - in this film London Zoo's main attraction is an enterprising sparrow who feeds off the animals' leftovers. Nature and animals were recurring themes in Gaumont-British Instructional's films for children and the anthropomorphic jokes and whimsical commentary, in this case delivered in rhyming couplets, would have strengthened their appeal.

Wild Birds in Their Haunts

Oliver G. Pike

This pioneering film of wild birds in their natural habitats would have inspired wonder in audiences when it was shown in cinemas across Britain and beyond. The film beautifully showcases filmmaker Oliver Pike's passion for wildlife, photographic artistry and technical inventiveness.

£100 Reward

James Williamson

A spirited crime busting yarn for dog lovers everywhere, as man's best friend proves his worth in successfully bringing some dastardly villains to book. A family are too poor to buy food, so they decide to sell the dog - it's either that or eat it! Happily, our canine hero saves the day by sniffing out the ill-gotten gains of a pair of jewel thieves - who are not averse to gunning down anyone who gets in their way.

Pwtan the Kitten

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Pwtan, a brave and adventurous kitten, manages to find her way off the back of a rocking horse and into a flower bed where she takes on a geum, rolling on the leaves, biting a stem, attacking the blooms. Indoors, on a sofa, she meets her match: the film-maker's daughter, Fiona, whose style of play is much like that of Pwtan herself. Fiona's father, William Lloyd Ellis of Pwllheli, filmed local activities and a number of short dramas involving local people.

Horse Tale (1960)

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Opening with endearing shots of his fearless daughter Fiona and a foal getting acquainted, this compilation created by William Lloyd Ellis celebrates his daughter's love of horses, showing her on seaside ponies and out trekking. William Lloyd Ellis bought a camera on becoming captain of Pwllheli Golf Club in 1958 and created a number of short dramas utilising the golf club and acting skills of local people who became an enthusiastic audience when the films were screened.

Two White Rabbits (1929)

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Two children – a girl and a boy - are delighted to be filmed with their two, large, happy-to-be-stroked and newly-acquired white rabbits. The long-eared pets appear to have the freedom of a walled garden area but a hutch has also been provided for their comfort. A smiling mother and an involved father complete the picture. This is home movie material shot by Jack Clark who set up a photography shop and studio in Brecon in 1905 (now a toy shop but still run by the Clark family).

Parsonage Farm III – kids, cat, chick and children

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Arnold William Pym, chief accountant for Imperial Tobacco in Bristol, had a talent for filming animals and children as evidenced in his home movies. Here he has obtained delightful shots of the farm's nanny goat, her kids encountering a cat and a confident chick taking possession of a cat's saucer of milk.

Parsonage Farm II – cats, ducks, cows, daisies - and seagulls

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Arnold W Pym, chief accountant for Imperial Tobacco, Bristol, had a gift for filming animals and children as is evident from the shots here of two seagulls courting, two cats lapping milk and his two eldest children playing on the farm's duck house, the resident ducklings tottering about. Michael and Frances are also seen crossing the farmyard with their mother, braving the horned cattle gathered there, and picking daisies to make a chain and a posy.

Parsonage Farm I – cats, dogs, children and tea-time

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Parsonage Farm at Publow, near Pensford, Bristol was purchased by Arnold W Pym, chief accountant at Imperial Tobacco, Bristol, and his wife Jenny (nee Zaaijer), a botanist. There they created a garden of note and brought up four children who helped to care for the cats, kittens, dogs and puppies which found homes there and have been skillfully and lovingly caught on camera by Arnold, a keen photographer/film-maker, as they engage in the essentials – feeding and playing.

Beautiful Budgie

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Amongst reels of family footage, mainly showing the young daughter of the film-maker, there was one devoted to this budgerigar, perhaps indicating the high esteem in which the bird was held either by the family or by a friend who might have requested a film to be made of their pet. The budgie is attracted by shiny, reflective things which are offered to it in order that its behaviour may be recorded on film.

Plas Newydd, Anglesey

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Brandy, Biscuit and Bran are three loyal labradors that feature in this film of life at 'Plas Newydd', home of the 6th Marquis of Anglesey. A pug dog, its head tied up in a scarf, also features as does a playful puppy. They are the well-loved, four-legged companions of the family who are seen in and around their salt-water swimming pool and out in a rowing boat. The youngest members, the Marquis's twins Henry and Katherine, toddle about the lawn, amongst the daisies.

Dumb Sagacity

Lewin Fitzhamon

Delightful race to the rescue yarn in which a smarter than average dog and horse work together to save a young girl from being drowned. Bognor Regis is clearly more dangerous than it looks when a girl takes a paddle and finds herself cut off from land with the tide rising fast. Will the little moppet be left to her cruel fate, or can our four-legged friends - who are anything but dumb - save the day and pluck her to safety in the nick of time?

Forest Pony (1972)

Philip Leacock

Two children attempt to tame a wild New forest pony in this jolly kids' adventure. When they befriend local farm hand, Davy, the children begin to suspect he may be a horse thief. Geoffrey Keen leads the cast of this unusual short film from the Children's Film Foundation. Originally released in 1949 as Riders of the New Forest, a five part serial, this is the pacier revised version from 1972.

The Magic Box

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In the mid-sixties, before the days of Springwatch, an enterprising Wakefield family, the Brears, have set up their own birdwatch, making a bird box and filming the baby blue tits inside that have made it their home. With great patience they sit and observe the behaviour of one of Britain's favourite garden birds.
Norma and Doug Brear FACI are members of the Wakefield Cine Club. They have made many films since they started filming in 1960, putting on film shows in both Wakefield and Bradford. The film was possibly inspired by the Granada TV series Zoo Time, or its rival, the popular BBC children's series Animal Magic, with Johnny Morris. Interestingly, the first known bird watcher using a telescope was a man from Wakefield, Charles Waterton, who created his wildlife Walton Hall Estate in the 1820s, and also created the first manmade nest boxes put up simply for encouraging local birds and observing them raise their young. Nest boxes now play an essential role for helping to repopulate areas with declining species.