"The Queen's Visit to Oldbury, 1957"

This film was produced by Light Metal Forgings who manufactured the titanium rose bowl and shooting stick given to the Queen and Prince Philip to mark their visit on 23rd April 1957. It shows part of the route taken by the Queen, filmed in the morning of the visit, the arrival in the Town Square at Oldbury, and the Queen's departure. Still pictures of the Mayor, Cllr Alfred Gunn, making the presentations to the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh have been added to the video.

[Silent colour film, 6 minutes. A brief commentary has been added - 40Mb file]

"Civic Oldbury"

This film was made by Frank Wakeman in the 1940s, and shows some of the activities of the Borough, such as house building, schools, parks, wartime activities and farming in the Warley area. It includes scenes of Moat Farm School, Bristnall Hall Secondary School, house-building in Brook Road, concerts and the wartime 'Grow more food' campaign in Barnford Park, and starts with Mayoral Sunday at Christchurch.

[Silent monochrome film, 17 minutes - 100Mb file]

"Town Sparrows"

This film was made by Frank Wakeman in the 1940s, and follows one day in the life of a group of Oldbury children, their journey to and from school, time at school, playing after school in Birchley Park and in the canal. It includes scenes of the old canal (now filled in), houses in the Albert Street area, the market and general shots of Oldbury town.

[Silent monochrome film, 16 minutes - 100Mb file]

"The Bank Robbery"

This film, called 'Late Arrival', was produced by James McDermott in the late 1960s. It is a silent film of a fictional bank robbery 'somewhere in the Midlands', and uses several locations in the Black Country. Much of it is shot in Oldbury and Langley, and, apart from being amusing, records places that have now been 'improved' and therefore totally destroyed! The scenes include The old Midland Bank, Birmingham Street and Church Square in Oldbury, and the old Lloyds Bank, Broad Street, Trinity Street, and Park Lane in Langley. For some reason, no bank would allow filming inside their premises, so there are no interior shots of the banks. Likewise, the role of the police car is taken by a vehicle kindly lent by Accles and Pollock Ltd.

Shortly before his recent death, 'Jim' McDermott agree that we could put this film on the website. It is included now as a tribute to him and his skill with a film camera, splicer and film cement, long before the convenience of video and computer programmes made editing cleaner, easier, and open to everyone..

[Silent colour film, 12 minutes. - 53Mb file] - this may take some time to load if your broadband speed is low