The King's Plate turf classic held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. People gather in a large number on the ground. King George VI and Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom arrive to watch the championship. Dignitaries arrive in a royal carriage. A large crowd greets them. The King and the Queen seated in the grandstands. The race starts. Jockeys riding their horses on the race track. People watching the race. The winner is awarded by dignitaries. The King and the Queen seated in the royal carriage. After the event they leave the area.
A U.S. delegation arrives to attend a bilateral meeting in UK. The officials are greeted and welcome. A large crowd gathered outside the building to welcome them. The British army security guard keeps a vigil. The 'National War Bonds' building at the back is visible. The U.S. War Observer covers the event. 1939.
An Allied propaganda film to solidify Anglo-American solidarity within the ranks as well as to counter Nazi propaganda aimed at weakening the alliance shows British soldiers in Great Britain during World War 2. 1938: in the United States New York Yankees win the pennant in baseball; scene of Yankees team members shaking hands. View of aviator Douglas Corrigan nicknamed Wrong Way Corrigan after his accidental flight from New York to Ireland instead of California as planned. View of trains on the 6th Avenue Elevated (or Sixth Avenue El) before that service was halted in Manhattan New York City. British citizens go about their daily life. Derby horse race in a stadium. A British boy and his father shovel dirt for a backyard garden. Players play a football (soccer) game at Wembley Stadium in England as spectators cheer the 1938 FA Cup Final with Preston North End taking the Cup versus Huddersfield Town as George Mutch scores the winning goal. Scenes in Germany: People cheer for German Chancellor Adolf Hitler and give Nazi salute. Newspaper headlines about Czech occupation. Graves in a cemetery. British Prime Minister Arthur Neville Chamberlain, Adolf Hitler Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini sign the Munich Agreement. Despite a peace agreement Hitler invades Czechoslovakia. People read 'Military Training Act, 1939'. British soldiers march along a road. View of Adolf Hitler smiling and laughing. Artillery is fired. A poster reads 'Britain Declares War on Germany'. Airplanes in flight and drop leaflets over Germany. German airplanes in flight. Parachutists jump from the airplanes. Hitler talks to officers and considers the war to be over. Radio news broadcast of the British declaration of war on Germany by Neville Chamberlain. Many different British citizens and families shown in living rooms and work places gathered around radios to listen to the so called "We shall fight on the beaches" speech of Winston Churchill on June 4, 1940. Clip includes scenes from 1938 through 1940; from a film produced in 1943.
Many sightseers stand around the wreckage of a German Heinkel He111H-2 bomber that crash landed in a field. A swastika painted on the tail of the bomber. The damaged cockpit. Several British Royal Air Force fliers examine it. (Note: This is German Heinkel He-111H-2 bomber,coded 1H+JA of Luftwaffe Stabskette/KG26. Known as the 'Humbie Heinkel,' it crash landed, on 28 October, 1939, at Humbie, East Lothian, Scotland, after being shot down by No.602 'City of Glasgow' Squadron of the British Royal Air Force, during an armed reconnaissance mission over the Firth of Forth, where Royal Navy warships were harbored, during World War 2.)
Opening scene shows the Percival Mew Gull aircraft E2H, G-AEXF, accompanied by several persons walking beside while taxiing across the field at Gravesend Airport, Kent, England. It has just landed, on a return flight from Wingfield Aerodrome, at Cape Town, South Africa. The exhausted pilot, Alex Henshaw, is seen starting to climb from the cockpit of his airplane. Surrounded by a large crowd pressed close around the airplane, Henshaw is lifted bodily from the cockpit and carried upon the shoulders of well wishers. The next scene is a closeup of Henshaw, with face blackened by oil, drinking from a cup, while surrounded by a group of men. Glimpse from behind Gravesend's Mayor, wearing Chain of office, as he greets Henshaw, who is next seen being carried, again, on shoulders of greeters, accompanied by several policemen. (Note: Alex Henshaw set a record in 1939, taking off on 5 February 1939 from Gravesend Airport, landing at Wingfield Aerodrome at the Cape on the 6th. He flew 6,377 miles in 39 hours and 25 minutes, averaging 209.44 mph. This film shows the completion of his return flight retracing the same route and distance, which took 11 minutes longer.)
In the tense two weeks before Britain's declaration of war against Germany in World War 2, (occuring on September 3, 1939) the Evening Standard Newspaper of August 21, 1939 reports that the Premier sees the King; the Cabinet is to meet; Members of Parliament assemble to hear Chamberlain speak; and the Pope will broadcast peace pleas. Londoners are seen gathered in the areas around the Houses of Parliament. A woman carries a placard reading "Churchill." (She pushes it in front of the camera.) Rolls Royce limousines carrying cabinet ministers enter gates at Parliament courtyard. Bobbies contain peaceful crowds without difficulty. Occupants of one limousine are dressed in Arabian garb. Newspaper vendor displays headlines of Evening Standard reading: "Britons told to leave Germany." Cars carrying dignitaries continue into the Parliament courtyard. Several photographers snap photos as the cars pass them. A shot of the Elizabeth Tower at the north end of the Houses of Parliament, with the Great Clock clearly visible. The tower, clock and great bell (Big Ben) are often collectively referred to as"Big Ben." Routine busy commercial traffic moving on the street past Parliament. View from a high vantage point of double-decker buses moving past the Parliament courtyard, where crowd stands by the fence. Another official car enters the courtyard.