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Davis Family Films: Diana's Communion And Snow Scenes, London (1963)

Iced fountains at Trafalgar and a steeplejack up Nelson’s Column are among the highlights of this fascinating, eclectic home movie from 1963.

Amateur film 1963 5 mins Silent

From the collection of:

Logo for London's Screen Archives

Overview

Taken from the Davis Family Films archive, this film begins with footage of a neon-lit Piccadilly Circus and Hippodrome before cutting abruptly to a London church for a Holy Communion. It’s a typically eclectic, rapidly cut Davis film, and also includes excellent scenes from a London estate, a suburban high street and several great shots of central London in the snow.

The films were inherited by the man who moved into the Davis family’s old home in Haringey. This one shows a family communion, with smiling girls and suited boys outside a church. There are also great shots of a suburban street – note the period scooter – and shots from the Davis’s then home on a London estate. The family are filmed on the balcony and inside, and there are also shots of the neighbouring school. There’s also footage from Trafalgar Square, filmed from up highshowing the fountains iced over and pigeons pecking the snow. Further snowy scenes from East London follow, before we see grainy footage of steeplejacks climbing Nelson’s Column. Bruce Castle Museum