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Dawn of a New Era

Episode 19 of 20

Archive footage telling the history of modern Britain. A look back to the 1900s, when the invention of the film camera put everyday people in the picture.

Melvyn Bragg, accompanied by a vintage mobile cinema, travels across the country to show incredible footage preserved by the British Film Institute and other national and regional film archives, to tell the history of modern Britain.

In Manchester, Melvyn looks back to the 1900s and the dawn of a new era, when the invention of the film camera put everyday people in the picture.

Margaret Koppens talks about her grandfather, who was one of the thousands of children who risked life and limb in the cotton mills of Lancashire. Fairground owner Peter Sedgwick comes face to face with his great grandfather, who started the family business back in 1900. Plus, how a discovery of film stock in a Blackburn basement ended up a world treasure.

29 minutes

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Melvyn Bragg
Series Producer Dympna Jackson
Executive Producer Ruth Pitt

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