England, The Great North Road in 1939 [further enhanced]

[@Rick88888888]

If you like my work then please donate: www.paypal.com/paypalme/Rick88888888

[@welshlad6427]

Absolutely fantastic work Ricky. Could do with some music maybe if you can’t add sound?

[@Rick88888888]

@@welshlad6427 Most of my (275+) videos have music...

[@brianpearce6537]

This was filmed by Colonel Lionel Paten ... He was concerned that England would never be the same after the impending war ... so he set out to film and filmed from Baker Street all the way down the A1 through to Grantham - Lionel Paten sadly died in 1952

[@wcstevens7]

I used to travel on the A1 Great North Road in the early 1960s. And watching this film bought tears to my eyes..Bless you England we still love you !!!!!

[@jimreid6370]

Yes me to I used to get a lift back from London most weeks 😅

[@oz1902]

Maria Stevens I agree, bless you England. Unfortunately, there isn’t much of it left.

[@paulmac007]

We love what you once were - now it is a broken land with despair and no hope. Due to corrupt governments, individual idiots at the top, corrupt councils, greed and control freaks - not to mention the EU. I can still remember Great Britain as she once stood proud - but let's not forget - it was the PEOPLE that made this country what it was and those people and their values have been beaten down, driven out and can only hang on to glorious nostalgia. It's so sad. BTW: I am 52 years old. Call me what you like.

[@portcullis5622]

@@oz1902 Ahh, the bitter irony of people getting all nostalgic about the A1! There isn't much of the English countryside left because it has been carved up with far too many busy, soulless roads like the A1! Wherever you are in the south-east of England, you are always within a few miles (and earshot) of a ridiculously busy and ugly A road. It was the increase in motor vehicles that ruined the English countryside for ever.

[@petercurry6222]

@@portcullis5622 A fair point. The motor car has been nothing but a scourge and blight upon the landscape. And no doubt many people many people will agree but are they willing to give up driving . . . ? I can drive but I don't drive because one more car is one more too many. On a wider but related note. Climate change is happening and Mother Earth strikes back. Whatever the consequences, the human species can have no complaints. We will get what we deserve. Cheers

[@michael_mouse]

... what a wonderful pace of life it must have been back then... thanks for uploading!

[@ronholfly]

Yes plenty of Greasy Transport Cafes where you could get a big fry up for half a crown that's 2/6 old money

[@beachgirl1947]

I don’t care if I’m nostalgic...England was so much lovelier then !

[@GuitarandMusicInstitute]

Nostalgia, it’s not what it used to be...

[@GuitarandMusicInstitute]

@privatise the NHS not really, actually it’s a very old but rye observation about misty eyed revisionism...

[@antonycharnock2993]

@@GuitarandMusicInstitute There's a lot of things we dont have now they had in those days, like...."rickets"...Tony Capstick

[@GuitarandMusicInstitute]

@@antonycharnock2993 lol, I’m old enough to remember that, brilliant!

[@antonycharnock2993]

@@GuitarandMusicInstitute Enjoy! kzbin.info/www/bejne/fKvcaXSJgpV2ms0

[@jeangenie68]

Amazing film. Good to see the 3 lane roads. I remember these - we used to call the middle lane the suicide lane.

[@hcc942]

I think what is most charming about the old villages in these clips is that today, aside from modern cars and dress sense, if you were to film around these today you'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference

[@ostraadt]

Wonderful footage. Did anyone else notice how clean the towns (and even the out-of-town roads) were? I was born after the war and I can remember the streets of Manchester kept clean by street sweepers.

[@robertcook2572]

Don't forget that there simply wasn't as much packaging, and what little there was was paper or cardboard and thus degradable. Furthermore, people tended not to eat and drink in public to the extent they now do. My father always said that people would have thoughtlessly discarded packaging, had there been packaging to thoughtlessly discard.

[@ostraadt]

@@robertcook2572 Didn't see any biodegradeable paper packaging floating around at the side of the roads.

[@robertcook2572]

@@ostraadt That's because, as I said, there wasn't much packaging anyway, and eating and drinking in the street was largely unknown.

[@edwinholland6149]

No graffiti or vandalism, great to see road signs free from paint daubs. Britain before the social sickness.

[@ostraadt]

@@robertcook2572 Maybe the street sweepers heard about this guy filming his trip and decided to sweep all the litter away (that's the newpapers we used to wrap our chips in - no styrene then) before the camera arrived. For the most part, people didn't shit on their own doorsteps and took responsibility for their environment. Please note 'for the most part' - not everywhere! Clearly the inhabitants of the Great North Road had entered the competition for 'Cleanest Road in Britain'.

[@davidhussell8581]

I was born in 1951 and the country was almost identical to that shown in the film. Of course the industrial areas were not so attractive, but overall they were. We had a beautiful country at one time but now we are so overcrowded and often surrounded by ugliness. Yes some things are better but overall we have lost far more than we have gained.

[@MrAlwaysBlue]

I was born in 1965. My problem with this country and its policies is also the erosion of living space.

[@MrDorbel]

population then, 46 million, now 61 million, but Britain is still almost all countryside. You should get out more.

[@MrAlwaysBlue]

66 million actually. Fine if you live in the more rural or remote areas, but most of us need to live close to where we can work and would like easy access to the countryside.

[@Adrian-jk4kx]

David Hussell yes , It's very clear that we now have a problem with too much signage and lighting.

[@Ynysmydwr]

David, I was born in 1948 and conditions in large swathes of rural Britain, at least, remained very little changed in the 1950s from those that had obtained as far back as 30 years earlier. Yes, the welfare state was starting to make inroads into endemic poverty -- and thank "God" for that! -- but mains water and electricity were still far from universal in rural areas , and "the squire" retained much of his traditional influence (even if it was by now only a blocking power) over the lives of ordinary people. I nevertheless rejoice in the fact that post-war we were on the move towards greater social justice (despite the setbacks to come, post 1979). I can't therefore join in with the "everything was so wonderful then; why can't we just turn back the clock?" sentiments expressed in so many reactions here. We have indeed lost many things (just as we've all lost the vigour of our own younger days) -- especially the idealism of the immediate postwar years -- but let's not kid ourselves that most ordinary people, most of the time, are not now far better off than they have ever been.

[@petersmith4058]

This film and journey brought back memories of my honeymoon journey from Potters Bar to Inverness in 1972. My A60 caught fire just past W.G.City and we spent out first night in Baldock instead of a 4 poster in Buckden. A garage fixed my car on a Sunday! by stripping components off of a Morris Oxford so we continued to Newark for the 2nd night then Edinburgh and finally Inverness. Great holiday. We came back on the motor-rail from Perth in 12 hours! Excellent film.

[@brianpearce6537]

This film was taken by Lt Col Lionel Paten in 1939 - he was an officer in the Indian Army and a member of the Paten Family who ran the Bull Hotel. This film was kept by Rev Richard Paten until the 1980's when it was donated and transferred for use in a VHS video of old film of 'Peterborough and the Fens'. Also on the film was the East Coast Main Line in 1939 in colour - plus 'The Lindens' in Lincoln Road - A house donated to house the elderly of Peterborough by the Paten Family in the 1950's.

[@tulyar1043]

Very interesting, is a copy available? So much has changed over the decades, makes me wonder sometimes,have we really progressed or are we just kidding ourselves.

We should not forget than millions of Indians volunteered to fight for the British Empire in WW II, despite their being "downtrodden"!

[@neildahlgaard-sigsworth3819]

Brian Pearce the footbridge between Queensgate and the railway station has been named afte this family.

[@stewartmcmanus3991]

Thank you Brian.

[@robertcroft8241]

But What Make is the American Car . The most popular makes in 1938-9 were Buick as the Royal Family had Six, followed by Packard , (Much more Expensive). This looks like a Chrysler Kew . Anyone know for sure ?

[@wilsonlaidlaw]

One tends to forget how unsightly telegraph poles were at the side of roads. Towards the end of the film, it is amusing to think that at the time this film was made, Margaret Thatcher was probably still working in her father's grocery store, in Grantham, as a 14 year old. Many thanks for posting this.

[@UKAlanR]

If only she'd stayed there..........

[@Shoshana-xh6hc]

Incredible beautiful footage. How wonderful someone thought this was important enough to film. Thanks for uploading. I guess the fact that war was over the horizon gave impetus.

[@theapretty6070]

I grew up in Yorkshire and in the 1960's worked in London so made the trip up the Great North Road home and loved seeing that sign 'To the North' so much more romantic that to the south. My boy friend now husband and I used to stop off at a pub in Eton Soccon and have either chicken in the basket or scampi in the basket which would still be my favourite meal. Although the journey took a long time it was wonderful to be going north (as long as we didn't break down)

[@nicholasbunyan8222]

Looking at this wonderful footage I know we have lost our way. Of course one cannot bulk against change, but when that change seemingly destroys all that you hold dear it makes one despair.

[@lizzieh5284]

Thanks for this. Hardly any traffic. So peaceful. How times have changed!

[@russefrance4869]

In 80 years time, people will look back at England today and make exactly the same comments as we make about about England as it was in this lovely video.

[@Bruce-vq7ni]

Quite true - people often make similar comments about the 1970s.

[@JamesSmith-uv9og]

I think it’s very unlikely that 2020 will be remembered as the good old days

[@platinum2176]

I'm gobsmacked! What a remarkable upload! Thank you very much for this extraordinary video!

[@Beatlefan67]

As someone deeply concerned about road safety it's interesting to note that in 1939 over 8,000 were killed on the roads when there was barely a fraction of the road traffic we see today. It's around about 1/5th of that today.

[@WitchKing-Of-Angmar]

Interesting how you aren't looking at London at all in this film, or any other highly populated city. This is home town, and cross country. It's amazing how in your head you have the past made up, you see the film right in front of your dumb eyes and all your brain is telling you is "sad, black cars, little vehicle amount." Self manipulation

[@oiuhwoechwe]

yeah but they could actually go faster without traffic. difficult to die in a traffic jam

[@davidbarlow350]

Nice to see a world where manners were observed,people were polite and not in such a hurry they'd meet themselves on the way back. No not a view through rose tinted glasses,just an observation on today's greed obsessed selfish ,me first society. Thanks for posting.

[@ixlnxs]

Not all manners were observed back then, and not all people were polite: notice the selfish jayparker at 1:58.

[@peterrevell7893]

The jayparker is the cameraman !

[@ixlnxs]

I assumed so, since it's always the same vehicle. But that only adds arrogance to his selfishness.

[@davidbarlow350]

Some people will moan about anything!.One car parked on a quiet road(,as most roads were then) .doesn't compare to today's inconsiderate and selfish motorists.

[@charlesmacgilchrist3648]

Funny you say that when mosr of these drivers didnt know the highway code - they just went to the post office to fill a form and walk away with a driving license!

[@phaasch]

How neat and trim the towns were. Not a trace of litter anywhere. And we forget, from that monochrome era, that it was a world of colour, too- the bright liveries of many of the buses and lorries. The old, inviting coaching inns still plying their trade in the era of the car.And the sky set ready to fall any day.This is a precious record of a way of life on the very cusp of its extinction, soon to become grey, neglected, and war-begrimed. The old England about to sacrifice itself for social justice...

[@martinholmes100]

So very well said!

[@neonskyline1]

What a stupid comment, this is Stamford area, not shit hole Manchester, Yorkshire, Newcastle and all other dump industrial places, yeh it's the immigrants who have done it lol , Britain is and always has been an enslaved Country, this is also pre Bread and Circus' Council housing sprawling it's ugly everywhere.

[@MTknitter22]

phaasch Yes and even those with not a lot kept it clean and orderly.

[@rjzion-i4y]

phaasch 2:36 piece of litter on the bottom right, sorry mate

[@0019808]

@@neonskyline1 Dear me, look at your videos you complete, pitiful loser. You're like a pound shop David Brent, only worse! You're one of these twats who refuses to accept in any way that fifty years ago or more might be better than today because you know that it's the perverse political ideology you support and have swallowed hook, line and sinker that is responsible for making things worse today. There is a thing that money can never buy and its called living in a civilised, cohesive and relatively safe society, something none of us can claim today which we had back then. And it's all thanks to liberal leftist twats like you. Go back to making your delusional videos in your bedroom, bellend. You're no good for anything else.

[@beestonbump1106]

How wonderful it would be to go back and live in these times

[@stevecarter8810]

Ah yes, no vaccinations or nhs, the great depression starving our working classes and keeping them off the roads and genocide raging across Europe. Simpler times!

[@ghamandlupinwalkingtours]

🤦

[@pennyb22]

@@stevecarter8810 Community spirit, hard workers, a proud native people, enjoying local seasonal produce which is nicer for the environment and animals, religion was respected and not mocked, family was important, English culture was alive and well, less pollution, enjoying the simple things in life and being grateful, less crime...i could go on. It would be much nicer to live back then. Death and illness is awful but it's a part of life sadly and vaccines aren't going to change my mind when I look at society now. It's a sick and dying society and the NHS is on the brink of collapse, more and more people becoming homeless nowadays.... Yeah it's great today

[@Tinker1950]

@@pennyb22 What laughable ignorance, utter naivety and pitiful lack of understanding. Apart from your complete lack of functioning knowledge of society at the time, only 21 years earlier the world had been at war in which millions had died. A year or two later and by some estimates, over 70 million more people were killed by a global flu pandemic. A month after this film, the second World War started - yes, they were great times weren't they?

[@pennyb22]

@@Tinker1950 I am aware this happened so I'm not sure where the ignorance and naivety comes into it? We have more murders in our streets now, grooming gangs, rapes are at an all time high, suicides at an all time high and the white British will be a minority by 2050, we have just had another pandemic... Yes John times were slightly better back then. I'm pretty sure another war is looming in our future sadly

[@ronniedixon1128]

No wonder our forefathers fought tooth and nail to preserve this beauty

[@paulmac007]

Absolutely agree. Well said!

[@probinson4383]

@Tricky Tricky The UK is 88% white skinned, you thick arse.

[@ericthemauve]

@@probinson4383 I think his skull is thicker than his arse tbh.

[@spaceytracey1237]

@@probinson4383 how much?

[@Rick88888888]

Hello WheelieMacBin So far Brian has not asked me to remove this video. I do not intend to remove it. I agree fully with you. Too many license holders spoil their material with ugly logo's and other unnecessary markers. A good example of such destructive attitude are the Huntley Film Archives who add a huge logo smack in the middle of all their material plus a huge banner and a timer. They are so affraid that others might steal their licenses (probably worth only pennies).

[@gingef5197]

Magnificent, I traveled that road in an old coach with my Dad in 1945 when I was 11 on our way to Slough. I now live in Sawtry and often drive into Stamford. The roads have changed some since 46, but Stamford hasn't - except for the traffic.

[@Mr.SLovesTheSacredHeartofJesus]

I really enjoyed watching this. If I could go back for a weekend to see and experience this, I would do so in a heartbeat.

[@richardclarke376]

me too, would love to go back in time especially if I could bring a Cosworth with me

[@reevedavey]

Yes,its very difficult not to become misty eyed ; I recall as a very young child our annual holiday to Cornwall in my Fathers Rover 12; A30, A303 RAC motocyclists saluting and very very little traffic; all at a top speed of 50M.P.H; a day and a half of pure adventure for me.,

[@peterhunt2723]

My dads rover 12 took us from Nottingham to Carbis Bay in 1951 and 1952! 343 miles to Carbis bay hotel. Through the Cotswolds, Exeter, Taunton etc. 12 hour trip! Behind a commercial vehicle, then limited to 20mph, was a bit of a trial! But gosh happy days. Peter Rabbits

[@stevetaylor8698]

I had the unfortunate experience of travelling from West Yorkshire to Carbis Bay in 1969 - seven of us in a Morris Minor. It took us 20 hours. Awful.

[@probinson4383]

What about the people who could not afford a car and who lives from hand to mouth and died early from preventable diseases because there was no NHS? Are you a bit simple or just selfish?

[@cs7th]

Lovely. I started driving the Great North Road about 30 years after this film was shot. Many of the locations back in the late 60's were much the same and the roads still uncrowded.

[@SillyMoustache]

Dear Rick88888888, thank you so much for this "video" and the enhancement work done. I was born after the war and so where I lived in West London wasn't so delightful as these images, which do look very "green and pleasant land" - but as someone has mentioned - those lovely old cars and other vehicles weren't such a treat to drive or ride in. and houses had no insulation or central heating and, and etc., and just think of the horrors awaiting all those folk in that film! My most local "big road" was the Great West Road - simor , if post war, memories. Nostalgia ain't what it used to be" I'll certainly subscribe to your channel! Thanks again.

[@DAVIDE-bk8by]

Shocking changes, and not for the better. Stamford is still very recognisable though, thankfully

[@ThePostie501]

Stamford looks the same as it is now (thankfully).

[@antonycharnock2993]

I love Stamford. Passed through last week on a day out. Traffic levels are pretty busy even though the A1 now bypasses.

[@enjoyyourday5870]

end of empire

[@Anderson-dk6is]

Reap what you sow

[@stationofdreams8242]

Wonderful and evocative footage. Thanks for sharing.

[@geoffcrisp7225]

I have travelled that road many times since the 1970's, its changed a lot, not always for the better. There are still places and buildings still recognisable today along the road despite many towns being bypassed. Stevenage old town and Biggleswade have new shop fronts but most of the buildings are still there. Progress is not always better.

[@dwderp]

The land of my ancestors. It just makes my heart break.

[@TryptychUK]

For all those wallowing in nostalgia, this was the year war broke out, people were no different to today, and less traffic meant slower deliveries and a poor range of goods and services. Not that much has changed, except these towns no longer have an arterial road running past their front doors and fibre optics have put pay to those unsightly telegraph poles littering the landscape. That said, smashing film.

[@TryptychUK]

@Abu musab Al Zarqawi What?

[@srl6018]

Lovely. I was born in 1964, yet when I see a film like this I think to myself, "those were the days."

[@agr7879]

Ah, beautiful. No wonder Churchill was so determined to defend our island.

[@visionist7]

Today it isn't British enough to be worth defending with the same mentality

[@HowardARoark]

It is so incredibly sad how much our society has lost, something really terrible has happened -a silent war.

[@MrMoriarty100]

The Kalergi Plan.

[@megadave1197]

Simply Connected Please can the admin delete this ☝️ nonsense.

[@georgerbuchanan]

William Gruff racist detected.

[@HowardARoark]

@@georgerbuchanan Anti-white racist detected.

[@rolybaker7770]

@@georgerbuchanan that's because you are looking for it!

[@merxeddie6474]

I watch how England use to be,and I feel a rage of what this country has become.Im 72 ,England was not a Utopia but I can sincerely state I lived through the best two decades In the 20 century.I now feel I live in a parallel universe where every moral and ethical principle has been reversed.

[@oldbloke5277]

Yep, I'm 73 and emigrated to Australia with my wife at the end of '74. We see the difference every time we come back for a holiday. The way it's gone down hill is such a shame.

[@davidw1518]

Ah, the good old days, when the house was freezing cold in winter, when people died from polio, whooping cough, tuberculosis, etc., when only the very well-off could afford cars, when you (72) and I (69) would almost certainly not still be alive at our age. Yes, it looks lovely on silent film, and some aspects were much better than today, but for most people, despite all the bad attitudes and the selfishness of today, we're in a better place now than our parents in the 1930s.

[@oldbloke5277]

@@davidw1518 Yep, I agree with what you say and I'm glad I wasn't around for WW2. It's also true that we have a better life expectancy now, but back in my younger days the place was less crowded and I like to wear my rose tinted spec's now and again. Having said all that, I eas driving lorries all over GB in the 60's and 70's. No power steering or A/C. Manual clutches with no air or hydraulic assistance, lucky if you had a heater/demister and even luckier if you had a working one. If you couldn't find a B&B and had to kip in the cab, it wasn't much fun, but I was younger than and knew no different. Even with all that, I'd still go back to the 60's & 70's because we had good music and the girls wore short skirts. :-)

[@robertcabrera3989]

Called decadence.

[@probinson4383]

Lol, you're funny with your Belgian name.

[@atlantic1952]

It wasn't wartime. That started on the 1st September 1939 so this was the 'Good old days' before it all started and then rationing came in later. This Country never did recover from WW2 and was changed forever, mores the pity. Wouldnt it be nice to drive about in 1939 Britain, even if it were for a week, just to experience it for oneself. Now its mostly a misable experience. Thanks for posting this wonderful snapshot of a great past.

[@Robert.Deeeee]

atlantic1952 But there's a barrage balloon at 35 seconds. So the "phoney" war must have just started.

[@KountFive]

atlantic1952 Stamford is more or less the way it was, I was surprised.

[@neildahlgaard-sigsworth3819]

Kount Five yes, they're still using a road sign from this period in the town centre!

[@neildahlgaard-sigsworth3819]

atlantic1952 the buses have silver grey roofs and not the dark grey of the wartime years. This was to make the buses less conspicous from the air.

[@liten48]

and its even more miserable now 13/2/2018

[@WheelieMacBin]

I do hope that you don't remove this video, as it has great educational value. there are far too many people about these days trying to claim copyright over anything and everything. 'Fair Use' is a policy that serves the public well, rather than lining the pockets of greedy 'chancers' who want to claim ownership of British history.

[@folkvar4500]

Can't watch it for long as it's just heartbreaking to see that and then to see it now. Tragic.

[@Jeffybonbon]

I know what you mean Its so sad to see what we become

[@irishelk3]

Why, what does it look like now?, ugly buildings everywhere i'm guessing?

[@batkodimitrov3183]

dislexic landlord And foreigners taking over the country...

[@neildahlgaard-sigsworth3819]

dislexic landlord you mean the fact we all now have a higher standard of education, living standards, cheaper food and better opportunities

[@nihilistcentraluk442]

You are living out a fantasy in a low tech past while ignoring the grime and the poverty

[@markwalmsley9868]

Wish it was like that now 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@andyelliott8027]

The Tea House at 3.32 is now an Indian restaurant.

[@callumhardy5098]

Well yes and no, being able to drive from London to Edinburgh in 7 hrs is pretty useful.

[@robinmcewan8473]

You probably don’t if you really knew, like me, how sh*t the 1950s actually were

[@patriciaangeles4816]

My husband recently purchased a 1939 Flying Standard 14 car and he will love watching this. Well done 👍🏻

[@marklambert1424]

No ugly, soulless, post-war Marxist tower blocks - just indigenous architecture. Lovely. Great vid.

[@davidcarey6133]

'Indigenous architecture'? LMFAO

[@ianinkster2261]

Ooga booga!

[@petek7822]

@@davidcarey6133 😂

[@billsykes11]

I love the texture and the colours.Watching these films is like having a time machine.I bet all the towns are now bypassed. I wish the sign posts of today were as stylish as back then!

[@shakespeare_hall4788]

I wish modern life was as stylish as back then ! everything these days is watered down ...sad, mediocre, bland, cheaper ,culture-less, moral-less , style-less,......Oh god i'm getting depressed !

[@MrMoriarty100]

@@shakespeare_hall4788 result of Labour ideology and Conservative greed. If only we could have gone with Labour greed and Conservative ideology.

[@anorthedge4422]

I love the way the cameraman (Lt Col Lionel Paten) just leaves his car on the main road while filming, not even parked very close to the kerb. Today, such parking would lead to the vehicle being smashed into small fragments by the next 40-ton truck.

[@michaelbean4922]

What a great film. Thank-you for posting. We live in Wansford which is little changed from those days. The old bridge featured in the video looks great and Stamford seems very unspoilt even with the A1 running through it! It is little changed now apart from the traffic. Love the policeman directing traffic at the end of the high street. A wonderful film.

[@Rick88888888]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@denisemckendry9489]

Such wonderful footage, I just love the awnings on the shop fronts back then. The high streets looked so clean & smart, unlike today's high streets; which just look run down & tatty in my opinion. Wonderful empty roads, which we can only dream of now. Thank you for sharing. I need a time machine!! 😊

[@MIGASHOORAY]

Its tatty because they let in the scum of the earth.

[@postscript67]

That's a big improvement. The speed of the vehicles is much more authentic now - though some are certainly not going slow! Thanks for enhancing and uploading this. It's a real pleasure to watch.

[@spidvod4728]

Despite modern technology and demographic changes, we're all living in the same houses, still driving cars to get about, and the infrastructure is about the same too. I think I'd rather live then than now though despite the war.

[@rhiadmarhes9291]

Just imagine in 10-15 years' time we might have flying autonomous buses that take a lot of traffic off the road and cars that prevent accidents and injuries.That would be nice

[@smitajky]

Yet no antibiotics, no birth control, a shortage of food for many, no telephone. Limited electricity supplies. Very expensive petrol and cars. No TV sets. The London pea souper smogs from coal smoke. To make a fair comparison you need to consider both the good and the bad.

[@neildahlgaard-sigsworth3819]

smitajky the National Grid had been completed and opreating as such by 1938 at which time there were about 9 million customers using electricity, making electricity industry the UK the world's fastest growing power supply industry. The National Grid is one of the unsung heroes of the Blitz.

[@Veaseify]

@@smitajky No NHS, my Grandmother was in hospital for 3 months getting treated for throat cancer - it took my grand parents 12 years to pay off the hospital bills. If this was all footage of Stepney or Shoreditch in the East End of London or any of the terrible slums in the major cities in Britain all the comments would be a lot different.

[@probinson4383]

@@smitajky No NHS, no cheap flights, poor diet, no central heating, little chance of going to university etc, etc, etc. Our ancestors could never have dreamed of how comfortable and safe and long-lived we are now.

[@janewilliams20]

Thank you! I live in Biggleswade, and have driven most of these roads: and also driven the modern A1, which is mostly dual carriageway bypasses these days. A lot of the town centre high streets haven't changed much in terms of buildings, they just have nose-to-tail traffic.

[@robertp.wainman4094]

Recently relived the Biggleswade 'refreshment stop' on my childhood coach journey's in the 1960's from Yorkshire to London - and pleased to see the black and white timbered cafe where we'd go is still there!

[@stubailey9433]

It just looks a nicer place to live.

[@Smarterthanyou-mthrfkr]

It was

[@Smarterthanyou-mthrfkr]

Life was hard tho, people worked their asses off.

[@Smarterthanyou-mthrfkr]

@@pete3816 my grandparents seemed happier than we all are now though;).

[@Smarterthanyou-mthrfkr]

@@pete3816 i am the first to admit, we have never lived in better times, humanity is at its most comfortable for sure.

[@grahamparr4710]

These pictures show a idealized picture of Britain, for the vast majority, life was a struggle, there was no welfare state, people did die of disease and poverty, no health service, if you had no money to pay a doctor tough, you were on your own. The majority of houses had no indoor plumbing, you bathed in a tin bath in front of the hearth, the toilet was at the bottom of the yard or garden, you used old newspaper to wipe yourself. These were the good old days,

[@steveg2479]

People didn’t miss what they had never known. Did you miss your iPhone in 2001?

[@Abbale]

@@grahamparr4710 not true

[@AverageAlien]

You say no welfare state as if that's a bad thing. The welfare state is the worst thing to happen to Britain. Nobody is entitled to MY hard earned wealth because they're lazy failures. This Britain is clearly superior to the mess we have today

[@anonUK]

​@@AverageAlien Ladies and gentlemen, we got him! The last Thatcherite in Britain.

[@AverageAlien]

@@anonUK I guess you like living in a filthy dystopian hell overpopulated with invaders

[@giuliopedrali4794]

I'm Italian and love the british landscape, and in 1939 there was the landscape whitout the great discruction with constructions and constructions

[@mixwizard2310]

Excellent work....what a fantastic reminder of how it used to be in this country...I need a time machine to transport me back to those day's....My oh My...have we lost out.

[@catherinewilson3880]

mixwizard2310 actually, I think it looks archaic and dreadful. Thank heavens we've moved on.

[@mixwizard2310]

I was around in those day's, did you experience just how it was??

[@PamelaMou1]

Not much different..

[@jimmcintyre6664]

No health service...no penicillin...ruled by aristocrats...etc

[@PDCRed]

1939. The final year before the UK went downhill forever.

[@frankhornby6873]

P D ....NO...BRITAIN WENT "DOWNHILL " FROM THE MOMENT THE BEATLES SPLIT!?...(from the 70s onwards).....

[@mikepeirson1150]

My beautiful country before the rot set in.

[@robinmcewan8473]

The past was really cr*p, really, really

[@johnmwarr]

A truly fascinating view of pre-war life which appeared to stretch out like a long white road. During the 1940s there was so little traffic on the main road out of Bristol into Gloucestershire that we could sit on the grass and write down both the number and make of cars that passed by. The country, the nation, really has lost its soul and another revival is required, and quickly too! Thank you for presenting Lt. Col. Paten's film. ~ JMW

[@gixerloon]

Nice footage of a once blissful England, before the developers got their hands on it, my family left the centre of London in early 70's for the Countryside as it was then (Middlesex/Hertfordshire boarders) I thank them for that one good decision, I grew up in a nice area, thankfully. Great to see all the old vehicles any Colour you like as long as it's Black, now you have to pay a premium for a Black car, how times have changed, not for the better either in many, many ways... you can still find parts of 'old' England, but it's getting more and more difficult, every day.

[@Rick88888888]

And what would you still call "old England" nowadays?

[@gixerloon]

@@Rick88888888 Well I think it speaks for it's self, somewhere that is still pretty much as it was, not overly changed by the modern age, ok so good things about living in this time are obviously the internet, cell phones and car's that don't break down every other week, and I'm lucky enough now to live somewhere fairly unchanged by developers and modern buildings.

[@ProfessorPesca]

Loads of these places still look identical to how they do in this film, Buckden, Stilton, Wansford, Stamford and Great Casterton are almost completely unchanged really. If anything there’s less soot on the buildings in Stamford and pedestrianised areas where cars are shown driving in this footage.

[@dcvariousvids8082]

I note that the majority of drivers, pay little regard for keeping in lane. But oh, for roads without potholes.

[@philsosshep4834]

Highways agency take note. Not a single pot hole in sight! Lovely film of when Britain was truly beautiful just before the coming storm . Thanks for the video

[@briannewman6306]

The change from then to now is inconceivable

[@garryharriman7349]

This is utterly beautiful. Litterally a window into another era. This is just amazing.

[@markvines7308]

Progress hasn't been kind to our world.

[@JamesSmith-uv9og]

Just depends, in terms of safety and science yes

[@_B.M_]

Well, WW2 started the same year as this video ... so progress has been kind.

[@markvines7308]

@@_B.M_ I'm talking about the planet, not it's human inhabitants. Our progress is killing us. Since WW2 half the number of the world's animals have disappeared and we have destroyed enormous amounts of land and waterways.

[@167curly]

Kinder and gentler days.

[@brcardoso00]

Were they really?

[@Paul.Morgan]

That's a funny thing to say about the start of world war two.

[@Paul.Morgan]

One thing is for sure though, Britain had a sense of national solidarity in those days. Multiculturalism has destroyed that.

[@321bytor]

...and the war was won with the brave support of people from the commonwealth, people from a range of 'cultures'. Read some history

[@philsdt3572]

Absolutely. We should have shut the door and never have let those bloody Danes, Angles, Saxons, Normans and Vikings in. As for the Huguenots, pfft, don't get me started! Yeah, multiculturalism really screwed this country up....

[@MsMesem]

War time, looks so modern and civilised. Beautiful road quality.

[@leedorey1490]

Better roads than where I live now!!

[@freeganjustin6699]

@@leedorey1490 The big roads were all brand new then, due to the Arterial Road building programme of the time. An awful lot of the resisidential roads (especially the new ones) remained unmade until the 1950s.

[@robtyman4281]

What a great film archive! ....and how poignant too....just a month before WW2 began. Some of the places featured in this footage will have been bombed or destroyed completely. All seems so sad and senseless. Amazed at the amount of cars and vans there were back then. I kept thinking this was from the 1950's (because of the number of vehicles) but had to remember it's all pre WW2! Priceless film footage.

[@MrMoriarty100]

It is the A1 mind, but then again it's also before Beeching ripped up the majority of the country's railways.

[@fredfarnackle5455]

Thanks for posting, thoroughly enjoyable.

[@norfilmshetland]

This looks as if it was shot on 16mm colour film. It must have cost a fortune to make - many hundreds, or even thousands of pounds in todays prices. The most remarkable thing to me is how few lorries. Cars and buses, yes but practically no big lorries - it all went by rail! Extraordinary piece of history, thanks for sharing!

[@shelleydavis1040]

I lived in St Martins filmed here on the way into Stamford as a child in the sixties. The pretty houses were owned then and still are today by the Burghley estate. Most of the people commenting here would have no idea what it was like to live in a feudal society. It might look pretty but it was suffocating and l couldn’t wait to leave! Incidentally I have lived in a lovely diverse area of Bristol for nearly 40 years and wouldn’t swap for anything! Interesting to see this though, thanks for sharing!

[@LeeRaldar]

Serfs were not really allowed to leave feudal societies or they would have became outlaws and been punished harshly if captured probably involving death or at best losing important body parts.

[@1000Zebedee]

What a fantastic film Rick88888888. Everything seems so much more gentle and well ordered compared to the chaotic mess we live in today. The Belisha beacon crossings had only been introduced in 1934 by Leslie Hore-Belisha and were without the zebra stripes. These stripes were added some years afterwards. If only we could turn back the clock...

[@yoya4766]

The film shows about 20 vehicles in total. The same film now would have 20,000. There are no ugly buildings, in fact very few buildings at all. No confusing, messy signage all over the roads. No telephone, electric and 4g masts No polluted skies. But was it gentle, slower perhaps, more civil.

[@JamesSmith-uv9og]

Si Fi Even 20 years ago, life seemed a lot more easy going compared to now

[@operationskypebbles8583]

Wow I didn’t know Aspro was that old. Those Telegraph poles were interesting. The whole video reminds me of that Margaret Rutherford, Rex Harrison film, Blithe Spirit. I would love to have gone to that Tea House in the video because you know they would have served the tea from a tea cozy and had scones with Devonshire clotted cream and strawberry jam. 😋. Great video thanks.

[@allandavis8201]

It’s hard to see the England of my forebears and of my youth, clean, litter free, no congestion, little pollution, and proper village/town pubs, all gone now of course, but I have the memories of growing up in a much better society than today, I feel sorry for today’s youth, they will never get to experience the joys of my carefree childhood, outdoors most of the summer holidays, no curfew except for tiredness, eating a packed lunch with filthy hands and never getting poorly, and yes, they were a much simpler and better time. 👍🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@philthompson8574]

Keeping the streets clean has to privatised Companies on the orders of Margaret Thatcher

[@stephenhodgson3506]

Little pollution? they had to introduce the clean air act because of the levels of pollution . The trains all ran on coal as did virtually everyone's heating. Many rivers were devoid of life due to everything that got dumped into them by factories.

[@probinson4383]

So how come infant mortality was higher and life expectancy was lower?

[@philthompson8574]

Usual claptrap from the far right

[@nickstevenson92]

Some people say there were no good old days,,,, me, I beg to differ.......

[@forza223bowe5]

There certainly was

[@devonpike]

Thanks for sharing this Rick! Since the Colonel followed London Road and captured the road signs, I've found it rather easy to find almost the exact same perspectives taken in 2009 with Google Street View. It's quite interesting to be able to compare the two perspectives taken 70 years apart!

[@Rick88888888]

One of the plans I have is to go and follow the A1 and make a "Then and Now" video. Maybe I'll do it this summer when we will go on holiday in the UK. I live in The Netherlands.

[@vindolanda6974]

What strikes me is how modern it looks

[@Aikitrad]

I was born in 1936, I joined a cycling club and rode my first 25 mile time trial at Grantham in 1950, the A1 was not very busy even then, so many memories, thank you.

[@brianyatman4802]

This is wonderful, and I applaud your decision not to include a cheesy soundtrack/musical accompaniment.

[@johnnymac2143]

Excellent. One of those houses on route is now a Swingers joint called The Vanilla Alternative. How scummy society has become....

[@craiglammasreach1242]

They’ve been about since the beginning of time.. If anything it’s likely dampened down a smidge

[@user-ky6vw5up9m]

It looks boarded up these days.

[@glpilpi6209]

I love the idea of actually being able to cross the A1 as a pedestrian back then !. Something that would be pretty dangerous today. The quality of the film is really good too . Some parts of the UK were like this up to the 50s but something disastrous happened from the 1960s onwards and everywhere is urban sprawl now. In 1939 there were 2 million private cars on Britain's roads , there are now approximately 37 million , around 1 car per two people !.

[@user-ky6vw5up9m]

Glpi lpi I occasionally cross the carriageway of non-motorway stretches of the A1. Within Bedfordshire, Many very old Rights-of-Way still cross the A1 and there are very short overlapping gaps in the central crash barrier to let a pedestrian through.

[@fredfarnackle5455]

I was born in a small area not far from Portsmouth, Hampshire. The A3 (main road Portsmouth to London) ran pretty close to the end of our street. In 1945 I was five years old and used to catch a double decker bus to school and back for one penny each way. Due to my delight at having that homeward penny fare in my pocket after I got off the bus and walked across the A3 I sometimes would spend it at the local shop and eat a penny bun walking the rest of the way to school. Come hometime I just walked along the A3 and crossed it to get home. Dad would come and look for me, once on a horse, once on a motorbike and sometimes in a taxi that he used to occasionally drive. Must have driven my parents mad with worry, but they never showed any anger, just relief that I had made it home.

[@faustusTVR]

Wonderful footage. Into my heart on air that kills From far yon country blows. What are those blue remembered hills, What farms, what spires are those? That is the land of lost content, I see it shining plain, Those happy highways then I went And cannot come again. Apologies for any misrembering there, my nostalgia for a time I wasn't even born to see. Maybe play Lionheart (Kate Bush) over the film for effect.

[@stephenbradshaw9126]

What a wonderful poignant poem - thank you!

[@Tunsgate]

Two things stand out for me. 1) The number of wires on the telegraph poles. 2) The centre road white lines appear to be a rough guide only :-)

[@EdsCafe]

Tunsgate 2) Even more so these days!

[@pommygeezer9309]

What a find this video is? I’m from Bristol, sat here in Adelaide watching this.. I used to go to college in Hitchin.. used to get pissed up in Biggleswade! Surprised I remember it tbh.

[@richardwilson1234]

Dear Rick 8888888. I think you have produced a beautiful film of times past for those of us that drive up and down the A1. Thank you. I enjoyed it, until I made the mistake of reading the comments. Who would have thought that such an innocent and innocuous and simple film would have attracted the racists and bloody ignorant to comment?

[@jezzaqc]

An amazing film! Thank you so much for sharing!

[@dazeyevans9093]

my home town of Stamford [6.50] hasn't changed all that much I can still recognise streets and shops.The George hotel [on the left hand side of the gallows straddling the street]was a stopping off point for coaches [as in horse and coach!] and is still open today and the gallows are still there too.When you go through the main doors there are bars to the left and right that still have the old signs "London and York" because they were the waiting rooms for passengers heading south to London and North to York.There has been an inn of some type on the same site since 947 AD and it was also a meeting place for the Knights Templar

[@shelleydavis1040]

I lived in St Martins filmed here on the way into Stamford as a child in the sixties. The pretty houses are owned still today by the Burghley Family. Most of the people commenting here would have no idea what it was like to live in a feudal society. It might look pretty but it was suffocating and l couldn’t wait to leave! Incidentally I have lived in a lovely diverse area of Bristol for nearly 40 years and wouldn’t swap for anything! These racists don’t now what they are talking about the British empire was the cause the most terrible bloodshed and inhumanity. We should be ashamed!

[@zeberdee1972]

Love Stamford , wish i lived there .

[@dazeyevans9093]

@@shelleydavis1040 Feudal society ? The Cecil family live in Burghley house and while they do have some rental properties they do not own most of Stamford !

[@edmundsveikutis1698]

What have British politicians done to dear old England.

[@andrewoliver8930]

Sold off our utilities to foreigners for cash.

[@paulnunnink7338]

Wonderful peace an quiet. They could not have known how terrible it would be what was about to happen.......

[@paulnunnink7338]

@Zain staric no, I meant the second world war.......

[@mr122b]

My car was three years old in August 1939. To be able to see the country as she would have seen it is pretty special. I don't know if she was ever driven along the Great North road but whenever I watch a piece of film from this period I always look for her. Its a long shot but you never know.

[@Heaven-dy9lj]

For those who are wondering why England has changed so much in so little time, thinking it unnatural, this quote and goals may go some way to explain; Nahum Goldman 1915 Frankfurt school, which moved in part to Birmingham UK 1964 under Stuart Hall, Community Social studies(engineering) ; "The historical mission of our world revolution is to rearrange a new culture of humanity to replace the previous social system. This conversion and re-organization of global society requires two essential steps: firstly, the destruction of the old established order, secondly, design and imposition of the new order. The first stage requires elimination of all frontier borders, nationhood and culture, public policy ethical barriers and social definitions, only then can the destroyed old system elements be replaced by the imposed system elements of our new order. The first task of our world revolution is Destruction. All social strata and social formations created by traditional society must be annihilated, individual men and women must be uprooted from their ancestral environment, torn out of their native milieus, no tradition of any type shall be permitted to remain as sacrosanct, traditional social norms must only be viewed as a disease to be eradicated, the ruling dictum of the new order is; nothing is good so everything must be criticized and abolished, everything that was, must be gone. The forces preserving traditional society are "free market capitalism" in the social economic realm, and "democracy" in the mental political realm. The capitalist free market does not fight against the old economic order, nor does democracy lead a fierce hot battle against the forces of reaction which oppose the new order, therefore our transformative work will be imposed through the unifying principle of the militaristic spirit, the negative task of destroying the old established order will be completely solved and finished only when the all the human masses are all forcibly collectivized as uniformed soldiers under imposed mass-conformity of new order culturing. After destruction of the old order, construction of the new order is a larger and more difficult task. We will have torn out the old limbs from their ancient roots in deep layers, social norms will be lying disorganized and anarchic so they must be blocked against new cultural forms and social catagories naturally re-emerging. The general masses will have been first persuaded to join as equals in the first task of destroying their own traditional society and economic culture, but then the new order must be forcibly established through people again being divided and differentiated only in accordance with the new pyramidal hierarchical system of our imposed global monolithic new world order. Capitalism must be condemned as a fundamental misfortune caused by the wealth of capitalist power exploiting the false separation between the high rulers and the oppressed exploited masses. The masses must be induce to repudiate the concept of personal wealth and personal rights, this second task will also be solved only by virtue of the great guiding principle of the subordinating militaristic spirit in which superior ranks impose order on inferiors, which will bring the true aristocratic principle of "might is right" in the new world order: "those who can rule - shall rule". The spirit of militarism, Der Geist des Militarismus, Stuttgart, 1915, p.37 - 38

[@LeeRaldar]

It appears that rumours about Britain emerging victorious from both WW2 and the Cold War were a little premature now that useful idiots have joyfully accepted the Trojan horse gift that was left for them in the aftermath.

[@Heaven-dy9lj]

@@LeeRaldar Summed up well.

[@hanniffydinn6019]

I see their plan is perfectly executed. Shame UK is full of weak people that can’t see what’s going on. Well won’t matter they’ll be a tiny minority soon. 🤯🤯🤯🤯

[@neiloflongbeck5705]

You can still see some of the buildings and bridges today. Some are still on the A1.

[@Eurobrasil550]

Interesting video thanks for posting, During the 70s several times a year I would pass through some of the areas shown as a child , Travelling between family in Kent and Lincolnshire, some of the places were still similar looking to the film, certainly until the mid 70s.

[@PK-yf3hd]

Though not widely travelled , from Leeds ,and 76 ,I have always thought that the south of england was the most beautiful ,indeed dreamlike ,place ever to exist on earth(was.of course)..Scotland,only could ,for different reasons equal it and that for sheer romantic associations and ethereal landscape...there are times and places,people and events that are unique,irreplaceable and eternally memorable..they pass too soon,this corrupted world and we are not quite worthy to keep them

[@blackporscheroadster6415]

Wales much nicer than Scotland and south of England.

[@PK-yf3hd]

@@blackporscheroadster6415 ethnically differentiated motorist of probably Celtic origins,I would never relegate the Welch in any area of human activity..we in this city still revere the memories of those sporting geniuses John Charles and Lewis Jones and always will

[@paulbarrett22]

france is still like this i suppose thats part of the attraction of the ex pats living out there

[@petek7822]

@@paulbarrett22 I was thinking the same thing. Looking at those old films reminded me of France of not so long ago.

[@Rick88888888]

Hello Brian, Thank you for your message and information. The "original" that I used was on KZbin about 2 years ago but suddenly disappeared. If you want me to remove this video then I will do so. Just to mention that many people seem to enjoy this material (there is another version in poorer quality also on my channel with 50,000+ views. My hobby is to enhance old video material with all sorts of software. I could enhance your original footage if you wish, (if it is in digital format).

[@user-ky6vw5up9m]

1.50 is a high point north of Knebworth looking down to Stevenage. The Great North Road here is locally called B197 London Road, nowadays and the modern A1 (M) runs parallel to the west.

[@johnrawlins6147]

Fantastic, " I'll trade all of my tomorrows for just one yesterday " from a song by the great merle haggard

[@skf957]

Facinating! Suprising (to me at least) amount of traffic for the first few minutes. And reassuring to see that dodgy overtaking manoeuvres are nothing new.... Great stuuf, thanks for improving and sharing.

[@mowbray99]

That will be when it was a pleasure to drive and cycle not like today's rat race.

[@viewfromear]

mowbray99 in the 1930s about 20 people were killed on the roads every day - in 2018 it’s about 5 per day. So it’s somewhat deceptive. When we consider that we cover at least 10 times the mileage in the UK in 2018 than in the 1930s, I think it’s safe to conclude that using the road then was incredibly dangerous by comparison to now. There’s no such thing as a Golden Age - it’s all relative: benefits and disadvantages one way or another.

[@markstrugnell]

mowbray99 I wouldn’t say it was a pleasure to ride around then. With the fear of a bomb dropping on you at anytime

[@stevep7950]

Clearly in 1939 you had to be extremely wealthy to drive. So therefore it was a pleasure to drive for the very wealthy, with most people never driving. In '39 the average salary was £170 per year and the average car was £310. Today the average UK salary is approximately £36,000 so that would be like making the average car today around £64,000. If that was the case again then almost nobody would drive.This is the lesson of why we are all better off financially today.

[@clearlake3492]

@@stevep7950 The people who view these nostalgic films of a bygone England through rose-tinted spectacles would get a rude awakening if they had to live like the average person did in the 1930s. What makes me sad when I view these images is that there is hardly an architectural shot or street view that looks better in 2020 than it did in 1939. But as for living standards, health, education etc, there's no comparison.

[@peterstringer8236]

I blame Facebook and KZbin

[@vindolanda6974]

Amazing to think that most if not all the cars and trucks shown would have been made in the UK.

[@taffy4486]

So glad we had all that diversity to build all things British.