Okay, so I hope that the title of this article is clear enough that nobody comes here looking for an upload of Marco Polo or the Underwater Menace. So here’s the deal, British Pathe used to have newsreels on before movies back when many people didn’t have access to televisions and tv news was either not around or in its infancy. They have uploaded their entire archive, 85,000 newsreels  spanning 1896 to 1976, to YouTube for the public to view.

From their about page on YouTube:

“The world’s finest news and entertainment video film archive. Since the invention of the moving image in the 1890’s, British Pathé began recording every aspect of global culture and news, for the cinema. With their unique combination of information and entertainment, British Pathé’s documentaries, newsreels, serials and films changed the way the world saw itself forever.

With it’s unparalleled collection of historical events and vast catalogue of changing social activity, British Pathé encompasses one of the world’s most prodigious and fascinating documents of the modern age. From fashion to warfare and sport to travel, British Pathé is the definitive source for the 20th century in moving images.

All 85,000 newsreels are now searchable and viewable on YouTube. This equates to 3,500 hours of filmed history.

Our YouTube channel includes some of the public’s favourite clips, rare and amusing pieces to share and footage related to big days throughout the year.”

There are some Doctor Who related items in here as well including a clip from the 1967/68 Schoolboys’ and Girls’ Exhibition at Olympia featuring a cameo appearance from a Cyberman and Yeti. There are some other films depicting police boxes, footage of Jon Pertwee and Jean Marsh, even a Peter Cushing appearance.

No, it’s not Macra Terror, but something neat and interesting to pass the time. An intriguing quote from Mediakraft, the German online tv channel that is managing the project:

it is very likely that the community will find hidden gems in the enormous video library that have not been discovered by the archivists yet.

That quote is courtesy of http://www.doctorwhonews.net

So there’s your challenge. Maybe we should take a few minutes a day away from the forums and missing episode threads and look through this amazing archive for more Doctor Who related content. You just never know what you might find!

If you do find something, post a link in the comments section so we can share it with everyone!