FOR FREEDOM

GB
1940
1hr 27mins
Dirs: Maurice Elvey and Castleton Knight
Starring: Will Fyffe and Anthony Hulme

A news agency scoops the sinking of the Admiral Graf Spee

This drama was made largely as a form of propaganda and portrays the early events of the Second World War from the eyes of a British newsreel production company. One scene depicts a group of reporters working on a newsreel about scientific progress and there are two shots that accompany this, one of London trams crossing Westminster Bridge at night, and the other showing a view of London Charing Cross station with a collection of pre-war Southern Railway suburban EMU’s present. In addition to this, there is later glimpse of London buses outside Morden Underground station.

Two trams pass each other on Westminster Bridge, with a London bus to the left
Vintage electric multiple units at Charing Cross station. The view is from the station’s elevated signal box. Interestingly, the unit on the far left has what appears to be a ‘white panel’ on the front. This is not a yellow warning panel as these did not first appear until 1962. Could this odd application be some sort of wartime experiment?
Buses deposit their passengers outside Morden station. The Northern Line terminus is the most southerly location on the London Underground.