THE ALEXANDER ARCHIVEHitler at Nuremberg, King George V at Liverpool’s Sefton Park, the Queen and Prince Philip in New Zealand - it’s incredible to believe that all this was shot by just one woman on a cine camera more than 80 years ago.
Social tapestry
After the death of her fiancé in the First World War, Marjorie Alexander bought a Kodak cine camera and continued filming throughout her life. Born and raised in Heswall, Wirral, Marjorie led a privileged life that took her and her camera all over the world. Now, for the first time ever, the BBC have exclusive rights to broadcast her amazing footage. As a whole, it forms a rich social tapestry, spanning four generations. Voyage of discoveryThis unique collection was nearly lost forever. After years spent forgotten in an attic, the entire collection including the camera and projector almost ended up in car boot sale. Thankfully, film collector Steve Bate rescued the archive and embarked upon a voyage of discovery as he watched footage spanning back as far as the 1920s. Long forgotten eraThe quality of the footage is of an amazing standard when you consider the fact that this was a hand held camera without a tripod. The camera needed to be wound up which gave enough power to shoot only 29 seconds of film each time. What began as a hobby, became a lifetime's work and now provides an extraordinary insight into life in the North West in an era long forgotten. | 
Inside Out - North West: Monday 23rd October, 2002
REALPLAYER REQUIRED
