Great Britain (1960s)

Britain is an ancient land full of memories of people long ago the great Sun Temple of Stonehenge built in the Bronze Age 1500 years before Christ still reminds us of those who once worshiped here what strange rituals they performed and how they raised these great Stones one upon one another are Mysteries that Scholars may never solve Britain has a long history men of many races invaded this land in early times of all were the Romans they built fine towns the finest was linium which from the 1 to the 4th Century ad was the center of the Emperor hadrien built a great wall to protect his Northern Frontier from the warlike Scots much of Hadrian's Wall still stands today spanning country that can have changed little since lonely Roman soldiers looked out across it 18 centuries ago the island which includes England in the South Wales in the west and Scotland to the north is known today as Great Britain 800 years after the Romans left the castles of the Middle Ages maintained Law and Order and defended the coastline from Invaders the powerful men of the church built towering Cathedrals that soared into the sky reflecting a strong unwavering faith in a Christian God today Britain is a land of contrasts in the South the countryside is soft green and rolling in the north it is colder Sterner and more mountainous across these lonely Yorkshire mes a chill wind often blows to the West is Wales a land of green valleys and rugged hills and mountains still further north is Scotland here a fine Bridge spans the mouth of the River Fort a typical site along Scotland's Rocky Seaboard Britain lies the northwest coast of Europe and is in the same latitude as Canada yet her climate is much milder in fact than many of the North American states this is because the Gulf Stream brings warm Waters which bathe the shores of Britain warming the predominant Southwest winds these bring rain as well as warmth rain that drenches the fertile Countryside and rain that bors down on the city of London London the capital of Britain is a great commercial center where the whole world trades a freighter bringing dairy products from Denmark sails up the temps a tower bridge opens like two great draw Bridges to let her pass nearby the ancient Tower of London has stood for nearly A Thousand Years both Fortress and prison the Tower with its deep dark dungeons was the dreaded place in which countless unfortunate people met their end in the days gone by in London streets and squares the memory of Britain's greatest hours is recorded in stone and bronze Horatio Nelson was the Admiral who defeated Napoleon and the French Navy at trafala one of the greatest victories in the annals of the British Navy named after this battle that changed the course of history traler Square Echoes to the music of fountains Picadilly circus is the Hub of London's West End the city shopping center modern Office Buildings have changed the skyline since World War II but St Paul's Cathedral still stands though bombs destroyed every neighboring building a monument to that Genius of architecture Sir Christopher Ren the city of London is one of the great Financial Centers of the world the gold reserves of the bank of England are the backing for vast Enterprises involving millions of pounds that are transacted by the city's International money market each one of these gold bars weighs 28b and would purchase at least half a dozen automobiles not far from the bank of England is Lloyds of London World Center for shipping Insurance Lloyds also deals today in aircraft risks underwriting millions of dollars worth the value of the first first aircraft insured back in 1910 was only $1,500 today a single jet transport may be worth $7 million to supply the staff for all the commercial and trading houses of London the City's population has grown to more than 10 million to feed the millions in Britain's towns and cities the land has to be farmed intensively the yield per acre ACH by British Farmers compares favorably with almost every other country in the world Dairy farming is carried on extensively on grass lands suitable for grazing sheep are reared too on the Lush Green Pastures because Britain is too small to grow all the food required by its population of 52 million people more than half the food consumed has to be imported by sea from other countries lamb from New Zealand wheat from Canada and Australia bananas and other fruit from the West Indies to pay for these Imports Britain must export her whole economy depends on this she must export to live manufactured goods that other countries need Goods such as farm machinery and Automobiles pass out through Britain's docks to earn foreign currency to maintain her standard of living more than 2 million cars are produced each year by the British Auto industry many of them are exported to the United States this sports car is going to California Rolls-Royce builds the powerful Conway bypass engine now used by more than 50% of the jet airliners flying in the world today the super vc10 is Britain's latest jet airline [Music] one of the British Merchant Navy's famous Queens the ocean liner Queen Mary sails into Southampton Harbor in Scotland a shipyard on the river Clyde builds a new freighter to carry wheat Britain's Merchant Fleet plays a vital part in carrying the imports and exports that are again so vital to her economy among Britain's varied manufactured products is sheet glass exported in quantity to Australia Canada and the United States for hundreds of years miners have toiled in the depths of the earth to cut and bring to the surface the most important of Britain's natural resources coal Coal provided the energy that set the first railroad locomotives in motion coal fired the first steam engines that began the industrial revolution around the coal Fields Britain's Iron and steel industry grew up consuming vast quantities of coal to convert iron into Steel steel is the foundation upon which Britain built her industry this steel works at Fort talber in the industrial region of South Wales employs 177,000 workers many steel workers and miners still live in the Terrace Stone houses built in the last century when the industrial towns of South Wales first grew up around the coal Fields the factories clustered around them the Ronda Valley is typical of these 19th century towns once the Ronda was as beautiful as the other valleys nestling among the rugged mountains of Wales the history of Wales is a story of struggle against Invaders who long ago drove them from the plains to take refuge in the hills of the West the ancient Welsh language is still in everyday use students of the University of Wales usually speak English when studying The Sciences which include physics and electronics Welsh however is still taught as the national [Music] language Scotland the brave once a warlike independent Kingdom it has been politically United with England and Wales for more than 350 years historic Edinburgh Castle looks down on the famous princes Street heart of the great city of the north Edinburough capital of Scotland the highlands of Scotland is a land of mountains the highest in Britain steep-sided valleys and Misty Lakes Highland cattle graze on the mountain slopes on land too poor for crops they are Hardy creatures particularly suited to life in this cold Northern climate Scotland cattle are famous for their excellent beef and the Aberdine Angus is considered by many to be the finest of all breeds they are exported to many parts of the world for breeding purposes a he's a bunny wee Bull and worth $50,000 an abundant water supply and plenty of thick coated sheep have helped to make the Scottish Woolen industry famous everywhere the Highlanders still weave tartan patterns by hand patterns and colors that Scot's families Clans and regiments have kept as their own for hundreds of years and away they go in their Kilts dancing the Highland Flink already they're saying will you come back again back we must go south to the soft and rolling Countryside of England once more gliding is a sport rep that has become very popular in recent years this pilot perhaps a descendant of some Viking Raider is competing with others to see who can soar the farthest and stay in the air the longest the game of cricket is one of England's Great National Sports and is played during the summer in schools and universities throughout the land it is a game that teaches quick thinking and team spirit Cricket dates back to the 18th century the English like to think that many of their greatest leaders were made on the playing fields of England's public schools in fact what are called public schools are really private schools and parents pay high fees to send their sons there academic standards are very high these schools specialize in character building and maintain a tradition that often goes back hundreds of years in contrast to the public schools are Britain's State schools where children attend without the payment of tuition children must according to law receive full-time education between the ages of five and 15 motorcycles are very popular with British youth today and or bicycles no one under 18 may drive an automobile the successful students go onto a university perhaps one of the new red brick universities but there is Keen competition for places and those who are accepted are fortunate the competition is keenest to secure a place in one of the old universities such as Cambridge Cambridge is a place of tradition and in the stones of her ancient colleges is enshrined 600 years of History once the most important subject was theology but today Cambridge is as famous for the study of modern Sciences as any University anywhere but outwardly the atmosphere is as calm and Serene as ever another of England's ancient University towns is Oxford which has been a seat of learning continuously since the 12th century here there are 29 colleges including a modern department of engineering science Peter Tu is studying to be a nuclear physicist his colleague is an American studying here under a road scholarship they are comparing data obtained from experiments in microwave radiation but but the ancient universities of Oxford and Cambridge do much more than teach science or the Arts they seek to inspire the spirit of inquiry and a flare for leadership that Britain needs in her citizens of Tomorrow The Poets wrote or to be in England now that April's there many an Englishman in some distant land has said these words to himself and pictured as he did so some quiet village with its thatched cottages and Norman Church unchanged through the centuries Mr and Mrs Morton pause for afternoon tea while puppets begs for cake the county of Warick is the very heart of England a land of gently flowing rivers and small all quiet towns Stratford lies on the river Avon and here stands the Royal Shakespeare Memorial Theater built as a tribute to William Shakespeare perhaps the greatest playwright of all time the white swan of Avon Glides along the river beloved of the PO in Holy Trinity Church Shakespeare was baptized and here in the chapel he was buried no one has ever challenged the Supreme Mastery of the English language possessed by this poet of Elizabethan times this Royal Throne of Kings this sceptered aisle this Earth of majesty this seat of Mars this other Eden Demi Paradise this England Charles Dickens was another great English writer he had a strong love of people old and young in this room he wrote his famous book David Copperfield the story of a little boy neglected by his Elders Wilkins mobber was the character in David Copperfield who was always waiting for something to turn up from his book The Old curiosity shop little Nell and her grandfather in his stories Dickens described the sufferings of the poor of 19th century England in the hope of improving their lot Dickens often wrote about lawyers but although times have changed British law still maintains its ancient traditions in the criminal court of Old Bailey the accused is always innocent until he is proven guilty the scales of Justice are carefully balanced the laws of England are designed to protect the rights of the individual the principles of Old English law adhered to in the Royal courts of Justice are the basis of the American legal system of today defend the children of the poor and punish the wrongdoer is the message to those who enter the CRI Criminal Court in London Police Women help to enforce the law while lawyers known as barers and solicitors do the legal work for the law to be effective the people must respect it this is one reason why English barristers and judges still wear wigs and robes the highest law Mak body in the land is Parliament Britain is a democracy ruled by an elected Parliament and a hereditary Monarch laws are passed by members of parliament Mr Christopher Mayhew a member of the House of Commons has come to tell us something about it this is where parliamentary democracy was born here in Westminster for centuries now our British members of parliament I'm honor them myself have been getting ourselves El elected to the House of Commons here and passing the laws creating and dismissing the governments with our votes it's an effective and civilized political system and we try and keep the business side of it streamlined and up to dat while maintaining our old traditions and pageantry [Music] [Music] [Music] every year on the Queen's birthday Queen Elizabeth II and her husband the Duke of Edinburgh take part in the ceremony which is called trooping the color [Music] [Music] es to the col [Music]