Aerofilms gallery

    Aerofilms co-founder Claude Friese-Greene (shown right of the pilot) with his film camera, July 1919. Between 1919 and the early 21st century, a group of daredevil pilots and photographers formed a new company called Aerofilms, taking to the skies to capture footage of Britain. The co-founders of Aerofilms were Claude Graham-White and Francis Lewis Wills. Graham-White was one of Britain’s first aviation celebrities. Together they amassed 1.26m negatives and over 2,000 photograph albums. Although taken for commercial and practical reasons, today they amount to a unique historic documentation, via low-altitude photography, of the changing face of Britain in the 20th century. Photo: English Heritage The Aerofilms exhibition runs until 31 March 2015 at RAF Museum London, Grahame Park Way NW9 5LL. Tel: 020 8205 2266. www.rafmuseum.org.uk

    Among the most prized photography in the English Heritage Archive, a publicly accessible national collection, is the Aerofilms Collection, the largest store of aerial images which illustrate decades of dramatic change from the 20th century to modern day.

    The photographs were the result of a business partnership, founded in 1919, by English aviation pioneer Claude Graham-White, and architect Francis Lewis Wills. Together they soared above Britain to capture thousands of aerial images of Britain, which serve as a fascinating record of the nation’s development pre and post war.

    Don’t miss the final months of the Aerofilms exhibition, Aerofilms: Britain from Above at the RAF Museum London, until 31 March 2015.

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