David Clensy takes a look at an intriguing digital archive that is protecting rare footage of Bristol

As you sit down in front of the screen, the hushed world of the Bristol Records Office evaporates around you, and you slip back into the monochrome tones of the past.

It is 1933. A long lost Lord Mayor of Bristol is standing on top of Brandon Hill, vigorously whacking a wooden pillar into the ground.

His chain of office is spinning ludicrously around his head, but the city grandee is clearly throwing himself into the surreal dual tree-planting competition, which has him pitted in a head-to-head with the visiting Mayor of Brighton.

The relatively puny south coast mayor seems feeble by comparison. But in true tortoise and hare fashion, he beats his mighty opponent when the Lord Mayor of Bristol's over-exuberance causes his sledgehammer to fall apart in his hands.

It's the sort of thing that doesn't happen these days. Indeed, without this snippet of film from the 1930s, we would have no way of knowing it had happened then.

Welcome to the magical world of the Bristol Record Office film archive.

Until recently, the only way to view this footage would have been to scrabble about in a climate-controlled storage room, and try to either project the original 16mm film or view the 1980s back-up copy, which is embedded on to the now defunct U-Matic video tapes – a little-known rival to the VHS format.

After four years of toil, volunteers John Penny and Clive Burlton have brought the collection together and rescued them.

"I started off back in 2006, when I realised there were literally hundreds of films in the collection that would eventually decay and be lost unless they were digitised," says John, an amateur historian.

"I offered to do it on a shoestring – simply by connecting the machines to my laptop computer. The biggest problem was always going to be it is incredibly time-consuming."

John has worked on the project every Monday for the past four years, locked away in a little back room at the Record Office, which he has dubbed "the black hole".

"Soon after I started, I realised I'd need someone to help by compiling a catalogue of the films as I transferred them to the digital hard disk. I managed to rope in my friend Clive Burlton."

Clive, a former corporate promotional film- maker for Wessex Water, agreed to keep track of the contents of each film, in order to make the digital archive more easily searchable.

"It has been a simple but precise occupation," Clive says. "I would watch each film in real time, with a pen and paper, and record what the films include.

"It means that if somebody comes in wanting to see views of Park Street, for example, at different points in history, we can now cross-refer through the catalogue and produce the relevant films."

John and Clive have now digitised an impressive 100 films – that is, 26 hours of old footage, ranging from the ceremonial cutting of the first sod for the construction of the Royal Edward Dock at Avonmouth in 1902, all the way through to corporate videos made by Bristol companies in the 1980s.

They have created a special booth at the record office, where members of the public can sit and watch the films in their entirety.

"We didn't want to put them on computer, because we were afraid of intimidating older people, who may not be used to using computers," John says.

"So the equipment is simple to use. It just works like a normal television remote control. You simply find the film you want from the catalogue and type in the reference number and press play."

Other lost gems include a 30-minute film charting a day in the life of St Werburgh's Nursery School in 1938, while another is a three hour epic, recording in colour the effects of the Blitz on the city in World War II.

A range of post-war films herald a new age of suburban comfort through the 1950s, while the evocative Barley to Beer corporate film from 1961 shows beer production at George's Bristol Brewery – including footage of the final delivery of beer by dray horse in the city.

"There are some real gems in there," says Clive. "For example, there is footage from the 1922 FA Cup semi-final match between Bristol City and Huddersfield. City lost 2-1, but even so, it's nice to be able to see part of the match all these years down the line."

The unveiling of the new viewing booth is by no means the end of the project.

John says: "We would encourage people to look in their attics, because some of the most interesting films of Bristol life are likely to be home movies. If you have something, please call in to the Bristol Record Office. We would love to add it to the archive."

● A selection of films from the archive will be given a public screening at the Bristol Record Office on Tuesday, April 13, at 7pm. Admission is free, but as numbers will be limited, those wishing to attend will need to book a place in advance. Call 0117 922 2686 or email bro@bristol.gov.uk.