War Amps releasing entire collection of historic army newsreels online for the first time

OTTAWA, Oct. 21, 2013 /CNW/ - The War Amps is launching a "Newsreel of the Week" project that will make the complete set of The Canadian Army Newsreels available to the public for the first time on YouTube and its other social media channels.

Featuring 20 hours of footage, the collection contains 106 newsreels filmed and produced by the Canadian Army Film Unit. A newsreel will be released every week, starting October 21^st and ending in November 2015, in time to mark the 70^th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.

The front-line cameramen were soldiers first. They received infantry training and took guns into battle along with their 35 mm movie cameras to record the Canadian Infantry in action. Due to their heroic efforts, these newsreels document the actions of Canadian troops in training and on the front lines, as well as major events in Europe including the invasion of Sicily and the top story of the century - D-Day.

In November 2010, to commemorate the 65^th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, The War Amps, in cooperation with Library and Archives Canada, made the complete set of The Canadian Army Newsreels available to the public on DVD. The Newsreels are held in the vaults of Library and Archives Canada, and remain one of the most requested items from the motion picture library. The online collection will make them available to an even wider audience.

Beginning October 21^st and every Monday spanning over two years, Canadians will be able to view history as it unfolds, in the comfort of their home on The War Amps YouTube channel at YouTube.com/warampsofcanada.

Like all War Amps productions, The Canadian Army Newsreels was funded by corporate donations. It is also available to the public on DVD at a cost-recovery price of $30 by calling toll-free 1 800 250-3030, faxing toll-free 1 800 219-8988 or at waramps.ca.

SOURCE: War Amps

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