Rare photographs of wartime filming

These images are part of a collection of more than 150 rare photographs of behind-the-scenes wartime film-making, which has been released to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day

- By EMILY SMITH, PA

MORE than 150 rare photographs showing behind-the-scenes wartime film-making have been released to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day.

The images, released by Historic England, also highlight the pioneering role of women in wartime photography.

The collection was put together by Dorothy “Knicky” Chapman, one of the first women trained in military photography during the Second World War.

Ms Chapman was part of the first intake of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) at the No 2 School of Photography in Blackpool.

She was later posted to the famous Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, the central hub for military film-making, known as RAF Iver Heath.

Film and photography units for the RAF were based at Pinewood and produced films that shaped public perception, as well as time-critical newsreels and coverage of major events including the D-Day Landings.