More than 15,000 photographs taken between 1919 and 1953 have been uploaded on new Britain from Above website.
Moreover, rare pictures of St Paul’s Cathedral and Blackpool Tower are included in treasured collection and conservationists plan to put 95,000 images on the website by the end of 2014.
St Paul’s Cathedral in London from March 1921/ Courtesy of: dailymail.co.uk
According to dailymail.co.uk, many images were so old and fragile that they were close to being beyond repair.
However, these photographs could have been lost forever, were it not for a major conservation project which has made them freely available on the internet for the first time.
Blackpool Tower and the Winter Gardens, as they were in July 1920/ Photos courtesy of dailymail.co.uk
The collection includes rare photographs of some of Britain’s most historic landmarks, such as a picture of St Paul’s from 1921, a 1927 image of Brighton’s West Pier, and a view of the Forth Rail Bridge from 1937.
Today’s launch of the Britain from Above website is the latest stage of a major exercise in conservation and cataloguing.
Wembley Stadium hosts the 1935 FA Cup final/ Photos courtesy of dailymail.co.uk
The interesting part is that experts have asked the public to help them identify other photographs whose subjects remain a mystery.
According to dailymail.co.uk, the website has interactive features which visitors can use to add information, share personal memories, download images and customise their own themed photo galleries.
A cliff-top campsite in Crimdon Park, County Durham, in 1946
/ Photos courtesy of dailymail.co.uk
The photographs come from the Aerofilms Collection, which was acquired for the nation in 2007 when the company faced financial difficulties.
They have been digitised with the help of the English Heritage and the Royal Commissions on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland and Wales.
Wallace Monument – commemorates the 13th century Scottish hero William Wallace – taken in 1928
/ Photos courtesy of dailymail.co.uk
