From World War Two onwards, untold thousands of American service personnel have been posted to Great Britain. Before they came, they were shown films designed to familiarise themselves with this strange and exotic country and its even stranger inhabitants - the British. This unique collection of four of these rare films captures the Great Britain of yesteryear - as seen through the eyes of the Americans. Together they contain a treasure trove of nostalgic and highly evocative footage capturing everyday life in a bygone Britain of the 1940s and 1950s...

Know Your Ally: Britain (1943):This War Department film celebrates Britain's lone stand against the Nazis in the early years of the war. It describes the British as the 'toughest to understand' of all the Allies and paints a picture of a nation with a great heritage but terrible coffee!

Britain And Her Empire (1946):This production was originally intended for civilian viewing but adopted by the War Department. Again, it celebrates the sacrifices and achievements of the British people during wartime and takes the viewer on a whistle stop tour of the Commonwealth and Empire.

The Marshall Plan At Work: In Great Britain (1951):Britain is portrayed as stricken with poverty, shortages and rationing in this film, which seeks to show how the Marshall Plan will help put the country back on its feet by 1952.

You In Great Britain (1954):Designed for US service personnel posted to Britain in a Cold War world, this film celebrates the bonds between America and Britain as allies in the fight against Communism, and seeks to explain strange concepts like 'the monarchy', 'pubs' and 'drinking tea'. There are stern warnings not to intimidate impoverished 'Britishers' with your superior spending power...and Larry Hagman appears as a young GI!