Old King Coal

In this 1948 National Coal Board animation by Jules Pinschewer, the industry promotes itself by making up its own mythology in which King Coal is roused from his underground kingdom by calls from the surface for more energy. The benevolent King provides it, and Britain marches forward, as one, powered and warmed by his regal lantern. It's ace.

We Must Build Upwards

Talking of New Towns (Bracknell, remember? If not, see below) here's a terribly informative 1948 film from the Central Office of Information explaining to working class people why they will all have to move and why they should like it.

The Charley character featured in a number of post war COI films, but then there was an awful lot of progress to report in those days. These days, the best you could expect is some muzak over the flashing caption 'you're fucked'.