In more than 50 countries, 300,000,000 people are subject to the threat of locust. This 1956 documentary shows that The Desert Locust exacts a heavy toll on crops over a vast area of Asia and Africa, from the Atlantic to the Bay of Bengal. The insect’s life cycle is traced – mating, egg-laying and hatching, emergence and growth of the immature hoppers, their coalescence into marching bands, emergence of the winged adults and the formation of the destructive swarms.

Counter-measures depend on widespread reporting of locust movements. The Anti-Locust Research Centre in London receives reports and is able to issue forecasts. On the basis of 25 years’ observations, general patterns of the flow of locust swarms can be discerned. These are shown plotted on maps and related to actual migrations in 1954. Research on the insect itself also goes ahead, in wind tunnels, in laboratories and in the field. All these efforts have the common aim of destroying the pest.

For more information about Shell’s Historic Film Archive please contact: [email protected]

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Shell’s surprising and captivating Historic Film Archive dates from 1934 and covers a rich mix of topics from technology, science and engineering to craftsmanship, motorsport and travelogue.

The Shell Film Unit, responsible for the content, was a highly celebrated part of Britain’s Documentary Movement. Key figures from that movement were involved, including: Jack Beddington, Edgar Anstey, Arthur Elton, John Grierson, Kay Mander, Stuart Legg and Douglas Gordon.

Its films were wide reaching, often screened in cinemas and through the non-theatric film distribution circuit, which brought film to educational establishments and organisations across the UK. While many films covered technological themes related to Shell’s activities, others were entirely unrelated and served purely to educate the general public.

As Shell innovated in technologies that would provide oil and gas products for the world, the Shell Film Unit also innovated in the technological advancement of film, incorporating graphics and different forms of animation as early as the 1930s.

During WW2 the Shell Film Unit was co-opted into war effort, making films for the Ministry of Information’s film division. Its prowess in technological documentary suited the MoI’s need for technical training films.

While the name and the medium has changed many times over the years, the documentary tradition lives on at Shell. Its contemporary film team is part of Shell’s multi-disciplinary in-house agency, Creative Solutions. It continues making award-winning factual content that informs and educates the public, now usually released on social media platforms.