Aerofilms

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Aerofilms was the UK's first commercial aerial photography company, founded in 1919 by F.L. Wills and Claude Graeme-White. In its early period it had links with pioneer cinematographer Claude Friese Greene and pilot/entrepreneur Sir Alan Cobham. The company pioneered the science of photogrammetry (mapping from aerial photographs) and its staff and state-of-the-art equipment were co-opted into the war effort in 1940, forming part of the Photographic Intelligence Unit (PIU).

Aerofilms photographs have been extensively used in books relating to geography, topography and travel, and have featured in books such as The Aerofilms Book of England from the Air (1988) and Coastlines from the Air (1996). Perhaps the best known example of the company's work is the title-sequence mosaic of east London used for the BBC soap Eastenders.

Unlike other photographic libraries, a significant percentage of Aerofilms photos is already in the public domain, albeit protected by copyright. The company would send out batches of photos to public libraries, and many remain there today. In addition, key images were reproduced as postcards from the 1920 through to the 1980s.

The company's long-standing photographic library was closed in 2006 and in June 2007, its archive of one million aerial photographs was sold to English Heritage and its partners in Scotland and Wales. A ten-year programme of conservation and cataloguing got underway soon after.