Old films being used to jog the memories of dementia patients

Archive films are being used in Britain to help people with dementia and other memory disorders in a new project.

Films housed at the Yorkshire Film Archive (YFA) have been carefully selected for the “Memory Bank” initiative in collaboration with experts from Age UK, the Alzheimer’s Society and Methodist Homes for the Aged (MHA).

The footage is mainly from home movie collections held by the YFA, and features familiar subjects such as holidays, sports, school days and working life. It follows an 18-month research project.