Sir Basil Gould's Films of Tibet (1940) - extract

Filmed during Sir Basil Gould's visit to the young Dalai Lama in Lhasa, 1940, this captures the palpable excitement of the massed crowd of pilgrims queuing to receive the Dalai's blessing. It includes a very dim shot of the young Dalai Lama seated on his throne, followed by a shot of Lobsang, his brother, seated in the toy car which had been presented by Sir Basil. There are multiple shots of his parents and two brothers, before the Dalai is carried away in his sedan to the Potala for his formal installation.
Sir Basil Gould succeeded Derek Williamson as Political Officer of Sikkim, Bhutan and Tibet in 1935. This footage was shot during his second visit to Lhasa in 1940-41.
All titles on the BFI Films channel are preserved in the vast collections of the BFI National Archive. To find out more about the Archive visit www.bfi.org.uk/...

[@pilkingtonpoodle]

My father was Sir Basil Goulding........but no relation as far as I know

[@ErinTexas]

thank you so much for uploading old films! i really like them

[@94dgrif]

Buddhism rocks and the Dalai Lama is the man, but good lord they hard awful taste in headgear!