FOR the first time we are able to share four stunning historic aerial shots from various locations across Dorset with you.

The pictures are from English Heritage’s Britain from Above website which features some of the oldest and most valuable images in the huge Aerofilms Collection.

The collection contains more than a million images taken between 1919 and 2006, documenting how Britain has changed.

Photographs featuring on the website date from 1919 to 1953, and have gone through a painstaking process of conservation and cataloguing.

Highlights include the first boxing match at Wembley Stadium in 1924; the Thames Flood of 1947 and crowds on the banks of the River Clyde watching the first voyage of the newly-built RMS Queen Mary in 1936.

Photos are copyright of English Heritage.

All these pictures and thousands of others can be viewed more closely at britainfromabove.org.uk, where the images can be searched by location, map or year, plus you can also zoom in for a closer look.

Bournemouth Echo:

Christchurch, the River Stour and the town, Christchurch, 1932

Bournemouth Echo:

The Lansdowne Junction, the Hotel Metropole and the Bournemouth and Poole College, Bournemouth, 1932

Bournemouth Echo:

Bournemouth Station, St Paul's Church and the town centre, Bournemouth, 1933

Bournemouth Echo:

The Sandbanks Chain Ferry, the Haven Hotel and the Haven Ferry Cafe, Sandbanks, 1930

Do you have an old picture of Dorset that you'd like to share with us? email digital@bournemouthecho.co.uk