Metadata
WORK ID: NEFA 10681 (Master Record)
Title | Year | Date |
ABOUT BRITAIN: WATERFRONT | 1976 | 1976-01-01 |
Details
Original Format: 16mm Colour: Colour Sound: Sound Duration: 25 mins 52 secs Credits: Director: Jeremy Lack Production Company: Tyne Tees Television Executive Producer: Leslie Barrett Researcher: Michael Mchugh Photography: Fred Thomas Editor: Mike Pounder Sound: Ray Hole Research: Michael McHugh Genre: TV Documentary Subject: Working Life Transport Ships Industry |
Summary Edition of the Tyne Tees television documentary (travelogue) series About Britain, broadcast on 25 February 1976, which first travels with the River Tyne Police, part of Northumbria Police, from Newcastle to the North Sea. Along the Tyne, the film records encounters with various workers such as the Port of Tyne harbour master, the Tyne Queen ferry ... |
Description
Edition of the Tyne Tees television documentary (travelogue) series About Britain, broadcast on 25 February 1976, which first travels with the River Tyne Police, part of Northumbria Police, from Newcastle to the North Sea. Along the Tyne, the film records encounters with various workers such as the Port of Tyne harbour master, the Tyne Queen ferry crew travelling between Wallsend and Hebburn, a fisherman at the North Shields fish market, and a tug boat pilot leading the Joseph R. Smallwood...
Edition of the Tyne Tees television documentary (travelogue) series About Britain, broadcast on 25 February 1976, which first travels with the River Tyne Police, part of Northumbria Police, from Newcastle to the North Sea. Along the Tyne, the film records encounters with various workers such as the Port of Tyne harbour master, the Tyne Queen ferry crew travelling between Wallsend and Hebburn, a fisherman at the North Shields fish market, and a tug boat pilot leading the Joseph R. Smallwood tanker downriver. Workers comment on their working roles in voice-over.
Credit: Tyne Tees TV logo
Title: About Britain
Title: Waterfront
A Tyne River Police crew, including a female police cadet, board their boat and set off on their river beat, past staithes and under the Swing Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne. In voice-over, the sergeant explains what the job entails and the bye-laws they are enforcing.
The launch sails past ships moored outside Spillers Mill. The M934 private motor boat sails past. On board the Tyne River Police boat, the sergeant explains that they cover 19 miles of the Tyne (38 miles of waterfront) on patrol. In voice-over, the police sergeant explains that the crew is usually made up of one sergeant and two police constables. The launch passes a buoy. He says that there are a great many foreign seamen on the Tyne and, in many cases, the river police are their first contact, and must act as ambassadors for Britain. The police board a foreign ship, shake hands with the captain (?) who is dressed in civilian clothes. The sergeant makes him aware of the danger of thefts from their ship in the port.
Next, men are operating the Titan II floating crane at a Swan Hunters shipyard, built by the Russians in 1922 and brought to Tyneside in 1925. The crane then floats down the Tyne pulled towed by a tugboat. In voice-over, one of the shipyard workers talks about his job and Titan II.
The Port of Tyne harbour master reports on the schedule of expected ships from the control room. General exterior view of the Port of Tyne building. He hops on board a small launch, which sets off past the shipyards and quaysides on the Tyne. In voice-over, he explains his duties. He notes a ship without registration with colleagues. Close-up of the ship's name on the bow, Kithnos of Panama. They sail past the ship.
The next sequence records the work of ship repairers working on the Oregis, built by William Gray & Co. Ltd., West Hartlepool. They weld, cut iron, chisel off rust and other duties, which a worker from the yard describes in more detail. He says that you need a sense of humour in the job. Workers walk by carrying ship parts. More shots follow of repair work in progress.
The launch of the Tyne Harbour Control Unit sails by. More calls are exchanged with the Port of Tyne control room The launch passes the large mud flats of the Jarrow Slake area. The voice-over talks about reclamatIon work of the mud flats by the port authority. He surveys the area with binoculars.
The Tyne Queen ferry comes in to moor at Hebburn and passengers get off, many of them Swan Hunters shipyard workers. In voice-over, the captain talks about his work sailing the ferry and about the weather. General view of the Hebburn shipyard. The ferry crew set off back up the Tyne towards Wallsend amidst a riverscape of shipyards and cranes. The ferry passes the Tyne Pride. A couple of women passengers are seated inside the ferry. Portrait shot of crew member securing the ferry with rope at a ferry stop. General view of workers heading into a shipyard to work.
General view of sunset on the Tyne, from the Pilot Watch House at Lowe Top, South Shields, down to the riverfront and the mouth of the river where the lights of the Tynemouth North Pier lighthouse and South Shields lighthouse blink in the fading light.
Sunrise, and fish crates are unloaded from a boat at North Shields Fish Quay, the boxes marked ‘Associated Fisheries’. Inside the market, hundreds of 40 kilo crates of fish cover the floor and the fish auction is in progress. In voice-over, a fisherman, or auctioneer, talks about the sale and where the fish end up. Crates of sold fish are loaded onto lorries.
Standing in the hold of the Scottish Maid, some fishermen are shovelling masses of sprats into a mechanical chute loader filling large tubs on the North Shields Fish Quay. Travelling shot of the North Shields staithe.
Back with the Tyne River Police boat as it sails past large ships docked along the Tyne. A view downriver from the boat follows.
Tugboats guide the Joseph R. Smallwood tanker, built by Swan Hunter Shipbuilders Ltd, Hebburn, out of dock. In voice-over, the tugboat pilot of the Northsider talks about his work and how VHF radio contact has had an effect. The Northsider continues towing the Joseph R. Smallwood downriver.
A general view of the North Shields quayside follows. The Fish Quay is being sluiced down. A lone fishing boat sets sail from the quayside.
Back on the Tynesider tugboat, the Joseph R. Smallwood slowly makes its way to the mouth of the Tyne, guided by the pilot. The ship heads off between the piers and out into the North Sea. The Tynesider tugboat sets off back up the Tyne.
Credits (over impressions of the Tyne):
Research Michael McHugh
Camera Fred Thomas FRPS
Sound Ray Hole
Film Editor Mike Pounder
Executive Producer Leslie Barrett
Director Jeremy Lack
Credit: Tyne Tees TV logo
© Trident Television MCMLXXVI
Context
Independent TV finally reached the north east of England when Tyne Tees Television went on air at 5.00pm on January 15th 1959, broadcast from a disused warehouse in City Road on Newcastle’s historic quayside, transformed into state-of-the-art studios. A quarter of a million viewers watched on the first night. They broadcast from this base for more than 45 years until the studios shut down in 2005.
In time, the station aimed to create a portrait of the north-east, “a land of wide skies, bent...
Independent TV finally reached the north east of England when Tyne Tees Television went on air at 5.00pm on January 15th 1959, broadcast from a disused warehouse in City Road on Newcastle’s historic quayside, transformed into state-of-the-art studios. A quarter of a million viewers watched on the first night. They broadcast from this base for more than 45 years until the studios shut down in 2005.
In time, the station aimed to create a portrait of the north-east, “a land of wide skies, bent vowels, saints, footballers, shipyards and an inventive tradition which has produced the finest engineers in England: its landscape swings from wild moorland to industrial cities and back again to the sea-fretted coast of Northumberland, Durham and North Yorkshire” as author Antony Brown eulogizes in his book Tyne Tees Television: the first 20 years, a portrait (1978) “The north-east is as far as you can go from the centres of power in southern England.” Many of the Tyne Tees documentaries sprang from these regional roots. In the first live interview transmitted from the station, Prime Minister Harold Macmillan probably endeared himself to at least half the region’s viewers when he told the studio announcer: “Men are rather like fish. The farther north you go, the better they get.” By all accounts, the early years at Tyne Tees were ‘cheerfully haphazard’, seat-of-the-pants television that ranged from local talent on live variety shows, with a shade of the ‘end-of-the-pier’ about them, to serious politics, history and sports. One old City Road hand described the experience as hectic, like ‘being on a switchback ride’. Programming could swing from slick to amateurish in one night. Show business may have been the backbone of Tyne Tees TV production in those first years but the screens buzzed with imaginative regional documentaries that reflected a growing sense of identity between the station and the north-east communities it served. The best of these from all regions might later find themselves networked nationally on a daytime series called About Britain broadcast between 1970 and 1988, as was the case with Waterfront (1976) a, by turns, contemplative, political and informative visual journey on the Tyne from Newcastle to the mouth of the river interlinked with interviews with a variety of workers on the river. The 1970s marked the last decade of strong industrial power within the region as, by the end of the decade, competition from abroad began to dismantle industries such as shipbuilding due to their more modern practices. Most notably the decade was characterised by lengthy blackouts and strikes. Prime Minister Edward Heath imposed the three-day working week as a response to an oil crisis in 1973 which did not help tensions between the Government and unions, such as the Union of Mineworkers. The 1970s did see attempts to push Britain into the modern age, but these attempts ultimately were just that, attempts. The recession in 1969 – 1971, the oil crisis and rising unemployment in the north held back technological progress. Since the 1700s shipbuilding and ship repair had been prominent in the North East. Due to the River Tyne and River Wear flowing through the area, it was natural that it would develop marine industry, whether that be through transport or through industries such as shipbuilding, coal mining and its transportation. Staithes were built on the Tyne from Dunstan (part still remaining) down to the Shields serving the colliers moving coal to London and beyond. Wallsend had a reputation for high quality coal and is mentioned by Dickens (father and son). In Our Mutual Friend, a home's coal fire is described as ' enlivened with a glow of Wallsend' and the interior walls of the London Coal Exchange are 'decorated with views of the Wallsend, Percy, and other celebrated collieries...". The most prosperous period for the shipbuilding industry was in the Second World War, and immediate post-war years. But this revival was short lived and in the 1960s industry began a slow decline, with greater competition coming from abroad. Some areas were incredibly reliant on the industry for employment, for example, Jarrow, Wallsend and Hebburn all depended on jobs at the shipyards. This however was a double-edged sword, as although it provided employment for many when times were good, it also meant large portions of these communities lost their jobs during downturns. Particularly in Jarrow, when Palmer’s Shipyard closed, two-thirds of workers were left on the dole, leading to the Jarrow Crusade .One of the key companies in shipbuilding was Swan Hunter. During the 1960s and 70s Swan Hunter went through many name changes as it acquired more shipyards and shipbuilding companies. These included the Hebburn Shipyard, Clelands Shipbuilding Company, and a merger with the Smiths Dock Company. However, despite all these acquisitions, the issue of foreign competition still proved a major issue for the shipbuilding industry. The formidable steam-controlled Titan II floating crane looms over the river, Russian-built, purchased by Swan Hunters in 1922 and originally shared with Wallsend Slipway and Armstrong Whitworth. For more than a century the Titans had aided the construction of some of the Tyne's most famous ships, starting with the Mauretania in 1906 (Titan I) and including battleship HMS Ark Royal. Since Swan Hunters’ demise in 2007, the giant cranes that once dominated the Tyneside skyline have been slowly dismantled, the last towed to Indian Bharati shipyards in 2014. The iconic link to shipbuilding on the River Tyne had finally disappeared from the landscape, the demise of the Wallsend shipyard and the vanishing riverscape of cranes heartbreaking to those who had earned a living in the industry and watched this history erased from the banks of the river. A ferry service from Wallsend and Walker to Hebburn had run from the 1850s to carry workers to Andrew Leslie's shipyard. Leslie later amagamated with marine engineers R&W Hawthorn. From late 1939 the ferry was run by Mid-Tyne Ferries Ltd of Hebburn, jointly owned by shipbuilders Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, Hawthorn Leslie, and Vickers-Armstrong, plus electrical engineers A.Reyrolle. When this documentary was shot, workers were still using the service with its three ferries, Tyne Duchess, Tyne Princess and Tyne Queen, as the quickest way to cross the river to work. Some years earlier, British actor Michael Caine waited for the Wallsend ferry at the landing near Benton Way, in character as the vengeful Newcastle-born gangster Jack Carter, star of Mike Hodge's bleak and brutal movie Get Carter (1971). This was an adaptation of Ted Lewis’s pulp crime novel Jack’s Return Home, which was itself influenced by gangland violence simmering in the north east, particularly the notorious pit-town murder of business man Angus Sibbett. The case was coined the 'one-armed bandit murder' by the media due to its connection to the gambling industry and the supply of fruit machines to social clubs. The American director of crime thrillers Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown amongst other gems, Quentin Tarantino, has named Get Carter as his favorite British film. The Wallsend ferry took its last trip in July 1986. Also operating on the water, the job of a Tyne river pilot was an exclusive vocation traditionally passed on from father to son in Shields families. The first Purvis family pilot on record dates back to 1797. Captain George Purvis retired in 1980 after 35 years in the post. The monopoly on the recruitment of Tyne pilots (once the reserve of the religious community of the Brethren of Trinity House in Newcastle) remained unbroken for hundreds of years until the end of the 20th century. Bygone generations of Shields pilots, aristocracy of the river workers, were also dandy dressers, favouring distinctive stove pipe hats and frock coats when afloat. Trade on the river, once inextricably linked with coal, declined with the 1984 national miners’ strike, and trained pilots were frequently forced to take jobs overseas. North Shields' fishing fleets have also declined over the years, though still operate from the Quay, built in 1870 to accommodate the bigger fishing fleets of steam trawlers, and once the original heart of the town. Early morning auctions still take place. The access to waters and fishing quotas have been a hotly debated topic as of late due to deteriorating relations with the European Union, especially in the North Sea region. After entry to the Union in 1973, the UK then had quotas which limited how much they could fish and where from, the same as all other EU members, based on their fishing in the prior years. As Britain’s fleets spent a lot of time around Iceland, in 1976, when its fishing limits were extended, the UK fleets were pushed out from this area. Relationships between the two nations were hugely affected by this issue throughout the 1970s. Issues surrounding fishing today are more focused on conservation, as it is estimated that under 100,000 tonnes of adult cod are left in the North Sea, and this is less than what British fisherman would sell per year in the 1930s. The River Tyne starts within Kielder and flows through Corbridge, Gateshead, Newcastle, and to the North Sea at Tynemouth, North and South Shields. The river was at the heart of the industry of the North East. Although much of the traditional industry is gone, the river still embodies the spirit of the North East and has been immortalised in song by artists such as Jimmy Nail and Lindisfarne. References: https://www.atvtoday.co.uk/1448-tynetees/ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17703483 https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/history/north-east-through-decades-1970-11157454 https://englandsnortheast.co.uk/Shipbuilding.html https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1525089/Decade-that-dimmed-the-strike-hit-Seventies.html http://meta.ath0.com/2010/04/23/britain-in-the-1970s-what-happened/ https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/government-wants-revive-shipbuilding-offering-14901023 http://www.bbc.co.uk/nationonfilm/topics/ship-building/background.shtml https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/history/living-north-east-1970s-recalling-13893639 https://www.britannica.com/place/River-Tyne https://www.bridgesonthetyne.co.uk/walker.html http://www.wallsendhistory.btck.co.uk/Campaign http://www.tynebuiltships.co.uk/Riverviews.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfjUjKotBMU Related Collections: http://www.yorkshirefilmarchive.com/film/about-britain-coast-king-jack http://www.yorkshirefilmarchive.com/film/about-britain-search-geordie http://www.yorkshirefilmarchive.com/film/tyne-and-tide http://www.yorkshirefilmarchive.com/film/waters-tyne http://www.yorkshirefilmarchive.com/film/northern-scene-how-boat-comes |