Metadata
WORK ID: YFA 1527 (Master Record)
Title | Year | Date |
YOUNG FARMERS RALLY | 1948 | 1948-01-01 |
Details
Original Format: 16mm Colour: Black & White Sound: Silent Duration: 12 mins 27 secs Subject: Rural Life Industry Agriculture |
Summary This is a three part film which captures the events of a Young Farmers Rally in North Yorkshire including events on the Knavesmire in York. Different events are featured such as a sheep shearing competition as well as various machinery used within the agricultural industry. |
Description
This is a three part film which captures the events of a Young Farmers Rally in North Yorkshire including events on the Knavesmire in York. Different events are featured such as a sheep shearing competition as well as various machinery used within the agricultural industry.
The film opens with a woman judging cows. A crowd has gathered around, and a man in a suit is the next to inspect the livestock.
Sheep are in wooden pens, and a man points to the sheep while speaking to the crowd....
This is a three part film which captures the events of a Young Farmers Rally in North Yorkshire including events on the Knavesmire in York. Different events are featured such as a sheep shearing competition as well as various machinery used within the agricultural industry.
The film opens with a woman judging cows. A crowd has gathered around, and a man in a suit is the next to inspect the livestock.
Sheep are in wooden pens, and a man points to the sheep while speaking to the crowd. Young men and women make up the crowd of spectators.
A man is standing on an elevated platform, and using rope, demonstrates different methods of tying knots. The young men and women who make up the crowd watch the man intently, and there are shots of this event from different angles.
There is a sheep shearing competition, and a farmhouse and barn can be seen in the background. The filmmaker focuses on individuals in the competition as well as members of the crowd gathered to watch. In another part of the rally, a man holding a stick talks about the bull which is in front of him. He stands near open barn doors and gives instruction to a crowd, many of whom are holding papers.
A young man performs manoeuvres in a tractor, driving the tractor backwards through a roped off course. Spectators have gathered along the far side of the course to watch. Following this is a tug-of-war. A woman stands in the middle where she coaches one of the teams to pull harder, and a crowd of spectators have also gathered to watch this event.
Part 2: Another cow inspection takes place, and some of the spectators lean against the stone wall of a barn. Following this is another sheep shearing competition. This time, the wool which has been removed from the sheep is tied in bundles on the grass, and a man inspects the sheep at the end. Bleachers have been set up for the spectators. Three girls have a picnic on the grass and smile for the camera. More young farmers try to manoeuvre a tractor through the roped off course, and a hilly landscape can be seen in the background. The tractor has a flatbed cart attached, and the while most of the spectators are in the stands, some sit close to the edge of the track and can be seen as the tractor passes by.
There are sporting competitions which take place including the shot put and a long distance race through the hillside. Following this is another tug-of-war event, and after which, prizes are awarded to winners of the various competitions. The young farmers are gathered around a shed with North Riding Agricultural written on its side, and the winners approach the shed to receive their certificates.
Part 3: The next part of the film takes place on the Knavesmire in York. This section of film beings with dairy cows in a roped off pen. People sit watching from a fence and hay bales. Young men are instructed on how to build a stone wall. Elsewhere there are various livestock tents set up including tents for Suffolk Horses, Red Poll Cattle, and the English Jersey Cattle Society. Men in jumpsuits walk towards a tractor and inspect various parts of the machine before making some adjustments. Spectators have gathered to watch, and it appears to be a competition to put together a harvester. There are close-ups of the farmers fixing different parts of the machinery. Many agricultural tents have been set up for the event and can be seen in the background amongst the crowd. Once the harvester is up and running, the men drive it down a track. More adjustments are made to the machine including taking it apart. There is a panning shot of the crowd, and the harvester drives down the track again.
The film returns to the boys building a stone wall, and spectators in overcoats are close by. The film closes with footage of one of the tents set up for the National Federation of Young Farmers Club.
Context
The perennial cycle of learning, buying, judging and practising that is rural life, while having an enjoyable time, all distilled into a handy once a year package for all to share.
First up is a Young Farmers rally, possibly two, possibly in Northallerton, followed by the Royal Agricultural Show of 1948 taking place in the Knavesmire in York. The first has cow judging, knot tying, sheep shearing, tractor driving (backwards), shot putting and the familiar another tug-of-war. The second has...
The perennial cycle of learning, buying, judging and practising that is rural life, while having an enjoyable time, all distilled into a handy once a year package for all to share.
First up is a Young Farmers rally, possibly two, possibly in Northallerton, followed by the Royal Agricultural Show of 1948 taking place in the Knavesmire in York. The first has cow judging, knot tying, sheep shearing, tractor driving (backwards), shot putting and the familiar another tug-of-war. The second has cow judging, tractor driving (forwards), but also how to build a stone wall and how to build a combine harvester. This is one of two films of Young Farmers Rallies in North Yorkshire made by an unknown filmmaker in the late 1940s. In 1947 the National Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs (formed in 1932) organised a national scheme to promote agricultural skills, with the help of government money. The Knavesmire in York has hosted an odd mixture of events over the years apart from horse racing, and here we have the Royal Agricultural Show in 1948, being hosted jointly with the Yorkshire Show, still emerging from the war. The Knavesmire hasn’t hosted either since, though it did host the Royal Show in 1924. |