British Transport Films Collection

Southampton, a deep-water port with four tides a day, is an ocean terminal for the world's largest liners. Their coming and going, and the people who work with them are the subject of this film as they reflect in their personal lives some of the drama and romance of its situation. Among them are a tug skipper and his crew, a stewardess on a Cape ship, an assistant wharfinger in charge of handling baggage and freight, a taxi driver, and a pilot taking a great liner down Southampton water at night.

The transporting of a distillation column, 137 feet long, 500 miles by road from Greenwich to Grangemouth in Scotland. The commentary, spoken by the rigger in charge and one of the tractor drivers, expresses the humor and resourcefulness with which these transport workers tackle their job; and the camera has captured moments of beauty as well as some amusing episodes in this journey of the longest load to travel by road in Britain.

Twenty-four hours in the story of the British Railways Channel ferryboats, the 'link spans' directly joining the roads and railways of Britain with those of France and all the Continent. The Lord Warden laden with an assortment of road vehicles from Dover, and the Night Ferry from Newhaven carrying passengers bound for Paris, Vienna or Rome are two of the ferries illustrated in this film; and freight is not forgotten.

An impression, from daybreak to midnight, of the life of the industrial valleys of South Wales centred on Pontypridd and of the growing part played in that life by bus and railway. The free verse spoken by Donald Houston acts as a link on the sound-track between various arias, choruses and orchestral interludes from Handel's Messiah sung by the Pontarddulais Choir that utter their own comment, lyrical, ironic or humorous, upon the pictures of Welsh life and landscape that they accompany.

Spring comes to Selborne in Hampshire where the Reverend Gilbert White made his classic record of the wild life in his parish : rook and dabchick, frog and slow worm, hedgehog, mole and vole; pussy willow, catkin, celadine, primrose. Two centuries later, in much the same inspiring way as White must have witnessed it, a patient and sensitive camera describes a wonderful diversity of wildlife and joyful spring activity, patiently recorded by probing camera by renowned wildlife cinematographer Patrick Carey and evocative words of the poet, Laurie Lee.

The fascinating and colourful marine life of shoreline and rock pool. Filmed in the intertidal zone of a typical and attractive rocky shore of south-west Britain. The diversity of creatures must be seen to be believed: periwinkles, top-shells, starfish and lumpsuckers, the self-concealing flatfish, the gaper and razorfish and the commuting and breeding seabirds.

A 200-ton transformer is moved by road from Hayes, Middlesex, to Iver, Bucks. Behind the story of the journey there is another tale: the problems which had to be solved before the task could be undertaken. This background story is told by the voices of those responsible for the various aspects of the operation, until the transformer is placed within a 'bee's wing' of its intended position.

On the shortest journey you pass a church or two. Out of the 20,000 churches in Britain, the artist, John Piper, whose work contributes to the glory of England's churches, selects and describes a church built in each of the last nine centuries, from Norman times to the present day. Accompanied by the music of Peter Racine Fricker, he reveals the beauty and riches of architecture, decoration, carving and sculpture aged in mellow stone and weathered glass; the art of the wood carver and the sculptor, and in doing so finds that through the centuries the portrayal of the human face and figure has been an unfailing source of inspiration to all who have brought their talents to the service of the Church.

Set in Scotland, this film tells, amongst other road transport things, the story of the team of four British Road Services drivers who lived and worked together for two years, loading and transporting 20,000 tons of cement in 7 1/2 ton loads up craggy mountain roads from the little railway station at Killin to the new Giorra Dam. A concentrated effort, relying on hard, conscientious work, good fellowship and the support of B.R.S.'s nationwide organisation.

Ardnamurchan peninsula on the beautiful coast of Argyll is a place rich in wildlife. Down by the sea loch, many shore birds care for their young as spring turns into summer. On the hills above, the wild cat and the red fox prowl, an eagle soars and the young ospreys patiently wait for their parents to return with food. Summer becomes autumn, and on the high tops, the red stags, challenge one another, watched by their hinds.

Hawaiian Ne Ne, Chinese Mandarin Ducks, Red Crested Pochard, African Cotton Teal, African Pygmy Goose - these names hint at the fascination which wildfowl possess. These and many other species can be seen at the comprehensive wildfowl collection at Slimbridge in Gloucestershire. This film, produced in association with the Wildfowl Trust, shows Slimbridge and other wild places in Britain where the Trust teams work through the year. Wildfowl research, catching, ringing, breeding and protecting are shown by Peter Scott to be part of the struggle for survival.

The last steam train crossing the Pennines, and an Edwardian music-hall song "Watching the trains go out", cause Sir John Betjeman to reminisce. In his own nostalgic verse and prose, he remembers the great trains of old and looks forward to railways for ever as he moves through a photographic exhibition in Kingsway. The film makes extensive use of coverage of the final steam specials on BR on the 11th of August 1968, and provides a quirky look at steam and those who follow its progress.

As a training exercise for apprentice cameramen, British Transport Films used waste lengths of film to record the daily round as seen from the high roof of their building in London's Marylebone. The material has been shaped to Vaughan Williams London Symphony.

Britain was the cradle of the Industrial Revolution, which transformed the lives of millions and ushered in the modern world. Throughout Britain are the tangible remains of that period when British inventors were unequalled in the fertility of their ideas and the significance of their discoveries. A film reflecting the continuing interest in our industrial heritage.

The advantages and pleasures of crossing the channel by Hovercraft. In this film a sales executive, with his car and engineering samples, travels to Lille for a business appointment; and a family goes to Paris for a holiday. The former's journey is via Dover/Calais, and the latter's via Dover/Boulogne. Both demonstrate the benefits of using this modern, speedy method of reaching Europe. An impressionistic look at the hovercraft journey across the channel with no commentary, using the same footage was used to produce Seaspeed Hovercraft.