Ted Hallows
Interview date(s): 17 May 1989
Interviewer(s): Alan Lawson
Production Media: audio
Duration (mins): 135
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The copyright of this recording is vested in the ACTT History Project Ted Hallows studio. Electrician, member of the TU recorded on the 17th of May 1989
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in his own home at Twickenham. Interviewer. Alan Lawson, side one,
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yeah, things that
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Ted the first question really is, when and where were you born? I was born in Twickenham railway approach. My father was a caterer, and they had a shopping railway approach, almost by Treasury station.
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I was born in 1913
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and I was brought up there with a mother,
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and
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when I went to school, I went to Orleans Elementary School, which was just across the way here, which has now been pulled down and it's now at Williams Park on the exiles ground. Yes,
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I had quite a good childhood. You know, Dad had been a catering and he belonged to the philanthropic and Special Constable and the Masons and all that sort of thing.
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And
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then I from there, I went into
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BEC electrical shop. There was a top of the road, and I used to charge batteries and carry batteries around for when they used to have the old
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two two volt batteries for the old radio sporting, yeah, from there, I went up to their headquarters in Fitzroy square.
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And there they used to do models, model boats and that sort of thing. And they were, as far as I understand, the first people to bring out a portable radio, which they
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bought. And I used to bring down in the evenings. When I finished work by train, I used to play them in the train, open the cases out. They were heavy cases. I used to play these radios in the train coming down from work, then deliver them to the shop across the way. I
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left there, and I went, it drove to the electrolyte company.
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And
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dad died in 19 when I was 17.
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Mother sold the shop, and we moved to Heathfield, north.
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I got a brother and two sisters by then,
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and I stopped for the electrolyte company. That was what that was, a local authority company London and home challenges when it was London, home challenges, which they bought from the turkey maintaining electrolyte company, yes, when they made it, sort of South of England thing.
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I left there when I was 21
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and I don't know if you know wag Hammerton
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construction manager. He was, he's now he was, and I used to know him, and he said, Why don't we I come over to tainton and get a job on the film, if you see so I said, fair enough. So I went over and saw an interview with Charlie evening, and they were making murder at Monte Carlo, at that particular time. I don't remember who was in it. And they said, Yes, I could start over there. They were changing over from RCA to Western Electric. What about what date was that?
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Or mid year? Mid Year? In about June, I suppose. What May or June? 1930 3419 34 and yeah, they were changing over there, and with young Tom Hennessy,
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I did all the tubing for that, for the sound department that came to an end. But what was interesting in that particular time, while I was there,
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they started testing
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three well known people to go to Warner Brothers. One was Erwin Flynn.
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One was
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Thompson, I think it was and the other one was Stevens. I
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always remember our old friend because he was so flamboyant in those days, and they allowed me to go on to the set. They wanted a hand in there that particular time, so I went on the set at that particular time. The first time I'd ever been on the set. Yeah, and I saw his
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test screen test for to go to Hollywood and tell me,
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really you weren't a studio electrician at that time. You were ordinary, yeah, ordinary electrician. Had you had any training at all, and you picked an hour? What happened was I, I'd been with four days that particular time in between times, and I don't house, right?
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Warner, yeah, and all that sort of thing. Because I met with him for a while in between going to the after I finished. That's right after before I went to the company. I did two or three years with contracting engineering, you know, contracting wire, yeah.
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We did a lot of buying houses in ham, and I went up to London that did several places, and he plays with machine.
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So I knew basics. Yes, I see, yes, sorry. Anyway, you know that's right, so you went on to the floor. That was the first time we were on the floor on those tests. And then, of course, as you know, in those days, it used to be, make it six boys, and you were out for it, and they were doing that particular time quote of quickies, yes.
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So we used to do 18 days in, 18 days out. So I used to fill in, going on the buildings and wiring houses, whatever the place
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for different governors, that sort of thing. But I always used to come back. Always came back to tellington, then onto the floor, then onto the Yeah, you were actually on the floor. Yes,
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I was on the rails there with
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when Laura LaPlante and Erwin Asher was yes, the studio manager. Doc Sullivan was studio manager, but Erwin Asher was overall.
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Stan pavy was at that particular time, yes. And
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there was, well, it
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was Besche Lemon. He was a camera man, yes. But Stan pavers focus puller. Monty Bourne was focus puller, yes.
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Tubby Englander was focus puller in at that particular time, yes,
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and I
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can't remember the cameras name. It was Canadian, the camera operator, the prowl. Bubble that's it. Bubbler, Prowl.
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None was one of the sound engineers, none, none. Do you remember? None.
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He was sound maintenance engineer.
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I can't remember the sound people at all, but I was there at Huntington for
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right up to 52
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I did when they used to go out occasionally. I did a day at Shepparton,
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occasionally at Walton, when they were running,
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when we could fill in or not. Yeah, I never went out well. I went out to marathon studios. Did one or two things there. Yes, that was a placement that
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was 214 110 in those days, putting lights in series. Oh, isn't it?
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Oh, dear. Funny. They were yes
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and tell me
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going back on the camera men,
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can you remember anything about Basil? Basil emericks Working at all, how he operated? Oh, yes. He always used to have a
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in those days, they used to use the old, big, two kilowatt spots, yes, with a spurring in front, yes.
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And kingdoms, weren't they?
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No, these were the things that we copied from Warner Brothers. They'd sent the barrel, a two kilowatt barrel. They were this size, yes, yes. And we used to have the candle marks, the old canter marks, but their facet mirrors and the parabolic ones, where the old flame is to go back and you've got the sack if you broke a parallel parabolic mirror, they were 60 pound in those days, but you could repair the facets so they weren't so expensive. They used to have a screen in front. Was that? Was it a lamp, something like the mole that two kilowatt? No, it was much better. It
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was a much bigger lamp. It was
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a flame. I should think it was 20 inches deep with
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a double, double cradle, yes, right. And they were very heavy, yes. And with the spilling in front, no, with a mirror at the back,
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there's no, no glassing, I see, I see yes, that you had had the spilling to stop the shadow. Yeah, they do like shadow, yes. Well, then they made a, we got permission to make a smaller one in a workshop down there, yeah,
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Jim Barnes and I went in the shop for Tom used to do work on it. Occasionally they may run half the size, half the depth, yeah, I suppose it was about
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eight to 10 inches deep these, but the same
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two pin,
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still the spill ring, and
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they were lighter with a single cradle to use, because that was planks, no cradles
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on wooden soldiers,
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it's climb up the top of the errand, and that
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the arcs of course.
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Are all tandems. They then, we used to use the
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occasionally. We used to use the overhead spuries. The spray used to come automatically, yes, yeah.
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Then they started using
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square frames, but they used to put the 1000 watt screw cap ones in bit of silk underneath, because you overhead banks,
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you see silt too in front of those in those days, silks and
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oil. Gelatine,
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can of oil.
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Yes,
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summer.
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And
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it wasn't till after the war that we
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we got the old Noel, really,
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because let's think I'm wrong, the only 30 must have been 38 you started getting moles. They may
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be up the new stage. 3637
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what were conditions like at Warners in those days? Oh, very good. They were about the same as anywhere else. You know. Rates of pay were about about the same. Yes, pink ticket. We used to have a pink ticket, and which was one and 313.
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An
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hour, and
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the senior man was one and 10. Charge hand was two shillings now. And who was the charge hand? Then
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George doble. Oh yeah, George doble and Wilson was his second. I don't remember Jim Barnes. He was there at that particular time because he worked eventually for he went to Shepparton. From Shepparton, he came to, he didn't work at Ealing,
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but one or two other people, I remember.
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I've got some photographs up here now, when you you, you've stayed at you say that Warners right the way, right the way through until what time was that they shut?
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Let's see I left 39 Yeah, I went to eating. That's when they Warners close, right? So I went to eating then, and I stopped dealing.
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Who was up till I was called up? Who was the camera man at dealing? Then, can you remember?
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Oh, yes, Charles, some of the other
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very Japanese man. I can't remember his name.
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I know Roy collino was the one I was most
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associated with in those days, because we were at Wembley. You see, then ships with wings.
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Can you remember about Roy Collin? What was his his kind of methods?
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Well, we had all the that at the time, all the latest stuff, because it was all models, ideal models. Do you remember Jack Peck?
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No, not really, not really well. He was the one who went on to special effects, yes. And he made all the gunfire and on the boats and that sort of thing, because we had two models of the boat, yes. And we used to have all the normal 100 and 50s, yeah, that all set up Yes. And it used to take half a day to set up a shot in those days, and had plenty of time you say yes. And then the models all used to start, and we used to light up and do one tape, and then he used to rewind and do another tape. And very likely we'd only do about three takes a day, really. And we used to work there till almost seven o'clock at night. And he used to get a set up for the next day. And then the models had to be changed, and
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all the working parts gone over. We used to retrend all the arcs. And then we used to come in the next morning. You know, it was a very, I must say, for those days, it was a very casual affair. Yes, we didn't have a lot to do, not the lighting people. Where about speed living that during this period? Well, in this period, I lived here, we bought this house. Oh, really, we bought this house in first of all, when I got married, I lived in
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Kenley Road in some markets, yeah, came into some markets.
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Then we moved in. Mother got my mother in law got bond, so we moved and bought this house in 4241
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August, 41 we came here. We've been here ever since I see so we haven't shifted around.
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It was quite a trip, actually, to get to Wembley from cycle, really, cycle both ways. And I used to meet my mate. He used to even another electrician, cooks he went to the BBC eventually, Joe Cooksey,
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and he was with Bert and Joe and I went on every.
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Actually gathered evening. We seem to tune up together. And Jack Ford used to let us.
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If he picked one, he picked both of us, you see, and if he went with Bert, or, that's Bert Spurgeon, yeah, or Tommy Chapman, yes, Joe and I were there, yes, mostly floor work, yes.
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In those days, we were lucky. We
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but then, then after, after the
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the ship with wings. What next? We went back to. We went to Ealing, yes, and there was one or two other pictures there.
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The bell to go down. Who was the camera man on that
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wasn't Goon dines. Was it No? No. Goon Downs was in much later. Jordans came in much later. After the war.
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Was Martin still there? Or he gone come back to America? I suppose he'd gone back to America.
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The name I've got, I'm very bad on names,
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not wasn't McWilliams. Was it? No, Glenn, Glen Glen McWilliams, he'd also probably gone back. Yes, I'm sorry.
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I can't.
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Well, it doesn't matter anyway. So you went, Yeah, he went back to Ealing after, to work at Ealing again. Until what? What period I left healing, so after the war, because I went back straight, waiting after, right? No, no, when you know, sorry,
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after, after the yours, your spell at Wembley, he went back to Eli, yes, yes. And we did Tommy
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Twinners go down.
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Then sour for dead lovers was kept just coming up in those days. And San dimitrio, Oh, yeah. Just gonna stop, yeah. I was called up then yes, so I left, yes. I went back on one leave and saw my finishing. San dimitrio, yes.
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And so bad for dead. Others had gone anyway. It finished.
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I don't remember whether the formal went to France. Was during that period during Noel,
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that was after the war. Former went to France.
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Anyway, I saw how amazing when I went to leave. Yeah, it was afterwards. I got called up and then I went back to Eiling.
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Yes, well, yes, carry on. Sorry, you're right now, I was called up after, tell me train a bit about go down. Yes. I left, and then I came back after the third until in 45 December, 45 Yeah, let's, let's go back to the your, your war experiences
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when you were called up. What I went, I was called up, and I went to in the Air Force. I I'd applied three or four times before, and I was told I was in the reserve occupation. And they got me six months, six months of extensions that evening until 42 when they said, Well, that was it. You had your time. Yeah. And I was called up in the air force. From there I went to cardigan.
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And cardigan, I went, hello, the basic training area of electric, electrical work for aircraft. Then from there I was shipped to,
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let's think down a market
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the drone there with Stirlings. Oh yeah, I did period of six to nine months there. And our base was at Cambridge, 50 4am Newton. I was placed on
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from there I went to
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I went to group one electricians, course, kept me auction.
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And from there I went to man
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I did nearly 14 months at Manston
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on the loop, preparing bombers, Halifax, his lengths, Mitchells, anything that came in there, what you put in the loop? What's that? That was the loop at Manston, which was right on the far end of the running wave, yeah, right down towards the end were all
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broken. Aircraft used to come in from bombing range. I see that was the nearest point from the continent when they were coming back and they were shot up. Yeah, they always used to land at that from France. You see coming that way.
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And that was their first ground they met. And they used to land there. Oh, I see then they used to be towed onto the loop, yes, and 54 Emerick used to repair them. Then we used to call their call the squadron. And then the squadron used to come down. We used to did the eye, yeah, if it was time. Then they used to take off and go back to their Scotland. From there,
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I got sent on American electrics course up at Warrington
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group one course up there, I did maritime electrics. It
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was about five weeks
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in between that time I'd also done a
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course at places.
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Luke.
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Wiring for the pilot panel and all that sort of like I did, all that bomb aiming and all that sort of thing. I did all that.
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Then I went over to then they called for volunteers to go to Northern Ireland to convert the lengths and that for parachute drop. That's for the drop in Ireland.
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I came back from there. I did about three formats over there,
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and
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I got caught up. When Warner England was over, I got transferred to the Fleet Air Arm,
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sent out to the Warrington into the Fleet Air Arm as Navy Gosling, as a Navy man. I was given
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a rank of
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artistifier in that being group one, and I was put on instruments
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and some fun out there at Boynton. See that. You see all these ex RAF types being trying to be controlled by,
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we've never been strict,
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you know, with procedure and that sort of thing in the raft and absolutely touching rifle drill that we'd never seen a rifle. So it joined, and you can imagine about there was about 100 RAF bonds on the square to Gosling with the gunnery officer and that trying to teach us rifle drill. You can imagine we were all doubling round the square with rifles on our shoulder as punishment. Dickinson might help. You know they couldn't think of this.
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I got very annoyed with us eventually,
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well, we passed out of there, finally, after trying to do knots, and
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you can imagine trying to put a hammock up a rough rope, trying to put a hammock up,
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imagine anyway, we finally left there, and we got posted to our different stations. But in between, the funny part was about that was I came home on leave from Manston
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in RAF uniform with a mustache,
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and went away again and came back, what fortnight three must have been, a month later, naval uniform, no mustache, and people started talking about the wife. You can imagine,
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Colin white shirt, Colin Thai, peach hat, no mustache. It's funny.
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Anyway, we got over that, and then I was came here on leave. And when I was on leave, I got in potato.
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So I reported to the nearest, as I thought correctly, the nearest Military Hospital, which was Noel.
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So I went up there, and they said, All right, bring you things. You'll have to come in. So I went in. And after three days, it was clear and easy, but the doctor said, No, it's still infectious. You'll have to stop.
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Well, there was naval buds up there, there was Army buds and there was raft buds up there.
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But I have a white shirt and a white collar and black tie and a peak cap.
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They took me for a CPO regime. So as you know, normally in hospital and that sort of thing, you have to sweep the bed space and do that sort of thing. But not for Ted.
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They said, No, you don't do that. You go walk away and you go and have your breakfast. And all my bed space was polished and cleaned and everything.
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Well, I asked on the fourth day if I could come home, you see, they said, Oh well, yes. Where do you live? I said, we're just down the down the road here, you see. So I said, All right. So I walked home, got me bike, and I rode back in the evening, I got a bicycle,
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parked it, and that was alright. I'd be in bio bar seven, but that was fine. And then
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the next day, the nurses said to me, or matron said to me, would I mind doing some shopping in twitching them as the nurses couldn't get out? Did I know three? I said, I was born here. Oh, that's fine, she said. So I got an order, a list like this for the nurses, for the chemists, the bull shops, and that they said, All right, while you go. Then that said you can stop out to dinner time. And so I had a cycle around the town and did all the shopping for the nurses, and came back again. I had a lovely fortnight. I must have met
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then the doctor discharged me, and I had a notification to Jacob White Hall,
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which, that particular time was the Naval Hospital on the Mill Bank, yes, and I was sent there to get my discharge.
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I got my discharge completely out there from the surgeon in chief up there, left hand commander, somebody Harry was he dressed me down like nobody's business for James.
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Who never hauled instead of going up to Millbank.
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So being a raft type, I said, Well, I didn't know anything about that. I was new in the Navy, and there was no instructions on paper what I should do. I was always taught my instruction whether to go to the newest Military
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Hospital, which was never hauled. As far as I was concerned, as I was on
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leave, I stamped his foot until right get back to event and went back to event.
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But finally, I was discharged from event, and up there on the commenting that was near Inverness
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and came back to Ealing on
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the whole week was good. When were you discharged? What year was that? 4545 December. I leave. My Leave finished in January, 46 the end of January, 46 actually. But when I made inquiries, they said, Well, that's why you can go.
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If your job is facing for you, they don't mind taking you back. You know, you can go straight away. So I had a fortnight home, and
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I got fidgety feet again. So back I went to alien, and Jack said, Oh yeah, come on. Come on back and start. So I started back at Eiling. What were you on the round? Was that? Oh yes, no, I was still on the floor again. Yeah, I went on the right occasion to give a relief. Strangely enough,
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I've done the little floor work, yeah, with a camera. What was your first film after the Warner
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always remains on Sunday, I believe. And who was the camera man on that wasn't was that Gordon
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died, or was it Beeson?
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Paul? Beeson, no, it wasn't. Paul. He was doing something else at that time. Paul,
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no, I'm sorry. I've got
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to work with would tell me more about it. And then,
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then I stopped there and
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and
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we did Jana Goon with
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Josie withers,
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the Australian who came member
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can't remember their names,
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and John McCullum remember those.
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Then we did several other
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I can't even remember a lot of those days at all, even what we were doing
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when Charlie even may phone me and said that they would like me to go back, if it was possible. This is back to back to turnington, yeah,
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this was in 47
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I saw how Mason
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that particular time, and got his permission to
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leave and go back to taking and
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then I went back to tainton in 47
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there we started after the bomb. We started to repair equipment and get the studio back into space, into working order
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for our first picture, I don't even remember what that
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was. When you say it had been bombed, you say, Oh, yes, was it badly damaged? Yeah, it was the powerhouse we'd been hit and the office block, and Doc Solomon was killed
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in the in the bombing there, because he would they used to sleep there at the studio. Other people, Harry brayfield, and one of the other, he was killed. Harry brayfield, it was an American had come over as props.
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Harry Henny was the
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chief props then.
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And I down.
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Oh, what's his other name? Who was chief floor boat.
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I went back there
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under Andy, even me. Andy, even me, was in charge in those days after the war.
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And I went back on the floor is second, second on the floor,
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we did several
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small pictures, minor pictures there, but nothing of anything important that I can remember, apart from One or two here, which have,
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if I can remember him, Noel,
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I know rookie Cooper came there. Yes, Ricky Cooper came for one.
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That's how I think,
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because Joanna Goon was after the war as well. Yes,
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well, yeah, you talked about your dad.
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Be so come out. And Jeff Seah, yes.
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Then the other one was with, that's
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it. Then we did dry Hearst, there any dry hers. Dry hers. Yeah, the
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noose. We did the noose thing, yes,
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and
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I can't remember the cameraman name,
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but the other type of things we did yet in those days,
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until
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in 1952
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They shut.
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I then went to
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over at ABC and the Austrian
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and
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they were just starting to change from
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art to incandescent for color.
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So of course, you know that one time the old three slept camera, we were doing an art we did.
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They were training out this Eastman color, yes.
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And we did the mask of Molech.
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I went there. So it's actually I was on the rail there, yeah. And go from one to the other, because things were getting a bit tight, if you remember, no day for the studios.
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So
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I started at ABC.
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After a while, a crisis came. As far as ABC was concerned. We had about three or four months doing nothing at all. There was nothing coming in,
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and they didn't know whether to shut or not.
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Were you on staff? We used to our staff, our staff because,
Unknown Speaker 32:06
mostly, most of the people at ABC, strange enough, were on staff. They kept a staff of 26 electrician really, because there were 12 to a picture with arts color
Unknown Speaker 32:22
and
Unknown Speaker 32:23
what happened was that they decided to make the Dam Busters.
Unknown Speaker 32:31
Erwin Hillier was one of the cameramen on that. I think you'll find, I'm not certain on that, but normal Warwick was the camera operator. Oh yeah, normal Warwick
Unknown Speaker 32:41
and we did all the models. They built all the models on the stages and that sort of thing, of the dams, and that's
Unknown Speaker 32:47
and we went up to
Unknown Speaker 32:50
Lincoln.
Unknown Speaker 32:52
And we all stopped in Lincoln, up there on the
Unknown Speaker 32:57
to go out to scanton, where God Gibson was there,
Unknown Speaker 33:02
and Richard Todd and all the boys, after we'd done all the studio interiors, we went up there on location. We had a good three weeks up there. Beautiful time it was up there.
Unknown Speaker 33:13
And
Unknown Speaker 33:15
several funny incidents used to happen, as you can imagine. I would tell you one, because I can never remember it. Never forget it.
Unknown Speaker 33:23
We got the parade of all of the airmen coming down from all the big buildings along the main parade with a band in front. They're all marching
Unknown Speaker 33:33
the cameras up on a high rostrum. All the arcs are burning
Unknown Speaker 33:39
and suddenly out of one of the buildings,
Unknown Speaker 33:43
chappy and a white oval with a cup of tea in each hand come straight out and march straight through the crowd.
Unknown Speaker 33:50
The painter was having his teeth.
Unknown Speaker 33:55
Imagine Erwin went up the wall.
Unknown Speaker 33:59
Director went up with the first assistant penalty head of we fell about
Unknown Speaker 34:07
laughing.
Unknown Speaker 34:11
Tell me on that location, you had power units, did you? Oh, yes, we had our own. In those days, it was all 110 you know, and we got one 2001 1000 Gen eight, yes.
Unknown Speaker 34:24
Who were they from? Were they
Unknown Speaker 34:26
studios?
Unknown Speaker 34:27
Yes, they've got those. In those days. We kept them going. We had maintenance crews on them. There used to be three, driver and operator and a mate on each generator. It was quite a big staff,
Unknown Speaker 34:43
and they got a unit like that out to size Lincoln. Anyway, we had two or three hotels up here, as I might add,
Unknown Speaker 34:51
and we had quite a good time. But they were the sort of things that used to happen. Of course. We'd gone from there to Skegness, first of all.
Unknown Speaker 34:59
And.
Unknown Speaker 35:00
A
Unknown Speaker 35:01
on the first day out, we were going to Skegness and
Unknown Speaker 35:05
where they dropped. We had aircraft there to drop the bombs, yes, as you know.
Unknown Speaker 35:10
And
Unknown Speaker 35:13
after the first day, we were going out there, and one of the boys said to the driver, he said, This is a bit monotonous. He said, he's got a better run the list so the coach driver not knowing films unit, so yeah, that's fine, all right, so let's go the other way. You've got no first assistant, just every order maintenance crew.
Unknown Speaker 35:31
And we sat back and enjoyed a trip. It took us about two hours to get the spite in the month
Unknown Speaker 35:39
poor drivers that told off. We got told off, but those were the sort of things that used to happen those days.
Unknown Speaker 35:47
We had a trip around the coast, probably went to work,
Unknown Speaker 35:54
then we finished that, and we came back.
Unknown Speaker 35:58
And from then, apparently they cut it very quickly,
Unknown Speaker 36:03
and it
Unknown Speaker 36:05
well. It sealed the fate of ABCs. The it was a success, and the money was coming in. So we continued. They didn't shut and we continued from then on. Yeah. What was your next film? Do you remember?
Unknown Speaker 36:20
No, but there was several you see ABC at that particular time. There was
Unknown Speaker 36:28
Steve Powell. Was in charge of one unit supervisor.
Unknown Speaker 36:32
There was
Unknown Speaker 36:35
Stan foster he was in charge of the other one and Wally Thompson, he was in charge of the other unit, yeah. Wally Thompson, they were the gaffers. They were the gaffers.
Unknown Speaker 36:46
Molly Thompson was an old ABC man from William Yes. Steve was given a job from
Unknown Speaker 36:55
Warners at tellington to come over there.
Unknown Speaker 36:58
And Stan was one from the from the
Unknown Speaker 37:02
from up in London somewhere. He came from Stan Foster.
Unknown Speaker 37:06
Was just those three in those days when,
Unknown Speaker 37:10
if there was a they used to make blow cut from the floor if necessary.
Unknown Speaker 37:16
I used to do the odd second occasionally. And it wasn't until
Unknown Speaker 37:23
I was at 50
Unknown Speaker 37:25
because I didn't go to 52
Unknown Speaker 37:27
I'd been there seven years. And as you know, ABC at that particular time was a very strong union job,
Unknown Speaker 37:35
and it wasn't
Unknown Speaker 37:38
like who you know, what you know. It was you went by seniority of the years in the studio.
Unknown Speaker 37:44
So it wasn't until I did
Unknown Speaker 37:49
the first Flying Doctor series with Norman they gave me that I did that whole series with it as supervisor, temporary supervisor. Yes, so I did that.
Unknown Speaker 38:03
And in between that, because they did Uncle Willie's bicycle shop and
Unknown Speaker 38:09
we did all bits and pieces up there. You say, Well, this is for television one day. Yeah, that was for television.
Unknown Speaker 38:18
But I got involved with most of the television series there
Unknown Speaker 38:23
the only the first time I was made, I went out and did The Sundowners
Unknown Speaker 38:29
with
Unknown Speaker 38:31
Jack Hillier and his brother on the sound.
Unknown Speaker 38:35
I was made permanent supervisor because we drunk, been out to Africa
Unknown Speaker 38:42
to do
Unknown Speaker 38:45
with crocodile hunters, I think it was,
Unknown Speaker 38:49
and
Unknown Speaker 38:51
that was with
Unknown Speaker 38:53
Richard tote
Unknown Speaker 38:55
and that
Unknown Speaker 38:58
And Molly talked to me up to merchants and falls for the first unit. And he'd got he was taken ill.
Unknown Speaker 39:07
He's got a bug in his kidneys, and he died. And from then on, I took over as attempt to supervise, took everything that came in. You see that Wally would have done.
Unknown Speaker 39:19
But it wasn't until you were out there? Were you? You went out there with him afterwards, after they'd been to motion before, yeah, I went back to Entebbe, yeah. And we finished the picture out there
Unknown Speaker 39:31
with Juliet crack over and that sort of thing.
Unknown Speaker 39:36
That was Harvey and Hillier too. I think you're fine.
Unknown Speaker 39:40
And
Unknown Speaker 39:42
we came back, and of course, Wally went down. I finished the picture inside, and then I took other pictures where they wanted
Unknown Speaker 39:51
another supervisor, and Charlie made me up temporarily like to take over Wally's stuff that he wasn't there.
Unknown Speaker 40:01
So now, when on sundown as Where did you go? I went to Australia. Did you Yes, I went to coma.
Unknown Speaker 40:09
And
Unknown Speaker 40:11
that was with Jack head out and his brother, who was a sound engineer, you know who he is,
Unknown Speaker 40:17
and I had a good time out there. And did the picture well? Came back and
Unknown Speaker 40:23
and
Unknown Speaker 40:26
it was in 59 did you take? Did you take equipment with you? Or did you bring it, pick it up? He took. What we took out there was carbons and filters. Because what happened? We took over the equipment from on the beach, yeah, from the Australian student. Yes, we had half half an English crew, half a Australian crew. We had four generators,
Unknown Speaker 40:49
and we
Unknown Speaker 40:53
they were building the snow mounting scheme, rocket schemes in progress at that time, and we took over their hall in Cougar, where they built for the recreation and turn that into a studio to do our interiors.
Unknown Speaker 41:09
And we rigged that with normal art boots and everything, but they left out things because the American unit wouldn't take them back. It was a lot easier for them to leave the stuff out there. And they paid a nominal sum, I understand the, is it the blue Hall studios out there? I don't know. I wouldn't work anyway. And so
Unknown Speaker 41:30
we had all that stuff shipped out to us. There was
Unknown Speaker 41:34
four generators, and I had, there was
Unknown Speaker 41:38
three low loads of equipment.
Unknown Speaker 41:41
And we went all over South Australia. We started in New South Wales,
Unknown Speaker 41:47
and we did a lot of stuff out there. We had 2000 had a sheet with us all the time.
Unknown Speaker 41:54
And then I did an airlift from Coomer into South Australia, wire Port Augusta,
Unknown Speaker 42:03
I split half the equipment
Unknown Speaker 42:06
and send half by road four days ahead.
Unknown Speaker 42:10
Yeah. Jack said, Well, he could manage, if we could manage that far. So he sent that half. We split it, sent half by road, and we had
Unknown Speaker 42:19
dc, dc 10, I think, with DC seven or something
Unknown Speaker 42:24
for the equipment, which was the rest of the four brutes and that.
Unknown Speaker 42:28
So what we've done, we had two generators on the head. We have two generators to come later by road. And we shifted all the stuff down to Isla
Unknown Speaker 42:39
by plane. And we all flew down at the weekend.
Unknown Speaker 42:43
That was Freddie zinnenman,
Unknown Speaker 42:47
director in those days.
Unknown Speaker 42:50
And Jack said, right, fair enough. He said, When we unload it
Unknown Speaker 42:55
in the morning, early morning, he said, we'll go out the next day. And Fred said, I don't know. He said, Do you think so? Well, I said, if you want it go, I said, you can have it, yeah.
Unknown Speaker 43:06
So he said, All right. So he did. We got the equipment out there next day, but it was on a on the road to the womb range. We went from Port Augusta,
Unknown Speaker 43:22
but
Unknown Speaker 43:23
I'm afraid that it ended in disaster, really, because by midday, 10 people had gone down with heat stroke. Wasn't a sun, sun to be seen. Good. We done about four shots, and that 10 people had gone down with heat stroke. And old Freddie said, Well, that's it. We've had it for the day, and we came back again. Hang on.
Unknown Speaker 0:02
Hello, side two, yeah,
Unknown Speaker 0:07
when you say it was, it wasn't, was it really serious? This heat stroke? Oh yes, yes, you're sick and everything really terrible. And that day we'd got
Unknown Speaker 0:18
baby kangaroos. Was filming the shearers coming down the road,
Unknown Speaker 0:24
and we all were standing in a circle, and they said, if you can stop them going out after you done the shot, because we'd never catch them again.
Unknown Speaker 0:31
Well, I silly, like I caught one, didn't I? It flung me from here to there in the dust. So I bet the dust that day
Unknown Speaker 0:40
Tell me, what was the, what was the relationship between the English sparks and the Aussie sparks? Oh, it's very good, yeah. Oh, yeah, you had to be a bit careful, yes. But on a whole, they were a good crowd, and we go on very well. But
Unknown Speaker 0:56
I should never forget it, because you're always greeted with, you know, I'm of Australia, convict, stop, don't try anything with me. That's in all.
Unknown Speaker 1:05
But they gone on very well. And
Unknown Speaker 1:11
we had good evening sing songs and evenings and that sort of thing. So it was, it was very a Michael boy. It was a good day, yes.
Unknown Speaker 1:18
So, so after sundown, there's what then?
Unknown Speaker 1:24
Oh, came back after sundowners.
Unknown Speaker 1:27
I can't quite remember after that, but I do know that
Unknown Speaker 1:33
I got involved with a lot of television series in those days. Yes, Monty Bellman. Oh, yes.
Unknown Speaker 1:39
These saints, the studio,
Unknown Speaker 1:42
the studios
Unknown Speaker 1:44
just near Old Alden garage, was it? That's right, yes, up on the Hillier, no,
Unknown Speaker 1:51
not.
Unknown Speaker 1:52
This one was in borenwood, high street. ABC, down the bottom. The one up there was ranks by the railway station. Oh, no. Wasn't thinking of that. No, that, you know, the Olden and garage, yeah. Well, there was a studio there too, which Monty Berman knew surely, didn't he?
Unknown Speaker 2:11
Well, not for he came to a, this was all for ABC, yes, those days, I see they were there, yeah.
Unknown Speaker 2:20
We did a lot with
Unknown Speaker 2:22
George Cole. Was came to edit my lot. And
Unknown Speaker 2:28
then we started doing these series. We
Unknown Speaker 2:32
the saint was the first big one. They started anyway, that was Roger Moore, yeah, Lionel Baines was cameraman at one time. Yes, they tried all sorts of camerames, you know, but I did most of the I was on most of the saint series
Unknown Speaker 2:48
because Wally Thompson took over the first and I was his second. You see, tell me what kind of schedule was it? Was it on those Saint series? It was very tight. Yes, it was, it was, we had to do so much time a day. Do you know Johnny Goodwin?
Unknown Speaker 3:05
I know of him. Yes. Johnny Goodman was first assistant. Yeah. Was he production manager? I should think Production Production Manager. I should think that's right. And
Unknown Speaker 3:18
a shooting on all those series was very tight, because we did a lot of series at
Unknown Speaker 3:25
ABC at that particular
Unknown Speaker 3:29
time, there was Peter wing guard in Jason King, and
Unknown Speaker 3:36
there was,
Unknown Speaker 3:40
what was our the Baron with
Unknown Speaker 3:44
Steve forest.
Unknown Speaker 3:46
I did that as well.
Unknown Speaker 3:49
That was a good thing too, because Steve forest was a
Unknown Speaker 3:53
he's quite a nice boat, and my wife got it. Was involved with a school here, Parent Teachers Association, and they used to have a fate on the exiles ground, yeah.
Unknown Speaker 4:06
And I thought it would be a good idea if Steve came to open one of these, and I was working on it, and I
Unknown Speaker 4:12
went and saw Monty Bellman, and he said, Yes. He said, What do you want? When I said, I like Steve, if possible, to come down at two o'clock on a Saturday afternoon and open a fight for the children?
Unknown Speaker 4:27
Good idea. He said, That's publicity, fine. He said, I will supply a banner for you.
Unknown Speaker 4:33
He said, we'll have a chat to Steve,
Unknown Speaker 4:36
because we'd all arranged everything. And sure enough, we had a big banner put up across the front end. Was on Richmond Road there the Baron will open this fight today, you know, for the children. And he used to drive a big Jansen car, if you remember, in the series.
Unknown Speaker 4:51
And he said, Steve said, he said, he said, I'll see Monty if I can't drive down in the Jensen. So I said, All right, Steve and his wife.
Unknown Speaker 5:00
Him.
Unknown Speaker 5:01
So of course, that Saturday
Unknown Speaker 5:04
up, I was one I'm down there. All the stores are up and kids are all waiting all that line in the
Unknown Speaker 5:10
he drives him with his Janssen couldn't believe it, sure. No enthusiastic Heath hardly enjoyed himself. He went round everywhere. He saw everybody.
Unknown Speaker 5:21
And, you know, his wife bought stuff off the stores, being English cooking and cakes and that time. And he stopped there right till the end. He stopped there right to the end. Just couldn't believe it. She took an open show with the teachers. He got me by the shoulder in he said, Don't you leave?
Unknown Speaker 5:40
I stood with him, and he opened a fate, and
Unknown Speaker 5:44
kids wouldn't leave. And they went with him. Crowder. Kids went all the time, all the way around. You know, all the races went up,
Unknown Speaker 5:52
but he thoroughly enjoyed it.
Unknown Speaker 5:54
And I had a very nice adult from him thanking us for love the afternoon, he finally enjoyed himself.
Unknown Speaker 6:02
So that was good. That was one of the things that came about with one of these series. Yeah.
Unknown Speaker 6:10
Oh, then I did several other things. I did bits and pieces, you know, until
Unknown Speaker 6:17
let's think
Unknown Speaker 6:21
I did, knew all the series, Jason King and the rest of them. I did one with
Unknown Speaker 6:28
Drake, with Brendan. Brendan Stafford Oh yes, Brennan staff, we did Drake series, but it wasn't a success. It never got shown at all anywhere. But I worked with Brandon too, on different pictures. And he
Unknown Speaker 6:44
used to come from this area anyway, so we used to know each other quite a lot.
Unknown Speaker 6:50
Then EMI took over.
Unknown Speaker 6:53
That was in, don't
Unknown Speaker 6:56
remember when that was early 70s. I believe I Yeah.
Unknown Speaker 7:03
Then we had a change around,
Unknown Speaker 7:05
and Brian Forbes yes came into Yeah.
Unknown Speaker 7:10
He made quite a lot, lots of changes for the better or for the worse, for the better. That
Unknown Speaker 7:16
was a nice, nice man. Brian, very nice indeed. He thought of everybody.
Unknown Speaker 7:23
You could go and talk to him if he listened to him and actually, and
Unknown Speaker 7:29
he said to me, he said, after a bit, he said to me, you've been on television for so long, you're going to do something else.
Unknown Speaker 7:39
And I did a radio move with Brian Forbes, and then at Newman,
Unknown Speaker 7:44
and we went out, and we had a country house that was, that was with Tony Emmy,
Unknown Speaker 7:54
first time I met Tony. He's got him very well,
Unknown Speaker 7:58
and it was a good picture.
Unknown Speaker 8:02
And
Unknown Speaker 8:04
lovely crew, absolutely. And we did very well.
Unknown Speaker 8:09
I did several other pictures.
Unknown Speaker 8:14
Ollie, um, I was there, you know,
Unknown Speaker 8:17
but Monty did say he would like me back. So I went back to Monty after a year or so.
Unknown Speaker 8:25
And I did, when, where to, where was I see, yeah, because we used to have the odd producers come in, because it was, it went to a full wall studio.
Unknown Speaker 8:36
Andrew Mitchell took over, as you know, and
Unknown Speaker 8:41
we did lots of pictures. Then I used to know several producers,
Unknown Speaker 8:47
and
Unknown Speaker 8:49
I was never out of work.
Unknown Speaker 8:52
I was busy all the time. It wasn't television, it was something else.
Unknown Speaker 9:00
I can't remember all the things I don't I don't know why, but some things come and some things go. Now,
Unknown Speaker 9:07
tell me a bit about Monty Monty Berman,
Unknown Speaker 9:12
because you first knew him as an operator or a focus puller. Yes, that's right, but he was
Unknown Speaker 9:19
he. He did a lot with Mr. Baker. Yes, him and Baker, as you know, in Southall, yeah,
Unknown Speaker 9:28
and
Unknown Speaker 9:30
George devil
Unknown Speaker 9:32
with his gaffer then.
Unknown Speaker 9:34
And George lip wanted in the war, and he came over to us at that particular time.
Unknown Speaker 9:39
So I work for both Monty and Mr. Baker.
Unknown Speaker 9:46
Monty
Unknown Speaker 9:49
was one for detail.
Unknown Speaker 9:55
He would forgive a fault if he went to him straight away and said, right, my.
Unknown Speaker 10:00
All COVID, I've done something wrong, which I used to if I, if I hadn't got a set value or something, I would go to and say, Well, look sorry, but this has happened, that happened.
Unknown Speaker 10:11
But he would never give if you tried to go underhanded with him. He would never, he wouldn't want to know. So the best thing to do play with Monty. Play Monty straight. He was Monty was always very good to me.
Unknown Speaker 10:25
He stood by me on many occasions.
Unknown Speaker 10:29
So I've got a lot of time for Monty. Always had done.
Unknown Speaker 10:35
I did all the series up there with him deep in and then I got involved with Mr. Baker as well. When Monty sort of retired,
Unknown Speaker 10:45
and I went with Mr. Baker and did lots of series with him.
Unknown Speaker 10:50
We did the second Saint without Ian Oakley as well. Went out
Unknown Speaker 10:55
the trip there. We did,
Unknown Speaker 11:01
oh, I
Unknown Speaker 11:04
I can't think.
Unknown Speaker 11:07
But do you know Frankie Watts
Unknown Speaker 11:10
only by name? Well, I work with Frankie Watts because he used to do another series among Yes, frankly, I worked with Frankie watts for many years.
Unknown Speaker 11:20
Gil Taylor, yes, no. Gil Taylor, yes, yes. I worked with Gil Taylor.
Unknown Speaker 11:27
Ozzie Morris,
Unknown Speaker 11:30
Otto Hillier, well, that's a long while ago. Otto Hillier, they
Unknown Speaker 11:36
were all there, and I used to Yeah, and I used to do bits and pieces of it. I did on the busses
Unknown Speaker 11:47
one time, and I did so on the busses
Unknown Speaker 11:53
with,
Unknown Speaker 11:55
oh, that's a
Unknown Speaker 12:00
member their name now. Sorry, wasn't, wasn't only a lot in Go. No, no, no, another comedian like that. Yeah, he was a stage comedian. Yeah, they made him. They made on the busses. Ah, a Cockney.
Unknown Speaker 12:18
Yes. He'll come back to this. It's terrible at this stage.
Unknown Speaker 12:26
When did you actually physically retire?
Unknown Speaker 12:30
1979
Unknown Speaker 12:32
June, 79
Unknown Speaker 12:34
we just finished a man called Intrepid.
Unknown Speaker 12:38
And who made that?
Unknown Speaker 12:43
That was it? El Street. Was it? Yes, ABC,
Unknown Speaker 12:48
oh, I shouldn't remember the cameraman, too. Brian, not. Langley, no, it wasn't Brian. Langley,
Unknown Speaker 12:56
well, we'll come back later on. It'll feel like I'd be my book, if you want to
Unknown Speaker 13:02
know. But
Unknown Speaker 13:04
we'd been around quite a lot, and we'd done all the shooting in local around here,
Unknown Speaker 13:09
and we went out to Norway. Gordon Scott was a producer,
Unknown Speaker 13:15
and
Unknown Speaker 13:17
it was getting that we this was when we were freelance, and there
Unknown Speaker 13:23
was the five of us. We were called group five at that time,
Unknown Speaker 13:28
Davids, Steve birds,
Unknown Speaker 13:33
Jack Collins, Pat Noel, myself, group five, and we did quite a number of pictures
Unknown Speaker 13:42
for hammer and cat.
Unknown Speaker 13:47
But when I found it, I was
Unknown Speaker 13:50
coming on 66
Unknown Speaker 13:52
and I found that I couldn't carry equipment up the mountainside.
Unknown Speaker 13:58
And the boy said to me, Well, look Ted art wood is and no way would I do that. I wouldn't be carried so I've said, Well, fair enough, that's it. I'll
Unknown Speaker 14:08
retire. So I retired in 79 June, 79 group five. Tell me what was that? A cooperative? No, that was five supervisors at ABC. Yes, we formed ourselves into a little company, and we called ourselves group five.
Unknown Speaker 14:28
So when it came up on screen targets, it were down as group five I see. And what happened was that
Unknown Speaker 14:36
we're all supervisors. We're all capable of taking a picture
Unknown Speaker 14:40
and whoever the camera man or producer wanted to do the picture, he selected one of the five to do the pictures,
Unknown Speaker 14:49
and we fell in and did everything
Unknown Speaker 14:52
else. Oh, I see, I see. We all Yeah. We're all paid to say, I see, yes, but we acknowledge if the camera.
Unknown Speaker 15:00
Man wanted
Unknown Speaker 15:01
Steven charge or pat in charge, which they did they want, their damn preferences. Cameraman, we said, fair enough. That's it all.
Unknown Speaker 15:10
Warners, come to him. But if you want to talk to us, you talk. If you want to give us a direction, don't, not necessarily go through the charge hand or supervisor, you see, because we were all one and someone else
Unknown Speaker 15:22
so and if the both he was who was in charge, we don't have another job. He could call on one of us to do exactly what he wanted. You see, we had a certain amount of equipment, but we used to hire equipment from AVC all these
Unknown Speaker 15:38
now we're coming on to equipment. I want to talk about equipment, because with the type of equipment that's being used now, you wouldn't have had to retire, would you? No,
Unknown Speaker 15:48
you said boots and that sort of thing a little bit much.
Unknown Speaker 15:53
Yes, yes, right? You've seen some incredible changes in equipment, haven't you? Oh, yes, from the old candle and the the two kilowatt barrel spots that we used to use in the old days. And I don't know if you remember the the barrel spot they used to use with an ordinary
Unknown Speaker 16:13
lens in the front of it, yes, magnifying lens, yes, with the two two carbons that way, yes, yes. And it used to give a complete circle. Yes, they used to use that. We had two of those at
Unknown Speaker 16:26
taddington. Yes,
Unknown Speaker 16:28
long before the old
Unknown Speaker 16:30
and the kingdom, two cages to come out. Those terrible things, hands on, yes, terrible frames in the inner front of them spanned out tin
Unknown Speaker 16:41
German stuff
Unknown Speaker 16:45
came to light for the great big,
Unknown Speaker 16:48
solid, positive carbon, and you got to keep your flame like that. If it went back on the parabolic mirror, it was 60 pound and you were out. I
Unknown Speaker 16:58
used to push up on the in the girders in those days, are those things? Yes? Because, well, also the the resistances. I mean, they waited to carry those around
Unknown Speaker 17:08
the art down here.
Unknown Speaker 17:12
But it's the equipment started to get very complicated too. Didn't Yes,
Unknown Speaker 17:21
when they when moles stuff came in,
Unknown Speaker 17:24
there was even the Big 5k as they were, oh yes, 10k is terrible. They were enormous. Because I can remember Freddie young talking about this out in the out in when they were doing Lawrence of Arabia, these enormous, great things when brutes, of course, yeah, super brutes as well. Do you remember those? No, I don't know, super boots. Oh yes. They were
Unknown Speaker 17:50
200 250 amps.
Unknown Speaker 17:53
Super boots, come in there.
Unknown Speaker 17:56
But what I used to like was the the lightweight boots at the American studios used to ship occasional
Unknown Speaker 18:05
where,
Unknown Speaker 18:08
with two men, you could lift the casing up, put it on the stand, as easy as anything. And the back used to the note used to be all in one, yes, you didn't have to take the mech out or anything.
Unknown Speaker 18:21
Those new approach that they had. But of course, the
Unknown Speaker 18:26
new as
Unknown Speaker 18:31
I used to call them, BM case, I'm not sure, no, the courting, oh yes,
Unknown Speaker 18:40
yes, yes. They were not easy, yeah, but their resistances were heavy as well. They were terribly heavy. They can't get over that heavy equipment.
Unknown Speaker 18:50
But
Unknown Speaker 18:52
did you ever, did you ever work with Mo Richardsons? You know the
Unknown Speaker 18:57
their location unit at all?
Unknown Speaker 19:01
Yes, I worked with
Unknown Speaker 19:03
moles once, not many times. Do you remember MacDonald, yes, yes,
Unknown Speaker 19:09
right now? Ealing, yes.
Unknown Speaker 19:15
Just after the war started,
Unknown Speaker 19:19
we went out with a miles unit with Mac and his red generator to turville till they came by night. Yes, you remember that that was a Ministry of Information picture of paratroopers landing in a British village and taking over.
Unknown Speaker 19:37
We had the Sussex, half of the Sussex and half of the
Unknown Speaker 19:41
Suffolk regiment Venice. Down at turville.
Unknown Speaker 19:47
Mac and agenda, we rode, I shouldn't tell it is any but in those days, Joe cooks, he and I, we brought our bikes, maybe, and take our bikes down. We asked permission from studio to get to take our bikes.
Unknown Speaker 20:00
I said, Yes, fine,
Unknown Speaker 20:03
right? So we went and saw Mac. We got in touch with Mac, and we said, Mac, can we put our bikes on your generator and ride down with you? Show? Said, Yes, two dads, all right, Joe and I cycled the moles.
Unknown Speaker 20:17
Ty had bikes on the back of the generator and drove down on the agenda I do with Matt to Henley, and we
Unknown Speaker 20:25
used to use our bikes throughout the evening.
Unknown Speaker 20:30
Oh, Mac was an ice boat, which done well with
Unknown Speaker 20:34
me. But then I used to do when we
Unknown Speaker 20:38
we didn't work for miles, for quite a lot at all, not after that. We
Unknown Speaker 20:44
used to see their blokes and their generators used to come. Used to have their generators, that sort of thing. So they finally gave up. But then, because we went to Leeds,
Unknown Speaker 20:53
and I did several days work for Leeds when we were,
Unknown Speaker 20:59
you know, freelance, used to work for Lee and do that sort of thing.
Unknown Speaker 21:04
I've done several bits and plays. I did an interview once for the Nottingham carnival. You remember I went with a cameraman there to a house where they objected to the carnival and it was spoiling their gardens and that sort of thing. And we went up there with the lights and that sort of thing. And did all that there for them? For lees,
Unknown Speaker 21:25
did you and did you ever have me work with Sammy
Unknown Speaker 21:28
Samuelson's at all? Samu not lighting,
Unknown Speaker 21:36
but
Unknown Speaker 21:39
during the war, strangely enough,
Unknown Speaker 21:42
Twickenham, yes, yes. Do you know the only time I've ever worked at Twickenham
Unknown Speaker 21:48
that was in 1940 Yes,
Unknown Speaker 21:51
when viol ever was making a picture up at Twickenham. That's the
Unknown Speaker 21:58
only time, and I was there for a fortnight, the only time I've ever worked at Twickenham, and I've lived here all my life, been in the industry all this time. Can you remember anything about Twickenham studios in those days?
Unknown Speaker 22:12
Well, it was very tiny, yes. And the man used to be in the box on the railway. So every time a train came along for the sound, they used to ring a bell and but he used to stop and start a row again, and trains were far more frequent in those days. Yes, who was, who was the who was in charge the sparks there? Do you remember the chief engineer there?
Unknown Speaker 22:39
Oh, I can't recall his name, it's
Unknown Speaker 22:42
one of the old ones. Yes, who was the camera man? You remember on the Rick Oliver? No, sorry, too far back.
Unknown Speaker 22:53
But,
Unknown Speaker 22:56
and then
Unknown Speaker 22:58
I tell you something else too, that during the war, we went over to Walton, oh, yes, yes. And they were doing a thing with the Royal Air Force there,
Unknown Speaker 23:10
and we got over there in the morning and they said, was it Walton or Wharton? Walton on Walton on temperature? What
Unknown Speaker 23:19
was it
Unknown Speaker 23:22
not in Nuffield.
Unknown Speaker 23:27
Um, it'll come later. But anyway, we went there in the morning,
Unknown Speaker 23:31
and we were just working arcs. And they said, well, friend, I thought, right, boys shoot. So they said, Would you stop overnight?
Unknown Speaker 23:40
Because we want to finish. So he shot up to 12 o'clock, and they said, All right, boys, don't go home. Have a clip in the dressing rooms, and we'll continue in the morning. So this is what we did. And this used to happen at turnington quite a lot in the old days they were shooting there.
Unknown Speaker 23:59
Ralph Vince was a cameraman in those days,
Unknown Speaker 24:04
not
Unknown Speaker 24:05
a director. Was a Yeah,
Unknown Speaker 24:10
and
Unknown Speaker 24:13
can I go back over the test, yes, do, do
Unknown Speaker 24:16
Dox harm in those days, he was he said yes or no. How long we stopped shooting and everything.
Unknown Speaker 24:23
This was even after Erwin Hillier, after Erwin Asher went. Laura LaPlante, Jerry Jackson took over there. But
Unknown Speaker 24:32
every Friday evening there used to be a cinema show of all the latest stuff that come over from the States, before the census saw it Yes,
Unknown Speaker 24:41
and Friday nights was a
Unknown Speaker 24:44
Friday night, and duck used to come on the set half past five, and he used to say to the director, that's it. This is the last shot you would do. The boys have got to go home and come back by half hour six for our film show. And we used to.
Unknown Speaker 25:00
Used to cut everything, and we used to go home, change, bring our wives and the families, really, yeah. And they used to cinema there, and we saw Birth of a Nation well before the center saw it.
Unknown Speaker 25:14
Paul Muni and all his things and all the stuff that used to come over. We used to have Friday night show every night, every Friday night. Also the year doesn't matter whether it was there or not.
Unknown Speaker 25:25
And we were busy there in the 30s, quite busy.
Unknown Speaker 25:30
Then the 36 they built the new stage, and we were even busier still. They
Unknown Speaker 25:35
built a big prop room there
Unknown Speaker 25:37
and that. And Harry Han was the prop man there in charge. There,
Unknown Speaker 25:46
as I say, George Dover was, was in charge. Charlie May was the was the gaffer.
Unknown Speaker 25:52
And there was normally only one unit, not two. And even me was his second,
Unknown Speaker 25:59
or reg Wilson, whoever was there, I say, we used to do
Unknown Speaker 26:04
18 days in, 18 days out. But you always got a telephone telegram to come, you know.
Unknown Speaker 26:11
And
Unknown Speaker 26:12
it was something different. It was an adventure in those days. It really was never no sound, camera, sound. Men were in a box world about the stage. The camera was at one time, until they got the American ones over later
Unknown Speaker 26:28
blimp ones.
Unknown Speaker 26:30
But
Unknown Speaker 26:32
it was a it was a family affair. Everybody knew everybody else, and it was you could help everybody and help anybody.
Unknown Speaker 26:42
But eventually things got where you couldn't, as, you know, yes, yes. But in the early days, it was quite a family affair. I mean, my mother in law, she's dead now, rest her soul, but she used to go over there, Kenny a day as extras. We were always told, you know, we want some extra city. You, you, you bring who you like, you know, Jenny a day and,
Unknown Speaker 27:09
yeah,
Unknown Speaker 27:11
that used to happen in those
Unknown Speaker 27:16
days, lovely days. Anyone used to cycle everywhere. No locations. Of course, if we went on the river bank, that was classified as a location. Yeah, we did get out once, as far as I remember, to
Unknown Speaker 27:30
golf course at Isha,
Unknown Speaker 27:33
and we all went into the big pub on the corner there for dinner.
Unknown Speaker 27:38
And there was one time we went up to London,
Unknown Speaker 27:42
and I always remember we were only top reflectors in those days. We were around Covent Garden somewhere,
Unknown Speaker 27:50
and they suddenly said to us, all right, lunch Boys, get in the cars, in the caravan, or whatever it was, and tell us the fast guard is now. Can you imagine, in the mid summer,
Unknown Speaker 28:02
the height of the season, the
Unknown Speaker 28:04
whole camera crew of scuffy books walking into fast cars and having a meal.
Unknown Speaker 28:11
Never forget it,
Unknown Speaker 28:15
because they Yes. I mean, there's they used all most locations used to be built in the studio, and, oh yes, that's right on the lot, everything that I mean, they used to have a night crew come in and build.
Unknown Speaker 28:28
And if it was, if we were shot till 12 o'clock and we couldn't get home, we used to sleep in a dressing room, get called at six, have breakfast in the canteen and read the sets ready for the day shooting as if the artists were not impairing a picture. We used to then hang about all day till they got back about 11 o'clock at night. Hell yes,
Unknown Speaker 28:48
basil and one or two others were there.
Unknown Speaker 28:52
But it was, they were good days and something to look back on. It was, it was a time when it was different. The industry was just coming along, and we were fighting the marital very hard for our pictures,
Unknown Speaker 29:09
but it was all an adventure. Tell me a bit about the union activity,
Unknown Speaker 29:14
because I can always remember the ETU being, you know, very forceful, strong union.
Unknown Speaker 29:19
Because, well, we never joined in 1936
Unknown Speaker 29:23
when
Unknown Speaker 29:25
they came down there and said, Well, fair enough, boys, you it's about time.
Unknown Speaker 29:30
So I joined in 36
Unknown Speaker 29:32
and I was one of the first shop stewards down
Unknown Speaker 29:36
at tellington.
Unknown Speaker 29:38
But it was an easy relationship, because I always felt that
Unknown Speaker 29:43
if you got something to give, you could get something.
Unknown Speaker 29:47
If you were prepared to negotiate and offer something, you could invariably get what you wanted. So
Unknown Speaker 29:56
while I was steward, there was never much, you know, Fauci.
Unknown Speaker 30:00
So bother.
Unknown Speaker 30:02
But as I say, we have had our ups and downs over at tarrington at one time,
Unknown Speaker 30:09
no names, no pack drill,
Unknown Speaker 30:12
but we got over it. And it wasn't because of union trouble that we were they shut it just was that Goon has moved over to to ABC, and they let it, and they rented it above all links to hawkers, because when hawkers came in,
Unknown Speaker 30:30
they found they couldn't put another floor on the new stage because the walls wouldn't take it wouldn't take much anything. So they go and use it for a store
Unknown Speaker 30:39
that was in 52 Yeah. Well, then a TV came over, and they
Unknown Speaker 30:44
either rent it or bought it.
Unknown Speaker 30:46
And Warners were over ABC
Unknown Speaker 30:49
until they went out and the EMI bought it, because
Unknown Speaker 30:53
we used to get a lot of Warner pictures. I did. We did the from tuddington. We did the
Unknown Speaker 31:01
Crimson pirate.
Unknown Speaker 31:03
We went out to Italy, right out in Italy for six months,
Unknown Speaker 31:08
came back.
Unknown Speaker 31:10
Built the sets, don't we? Over there,
Unknown Speaker 31:14
built Denham,
Unknown Speaker 31:16
rigged them all in black and white.
Unknown Speaker 31:20
Obviously, came in and took over and moved to Maureen color.
Unknown Speaker 31:25
So we went back to taddings and left it to ABC to do.
Unknown Speaker 31:33
We did quite a lot to things over there.
Unknown Speaker 31:36
I worked at Denham for a while.
Unknown Speaker 31:40
And was it bachelor? Bachelor? Yes, Bachelor was in charge. Yes, yes, I did two or three days over there, but I wasn't happy there. Not why was that?
Unknown Speaker 31:51
It was very much, very clicky. That's interesting. You say that because I worked on one picture. I was on the camera department. I found exactly the same thing. I wasn't really welcome at all. I felt happy. I wasn't welcome. No interesting. So I, I said, No more. I came out of that
Unknown Speaker 32:11
and I went to the smaller studios. When I was out, I wouldn't go over there. You
Unknown Speaker 32:18
couldn't go to Pinewood anyway, because, as you if you remember that particular time, the ETU had a
Unknown Speaker 32:26
employment agency,
Unknown Speaker 32:29
and if you wanted a job, you had to employ, get employment through, through the grazing Road, yeah,
Unknown Speaker 32:38
so, and That's how I managed to get over to ABC. I had to go through the Yeah. Went over there with several other people, you know, and I stopped there longer than anybody.
Unknown Speaker 32:51
But, oh, it's been an interesting life. I thoroughly enjoyed my life. Would you like to have switched anytime? Would you Yes, I tried to switch the sound, yeah. I tried at telling them, and yes, but I was blocked there because
Unknown Speaker 33:11
there was enough unemployment. Yes, they wouldn't swap for money because of unemployment, that was the reason I tried again at ABC before I was made supervisor, and the same thing,
Unknown Speaker 33:25
they got people on their books, and they wouldn't transfer from but it happened in other studios, other smaller studios, because I know several friends of mine that you know went to.
Unknown Speaker 33:38
But
Unknown Speaker 33:40
no, I've, I must say, I've had a good life.
Unknown Speaker 33:44
I Sorry, enjoyed my life.
Unknown Speaker 33:46
I've seen and talked to so many different people in different walks of life, not only in this country, but all over the world, which I thoroughly enjoy.
Unknown Speaker 34:02
I go back to LG occasionally. Go back see the boys,
Unknown Speaker 34:08
and I see I keep in touch with Jack and Pat and the rest of them, you know,
Unknown Speaker 34:16
but I haven't been since this cannon business. I've only been over there once, but I'm going over there again because I want to know where the boys have got to
Unknown Speaker 34:26
group five. Yes,
Unknown Speaker 34:31
I still see the producers here. I believe,
Unknown Speaker 34:35
last time I say, I saw Mr. Mitchell,
Unknown Speaker 34:38
and he introduced me to, I don't know who was several other gentlemen there from EMI and press and that sort of thing. And we had a talk, you know, because he was very good with Andrew saying that we were old staff there. He put everything our way it was possible.
Unknown Speaker 34:57
And he made certain that there was.
Unknown Speaker 35:00
Hiccups at all. So we were very lucky
Unknown Speaker 35:05
when I gave up. The boys went on for a bit, and they're still doing a bit now.
Unknown Speaker 35:11
They work a lot for lees,
Unknown Speaker 35:14
and
Unknown Speaker 35:16
we we did quite a lot with them, because we used to Harwood the equipment we
Unknown Speaker 35:23
worked with Shepparton because we used the big stage there quite a lot as well for different pictures.
Unknown Speaker 35:30
We did, was it Arabian Nights?
Unknown Speaker 35:34
Yeah, we did the Arabian Nights at Shepparton
Unknown Speaker 35:38
as group five, with all the cameramen now.
Unknown Speaker 35:43
And
Unknown Speaker 35:46
oh, who was the last cameraman I worked
Unknown Speaker 35:52
with, Alan Alan Alan Hume.
Unknown Speaker 35:55
I saw Alan Hume up in the oh yes
Unknown Speaker 35:59
from our grits road one day they were filming from twitch in them, yes, and he's got a lot of the boys there, and you know what
Unknown Speaker 36:05
it's like. They're filming on the paint he would take and take now, she got outside, suddenly tapped me on his shoulder, and there's Alan. He said that you don't talk to me anymore, yet,
Unknown Speaker 36:14
it's quite nice to have a talk. And can see the boys again, you know.
Unknown Speaker 36:20
And occasionally, if there's anything up at trucking and I'm passing and there's anybody there that I know or knows me or shopping, they always take me in there and I have a natter for the boys.
Unknown Speaker 36:34
One day, was walking along the town, and two chats fell in beside the man said, Well, you're coming with us. It was two of the props,
Unknown Speaker 36:43
and they marched me straight into the studio. And you remember ex Hobbs, he was a prop master there, and that was it. Cup of coffee and matter with a boy, but it's nice,
Unknown Speaker 36:59
because then
Unknown Speaker 37:01
do you remember
Unknown Speaker 37:03
you worked a lot with technical people? Have you? No, I haven't. I only know you know, only know Alfred Cooper, and then run call and definitely answer. That's all, really Yeah, you don't remember any of the three straight time where you be all the boys used to come down from camera crew wasn't there was three of them. They used to do the loading, and that's
Unknown Speaker 37:27
I got to know a couple other boys very well.
Unknown Speaker 37:33
Troubles its names.
Unknown Speaker 37:37
My memory from names. He's terrible. I know faith is busting. Never put name time. It's embarrassing at times, but as I say, we got on very well, and when they lose to I finished it and it went to this ordinary Indian
Unknown Speaker 37:56
Eastman,
Unknown Speaker 37:59
because they had to take something else up, and we used to get with them in other productions.
Unknown Speaker 38:05
So
Unknown Speaker 38:09
I do remember a lot of them I used to see, and see them around a lot. I see a cat in one or two now, but not as many as we used to.
Unknown Speaker 38:22
Let's think of the small cameraman I worked with. You.
Unknown Speaker 38:30
Obviously worked with Freddie young, because you showed the picture of great expectation. Yes, I worked with Freddie young. Yes. And
Unknown Speaker 38:39
also, there's another one I work with two or three times I've worked with Freddie there, yes. And also we've been into Pinewood with Freddie, yes. And,
Unknown Speaker 38:50
and
Unknown Speaker 38:54
he
Unknown Speaker 38:56
is very particular. He knows what he wants. Oh, yes.
Unknown Speaker 38:59
And,
Unknown Speaker 39:02
if you can try and see what Freddie wants, he'll give you all the help in the world. He's a very nice man. He really is.
Unknown Speaker 39:11
And considering you know how old he is,
Unknown Speaker 39:15
he's got all the patients in the world, he really has, unless, of course, you, you know, you step on his toes or anything like that, but you try not do that, and you say yes,
Unknown Speaker 39:27
but he's great to work with,
Unknown Speaker 39:30
because he's a master. He's really a Master. Yes,
Unknown Speaker 39:36
so that
Unknown Speaker 39:38
that was a I suppose
Unknown Speaker 39:43
you talked about Desmond Dickinson, yes,
Unknown Speaker 39:47
I did two or three pictures with Desmond. And we used to go to El Street, air drum, and do a lot of filming there, you know. And he used to say, All right, do this, do that, do that. And he was away, and.
Unknown Speaker 40:00
Son. You see, Daddy's up there doing dive bombing there in a plane, because that was his one of his loves as well. Yes, flying, yes, oh yeah. He used to fly around. Desmond Dickinson, fly around like nobody's better
Unknown Speaker 40:14
then I'll say the door. Tailor,
Unknown Speaker 40:17
Erwin Hillier,
Unknown Speaker 40:21
Jack Hillard,
Unknown Speaker 40:24
Frankie watts,
Unknown Speaker 40:26
Arthur Hillier came back a bit.
Unknown Speaker 40:32
Battle Emmet naturally.
Unknown Speaker 40:35
Wilkie Cooper,
Unknown Speaker 40:42
you never worked with Well, his father. Did you No?
Unknown Speaker 40:51
Lionel Baines, girl? Lionel,
Unknown Speaker 40:55
yeah, there was another. He was a clever man, was Lionel? Wasn't he? Because he used to do a lot of
Unknown Speaker 41:03
black and white effects in the terrific amount of effect Noel Bain
Unknown Speaker 41:12
and
Unknown Speaker 41:15
there was a Williams too. Wasn't there?
Unknown Speaker 41:18
Yes, there was
Unknown Speaker 41:21
because he when basil Emerick,
Unknown Speaker 41:24
I was taken ill one time, Williams came and took over for a period at tellington In the old days, William,
Unknown Speaker 41:32
I worked with him.
Unknown Speaker 41:39
I can't think of any more, not at the moment,
Unknown Speaker 41:43
but
Unknown Speaker 41:45
I have worked at Pinewood. I've been on loan down to Pinewood,
Unknown Speaker 41:50
but
Unknown Speaker 41:53
that was all right for two or three days. It wasn't down there for long, but when I took the unit down there, we shot in the grounds with
Unknown Speaker 42:02
Freddie young,
Unknown Speaker 42:03
where you shot all around the grounds, and also in black Park. What was the what was the picture?
Unknown Speaker 42:10
Unless
Unknown Speaker 42:12
it was great expectations.
Unknown Speaker 42:15
I think that was it was a lot of horse riding and and that on the other side of us and stable the other side of black Park isn't there on the main road,
Unknown Speaker 42:26
that long, big drive. We went down there and used use that for that.
Unknown Speaker 42:34
What else is that?
Unknown Speaker 42:39
But I don't know
Unknown Speaker 42:42
we were for hammer. We did when we went to where we were in group five.
Unknown Speaker 42:52
This was at Ray, wasn't it?
Unknown Speaker 42:55
No, this was at ABC again. Oh, I see all at ABC because that's where we used to work out of and he said,
Unknown Speaker 43:02
and
Unknown Speaker 43:06
the devil a daughter, we did to the devil a daughter, that one,
Unknown Speaker 43:11
and that was with,
Unknown Speaker 43:15
Oh,
Unknown Speaker 43:19
very well known camera, but very centric. My Lord,
Unknown Speaker 43:26
I'm gonna do I'm gonna switch off for a minute. I'm.
Speaker 1 0:00
Ted Hallows side three, he was saying, you worked with Guy green? Yeah, I worked with Guy green when we did Rob Roy. Oh yes, some years ago. So I worked with guy there. Can you remember his style of work? Yes, he lit one big sat with Guy. It was a Glen, and he was very protect about flagging. Yeah, he wouldn't let one like overlap another one every time. So with guy, if you use brutes and 10 Ks, and that's one thing, it was a question of being very meticulous about your flagging. Yeah, and that's what took the time one light would never overlap. He'd make certain that with his meter, that one is overlapping. Yes, you know, I got quite used to that. Eventually, it did very well, and was then another one of my directors is, let's get it here. Yes. Now,
Unknown Speaker 1:26
oh, come on now, here's Rob Ryan, that's right, who's to be a cutter at tellington I him, Oh, dear, sorry, just now not Lance comfort he was A No, Bert, Dan, Bert, no, oh, dear idea tell these names. I've got to see his photograph first.
Unknown Speaker 2:22
He did the
Speaker 1 2:29
one eight hours tree of Rob Roy, and that's coming up closer now he
Unknown Speaker 2:50
I tell really is, I know I wrote with him for years. Oh, here he is.
Unknown Speaker 3:00
Les Norman. Oh, yeah, Les. I've done several pictures with Les, and he's a character on his own. That was a hell Mason thing, you know, long short, and at all. Then we did several here that at
Speaker 1 3:35
duel in the jungle. That was another one at ABC. I was on, I was on that I was directed by George Marshall. Now he was a director that came out from America. There was another. He knew his business backwards, and it was a joy to work with a man that knew that, you know, the only thing that sort of makes me wonder these days is that I expect you can recall that you never took a wall out twice in a set. In the old days, you took this wall out and that never came out again once it went back in again. You shot everything that way. Yes, same as if you took that one out. The directors used to be able to shoot out a sequence, but I found that not many directors can do that these days. You know, that's what I've noticed. Anyway, shoot in sequence. They have to shoot in sequence for the cutter or something, but I never used to they weren't allowed all out twice, no way, no and so that's something else, you know.
Unknown Speaker 4:59
How else? Was that
Unknown Speaker 5:06
lot of these, I did a lot of the
Speaker 1 5:16
confession series, remember the confession of a taxi driver, confession of a window cleaner, and
Unknown Speaker 5:22
I did a lot of those as well, yes, but I don't remember the camera then what I'm sure
Unknown Speaker 5:32
You tend to be wallpaper, really, but believe it's kind of, they never tell you wholly in these sort of things. They never tell you where to come. And then I travel
Speaker 1 5:56
well, you know, there's one of those things, yes, but you know, I think if they gave you everything like that, it would, it would be a lot of help. Yes, oh, I agree with you. Always, Jimmy NO. Jimmy Allen, no, I don't. Jimmy Allen and I worked a lot together as well, in that during this period, he did a lot of work out in India, Jimmy hon and I believe he was one of the people helped set up the Indian film industry. But he was another one that was in ABC quite a lot. Yes, and I used to work with him quite a lot, because when I went to ABC, most of the cameramen I was on series and it was either Frankie watts or Donald Bain, Yes, yes, yes. And they were the two that were the main stainless other camerame used to come in, actually Wilkie coup, he used to come in. And then Ozzy Ozzy Morris, Alan here, Brian, Brian, oh, sorry, Jeremy and Brian Langley, yeah, Brian Langley and I worked with him quite a lot on different pictures. Actually, I still was trying to remember this, this chap who did the devil, a daughter, he's lighting, was terrific. Used to have such highlights, and we used to have roots, and we used to have the scrims in front, but we used to have five or six screams let down. So if he wanted one out, we just quickly rolled it up and peg it up, yes, instead of taking the table right out. So we used to be sort of painted that between us eventually, just to make it quick, was crying up and down towers with filters and that sort of thing. We used to make one sometimes, with five on, you know, yes, and just roll them up, mark on one and turn, just roll it up and click on up. And that used to be that, you know, you get to know sometimes, oh, yeah, I'm sure, I'm sure. Did you have a favorite camera? Man, no, I don't think so. Not actually a favorite. No, I got angry. Most of them, you know, it was all quite an adventure to see what they did, I worked with Richard is it Richards? There's another young camera man, Pennington Richards. Pennington RICHARD Yes, yes. When he first came here, the best Yes. And of course, then there was Higgins, when he came from the Higgins I did. Was it summer holiday? He went out with Cliff Richard. Yeah, on that one, I went out with him. On that. I did that with him. And also I went to France as well. With that, I showed you with him on the front with the director. That was another funny little thing that we did.
Unknown Speaker 9:30
Then we went to France again on a lower driver story. We went all down south of France, and we went across. We filmed
Speaker 1 9:43
on a boat from LA Harve through Southampton. We had a generator down below, you know, we ran cables right up onto the top deck. We filmed all the way across there for six hours, and we had a quick wrap up, get it off again. We. And then we drove up right the way down to Deauville and around the area, that area there, and film around that area, which was quite good. And I like those little joints. They were quite good. We found a lot of French motorways as well, with handbashes and courts, little courts, like on the back front, across the top of a car and laying stretched out on it. I rather like that sorting. It's quite a venture to get flung off something like that. Then we went to, we did another series with Europe. We went to Europe with, I'm not saying whether it's Frankie whites or not, but it was with Monty again. And we went to AAL. From now, we went down to the river era. And from here, there, we went back to Holland and Belgium, right? And we didn't use a lot of lighting. It was, frankly, in those days. And we used to use nine lights, nine lights and two or three coward handbashes and that sort of thing. And you travel light in French, oh, yeah, we travel bit of small, 50 KVA Noel's, the 50 KVA one. You know, carry everything in the side of that and back of that. It was quite good night, weight, stuff, a quick wrap up without disturbing too much traffic. You know, that was with, Oh, what was that called? How it's gone. Sorry, never mind, never mind, but the names of these pictures shocking.
Speaker 1 12:17
Much harder. Yes, I think they've got a very clear picture. Good. Yes, though some names are missing, but yes, we have to try and think of those names. If I get them, I'll give you a ring if you like, to leave me your telephone. I will, yeah, but I'm awfully sure that some of these names go well, you've enjoyed your life anyway. Oh yes, it's been, it's been wonderful. It really has. And all the artists I've met I've known and had some wonderful letters and that from different people you know, so that I certainly enjoyed it. Thanks very much.
Started in Electric LIght Company as electrician, Moved to Warners Teddington Studios and contracted out to others such as Shepperton, Marylebone etc mid 1930's. Details about specific lights used on films.Ealing studios 1939 until going in to Navy during WW11.Ealinf Studios until 1947 . Films It Always Rains on Sunday. Teddington in 1947. 1952 ABC studios.on staff but no work for a period. Until The Dam Busters relates anecdotes about filming and lighting needed. !959 TV Series Flying Doctor and others in Australia as Supervsior on Sundowners.
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