Attention Midlander’s! Don’t Forget 2pm tomorrow: Walsall Sea Scouts Archive Film Screening @ The Crossing, Walsall Tickets £3.50

                                          3^RD  WALSALL  SEA  SCOUTS  PRESENTS          

     THE  KINESCOUT  PRODUCTIONS  1929  -  1957

   BY  SARG  (LEONARD  STANLEY) 

Tickets £3.50 and all proceeds will go to Walsall Sea Scouts.

 

With help from MACE’s Heritage Lottery funded Full Circle Project plus some Government funding a set of old films have been restored and put onto DVD in order that they may be shown to members of the public at St Pauls the Crossing Walsall on Tuesday 17^th April at 2pm.

The footage includes a 30 minute long synopsis of a feature film “Haunted  Harbour” inCops and Robbers” using members of the 3^rd Walsall Sea Scouts to act out comical scenes. The script for this particular film was written by the nationally renowned Boys Book author and friend of Lord Baden Powell Percy Westerman.

Although supposedly depicting scenes from other parts of the country, all the filming was done in Walsall and it will be apparent to a local audience that the end of the Bridge at Potter Heigham is actually the White Heart Hotel in Caldmore!  There are also scenes shot in and around the old Sister Dora Hospital.

Interesting fact: Did you know the Walsall Sea Scouts were part of the team that organised the 1948 Olympic Sailing Team. 

It is not only a record of what our young Walsall people were doing in the mid 1900`s but an historical record of things of popular interest and an insight to some of the thoughts on how modern technology might be developed in the future (our time now) all with a comic turn! 

The films themselves will be stored from now on at MACE in their humidity and temperature controlled archive store, as they are considered to be of historical interest.

Photography © Lucie Kerley

Calling all Scouts! 2-4pm Tues 17th April at The Crossing @ St Paul’s, Walsall Come & Enjoy a screening of L.G Stanley’s Third Walsall Sea Scouts Archive Films.

Brian Griffiths holds one of the 16mm reels from the L.G. Stanley Film Collection which documents the adventures of the Third Walsall Sea Scouts.

A few months ago I was contacted by Trevor McFarlane of Full Circle Group –  Cheslyn Hay & District History Society. Trevor had been notified of some cinefilms belonging to Brian Griffiths that had been originally  shot by the one and only L. G. Stanley (Sarg) born 13 February 1899, of the Third Walsall Sea Scouts.

“His father and Grandfather owned a substantial Leather Business making buckles and this expanded with the advent of plastics and moldings. The firm Alfred Stanley and Sons stood at the corner of Brace Street and Wednesbury Road. They lived in Slaney Road. When Sarg was 5 his father had a house built at 40 Gorway Road and the family moved there.” Excerpt from ‘History of the Third or How I Remember It.’ by Brian Griffiths. 

L. G. Stanley filmed many scouting activities and events in Walsall from the 1930s onwards. One of the films from the collection is entitled: Haunted Harbour. It is a Kinescout adaptation of the book by Percy F. Westerman.

Brian Griffiths remembers the 1957 The Jamboree; Indaba & MOOT, in Sutton Park :

“The Sea Scouts of Sutton Coldfield and Walsall Sea Scouts played host the World of Scouts and helped to organize the World JUBILLE JAMBOREE INDBA & MOOT in Sutton Park

There is a film that covers this event.

(Which is to be screened on 17th April 2012 at The Crossing at St Pauls, Walsall.)

At odd weekends just before the Jamboree, I had attended several County Meetings with Sarg. Just taking a few notes of dates, times and venues, later following the tuition given to me as a Work Services clerk in the army, I typed out notices, alternative minutes and schedules. This led Sarg to ask me if I was going to attend the event.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

” No” I said. “I will still be doing my National Service.”
“How much longer have you to serve”? was the next question.
“About four days after the Jamboree finishes”.
“I’ll see what I can do”. Knowing Sarg, that was just about anything. Sure enough, about a week before the Jamboree a Brigadier came into my office. The Civilian officer and I jumped to attention, but the Chief Engineer for Western Command stood the pair of us at our ease and asked if I was Brian Griffiths. I didn’t deny it. He asked what part I had played in the organization and I explained that I had taken notes attending meetings at County level, without letting on how many. He granted me leave to attend the Jamboree. It was a good job I had only four days left to do, before my “Demob” The Chief Clerk of the office and R.S.M.at Chester Castle were unhappy that I had influenced the Chief Engineer, but it was worth it.

The crew who shot the film of the comings and goings of the Jamboree were very busy all day and every day. Sarg was busy at meetings and finding old friends, inviting them to see the Guardship in the middle of Powell’s Pool. A Pulling Crew had to be maintained at all times.A telephone switch board had been installed in the after cabin. It had eight phone lines plus mine, also a typewriter and a primitive duplicator. The job in hand was exactly the same as the one I had left at The Command H.Q. at Chester. Typing and duplicating Minutes, similarly, results from events, It took a little organizing to see the camps and sights, I saw a lot of guests and they all needed tea and biscuits. Luckily my cousin was in the Galley. Each of us doing our own jobs, I have no idea how much David saw on the Jamboree.
There were 31,426 Scouts at the Jamboree from 88 countries were under canvas Sarg’s part in this memorable event was to look after all water activities on the various lakes in Sutton Park and in particular the major carnival and displays on Powell’s Pool. The Guardship was a special feature and over the course of the fourteen days 650 Scouters and guests came to the Guardship to see this unique training facility.

The Crossing St Paul’s Church Darwall Street Walsall WS1 1DA

Phone: 01922 645992

 To book tickets please contact The Crossing for more details.

If you have any old films, cine or tape or moving image materials relating to the Midlands region and would like to know how to look after them, please get in touch with us at MACE (Media Archive for Central England) to learn how to preserve them for future generations for years to come.

Tel: 01522 837752
Email: info@macearchive.org
Web: www.macearchive.org

Photography © Lucie Kerley

Trailer for The Black Country 1969

Trailer for our first DVD release, The Black Country 1969. This trailer is low res – the DVD is the original broadcast quality.

The Black Country 1969, a poetic and poignant film from 1969 looking at the changing landscape of the region through the eyes of its people, is available from http://www.amazon.co.uk, http://www.teetshirts.com, http://www.macearchive.org and various other local outlets. It is £14.99 plus p&p.  Email macearchive@le.ac.uk for further details.