We were lucky enough to win the services of Sue Saville, ITN presenter and correspondent, to present our ‘Abandon Ship!’ film for HQS Wellington. We needed to convey as much as we could of the real experience of men cast out on the open sea after being torpedoed, mined or sunk by gunfire. We particularly wanted to show the kind of boat sailors would end up in if they survived an attack. Which is why Sue is reporting to camera from a vintage whaler owned by 14th Richmond Sea Scouts, who kindly allowed us to use their whaler Viking near their base on the Thames. On the day, 14th Richmond’s Trevor Hall made sure we got all the shots we needed (and didn’t fall in..!) And that lifejacket may not be a fashion hit, but it is the real thing!
The second ‘Abandon Ship!’ story the Wellington team are focussing on is that of the cargo ship Richmond Castle. She was sunk by a U-boat in the Atlantic in 1942. 3 lifeboats got away. One had in it a young seaman called Angus Murray, from Stornoway. The boat’s sails had been lost, but Angus stitched two blankets together so that he could sail the boat – and he did, without navigational aids, for 3 to 400 miles, till all in the boat were picked up by the RN corvette HMS Snowflake. Other survivors who appear in our film are convinced they would have lost their lives without Angus’ cool skill and courage. If you’re in London, please come aboard Wellington (next to Temple tube on the Thames) to see the exhibition. Open Sundays and Mondays from May 21st , and free!
HQS Wellington, another very good friend to Maritime Films UK, has honoured us by commissioning a film for their latest exhibition, opening in May – ‘Abandon Ship!’ This will particularly focus on the story of two merchant ships sunk in the First and Second World Wars. From the First, the refrigerated cargo liner the Otaki, sunk in 1917 in the Eastern Atlantic by an armed merchant raider after an heroic action (with just one gun – picture) to try and beat the heavily armed German ship off. The Otaki’s Captain, Archibald Bisset-Smith, fell in the action but was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross – one of only two in the Merchant Navy so honoured. He had to be enrolled, again after his death, in the Royal Naval Reserve in order to receive his VC, as it is for armed forces personnel only.
Our good friends at National Historic Ships UK have been kind to us again! After we made a film about their training partnership they have very kindly come back to us with a commission for 4 films, to accompany their new book ‘Conserving Historic Vessels’. This takes would-be historic ship owners and operators through the many careful steps they need to take in conserving, restoring and even recreating historic vessels. Book and films will help to keep alive the many ships that actually made Britain into a great trading nation, and beyond that, a leader in international affairs – through centuries of seafaring. We’re using plenty of our existing ship footage, but we’ve also done new filming, with the brilliantly preserved coaster Robin (picture) – once one the great fleet of coastal trading vessels that kept Britain fed, warmed and supplied.
A chance meeting with Commander Tim Ash, Captain and Chief Executive of HMS Warrior 1860 (picture), has led to one of our quick turn-round commissions. Tim needed a film fast, to help him introduce the many presentations he makes to bring his fantastic ship to a wider audience. Well, we do that stuff!! But what a great story Warrior can tell – Britain’s first all-iron warship, 100 feet longer than any before her, totally impervious to an enemy fire: a true game-changer, rendering all warships in all the world’s navies obsolete the moment she entered service in 1860. So successful was she that she never had to fire a shot in anger – there was just no point in taking her on. Our film was much helped by Warrior’s shipwright Bob Daubeney (picture) one of the best TV naturals we’ve ever filmed.
We filmed 3 Royal Marine women “bandies” altogether, including the Marines’ very first female Warrant Officer. All bandies have more than one string to their bow – such as working in medical support teams in war zones like Afghanistan. So the bandies’ job calls for more than just musical skill (of which they have plenty) but also courage and determination. But you’d not expect a Royal Marine to headline as a singer at the Royal Albert Hall. Well, that’s what Musician Samantha McIndoe did at the Mountbatten Festival of Music, with a rocking song from ‘Hairspray’, a perfect ‘Tell Me It’s Not True’ from ‘Blood Brothers’ and then, in uniform, (picture) a deeply moving ‘I Vow to thee My Country’ – over 3 nights, in front of thousands, including the Princess Royal and Her Majesty the Queen. The applause raised the roof!
This year is the 100th anniversary of the Wrens – the Women’s Royal Naval Service. So we’ve been filming for the Royal Navy to help support their celebration of women in the service now and then. If you think this sounds like a continuation of our ‘Shescape’ project, you’d be bang right! New filming – all gifted to the RN and the National Museum of the Royal Navy for a new exhibition – took us to work with Royal Marine bandswomen in Portsmouth, naval nurses at Plymouth, submariners at Devonport, an aircraft handler at HMS Seahawk, Culdrose naval air base in Cornwall, and with Observer Lieutenant Commander Lauren Hulston at the same base. She’s C.O. of the squadron training navy crews on the new Merlin helo, and in the air commands the aircraft. And she’s dead impressive, I can tell you!
And, for sure, maritime careers aren’t necessarily about being officer or crew member, either. This (picture) is Emily Lennox, whose career path underlines the point that women should consider related trades too. Emily’s a Graduate Naval Architect with Babcock International Group, working on what must be the most exciting shipbuilding project Britain has undertaken in recent years: constructing the two giant aircraft carriers Queen Elizabeth and Prince of Wales, building at Rosyth on the Firth of Forth. (Emily is on the flight deck of PoW.) It’s a challenge she seized with both hands – and a sense of humour: apparently some of her friends thought “naval architect” meant “navel architect” – that is, something to do with belly-button piercing. No, really… That just made Emily laugh. But then, I think it would take a lot to put her off her stride!
About Rob
Rob is a TV producer, reporter and camera operator with 30 years of experience at the BBC, Channel 4 and ITN, in news, factual and documentary production. He is a four-time award winner, whose awards include a coveted Royal Television Society award for his work on Channel 4 News. His association with the Maritime Foundation goes back to 1995 when he won the first Desmond Wettern Maritime Media Award for a series of reports that led to a major documentary on the loss of the bulk carrier Derbyshire.