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Post by John Wall on May 1, 2012 18:33:36 GMT
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Post by Ray Langstone (was saintsray) on May 1, 2012 22:15:27 GMT
Hello, John. I'm well aware of this one, as I live on the Surrey Hampshire borders and it's a link to the Wessex Regional Archive. The Regional Archives are great to trawl through, and I have found some good finds in many of them. In Wessex there have been about half a dozen, which would normally be expected to be in another archive - the This is Your Life (one of two I've found), a Seeing Sport insert, and some Magpie offcuts are ones that spring to mind. These particular shows one would expect to be held by the BBC, ITN Source, or MACE or whoever would hold the archive of the particular ATV show (itself a long story) and Fremantle respectively. Any archives that anyone can suggest I look into are gratefully received. There are two 'minor' (I hate saying that, but I mean non-prime time) ABC finds that I will be announcing soon (in a regional archive), some Thames outtakes from current affairs/docs/local news shows I'm trying to date (in a well-maintained archive) and also a promo film. Local Authority Museums and the like were meant to give their films to the Regional film archives. In the case of Wessex and Hampshire, that has happened, effectively, as far as I know, as wherever a film is held, Wessex seem to know about it, although I have heard it said that some films have not been catalogued yet. Another reason I recheck often as I can remember (the recent 'online database' of the New York Public Library spawned some finds). But there is a confusing issue with regard to Regional archives. They don't tie up exactly with the 'Euro Regions' (I can bore on this subject as much as any EU-fanatic, trust me). Here's an example. MACE hold the ATV current affairs archives, so basically, in ITV terms, they have a decent amount of footage of what's left of the ATV Todays. But ATV covered as far down as Gloucestershire, so you occasionally get things that are about Cheltenham - which in theory ONLY should be in the SWFTA! The Border Film Archive - LAST whereabouts at the former Cumbria Institute of the Arts (now the University of Cumbria), which seem to have totally disappeared online (in regards to searches, at any rate), had footage in their first thirty years from several "Euro Regions". Cumbria in the North West, Berwick in the North East, the South of Scotland (Scotland, obviously), and also the Isle of Man. Plus one could argue that any footage of the Sedbergh, Dent and Garsdale areas might go in the Yorkshire archive....but that's a moot point since the 1974 local reorganization.... anyway (are you still awake?  ) the Regional archives, are despite their brief, sometimes custodians of footage (SWFTA for TSW and Westward, MACE for ATV News shows). Some of the rest have had donations (Wessex have had a lot of Southern, TVS, BBC South and even some Meridian footage), but there is no standard dictated policy of where something will go. I would like more archives to go online with what they have, and more archives to be pointed out to me. This means, if you know of any archive containing film, with an online search engine, LET me know. PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
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Post by John Wall on May 1, 2012 22:45:40 GMT
I'm in Hampshire so am familiar with certain things  When I put things like "BBC", "BBC TV", etc into the Hampshire Records Office search engine I found that quite a lot of potentially interesting things came up - but I expect that they've all been checked. I'm unsure where the statutory responsibilities, if any, for records/archives lie but I suspect that it's with the upper tier authorities (dunno 'bout unitaries) and expect that every County Council could well have a similar setup - although whether the catalogue is online/searchable like Hampshire's is unknown. |
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Post by Ray Langstone (was saintsray) on May 2, 2012 8:47:50 GMT
John, actually you've spurred me on to something else!
And I will make some finds because oof this! Thank you!
(Incidentally, you live in Hampshire too? Where, if it's not too nosey? I'm on the Surrey/Hants borders)
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Post by markandresen on May 2, 2012 9:36:51 GMT
Ray & John - A horror story: Ten years ago I volunteered at Hants County Council's Heritage Dept. During a casual conversation with my line manager about photo storage, she mentioned a shoe box they'd had since 1978, given to them then by an old guy relinquishing his own archive. I asked if I could see it. During my lunch break I rummaged through it. Inside, were original prints WITH THEIR NEGS taped on the backs, from 1940, featuring Winston Churchill visiting Soton Docks. One batch had the stamp of an American photographer I didn't recognise. The second name was Robert Capa! I went cold from recognition and phoned Magnum Photos. The guy who took my call fell off his chair. They'd been looking for these lost Capa / Churchill shots for years and couldn't believe the negatives were with them. Anyway, they sent a rep. down, who confirmed their ID...apparently. I wasn't informed by the Council and left in little doubt of their indifference. Still, they put them on display that summer as part of a successful exhibition on Soton's history. So, take nothing for granted boys.
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Post by Ray Langstone (was saintsray) on May 2, 2012 10:00:37 GMT
I take nothing for granted.
There is a lot I can do, but there's a lot I can't.
I have found another database system today, and I expect more finds from it.
If you look at my previous Thames post, two already!
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When I put things like "BBC", "BBC TV", etc into the Hampshire Records Office search engine I found that quite a lot of potentially interesting things came up - but I expect that they've all been checked. I'm unsure where the statutory responsibilities, if any, for records/archives lie but I suspect that it's with the upper tier authorities (dunno 'bout unitaries) and expect that every County Council could well have a similar setup - although whether the catalogue is online/searchable like Hampshire's is unknown.