possible method of recovery

[Jacques Papon]

I had a thought about a possible way to track any missing material.

Since the bulk of wiping seems to have occurred c. 1970-1978, would it not be possible to use BBC Records to locate all the employees in the VT department during that period?

[adriane17]

Even if The BBC still held contact details for employees who left or retired over a generation ago - for pension purposes perhaps? - The Data Protection Act 1998 doesn't allow them to be used other than for the purposes they are held. So no contacting them out of the blue I'm afraid.

[Mark Smith]

And even if it was legal to do so, there's every likelihood some would now be dead, and plenty would simply tell them to "b*gger-off!!"

Nice idea in theory, but a different case in reality I think.

[RWels]

The thought behind it is good, I think. Systematic thinking. Look for the people who are the most likely to have missing episodes. So far, recoveries of film and tv seem to happen because 1) a collector returns an item or 2) it turns out an archive had an item all along but no-one realised.
Now it would be good if there was a pre-emptive way to search. But wouldn't that require a far more organised recovery process, one that is unlikely to spring into existence?

[Steven Sigel]

Regardless of anything else, it's inconceivable that someone would have walked off with a 2-inch Videotape in the 1960s - they cost a fortune, around £1000 IIRC. Remember, they were meant to be reused (unlike film which can only be used once) -- if someone stole one and was caught, they would have lost their job for sure, and no one had any equipment to play them anyway...

[Deleted]

Jul 5, 2010 14:04:09 GMT Steven Sigel said:

Regardless of anything else, it's inconceivable that someone would have walked off with a 2-inch Videotape in the 1960s

Bob Pratt did! And if he did then there were no doubt others as well. If you worked in the industry then you would find it easier to access suitable playback equipment anyway. As we know, people did take such risks to save material, which is why it now survives at all. Material has been been recovered in this way so it's a valid avenue to explore.

[Mark Smith]

Jul 5, 2010 14:19:26 GMT @laurencepiper said:

Jul 5, 2010 14:04:09 GMT Steven Sigel said:

Regardless of anything else, it's inconceivable that someone would have walked off with a 2-inch Videotape in the 1960s

Bob Pratt did! And if he did then there were no doubt others as well.

Naughty Bob Pratt!! ;D

[RWels]

Not to mention 16mm film that was to be destroyed anyway...

[adriane17]

It's The Data Protection Act 1998 that will, correctly, stop any general use of these former employees' details to try to track them down years later. If they want to approach you that's an entirely a different matter. The majority of people wouldn't mind helping I'm sure but it is up to them to contact you not the other way round.

[Ray Langstone (was saintsray)]

There are various groups on the internet that are associations of ex-employees of Broadcasters. While they don't list contact details as such, there's an avenue for you....

[steve davis]

I believe the BBC magazine Ariel, which goes in part to ex-employees has had some mention of lost material and some appeals.

[cperry]

Indeed, we have appeals running at the moment with BECTU, various old ITV staff associations and Focal.

Aerial often carries its own appeals.

c

[Philip Hindley]

Didnt Ray Galton & Alan Simpson find some missing episodes of Steptoe and Son in their basement which they had forgotten about and supposedly a technician or someone gave them private copies in the 60s?

[Deleted]

Yes, they had copies run off for their own collection, which is why those episodes exist at all now (albeit in less than broadcast quality). I don't think this relates to the thread discussion though, which is about identifying / contacting people via BBC records who worked in the industry, does it?

[John Wall]

In some areas I suspect that most likely sources of material have been tracked down. With things like Dr Who virtually everybody who was involved with the programme - either in front of, or behind, the camera - seems to have been hooked up to the mind probe and every possible recollection recorded. Over the years things like behind-the-scenes photos, etc have come to light. I can't believe that if someone who worked on a now lost show happened to have a copy they wouldn't mention it to an interviewer/researcher.

I suspect that film collectors may still have missing material - as that seems to be where recoveries regularly come from. There have been episodes, of various things, that have turned up in very odd places. I wonder if some were as simple as somebody seeing a pile of film cans marked for disposal and thinking "Cousin Fred collects films, he might be interested"....