paulw
webmaster
Thursday, June 21, 2007 14:24 |
Old CINE FILM of Sutton added to the gallery
Andrew Monkhouse has provided a video copy of some cine film, shot in 1959 or 1964, showing a church procession around the village and the "Country Fair" held in the fields next to the Baptist Church. We've deduced it must be 1959 or 1964 as there's a banner for the country fair with the date Saturday 13th June. We would love to find out more details of the events and people shown. Andrew thinks the minister is Mr Pilling - can anyone confirm this? Please have a look and let us have your comments.
|
Andrew Monkhouse
Friday, June 22, 2007 03:27 |
A couple of things, firstly a huge thanks to the web-master Paul Wilkinson for transferring this old footage onto the Sutton web page for all to see.
This didn’t just happen with a couple of clicks, but required a significant amount of time, effort and experimentation on Paul’s part in compressing the files into various suitable formats for downloading over the web, editing the footage with different speeds and contrasts, breaking the film down into manageable sections for hosting onto the web server and establishing test web pages to check that the film could be accessed by visitors to the site. This wasn’t without its problems with the MPG video encoded in such a way that some computers couldn’t read it, but after rendering the footage using different viewing formats Paul was able to iron out the problem.
So a great job done Paul, damn good work !
Secondly, before submitting this old cine film to the web site I made efforts to establish the provenance of the footage but without success, so whoever filmed these scenes from 1959 or 1964 is a bit of a mystery.
My best guess would be Allen Chapman who has just celebrated his 80th birthday – many happy returns Allen (belated). Allen is a life-long Suttoner and was a dab-hand in his younger days at taking cine footage. Interestingly enough, he does remember taking some cine footage of a Country Fair in Sutton a long time ago and donating it to the Baptist Chapel, but he doesn’t know whether this is the same footage or not.
As for identifying people on the film, I’m pretty sure the minister is Mr Pilling, although I never knew or met him. The only other person I definitely recognise is an uncle of mine Edward Dickinson (sadly deceased) who can be seen doing the catering behind one of the stalls at the Country Fair.
As for who all the other people are, hopefully some of them will be identified by eagle-eyed viewers of this amazing footage !
|
Denis Pickles
Norfolk
Friday, June 22, 2007 11:17 |
Truly amazing! It was like having a dream where ghosts from my youth parade past in column of threes!
I would have left Sutton by 1959 and I know that I wasn't present at the Country Fair in 1959, but could that be my little brother Alan and his future wife Pauline in the corner of the sports field? In the corner near Polly Ogden's shop? Could well be.
I recognised a number of people and even more faces that I could not put a name to ...... just yet! I'm working on it.
Maggie Whittaker, is in the first rank of the procession with Rev Pilling, I glimpsed Dennis Clough from Glusburn Baptist Church in several clips, Ida Birtwhistle from Bent Lane, and [I think] Maud Allen, Frank Barrett i/c greasy pole contest, Margaret Barrett, Hubert Clough, several of the Walter Thompson clan. Alan will recognise and name scores of others.
The Whitsuntides Walk is how I remember this annual event, when members from the various non conformist churches used to parade round the villages in their Sunday best, stopping here and there to sing a hymn accompanied by a local brass band. The younger Sunday School children were transported on a horse drawn waggon sitting on the tiny chairs taken from the school room. The carts were decorated and the witness concluded with inter church sports in Thompsons field. There are some things which transport one back in time. Give me the smell of freshly brewed coffee in a great big metal jug and I can see Cyril Midgley pouring it out for people attending the sports day - they had school buns too with little bits of candied peel. Magic!
This topic will run and run. Thanks Andrew and Paul. |
paulw
webmaster
Friday, June 22, 2007 11:30 |
Hi Denis, I think you've hit the nail on the head with "Whitsuntide Walk" - a search on Google turns up a link to a Youtube clip of a "Whit Monday Walk" in Goole, circa 1959 which is very similar to this footage. Thanks for your comments, and hopefully there'll be many more!
|
Barbara & Allen Chapman
Sunday, June 24, 2007 19:14 |
We have just looked through the cine footage and still can't decide whether Allen took any of it. He does remember taking cine of a Country Fair and the Queen in this one is his neice Eileen Harper (with Auburn hair). Allen's sister Mary Harper is also walking in the procession along with Dora Carlton so it is possible that Allen took some of it. We think the year is most likely to be 1959 as we were married in 1962 and Eileen was a teenager possible 14. Eileen is also on the greasy pole competition. The Gymnastic team was the Saltaire Ladies. The cine film which Allen took was actually donated to the Baptist Chapel and when he showed it once attached on the end of it was the Wedding of Judith Bousefield MBE. We think Andrew's Dad Jacob Monkhouse is the first in the line of the Tug of War on one shot. Frank Hardaker is one of the greasy pole contestants and his daughter Christine was amongst the procession.Frank's Opponent on the pole we think was Ellie Preston, Sutton Cobbler. Should we be able to identify any more we'll write again. |
paulw
webmaster
Monday, June 25, 2007 10:24 |
Hi Barbara and Allen. Many thanks for adding your recollections of the events and filling in a few more pieces in the puzzle. I'm now pretty certain the footage was shot by Allen. |
Alan
Monday, July 2, 2007 18:13 |
What can I add to that which has already been said in praise of these pictures. They are absolutely wonderful.The day was definitely 13th June, 1959. How do I know? It was my 21st birthday, and yes, it is me and my wife Pauline in the corner of the field. Thanks to Andrew for submitting them, thanks to paul for processing them and thanks to young Allan Chapman for taking and preserving them. The website is fast becoming a gold mine of memories, all the correct and pleasant sort. |
Andrew Monkhouse
Monday, July 2, 2007 23:58 |
The jig-saw is starting to fit together nicely with the year confirmed as 1959 and the cameraman confirmed as Allen Chapman (there was a 5 second section of Judith Bousefield's wedding attached to the end of the Country Fair footage)
Can anyone confirm that the minister is in fact Mr Pilling ?
You're right Barbara, definitely my dad Jacob Monkhouse who is first in line in the tug-of-war contest shown on the final (13th section) of footage at the 52 second mark. He's dressed in a suit and tie wearing Buddy Holly glasses and is soon scuttled to the ground with the rest of his team !
Alan - which section (and what second mark) are we able to see you and your wife Pauline in the corner of the field ? Nice day for a 21st birthday ! |
Alan
Tuesday, July 3, 2007 15:18 |
Andrew,
I can confirm that the minister is Reverend E. ( Ted ) Pilling.
I am on the eighth set down, the one with all the ladies on the cake stall. After the races there is a view of a stall. The next frame shows Pauline and myself . I have a raincoat over my arm.
Thanks again. I cannot remember it being taken but I am pleased that you have brought them all to light. Where do you keep them? or more to the point how did you manage to hang on to them all when you emigrated? |
Andrew Monkhouse
Tuesday, July 3, 2007 22:22 |
Alan, in 1972 I attended a family wedding at the 'new' Baptist chapel in Sutton. My cousin Ann Dickinson married John Barrett (Ann's Dad Edward Dickinson can be seen doing the catering on one of the 1959 clips) and guess who was also there at the same wedding, cine camera in hand capturing every moment .....Sutton's very own Steven Spielburg, Monsieur Chapman.
I caught up with Ann again 7 years ago while on holiday in the UK and mentioned this cine film of their wedding 28 years earlier. She told me it has since been transposed onto video, so the following day I had a copy made for myself.
After the wedding footage and the reception at Curragate in Steeton, there is some holiday footage (honeymoon presumably) and then this church procession around Sutton and the Country Fair.
I had no idea where these last 2 segments of film had come from. I assumed that whoever had transposed the cine film onto video may have added them to fill out the video. I was also aware that Allen Chapman had shot the wedding footage, so I asked if Allen had also taken the additional clips, but he wasn't sure. I guess even Steven Spielburg would have difficulty remembering EVERY film he has ever shot.
However, it has now been established that Allen did in fact film these wonderful scenes back in 1959...owt else in your cine collection Allen ?
So I can't really take any credit for the appearance of this footage. All I did was cheekily submit somebody else's work. The real credit goes to Allen the original film-maker and Paul for enabling us to view it on this web-page. |
Carole Lee (nee Monkhouse)
Chagford, Devon
Monday, July 9, 2007 09:52 |
I enjoyed watching this wonderful old footage which brought back poignant memories of earlier, and probably gentler, days. Many thanks to Allen for taking the film, to Paul for putting it on line, and to my brother Andrew for orchestrating it.
Andrew lives in Australia and I'm in Saudi Arabia. I wonder how many other ex-Suttoners worldwide keep in touch with village events through this excellent website. Are there other international Friends of Sutton out there?
Best wishes to everyone in the village.
Carole |
Michael Pilling
Nottingham
Friday, July 13, 2007 18:53 |
I can 100% confirm that the minister is my dad, Eddie Pilling. I have tried to spot myself but I was only 2 at the time and can't remember whether I was there or not!!! My dad was minister at the Baptist Church in Sutton from 1958 till 1965 when he moved to be the Baptist minister in Hucknall near Nottingham. My mum Elsie and ny dad lived in Hucknall for the rest of their lives. My mum died in 1997 and my dad died in 2003. They both had many happy memories of their time as a young married couple in Sutton with their two children, my sister Karen and me. It was great to see the film. If my dad was still alive he would have loved to see it and I'm sure would have recognised a lot of the faces. I'm still waiting to see a class picture from Sutton school with either me or my sister on. Can't remember whose class I was in but I suppose I was there from 1962 to 1965. |
paulw
webmaster
Saturday, July 14, 2007 00:17 |
Hi Michael and thanks for your message. I guess this is why we put the effort in to share these things, it's great that people see and appreciate it. I'm sure those school photos are out there...
Paul |
