National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales preserves and celebrates the sound and moving image heritage of Wales, making it accessible to a wide range of users for enjoyment and learning. Its film collection reflects every aspect of the nation’s social, cultural and working life across the 20th century, giving a fascinating insight into Welsh filmmaking, both amateur and professional.
This film is part of Free
Babs Recovery 1927-1969
Exhumation of car – ‘Babs’ – which killed John Godfrey Parry Thomas 3/3/1927 when he attempted to beat the land speed record set by Malcolm Campbell in ‘Bluebird’ a month earlier.
From the collection of:
Overview
Pendine Sands, Carmarthenshire: silent, colour footage shot by the MOD of the raising of 'Babs' - the car in which John Godfrey Parry Thomas (b. 1884, Wrexham) was killed on 3/3/1927 whilst attempting to beat the land speed record set by Malcolm Campbell a month earlier at 174.22 mph. After the crash, the car was buried in the sands and lay there until permission was granted in 1969 for Owen Wyn Owen, an engineering lecturer at Bangor Technical College, to excavate it.
The car was restored over the following 15 years by Owen Wyn Owen and is now housed in The Museum of Speed, Pendine. The footage shows men working to clear sand and debris from the rust-ridden car partly exposed in a deep, water-logged hole in the sand, and its eventual raising by crane. Police, cameramen, interested individuals and a party of schoolchildren are seen looking on and Owen Wyn Owen, wearing a yellow waterproof jacket, is interviewed. Owen became known as "Atgyfodwr Babs" (Resurrector of Babs) – this was inscribed on the Tom Pryce Trophy he was awarded in 1999 by the Welsh Motoring Writers group.
Related
Watch for free
The Wedding, the Beekeeper, the Pigs and the Broads The Wedding, the Beekeeper, the Pigs and the Broads
Home movie 1933 10 mins Silent Location: Pendine Sands
Brayshays in Laugharne, Buckleys at Llangynin, 'Voyager' on the Thames, 'Seafarer' on Pendine Sands and 'Herzogin Cecilie' on the rocks.
Watch for free
Carmarthenshire: Fastest Car Dash in History! Carmarthenshire: Fastest Car Dash in History!
Non-Fiction 1927 1 mins Silent Location: Pendine Sands
Malcolm Campbell's Bluebird throws the gauntlet down to competitors by breaking the land speed record at Pendine Sands
Watch for free
Ingot Pictorial No. 17 Ingot Pictorial No. 17
1953 20 mins Location: Ebbw Vale/Glyn Ebwy
The steel industry: the men engage with gigantic machines on a huge scale; the apprentice boys help and holiday; the women have their hair done with the stars.
Watch for free
Getting it Back: The Story of Cymande - Q&A Getting it Back: The Story of Cymande - Q&A
Inside Film 2024 22 mins
The director of a documentary about British funk pioneers Cymande joins the band at BFI Southbank to talk about the film.
Watch for free
The West Case The West Case
Action and Adventure 1923 28 mins Silent Location: Tilbury
Plotting world domination, Devil Doctor Fu-Manchu steals plans for a new aero-torpedo in this earliest surviving thrill-a-minute serial instalment.
Watch for free
Enter the Scala!!! Enter the Scala!!!
Inside Film 2024 16 mins
Filmmakers Jane Giles and Ali Catterall discuss their documentary Scala!!!, revisiting the legendary and inspirational cinema venue and some of the most notorious films that screened there.
Watch for free
Smith Smith
Charity appeal 1939 10 mins
Long thought lost, this Powell-directed promotional short for a veteran’s charity was only rediscovered in 2003.
Watch for free
An Airman's Letter to His Mother An Airman's Letter to His Mother
Documentary 1941 6 mins
A poignant, stirring letter from a recently deceased pilot to his mother is read by John Gielgud.
Watch for free
The NHS75 Celebration The NHS75 Celebration
Short documentary 2023 3 mins
Former Bristol Poet Laureate, Miles Chambers reads a poem specially commissioned for the 75th anniversary of the NHS.