Screen Archive South East is a public sector moving image archive serving the South East of England. The archive's collections of magic lantern slides, films, videos and associated materials capture the many varied aspects of life, work and creativity from the early days of screen history to the present day and serve as a rich and invaluable historical resource.
This film is part of Free
Dover Docks
A nostalgic look at Dover Docks - before the arrival of the Channel Tunnel - featuring classic cars, trucks and a monster hovercraft
From the collection of:
Overview
Filmed from a high vantage point at Dover’s International Gateway, we see numerous cars, trucks and coaches clearing immigration and customs before driving onto the ferries using elevated ramps. Seaspeed’s SR.N4 hovercraft, 'Princess Margaret', then arrives from Boulogne. Cars emerge from its loading bay while the passengers disembark onto a waiting coach. Departing cars and passengers then board the return service, which dramatically glides off towards France.
The hovercraft seen in this film was featured in the 1971 James Bond film 'Diamonds Are Forever'. Withdrawn from service in October 2000, she and her sister hovercraft 'Princess Anne' were transferred to the Hovercraft Museum at Lee-on-Solent where they are on permanent static display.