The Yorkshire Film Archive collects, preserves, and shows film made in, or about Yorkshire. Our collections are non-fiction, dating from the 1890s to the present day, and providing a rich and visually compelling record of all aspects of lives, cultures, landscape, industries, major events and everyday activities, many of which are available to watch, free of charge, on our website.
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Eli Simpson Collection Reel 3
It’s early on in the upswing of the 1950s, as city folk explore the desolation of the Yorkshire Dales, with rocky landscapes, isolated villages and just a few sheep for company.
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Overview
The lazy summer of 1953, and ramblers are out in their shorts, sat on the edge of the famous old stone bridge going over Malham Beck in the village of Malham. The area looks remarkably like it is today, save for the 1950s coaches and British cars – Ford Pilot, Triumph and Riley – which are all jet black. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the landscape around Malham looks even more sparse and unspoilt than it is today.
This is one of many reels of rushes that were made under the direction of Eli Simpson, founding member and Recorder of the British Speleological Association. The idea was to make a film titled “Birth of a Yorkshire River” or “The Waters of Mawn” (a puzzling title). Simpson, in control of a fracturing British Speleological Association, got the help of his Settle neighbour Eddy Perry as technician and camera operator, and BSA member John Tobin, a photographer from Keighley, also behind the camera. The filming, poorly resourced over two years, eventually petered out. The whole enterprise has been meticulously recorded in a film made by fellow caveman filmmaker Sid Perou, who has also made a film about Simpson.
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