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
Erecting a Flagpole at 'Bryn Mêl'
A remarkable demonstration of how best to negotiate a fence when carrying a flagpole across a field.
From the collection of:
Overview
A group of men carrying a flagpole across fields negotiate a fence with streamlined ease. It is to be erected at ‘Bryn Mкl’, Glyngarth, Anglesey, one-time home of Edmund Johnston (d.1934), owner of the Liverpool-based Johnston Line shipping company, his wife Helen (nee Kendall) and their only child, Isla, who filmed and photographed local events, including the rather unique activity seen here.
Flags were raised when the courts were in session in Beaumaris, as the judges would stay at the house, and also when the Church in Wales held a meeting at the house. By the 1950s - and after Edmund Johnston's death when the shipping company became the Johnston-Warren Lines company - the house had become too much of an undertaking for Isla alone and, when members of her extended family could not be persuaded to take it on, she offered it to the Church in Wales, an organisation with which she was much involved throughout her life. The church accepted the responsibility and used the large house and grounds as a summer retreat. It was agreed that Isla should continue to live in it until her death (in 1984, aged 86).
Related
Grounded on the Platters: HMS Conway Grounded on the Platters: HMS Conway
Home movie 1953 7 mins Silent Location: Anglesey/Ynysmôn
A sorry end to any ship: timings, tide and wind played their part in pushing HMS Conway onto the Platters rocks in the Menai Strait on 14/4/1953.
Dr Kate Dr Kate
Home movie 1969 19 mins Silent Location: Menai Bridge/Porthaethwy
Giving and Taking: writer Kate Roberts bestows her childhood home – Cae’r Gors - on the nation, and Caernarfonshire Council moves to close Bryncroes School despite opposition.
Pedair Priodas Pedair Priodas
Home movie 1950 24 mins Silent Location: Anglesey/Ynysmôn
Four Anglesey weddings well conveying the atmosphere of that special day, with shots of the couples before/after the ceremony, the guests (and their hats) and local spectators.
On the Isle of Anglesey On the Isle of Anglesey
Non-Fiction 1929 2 mins Silent Location: Anglesey/Ynysmôn
Intriguing scenes of a centuries-old hunting tradition at Beaumaris, Anglesey.
Lymm Grammar School - Hiking, Sport and Holidays Lymm Grammar School - Hiking, Sport and Holidays
Amateur film 1960 24 mins Silent Location: Lymm
A colourful record of school and extracurricular activities.
It's a Problem It's a Problem
Documentary 1953 14 mins Silent Location: Scarborough
A lovingly put together montage of post-war holiday outings from the early 1950s from around the country, including some fine shots of Tilbury Docks, and ending up at Anglesey.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.