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.
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Picking Potatoes - Pontllanfraith Schoolboys at Bassaleg Harvest Camp
Schoolboys and spuds in the great outdoors – Bassaleg pupils get their hands dirty for the war effort
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Overview
Pontllanfraith schoolboys swap their books for buckets for the war effort at Bassaleg Harvest Camp. Potato picking and corn stooking are the main tasks, with some help from the Land Girls. There’s ploughing, too, with tractors and horses under skies ploughed by warplanes. It’s hungry work, and the cornish pasties devoured in the field are as welcome as the supper and hot showers back at base.
The filmmaker, Evan Owen Jones (1905-88), was born and brought up in Prospect House, North Street, Abercynon, to parents who hailed from Tudweiliog on the Llŷn peninsula. He studied art at the Slade School of Art and taught the subject at Aberpennar Grammar School, Pontllanfraith High School and Llandrindod College. He passed his last years at Mynytho, Gwynedd.
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