The North East Film Archive is one of a network of regional film archives established to collect, preserve and show film made in, or about the North East of England. Our collections are non-fiction, and date from the early 1900s to the present day, providing a rich record of life in the region over the 20th century. Many of our films are available to watch, free of charge, on our website.
This film is part of Free

Flying Squad
An obstetrics Flying Squad comes to the rescue of a mother-to-be in working class Newcastle upon Tyne.
From the collection of:

Overview
A doctor is incongruously on the move in his Bentley on an emergency call-out to a poor pregnant woman at a back street home in Newcastle. As one of the city’s mobile maternity units designed to ‘bring the hospital’ to seriously ill patients, he picks up help and blood transfusion equipment at the Princess Mary Maternity Hospital off the Great North Road. It is a sign of the times that the old doctor, still clad in a plastic apron, joins the anxious father-to-be for a cigarette.
This (mute) Tyne Tees TV news magazine feature highlights an area of maternity services first pioneered by Lanarkshire and Newcastle back in the 1930s, reported to be the idea of Professor E. Farquhar Murray. A certain Doctor Frank Stabler did more than anyone else to build this service in Newcastle from the 1940s. He was reputed to enjoy any excuse to drive his Bentley at speed through police traps on call-outs, waving his stethoscope out of the window. The obstetric flying squads reached their heyday in the 1950s and 60s. With no ‘pill’, and frequently no TV, the birth rate was quite high in the 50s. The majority of women did not give birth in hospital until 1945 and maternal deaths were a cause for concern.
Related

The Big Country The Big Country
Promotional 1970 16 mins Location: Newcastle upon Tyne
Tuning into the biggest consumer market for television advertising in Britain with Trident TV.

Son of Plain - Advertising Man's Guide to Tyne Tees Television Son of Plain - Advertising Man's Guide to Tyne Tees Television
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1964 11 mins Location: Newcastle upon Tyne
Is comedian Clive Dunn the Don Draper of the British advertising world? Watch this imaginative Tyne Tees TV marketing film and decide.

Andrews Liver Salts: Little Andy Andrews Liver Salts: Little Andy
Advert 1957 1 mins Location: Newcastle upon Tyne
Little Andy takes the speedy way to sparkling good health in a zippy 50s cartoon advertisement for Andrews Liver Salts.

Military Sunday in Newcastle Military Sunday in Newcastle
Non-Fiction 1900 1 mins Location: Newcastle upon Tyne
A marching band leads the parades with the Boer War still raging

Town Moor Fair Scenes Town Moor Fair Scenes
Non-Fiction 1898 1 mins Location: Newcastle upon Tyne
All the fun of the fair in this Victorian film, made in the early years of Newcastle's famous Hoppings

Percy Hedley School Percy Hedley School
News 1970 17 mins Location: Newcastle upon Tyne
Being wheelchair users is not a barrier to these children doing slaloms or throwing javelins, gaining confidence and changing perceptions.

Alexandre Desplat (Masterclass) Alexandre Desplat (Masterclass)
Inside Film 2011 33 mins
Over 30 years and 150 projects, the composer shares, with humour and passion, the intricacies of making film music.

Ian Neil (Masterclass) Ian Neil (Masterclass)
Inside Film 2012 74 mins
Neil selected soundtracks for 127 Hours, Shame, Kick Ass, Control and many more. He discusses the job and its complexities, referencing his own work.

Screenwriters' Lecture: Peter Straughan Screenwriters' Lecture: Peter Straughan
Inside Film 2012 mins
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy's adapter reveals his quest for "the poem of the book" and the importance of simplicity: 'Drain the pond to find the fish'.

Gabriel Yared on composing for film Gabriel Yared on composing for film
Inside Film 2013 11 mins
Composer of The Lives of Others, The English Patient and Betty Blue on intimacy and experimentation.

Lois Burwell on movie makeup Lois Burwell on movie makeup
Inside Film 2013 17 mins
Lincoln, Braveheart and Magnolia make-up artist Lois Burwell explains how she created some of her most iconic looks, as part of a BAFTA Masterclass.

Barry Ackroyd (Masterclass) Barry Ackroyd (Masterclass)
2013 61 mins
British cinematographer of The Hurt Locker, Captain Phillips, Hillsborough and Riff Raff reviews the art of the moving image.