I have been told that the 1974 film ‘Swallows and Amazons’ has been broadcast on television more than any other British film. Arthur Ransome’s well loved series can be found on the shelves of most book shops. Many of his devoted readers belong to the Arthur Ransome Group on Facebook where they share interesting observations some of which I have collected here:
Jill Goulder was interested to learn that the film of ‘Swallows and Amazons‘ was made with EMI Film’s box office revenue from ‘The Railway Children‘ (1970), the adaptation of E Nesbit’s book starring Jenny Agutter . “So we have ‘The Railway Children‘ partly to thank! I’m thinking about themes in common. A focus on a family of children with father absent and mother in the background; the children fairly realistic (‘The Railway Children‘ may win on points here as the children argue among themselves); beautiful scenery; a key point of interest in the landscape (railway, lake) which influences the plot; male characters who aren’t always amiable but who are basically very attached to the children; an episode involving an accusation (false in the case of the firework, true in the case of the coal theft); etc!” The two films were bought out together on VHS.
Jill later pointed out, “In World War II, spy catchers interrogating possible German spies would check their knowledge of Arthur Ransome as a classic test of Britishness.”
I thought this ironic given the spy themes in The Railway Children and the 2016 film adaptation of Swallows and Amazons. And why did Commander Walker send such cryptic telegrams. Was he more than a Naval Officer? Was his ship really in Malta or on its way to Hong Kong?
Simon West, Sophie Neville, Suzanna Hamilton and Sten Grendon in Secret Harbour
Maurice Thomas noted that, “both Ransome and Nesbit (and CS Lewis) liked the fit of two girls and two boys, though the second boy is absent from ‘The Railway Children‘. Both ‘Swallows and Amazons‘ and ‘Five Children and It‘ have a “ship’s baby”. The trope of four seems to go wider, though – four hobbits, for example. I suppose it’s the smallest group where you can have “split quests” that still allow for character dialogue, otherwise it’s just one person and their thoughts. Lewis does it, of course, when Edmund becomes evil, but at least he has Jadis to talk to.”
Tamzin Neville playing Anthea in The Phoenix and the Carpet
My sister Tamzin played Anthea in the 1976 BBC adaptation of The Phoenix and the Carpet, when E Nesbit features a family of five children: two girls, two boys and a baby. The Captain Flint character, who facilitates their adventures, is the Phoenix, his houseboat/the Wildcat is a magic carpet. I wonder if Ransome, who knew E Nesbit, was influenced by this story.
Janet Mearns noted, “Louisa M Alcott’s ‘Little Women’, features four children, all girls but Jo is a forerunner of Nancy, one parent absent. Capt Marryat’s ‘Children of the New Forest’: two boys and two girls living off the land, both parents absent.”
Matthew Jones wrote, “What’s lovely about AR’s stories is how they pull his characters out of gloom (along with his readers) into the world of friends and connection and purpose.”
Simon West as Captain John rowing towards the Landing Place
The question, ‘How old is John Walker in Swallows and Amazons?’ is often typed into Google.
John Fenn expressed an interest in Captain John’s character. “In his illustrations Arthur Ransome found it hard to keep John young enough. I suspect that John was the boy Arthur Ransome wished he had been, easily gaining his father’s approval (especially in ‘We Didn’t Mean To Go To Sea‘ and ‘Secret Water’) which was so often withheld from Ransome himself. It’s not surprising he ‘saw’ John as more grown up than he was, and therefore could not keep him young in his illustrations. The upshot is that in the 1974 film it is a shock to us to see a John who looks the age he is supposed to be – about 12.” And yet Simon West, who was only aged 11 when he played Captain John, was adept at handling boats, climbing pine trees and negotiating with adults. He fell easily into the part.
Simon West as Captain John in Swallows and Amazons 1974
The author Jon Tucker writes, “An enduring children’s book is like an onion – multi-layered. The seven-year old is focused mainly on the action embedded in the narrative. The ten-year old is more aware of the underlying emotions. By a third reading at 13 or 14 years, the more mature teen reader can grasp the inter-relationships between the characters entwined within the outer layers. If the book has real substance, an adult reader will absorb those three layers, with a further understanding of the adult characters’ perspectives.”
Sophie Neville as Titty with Suzanna Hamilton playing Susan in 1974
“Taking Swallows and Amazons as an example, we adult readers can understand Titty’s slightly apprehensive emotions alone on Wildcat Island, alongside Mother’s somewhat concerned puzzlement on finding her eight/nine-year-old daughter apparently abandoned. We can also reach out to Captain Flint’s realization that he needs to pull out all stops to make amends for his nearly unforgivable behaviour towards John. A huge part of the success of this novel is the battle for Houseboat Bay, with Captain Flint’s endearing actions to put things right. Ransome’s enduring appeal lies in having a readership which has survived into adulthood.”
Michael Shaw said Titty is his daughter’s absolutely favourite character “because she makes everything into an adventure story” but not everyone can cope. Someone commenting elsewhere on Facebook wrote,”I could never read ‘Swallows and Amazons’, because one of the characters was named ‘Titty.’ It pulled me right out of the story. I just could not imagine everyone calling her that.” And yet the character was based on Titty Altounyan, a real person who was known as Titty all her life.
Sophie Neville playing Able Seaman Titty.
One Arthur Ransome enthusiast wrote: “Random thought, as it’s on @TalkingPicsTV tomorrow, but why has there never been a ‘Swallows and Amazons’ board game? There’s a brilliant strategy game somewhere in there.”
I recall being contacted by a friend who had just passed his driving test, and wished to spend a lazy day in the Lake District where he’d insisted on hiring a rowing boat in Bowness on Windermere in order to ‘enjoy the beauty of the lake’. While heading out from the jetty towards the ‘Lily of the valley’ island in rather a clumsy fashion, I was asked. ‘Who do you want to be, the Swallows or the Amazons?’
At a later date I was given the book ‘Swallows and Amazons’ written by Arthur Ransome together with a video and an original vinyl of the music soundtrack. Turning the pages of the 1930 novel was like opening a door to several other worlds for suddenly the lakes swept in like the most refreshing breeze that kindled an inner passion for hills, mountains, lakes, sleepy streams and mists, early morning stillness on the water and sailing adventures.
Watching the film for the first time was a turning point in my rather dull experience of being at school in the north west of England with its drab corridors, gray walls and endless smoking chimneys out to the horizon.
Within a very short time I too have taken a seat on a train en route to the Lake District in 1929 that had a family travelling together in one of those wonderful old carriages consisting of four children and their mother who were to spend a holiday together in a beautiful farmhouse nestling in the trees by the lake.
For some reason William Wordsworth’s immortal words ran through my mind: ‘Beside the lake beneath the trees fluttering and dancing in the breeze.’
The story touches on many human aspects that we all learn to accept as a part of our evolvement into adulthood and which today seems to have got lost in the quest for an increasingly fast world understanding and a computer generated experience.
The joy of the family arriving at the farmhouse and standing there looking out over the glorious Lakeland towards their dream island where it’s hoped they will be able to embark on a camping holiday after receiving permission from their absent father.
The four children, John Susan Titty and Roger Walker, all displayed an individual aspect of evolvement, with Titty engrossed in the book ‘Robinson Crusoe’, using her vivid imagination to create the island realm and keeping a hand written diary, while John seemed to be moving towards a Naval leaning by spending his time learning the basics of Morse code, boat handling and navigation. Young Boy Roger enjoys stuffing himself with anything he can possibly eat, appears to be showing signs of enjoying the great outdoors, and wants more adventure. Susan comes across as the mother figure who thinks about the younger siblings and what they all will be eating while on their adventures.
The story unfolds as the children receive the go ahead in a telegram from their father to sail over to their island to camp in a borrowed dinghy called ‘Swallow’. A burgee is sewn up to fly from the mast depicting a swallow. This news is received with unadulterated delight by the children who immediately begin the preparations.
The lake and mountainous surroundings featured in the film begin to open up as the children undertake their journey to discover sailing rivals in Nancy and Peggy Blackett who live in one of the houses bordering the lake and own a dinghy named ‘Amazon’ that sports a ‘pirate’ burgee.
Initial rivalry erupts between the Walkers and Blacketts, which results in eventual harmony as the two sides join forces to capture a common enemy who just happens to be the Blacketts’ ‘Uncle Jim’ who owns a houseboat on the lake and is busy writing a book.
The Swallows and Amazons decide to host an expedition to capture Jim (‘Captain Flint’) and the houseboat, and, to determine who should be the leader, they make an attempt at capturing each other’s boats.
This requires sailing at night and some pretty shady manoeuvres, which are grievously frowned upon when discovered by the Walkers’ mother when she made a journey to the island to check up on the children and found Titty on her own. John has to confront his mother and explain his reasons to sail in the dark. She reluctantly accepts his explanations but with a proviso that no further actions of this sort will occur again for the remainder of the holiday.
Titty won the day by seizing an opportunity to capture the Amazon boat while the Blackett’s were on Wild Cat Island, making the Walkers the winners. This leads up to the finale where there is a sea battle as the Swallows and Amazons launch an assault on Captain Flint and the houseboat when he is captured and made to walk the plank. The end of the film sees Titty gifted with Flint’s pet parrot who seemed to have taken quite a shine to her, and everyone resolves to be kindred spirits for ever!
After watching this film my mind was transported to the lakes and sharing the beautiful sunny days, crispy clear water and blue skies with the backdrop of the mountains the wooden jetties and a sailing journey into Bowness for supplies. I could sense myself seated in the lugsail rig and feeling the tug on the main sail as the boat crept closer to the wind before going about and heading away onto another tack.
I was carried with the family into that other realm and other time where innocence and responsibility were coming to the fore, where family values were held dear and independence was something young people strove to achieve within the simplicity of their everyday existence. For the brothers and sisters to go camping on a small island in the middle of a lake away from any overseeing adult, and to arrived there by sailing over in a borrowed boat, leaves little to the imagination.
There was a sense of adventure with the children, and a wanting to show they could be responsible and look after themselves, something in today’s society we have to a degree lost touch with. That immortal sense of adventure within a landscape never changes, except within its own light that we know and love today as the Lake District.
This film is a journey into another dimension and another world steeped with love and belonging, adventure and moral understanding, which is shared between a family and accepted.
The characters are bought to life almost as if they are an infinite, integral part of the immortality of the story, each giving that picturesque understanding the viewer finds impossible to explain.
After watching this film one arrives back in real time with a resounding bang! We wonder why such a simple story can create such an iconic understanding, why watching this film can make you feel happy, totally complete and yearning to return again and savour that wonderful, eternal landscape we have all learned to grow and love as The Lakes.
Do think of leaving a review of this film on the International Movie Base site. The link for ‘Swallows and Amazons'(1974) is: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072233/
“The smell is just the same.” Suzanna Hamilton began rowing me across Coniston Water from Bank Ground Farm, taking us back to childhood days.
“It sounds the same.” The colours, the landscape, the feeling of being out on the water was still magical.
Suzanna Hamilton and Sophie Neville at Coniston Water in the Lake District
As girls, Suzanna and I had appeared as Mate Susan and Able seaman Titty in Richard Pilbrow’s original film of Swallows and Amazons, adapted by David Wood and released in cinemas on 4th April 1974. It starred Dame Virginia McKenna and Ronald Fraser but it was the two of us who were invited to return to the film locations in 2003 to be interviewed by Ben Fogle for an episode of the long-running BBC series Country File. Thanks to sunshiny weather and the support of Geraint and Helen Lewis, his report proved so successful that it was repeated on Country Tracks and featured in the series Big Screen Britain alongside iconic landscape movies such as The Dam Busters and Whistle Down the Wind.
We had been talking about swimming off Peel Island soon after we began filming Swallows and Amazons in the Lake District in May 1973. The director, Claude Whatham, was fresh from making a BAFTA nominated adaptation of Cider With Rosie when he cast Sten Grendon as young Laurie Lee, and the rock-and-roll movie That’ll Be The Day starring David Essex and Ringo Starr. Although happy out on the water, he knew little about boats. The producer, Richard Pilbrow, had insisted on finding children who could sail well rather than audition young actors and teach them to sail, and advertised the opportunity in sailing clubs. This was pivotal. Simon West (who played John), Kit Seymour (Nancy) and Lesley Bennett (Peggy) all had experience with a natural feeling for the wind and emanated confidence. They were only given a couple of days to get used to sailing the little boats used as Swallow and Amazon before filming began and yet their skill ended up making the film a classic.
Farewell and adieu to you fair Spanish ladies
We had instruction from a sailing director in the form of a good looking actor called David Blagden. He’d recently crossed the Atlantic in a nineteen foot yacht called Willing Griffin but was unfamiliar with blustery Lakeland winds and did not know how to break down a script. Simon, aged eleven, ended up explaining to Claude how to get a decent shot. Suzanna took her lead from him and I clung to the gunwales, trying hard not to shiver in a costume designed by Emma Porteous that consisted of no more than a short yellow dress and enormous pair of navy blue gym knickers.
It was unusual for a movie to feature so many scenes set in two small boats. Mike Turk, whose family had been building boats since 1295, and Nick Newby of Nicol End Marine on Derwentwater, took up the challenge of constructing Claude a cross-shaped pontoon to act as a mobile camera mount so that our dialogue could be captured. This extraordinary vessel had two outboards but wasn’t easy to handle. The dinghies were wired to it with underwater cables but tended to pull away. The base to Swallow’s mast broke, proving safety was an issue, but the idea eventually worked.
Richard Pilbrow and his film crew on the camera pontoon
A grey punt was also used. I remember Simon West towing it as he rowed us into Rio. It was easy to transport from one lake to another but must have been tippy. Somehow David Cadwallader, the grip, managed to keep the horizon horizontal using no more than a spirit level. Shadows were lifted from our faces by using huge reflector boards apt to catch the wind. It must have been impossible to use filler lights out on the water, although they somehow managed to power a number of sets on Peel Island.
Sophie Neville in the Amazon with DOP Denis Lewiston, his 16mm camera and a reflector board ~ photo: Martin Neville
Richard Pilbrow kindly sent me Swallow’s pennant from his home in America. Unlike Ransome’s original sketch of the crossed flags, the bird flies away from the mast, which is technically incorrect, but I was thrilled to receive the genuine film prop used in vision. If you look closely you can see some of the stitches I made whilst in conversation with Mother, played by Virginia McKenna.
It would have been good if Swallow’s hull had been painted white in line with illustrations in the books. Her varnished planks are a nod to the 1970’s when everyone was busy stripping pine, but the important detail is that she has a keel rather than a centerboard. It makes her difficult to turn, and markedly slower than Amazon, but grants her stability. This feature may have saved us when we really did just miss colliding with the MV Tern on Windermere, which alarmed my father who was on the Tern’s deck. He knew how difficult Swallow would be to turn with the larger vessel taking our wind. We were fully laden with camping gear and yet totally lacking buoyancy of any kind.
Simon West as Captain John sailing Swallow. Sten Grendon plays the Boy Roger
One secret of filming Swallows and Amazons is that it was set on four different lakes, a smelly lily pond that served as Octopus Lagoon, and Mrs Batty’s barn where night sailing sequences were shot with Swallow mounted on a cradle. One challenging scene was when the Swallows were cast off from Wild Cat Island to sail north to the Amazon River, leaving Titty behind to light the lanterns. I slipped underwater whilst pushing her free of branches overhanging the landing place but regained my footing and waved them off. Simon caught ‘a fair wind’ but the boom swung so far out that Suzanna held the mainsheet by the figure-of-eight knot and Swallow sped up Coniston Water like a ‘pea in a peashooter’, as Ransome wrote in Winter Holiday. A gust hit them broadside as they cleared the island and Swallow gybed, but Simon calmly stood to catch the boom, scarified the wind and took her on up the lake. Watching the sequence still brings tears to my eyes.
Simon West and Suzanna Hamilton at the helm of Swallow with Stephen Grendon in the bows, while Sophie Neville looks on from the shore of Peel Island
No one had given much consideration to the rowing involved in the story. Built as a run-about boat by William King of Burnham-on-Crouch, Swallow has two sets of rowlocks but it was tricky to keep time when she was wired to the camera pontoon. The first scene attempted was when the Boy Roger and I had to row her back from the charcoal burners with Susan at the tiller.
Sophie Neville as Titty and Stephen Grendon as Roger rowing to Cormorant Island
We rowed again on Derwentwater, making our way out to Cormorant Island to look for the treasure. It took everything in me, but I later managed to row Amazon out of Secret Harbour in one take at the end of a long day filming. The action was repeated with Denis Lewiston, the lighting-cameraman, and his 35mm Panavision camera in the stern. Cold, with wet feet, I completed the scene but had to be carried ashore by a frogman acting as the safety officer. Titty later anchors Amazon off Cormorant Island on Derwentwater, but the shot of her wrapped in the sail, sleeping aboard, was taken in the darkened barn at Bank Ground Farm. The fishing scenes were recorded on Elterwater with Swallow moored near the reedbeds.
Sophie Neville as Titty and Simon West as John
My one regret is that we didn’t follow the book when sailing the captured Amazon back to Wild Cat Island. The wind was up and Claude Whatham needed Simon to sail Swallow ahead of the Amazon which was lashed to the pontoon. I originally took the tiller as Titty is urged to in the story, but had trouble with the rudder and Susan is at the helm on the cover of the paperbacks brought out to accompany the film and a DVD distributed by the Daily Mail.
I was somewhat surprised to see Swallow outside Elstree Studios where we went to post-sync the film. They set up a tank on the sound stage so that Bill Rowe, the dubbing editor who was to win an Oscar for The Last Emperor, could capture the sounds so taken for granted and yet so evocative of handling wooden boats. I was concerned that she’d been given away (and she nearly was) but, as Richard Pilbrow made plans to adapt other Ransome books, she was sent to Mike Turk’s warehouse in Twickenham and stored with maritime props such as the Grand Turk, a replica of HMS Indefatigable, built in 1996 in Turkey for Hornblower.
When Mike’s collection was eventually auctioned in 2010 I was alerted, first by my father, then by Magnus Smith. We found Swallow’s details online, took one look at the photos and clubbed together to purchase her, launching SailRansome at the 2011 London Boat Show. The idea that others could go out in her with an experienced skipper was greeted by John McCarthy who recorded the sounds of sailing Swallow for Paddling With Peter Duck, his programme made for BBC Radio 4.
Peter Willis in the Nancy Blackett with John McCarthy
The Arthur Ransome Society now own both historic dinghies. Rupert Maas valued Swallow highly when she appeared on BBC Antiques Roadshow in 2021.Everyone gasped but her true worth is akin to Captain Flint’s hidden treasure: instead of gold ingots his trunk contained precious memories that no doubt kept him on course when the storms of life blew in. Just as Arthur Ransome’s books grant us solace, my prayer is that many will be able to grab the chance of sailing the little boats that take us into the stories immortalized on film so long ago.
Back in 1974, none of us knew that Amazon had been used in the BBC adaptation of Swallows and Amazons made just eleven years previously and broadcast in 1963. I met the White family when they brought Amazon from Kent to Cumbria to feature in Country File. Ben Fogle had found their twin daughters on Peel Island, looking very much like Nancy and Peggy in damp bathing costumes having been swimming in the lake. It has been extremely generous of them to enable other families to sail such a precious boat.
Not so very long ago, a few TARS joined me at Keswick for a talk and screening of Swallows and Amazons at the Alhambra cinema when we grabbed the chance to go aboard the Lady Derwentwater. Nick Newby explained how she had been decommissioned in 1973 to appear as Captain Flint’s houseboat. Her temporary conversion was overseen by Ian Whittaker, the set dresser who went on to be nominated for a number of awards and won an Oscar in 1993 for his work on Howard’s End. The Lady Derwentwater has since been given a new stern but is in good shape, back in her role as a passenger launch.
The mfp Vinyl LP of ‘Swallows and Amazons’ with Sophie Neville and Simon West bringing Swallow into her harbour
Arthur Ransome was taught to sail on Coniston Water by the Collingwoods in a boat they kept below Lane Head, now known as Swallow I. People often ask if the original Swallow II, a sea-going dingy with a standing lugsail built by William Crossfield, and sailed by the Ransomes, is still around. After being kept on a mooring in Bowness Bay, where she was looked after by a boatman called John Walker, she was sold in September 1935 and sadly ‘vanished without a trace’.
The Amazon, originally named Mavis, and also sailed by the Altounyan family, now resides in the John Ruskin Museum at Coniston where she can be visited much like a great aunt. Ransome’s dinghy Coch-y-bonddhu or Cocky, the model for Scarab in his books, restored and owned by TARS, is on display at Windermere Jetty, the museum where the fourteen foot RNSA dinghies used in the 2016 movie of Swallows and Amazons have been moored. A few of the steamboats used to dress the scenes set at Bowness-on-Windermere or Rio in 1973, such as Osprey and George Pattinson’s launch Lady Elizabeth, may be in residence. They are currently restoring the SL Esperance used by Ransome as his model for the houseboat.
In 1983, I worked behind-the-scenes on the BBC drama serial of Coot Club and The Big Six (and wrote Extras for the DVD titled Swallows and Amazons Forever!) We spent three months filming on the Broads, using the four-berth gaff sloop Lullaby to play the Teasel, a vintage dinghy for Titmouse and a punt for Tom Dudgeon’s Dreadnaught. They have all been kept at Hunter’s Yard, near Ludham in Norfolk where you can hire classic boats. While exploring the Broads you can track down the Death and Glory, Janca, used to play the Hullabaloo’s Margoletta, and the wherry Albion used for Sir Garnet along with yachts like Pippa that were also featured in the serial. Hopefully, Arthur Ransome’s ‘good little ship’ the Nancy Blackett, bought with his ‘Spanish gold’ or royalties, will one day star as Goblin in a film adaptation of We Didn’t Mean To Go To Sea. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?
Arnaldo Putzu’s poster for the EMI film Swallows and Amazons (1974)
Half a century has passed since the original film Swallows and Amazons first came out in cinemas, the good little ships featured sailing improably on the poster. Thanks go to Magnus Smith, Rob Boden, Diana Wright, Marc Grimston, and all those who have looked after and lovingly restored the inspirational boats that appeared in the movie. They mean so much to so many. Three million cheers to those at The Arthur Ransome Society who are working with Hunters Yard in Ludham to make both little ships available for hire in 2025 .
Amazon will soon be available to hire at Hunter’s Yard, Ludham
If all goes to plan, you will be able to take them out. When you do, smell the freshness for me. Stroke the varnish, take in the feel of the ropes, the weight of the oars. It may be chilly, but that too is part of the experience of liaising with old boats out on the water.
Neville Thompson acted as the online producer on the 1974 film of Swallows and Amazons. He choose an excellent crew and took daily responsibility for scheduling the production on location in the Lake District and later at Elstree Studios where the film was edited and post-synced.
Producer Richard Pilbrow and Production Associate Neville C Thompson on Derwentwater in the Lake District in 1973
Neville was born in Ipswich in 1933. Although gregarious at times, he was a quiet man who was once a maths teacher in Scotland. He had five children to support, but decided to go to RADA and become an actor. When a pair of twins came along he moved the family to Croyden and went into film production. He began work as a location manager for Mike Newell and became a production manager for Ken Russell.
Richard Pilbrow gained the rights and film finance for ‘Swallows and Amazons’ but came from a background in theatre and knew nothing about film production. He asked Neville to help set everything up.
Neville C Thomas (top centre) with Richard Pilbrow, Claude Whatham et al
Neville came to Burnham-on-Crouch for our sailing audition when the dinghy ‘Swallow’ must have been purchased from the boatbuilders William King.
Second Assistant Terry Needham, Associate Producer Neville C Thompson and Production Manager Graham Ford with the unit radio on a sunny day in June 1973
Neville was passionate about film making, becoming known as ‘the last gentleman producer.’ He would have been the one making the executive decisions, the man ultimately in charge of the schedule, personnel, safety, insurance and bringing the film in on budget.
Claude Whatham, Richard Pilbrow, Gareth Tandy, Peter Robb-King, Ronnie Cogan and Neville C Thompson with Kit Seymour and Lesley Bennet trying on hats
His daughter, Mandy, told me that he was a wonderful Dad but had been away a lot. ‘He had eight children in nine years and was keen for them to make their own way in the world.’ Mandy became an occupational therapist, George became a ballet dancer, Chris Thompson went into film making. Neville was diagnosed with Lukemia at the age of 47 but lived another twenty years, ending his days in Woodbridge in Suffolk.
Neville Thompson relaxing on set – photo taken on Sunday 24th July 1973, by Daphne Neville
Neville established a production office at the unit hotel on Windermere. By the time he reached the location he was often exhausted. Everything he’d set up was in motion so, like an experienced parent, he could relax and enjoy the boats.
Richard Pilbrow and Neville Thompson ~ photo:Daphne Neville
When Neville died in Woodbridge in Suffolk at the age of sixty-nine in 2002, Richard told me that ‘Swallows and Amazons’ was broadcast on television as if in his honour.
You can find an impressive list of Neville C Thompson’s production credits on IMDb here
Sophie Neville looks on as Stephen Grendon organises his costume helped by Jane Grendon with Claude Whatham and Neville C Thompson when filming pick up shots near Epsom.
You can find details of how to purchase ‘The making of Swallows and Amazons’ here on line or listen to it on audible and other audiobook platforms.
On Wednesday 27th November at 3.00pm, I will be giving another talka about ‘The Making of Swallows and Amazons’ on a Zoom hosted by the national child literacy charity Schoolreaders.
You can join us by remailing s.glasgow-smith@schoolreaders.org
Since the original film of ‘Swallows and Amazons’ has been out for fifty years, and screened on television more than any other British film, it has a loyal fan base. Paddy Heron of the fundraising charity ‘Children in Read’ says, ‘I have seen that film I don’t know how many times through the decades, with my brother and sisters, with my own kids, and with my grandkids. That film will stand the test of time for ever.’
Jane Whitbread, who founded Schoolreaders ten years ago, tells me that a love of reading is a proven key to future success in life. Around a quarter of all children in England leave primary school unable to read well and yet good literacy improves all round academic achievement. Arthur Ransome’s series of twelve ‘Swallows and Amazons’ books is great for reluctant readers – those who learn to read but fail to develope an interest in books.
Although my handwriting outshone others, I was deeply embarrassed about not being able to read until the age of nine. I battled to crack the code but once through the barrier, soon gained fluency and was captivated by imaginary worlds. Like me, Andrew Harvey said that he was helped by the Arthur Ransome books, “which provided the inspiration to get me through my (undiagnosed) dyslexia.”
Since it was launched ten years ago, Schoolreaders has helped about 80,000 children to read fluently and develop an interest in books by giving them one-to-one support.
It’s clear that lives are transformed by reading. The author David Cooper says: ‘I found Ransome when I was six, and that was a revelation. He wrote with the same high standards as apply to writing for adults, which is why people of all ages are attracted to them. It only took a few chapters of Swallows and Amazons to make me want to be a writer.’
You can watch a precious talk with Schoolreaders on Youtube:
If you could volunteer to listen to children read in school for a year, think of contacting the charity Schoolreaders: www.schoolreaders.org
It’s fascinating to hear about links people have with the original film of ‘Swallows and Amazons’ made on location in the Lake District in the early 1970s.
Art Director Simon Holland painting labels for cans of Pemican ~ photo: Daphne Neville
Amanda Currie wrote to say, ‘My family had quite a lot to do with the film. My cousin’s bro-in-law was the art director… My Dad was one of the Lake Wardens he had great fun keeping tourists away from the filming on the lake. Captain Flint stayed at our friends’ hotel and boy did they have some funny tales to tell. The couple who owned it were called Tim and Eileen, they would be in their eighties now I would think. Of course we were all extras.’
She added, ‘We were all massive Swallows and Amazons fans long before the film, as when my Grandma lived in Blackpool they used to stay at what was the Blackett’s house, and on occasion bumped into Arthur Ransome.’
Jean our driver and location nurse operating the radio with Sophie Neville ~ photo:Martin Neville
Jean McGill, our unit driver, used to pick up Ronald Fraser every morning, a difficult task as he was always drunk. “Dreadful man, swearing and shouting around the place,” she said. “Appalling behaviour.” Jean had been the Chief Air Stewardess and cabin services superintendent in Bahrain for what is now Gulf Air. “I had to leave because I wouldn’t marry the general manager, who was having a nervous breakdown.” She was going out with the Captain of the Sir Galahad, the ship that went down in the Falklands, “along with the coffee pot I’d given him.” She also told me that they had a known terrorist one of her flights, “who then got on the BOAC flight that landed in the desert.” He had wanted to free Lela Kallard.
Do you know where the Peak of Darien can be found? photo: Roger Wardale (with permission)
The Arthur Ransome Group have been discussing the true model for the Peak at Darien. Mrs Ransome told the film producer Richard Pilbrow that you could find it on Windermere.
Paul Flint says that, ‘good contenders are Brathay Rocks and Gale Naze Crag on Windermere’, pointing out that both were well known to the Ransomes. It would be interesting to know what islands you can see from these.
Friar’s Crag on Derwent Water was used for the opening titles of ‘Swallows and Amazons’ (1974) Stuart Clague informed me that it is a dolerite dyke intruded into softer Skiddaw slate, as mentioned in the book Lakeland Geology.
This is the platform at Haverthwaite station on the Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway in Haverthwaite, Cumbria. Manuel Gurtner points out that the heritage railway also appears in ‘Without a Clue’ (1988), the witty movie starring Michael Caine as Sherlock Holmes and Ben Kingsley as Dr Watson. You can spot the carriages at scenes shot in the Lake District in the film trailer.
Simon West, Suzanna Hamilton, Sophie Neville & Sten Grendon in ‘Swallows and Amazons'(1974)
Julie Lamming wrote to say, ‘I used to drive my family mad singing “Spanish Ladies” after watching the film for the first time.’ This was the original movie of ‘Swallows and Amazons’ made on location in the Lake District in 1973 and released by EMI Films fifty years ago in 1974.
It took me a while to realise it, but the traditional British naval song Farewell and Adieu to you Fair Spanish Ladies is sung in a number of other feature films from The Buccaneers (1957) to Jaws, which was released in 1975, a year after the original film Swallows and Amazons.
The Buccaneers (1957) and Jaws (1975)
Robert Shaw sings a little more once at sea:
The ships crew come together singing it as a shanty in Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
A Boston version is also sung in this television drama, Patrick Jane:
Can you think of anymore examples? Please add links to the Comments below.
I classic version of the song can be found here:
I’m afraid I sang it badly and made the mistake of muddling the words, Adieu and Farewell to you Fair Spanish Ladies rendered onto the LP of the film.
You can now listen to the audio book on ‘The Making of Swallows and Amazons’ that explains how the 1974 movie of Swallows and Amazons. It’s available on all the retail platforms and Audible here.
On 6th April, the original cast of ‘Swallows and Amazons’ (1974) gathered to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the film’s release in London with David Wood who wrote the script.
It was unexpectedly amusing as can be seen in this recording kindly brought to us by Lee Pressmen and volunteers of the Cinema Museum where the original movie was shown before we were invited on stage by Brian Sibley.
Brian Sibley talks to Simon West, Suzanna Hamilton, Sophie Neville, Sten Grendon, Kit Seymour and screenwriter David Wood – photo Lee Pressman of the Cinema Museum
As soon as self-confessed ‘super fans’ arrived, the venue began to buzz with the question, “What was your favourite line from the film?”
“They’ve got India rubber necks.”
“They’re girls!”
“… must be a retired pirate. He’s working on his devilish plans.”
Sten Grendon, who played Roger, said it was undoubtedly: “I said – ‘Yes’.”
I’ve always liked: “X marks the spot where they ate six missionaries.” Although I often use, “Here we are, intrepid explorers making the first ever voyage into unchartered waters,” I think “I’ve got her. I’ve got her!” is the most appealing.
One viewer on Instagram claimed their favourite line was: “Titty that way.”
What is your favourite line?
Do add your line to the Comments below.
A recording of Brian’s interview with the screenwriter David Wood can be watched on this website here.
On 6th April 2024, the author and screenwriter Brian Sibley interviewed award-winning writer David Wood OBE at the Cinema Museum for the 50th Anniversary of the release of the classic film ‘Swallows and Amazons’. This can now be viewed on YouTube. I read a special letter from Dame Virginia McKenna towards the end.
Sophie Neville, Suzanna Hamilton & Sten Grendon with David Wood and Claude Whatham in 1973
Until I listened to this interview I didn’t know that Peter Hammond was originally going to direct the film or that Bernard Delfont was behind financing the movie at EMI. He also brought out ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ in 1974 and ‘The Deer Hunter’ in 1978.
Other secrets are revealed. Mrs Ransome (who held the rights) wanted all the Swallows to have blonde hair and blue eyes.
I’ll feature the Q&A with the cast on another blog in a few days time. Do sign up so you don’t miss it.
Brian said he drew his knowledge from ‘The Making of Swallows and Amazons’, which is now available on audible.
The audiobook narrated by Sophie Neville
A copy of the paperback is currently being auctioned to raise funds to help a little boy called Max who is very ill. You can see how the bidding is going on jumblebee
Sophie Neville 