Richard Pilbrow told me that the most difficult thing he ever had to do was to persuade Mrs Ransome to grant him the rights to make ‘Swallows and Amazons’ into a movie.
But he did. He found funding from EMI Films and asked Dame Virginia McKenna to play Mother.
Virginia McKenna at Bank Ground Farm in 1973 ~ photo: Daphne Neville
Neville Thompson put together a great crew
Second Assistant Terry Needham, Associate Producer Neville C Thompson and Production Manager Graham Ford with the unit motoroller on a sunny day in June 1973
with Denis Lewiston as DoP,
Dennis Lewiston, director of Photography on ‘Swallows and Amazons’ ~photo:Richard Pilbrow
the Oscar winning set dresser Ian Whittaker,
The local fisherman, Ian Whittaker, Simon Holland and Gareth Tandy ~ photo: Daphne Neville
and the avant guard director Claude Whatham fresh from making ‘That’ll Be the Day’ with David Essex and Ringo Starr.
Claude Whatham with the children he eventually cast as the Swallows
Filming on location in the Lake District wasn’t easy.
Producer Richard Pilbrow and Production Associate Neville C Thompson on Derwentwater in the Lake District in 1973
How they lit the scenes on Peel Island I do not know.
Dame Virginia McKenna as Mother with Sophie Neville as Titty WalkerKit Seymour with Claude Whatham, 1973
It rained so hard that Simon Holland had to order black drapes from Pinewood Studios so they could shoot the night scenes in Mrs Batty’s dusty barn.
Sophie Neville as Titty
But the film worked because Richard had insisted that the children playing the lead characters could sail.
Filming Swallows and Amazons (1974) from a camera pontoon
The film didn’t make much at the box office but it worked well on television.
Sophie Neville as Titty Walker in the ITV trailer for the movie of ‘Swallows and Amazons’ when it was first shown on television in 1977
I’m told it has been broadcast more than any other British Film. Having a U certificate it has allowed many parents a lie-in on Sunday mornings.
Simon West, Sophie Neville, Suzanna Hamilton and Sten Grendon in Secret Harbour
Families assure me that they have watched the VHS or DVD thirty times or more. StudioCanal remastered it for cinemascope Blu-ray and we filled the big northern cinemas.
Sophie Neville with Suzanna Hamilton
The good news is that, fifty years after the premier in Shaftesbury Avenue,
Sophie Neville and Suzanna Hamilton with Ronald Fraser in Swallows and Amazons
we are restoring the dinghies: Swallow and Amazon for families to sail.
I wrote up the diary I kept on location as a twelve year-old. Richard sent me the flags.
Different editions of ‘The Making of Swallows and Amazons (1974) by Sophie Neville’
At the 50th Anniversary celebrations this April a man in the audience stood up to say that as a young doctor, he was working at a hospital on Good Friday. As he walked around he found peace in every ward, sick children snuggled up and happy. They were all watching ‘Swallows and Amazons’ on television. Richard’s gift.
Arnaldo Putzu’s poster for the EMI film Swallows and Amazons (1974)
Richard and Molly’s dream became an inspiration to many.
Molly and Richard Pilbrow in 1973
Here you can see Richard and Molly with Claude Whatham, Neville, Fred, Abigail, Suzanna Hamilton and me at the sailing audition held in Burnham-on- Crouch. Simon West who was cast as Captain John went on to win the Optimist British Championships and represented the UK overseas.
Richard and Molly Pilbrow, Claude Watham, Fred Pilbrow, Sophie Neville, Suzanna Hamilton, Abigail Pilbrow
The original film ‘Swallows & Amazons’ was first screened at a preview in London on 31st March 1974.
Brian Doyle, the film publicist, noted it in his diary. This was sent to me by his daughter, Pandora Doyle, who was taken along with her mother Jo and friend Alison.
The cast of ‘Swallows and Amazons’ either joined them there or at an afternoon press screening on 2nd April. We certainly went to one preview. It utterly amazed us. We had not remembered the Lake District being so sunny.
The premiere was also held at the ABC cinema in Shaftesbury Avenue, London, at a Royal Gala Premier on 4th April 1974.
The film has since been dubbed into at least eight different languages and screened all over the world. A number of different titles have been used from ‘Svaler og Amasoner’ to ‘El Capitan Pirata’.
They do not provide a release date for the Czech Republic, but it has been dubbed into Czech twice and is popular there. You can easily buy copies of the French version
Caught shrieking on the cover of the French DVD of ‘Swallows and Amazons'(1974)
It is now screening on Netflix Europe and Amazon Prime.
There was a big splash when ‘Swallows & Amazons’ was first screened in Gloucester. Sten Grendon, who appeared as the Boy Roger, and I were taught to swim at the leisure centre there. Chris Maloney, who was awarded an MBE for his part in founding the Special Olympics, began to coach me when I was ten. I’ve been told that he also taught Sophia Loren to swim for ‘The “Goodness Gracious Me” Heiress’.
As we lived locally, Sten and I were asked to attend the first screening at the newly converted triple screen ABC in Gloucester, which was daunting. They were also screening ‘The Sting’ and ‘The Great Gatsby’ that both starred Robert Redford.
Chris Maloney later got Suzanna Hamilton and I jumping off the high board at Gloucester Leisure Centre. She was far braver than I.
On Saturday 6th April at 2.00pm there will be a 50th Anniversary screening of the original film ‘Swallows and Amazons’ followed by a Q&A with cast and crew hosted by Brian Sibley and the screenwriter, David Wood at the Cinema Museum in London. More info and link to ticket sales here.
On Saturday 29th & Sunday 30th June 2024 a Swallows and Amazons Festival is being held at Windermere Jetty Museum near Bowness-on-Windermere in Cumbria hosted by Lakeland Arts and The Arthur Ransome Society. We are hoping that members of the cast and crew will be able to come and share their stories, including Kerry Darbishire (below) who still lives in Cumbria. Now a poet, she appeared in the opening scenes as Vicky’s nurse.
Kerry Darbishire who played Vicky’s nurse in ‘Swallows and Amazons'(1974)
The Arthur Ransome Society is bringing Swallow and Amazon, the dinghies used in the film which they now own, along with Titmouse from ‘Coot Club’. The steamboats Osprey and Lady Elizabeth that appeared in the Rio scene of the 1974 film will be at Windermere Jetty. Hopefully the original Amazon owned by the Altounyan family, and Arthur Ransome’s own dinghy Coch-y-Bonddhu that he used as the model for Scarab will be there with the RNSA dinghies that played Swallow and Amazon in the 2016 movie. There may well be trips on MV Tern and the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway.
Sophie Neville with Titmouse – now beautifully renovated
Saturday 13th July – A screening of Swallows and Amazons (1974) at the Riverside Cinema in Woodbridge, Suffolk.
People who read the paperback on ‘The Making of Swallows and Amazons’ ask how I could remember what happened on each day in such detail, but I had the diaries I’d kept on location and was able to rewatch the film on my laptop, studying the detail.
Aged twelve, I was a little older than Simon West who played Captain John, so I was able to recall more. He now reckons that having my mother on location with me must have helped as we would have discussed each day at the time and would have naturally chatted about shared experiences. She also took hundreds of behind the scenes photos, along with home movie footage captured on her cine camera.
Daphne Neville with Sophie Neville while filming ‘Swallows and Amazons’ in Cumbria. Kit Seymour is walking along the jetty in the background.
Fans of the DVDs write in from all over the world offering encouragement: “I was able to catch up on Swallows and Amazons Forever! I’ve only been waiting a lot of decades to watch this. It was fabulous and you embodied Titty. I now need to re-read Ransome’s book and yours.” Suzie Eisfelder, Melbourne, Australia
Once screened in cinemas with ‘The Sting’ and ‘The Great Gatsby’, ‘Swallows and Amazons’ (1974) has been labelled a Vintage Classic. The good thing about this is that the DVD includes an interesting Extras package. Here is one of the original reviews:
David Wood OBE shares an insight into filming one of the most outrageous British films of all time.
Filming If…. is the first written memoir about the cult classic film with rather a short title directed by the talented Lindsay Anderson in 1968. David Wood co-starred as one of the three public school boys, alongside Malcolm McDowell (Mick) and Richard Warwick (Wallace), who led a revolution against authority. This was regarded by many as a metaphor for the social and political situation in the UK.
If…. celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. The book contains David’s memories of the personalities involved, the day-to-day challenges, and the reception given to the avant garde film, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes. David Wood reflects the brilliance of Lindsay Anderson and his team. With a foreword by Malcolm McDowell and an afterword by George Perry.
Filming If…. has been highly endorsed and enjoyed by many:
“…What a brilliant thing you have done, recalling what it was like beingdirected by the great Lindsay Anderson, and being part of this hugelyimportant film and its dazzling cast.” – Joanna Lumley OBE
“David Wood has written a wonderfully evocative insider’s view of the shooting of one of the best British films ever made.” – Sir Alan Parker
“If…. is a classic movie – I was at the première in 1968 and we all sensed itthen… I’ve a feeling this book’s going to be something of a classic, too.” – Gyles Brandreth
“What are you waiting for? David Wood’s gentle memoir of the film and itslegacy is required, one-sitting reading.” – Total Film Magazine
David Wood went on to write or adapt a huge number of plays, musicals, television programmes and feature films. The first screenplay he wrote was for ‘Swallows and Amazons’ (1974). He wrote to me with stories of working with the audacious Mrs Ransome, which I posted on this website here.
David’s movie ‘Back Home’ won a gold award at the New York Film and Television Festival in 1991. He went on to receive enormous acclaim in the West End, winning an Olivier Award in 2013 for his stage adaptation of ‘Good Night Mr Tom’, and the JM Barrie lifetime achievement award for his contribution to children’s arts in 2017. You can find his website here.
This question is often typed into search engines. Arthur Ransome was living at Low Ludderburn above Windermere when he wrote ‘Swallows and Amazons’ in 1929, setting it on ‘The great lake in the north’. Like me, he undoubtedly did a bit of wondering, and was inspired by many of the locations that can be seen from Windermere, envisaging the island Blake Holme as a model for ‘Wild Cat Island’ and Silver Holme as ‘Cormorant Island’ nearby.
Martin Neville aboard MV Tern on Windermere
The ‘native shipping’ on Windermere was brought to life in the 1974 film when the Swallows narrowly miss hitting the MV Tern.
MV Tern on Windermere was built in 1890 with a steam engine, converted to diesel in the 1950s, and is still operating today.
On the deck of the MV Tern on Windermere in 1973 ~ photo: Martin Neville
It was a tricky sequence to shoot and since Swallow lost her wind in the lee of the steamer she only just managed to turn in time.
You can read more about this near disaster in the diary I kept here
My father’s view of Swallow attached to the camera pontoon from his position on MV Tern ~ photo: Martin Neville
The other big scene was shot at Bowness-on-Windermere, referred to as Rio in the story.
Rio – or Bowness-on-Windermere in 1973
Steamboats such as Osprey and the Lady Elizabeth, who is currently residing at Windermere Jetty museum, appeared in the background.
The film crew of ‘Swallows and Amazons’ wait with Swallow and Stephen Grendon at the end of the jetty while Simon West, Suzanna Hamilton and Sophie Neville line up by the launch
Had we arrived in Rio? Arthur Ransome confirmed this in a letter to a young reader:
When the movie was made in the summer of 1973 the original green boat sheds, featured in Ransome’s sequel ‘Swallowdale’ were captured on film.
Is that the steam launch Osprey moored to the jetty?
Kit Seymour who played Nancy was watching the filming. You can just see the original bandstand with period cars parked in the background.
The bandstand and shelter on Glebe Road were also caught on celluloid, along with the traditional Windermere skiffs. You can see more photos of the filming on this website here.
The Price children, Perry Neville, Jane Grendon, Tamzin Neville and Pandora Doyle in their 1929 costumes on the shore of Lake Windermere at Bowness in 1973
The Swallows in Woodland Road, Windermere in 1973
After buying rope for their lighthouse tree in Woodland Road, the Swallows walk down Church Street past the Stags Head Hotel.
John, Susan and Titty walking down to the jetty
Other scenes were shot nearby, with the film opening on a steam train running along the River Leven on Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway. You can add details about the locations yourself by contributing to the website Reelstreets which logs film locations in the United Kingdom.
Talking to the engine driver on the first day of filming ‘Swallows and Amazons’ in 1973 (Photo: Daphne Neville)
When Richard Pilbrow, the film producer asked Mrs Ransome to point out more, she claimed the Peak at Darrien could be found on Windermere. She may have been thinking of a headland at Waterhead but in the end the opening titles shot was taken from Friar’s Crag on Derwentwater with the Borrowdale Fells in the background. The secret is that the 1974 film ‘Swallows and Amazons’ was also shot on Coniston Water, Elterwater and a lily pond near Skelworth Fold.
The Kirkstone Foot Hotel, Ambleside in 1973
In real life, Richard based his production office at the Kirkstone Foot Hotel near Ambleside at the northern tip Windermere and it was from here that we practiced sailing Swallow and Amazon in May 1973. Here is a description written by my twelve-year-old self:
Preparing for filming Swallows and Amazons by sailing on Windermere
Virginia McKenna, who starred in the film as Mrs Walker, was accommodated at the Langdale Chase Hotel on the lake. The wrap party was held there to the great excitement of children in the cast. You can see the view on the hotel website here.
Dame Virginia McKenna on Windermere in 1973 – photo: Philip Hatfield
The 40th Anniversary DVD includes an Extras package on the locations and you can read more in ‘The Making of Swallows and Amazons’, available online in different editions here or direct from The Lutterworth Press.
The original movie ‘Swallows and Amazons'(1974) was filmed mainly on Peel Island on Coniston Water in the southern Lake District. It is here that you find the Secret Harbour described in Arthur Ransome’s books. He explained, ‘no island on Windermere has a harbour quite so good.’
Simon West, Sophie Neville, Suzanna Hamilton and Sten Grendon in Secret Harbour
The BBC Television adaptation of ‘Swallows and Amazons’ made in black and white in 1963, starring Susan George as ‘Kitty’, was also shot at Secret Harbour. The director said he wanted to dynamite some of the rocks, which did not go down well with the Ransomes.
The entrance to Secret Harbour can’t easily be seen from the shore, which of course is what makes it so secret. With the right vessel, you can go there yourself, but it has not been possible to camp or light a fire there since the property was bequeathed to the National Trust in 1932.
StudioCanal have recently made this photo of Captain John available as a print from their website where you will also find the photo of Secret Harbour above.
You can attempt to swim to what is known in the books as Wild Cat Island, but only if you are hardy and used to cold water. I could hardly manage a few strokes.
Falcon with Amazon in Secret Harbour: photo Geraint Lewis
The appearance of the natural harbour changes dramatically depending on the level of the lake. Rocks are revealed as water levels drop. The inlet can attract a number of canoeists but if you arrive early, you should be able to explore the island for yourself.
Sophie Neville (Titty) with Simon West (John) looking down into Secret Harbour
See if you can find the steep rocky cliffs of ‘Wild Cat Island’. Does this shot, above, appear in the original film?
The rocks at the end of Peel Island where the Collingwood family traditionally had picnics
We filmed the ‘Not a breath of wind’ scene on this lookout point to the right of the photo above.
The Swallows on Wild Cat Island
See if you can find this tree that Titty tried to sleep in.
‘Up a tree for fear of ravenous beasts’ ~ photo: Daphne Neville
The shot of Nancy and Peggy surrendering to the Swallows was taken from the lake showing the mossy rocks to the western side of the island.
Lesley Bennett and Kit Seymour as the Amazon pirates dancing with rage on Peel Island
We discovered rocks on the eastern side were easier for collecting water and gutting perch for supper. This shot shows us behind-the-scenes.
Sophie Neville, Suzanna Hamilton, Stephen Grendon, Lesley Bennett and Kit Seymour with David Blagden on Peel Island Coniston
This is the scene that was improvised after Susan showed Roger how to fill the kettle.
The landing place today looks very different to what you see on the film as the shingle beach built up by our art department has all-but washed away.
Simon West as Captain John rowing towards the Landing Place
Claude Whatham and David Bracknell with Swallows, Amazon and the 35mm Panavision camera at the Landing Place on Peel Island – photo Richard Pilbrow.
Arthur Ransome may have had in mind the beach at Low Peel Near on the mainland opposite the island, which would match his illustrations. This is where Houseboat Bay was set in the 2016 adaptation of ‘Swallows and Amazons’. Sponsored by Yorkshire Film, they used Plumpton Rocks in North Yorkshire for the campsite as it has interesting rock formations. You can read more about the locations they used on Visit England’s website here.
The camp site featured in the original film can be found in the middle of Peel Island. The secret here is that a couple more trees were ‘planted’ so that the tents could be strung up in line with descriptions in the book. As children we never knew this but I worked it out on a later visit.
Sophie Neville playing Robinson Crusoe in the movie Swallows and Amazons (1974)
You can see the pine tree next to Captain Nancy is listing to one side in this shot.
One secret was that the night scenes set at the camp site were shot inside Mrs Batty’s barn at Bank Ground Farm.
Sophie Neville as Titty
The art department cleverly set up tents there and lit a real fire.
In 1973 there were no tall pines on Peel Island. A huge effort was made to take a lighthouse tree there, but the scenes ended up being shot on Friar’s Crag on the mainland above Derwentwater.
It was here that the ship’s lantern was hoisted up the tree.
A different location again was used for the lighthouse tree when the Swallows first spot the Amazons as the houseboat needed to be seen beyond them.
Simon West, Suzanna Hamilton, Sophie Neville and Stephen Grendon as the Swallows at the Lookout Point on Wild Cat Island
The secret is that this tree was no more than a log planted by the prop men. You only ever see its base.
The island first spied by the Swallows is Rampsholm on Derwentwater with the Borrowdale Fells rising behind it. It makes an iconic shot for the opening titles..
‘Swallows and Amazons’ 1974
You can also see it in the background of scenes shot near Cormorant Island.
Amazon moored near Cormorant Island on Derwentwater with Rampsholm in the distance
Rampsholm was portrayed as Wild Cat Island in the 2016 film adaptation of Swallows and Amazons produced by Nick Barton. You can see the photos and find out about the locations used on the National Trust website here
Arthur Ransome was also inspired by Blake Holme on Windermere, which he would sail past in Swallow II. It is a small island near the shore where the 1963 BBC drama was filmed but by 1973 it was felt to be too close to the caravan park on the mainland.
The Coniston Launch Company have information on how to visit Peel Island here. Remember that is it located quite far from Coniston and that you can’t camp on the island.
The Gondola on Coniston Water today, re-built and restored by the National Trust and powered by steam.
How old were you when you first read Arthur Ransome’s books? Did you have a favourite storyline or character?
My father devoured the Swallows and Amazons books as they were published in the 1930s. I was a slow reader but must have started the series aged about ten or eleven as I’d read seven of the twelve by the time we arrived in the Lake District to make the film in 1973. I enjoyed the practical aspects of the books and most readily identified with Mate Susan, although I counted all the characters my friends. Ransome published thirty other books. Some are heavy going, but I enjoyed his autobiography.
Sophie Neville as a child ~ photo: Martin Neville
Have you re-read the books since your childhood? If so, how has your perception of the books and the characters, in particular Titty, changed?
I’ve re-read most of the books in the Swallows and Amazons series and gain something new each time I read Swallows and Amazons, recently appreciating how important Titty’s imagination was to progressing the story. Her ideas take the plot forward. I ended up writing an article on how Swallows and Amazons can be seen as an allegory to missionary work undertaken by Arthur Ransome’s great aunts, one of whom received a Boxer arrow in her bonnet for her efforts in China.
Simon West and Sophie Neville on Peel Island in 1973
Do you think playing Titty influenced your own personality? If so, how?
Titty helped me to look beyond the saucepans and concentrate on creative endeavors rather than getting bogged down by management and administration. Acting in the film instilled in me a work ethic, responsibility and striving for excellence. Looking back, the part was a huge burden to lay on the shoulders of a twelve-year-old but it was worth it. The film has had an enduring quality and is still broadcast today. I find constant interest when I’m in social or sporting situations. For me, it has truly been a case of ‘Swallows and Amazons Forever!’
Sophie Neville as Titty and Stephen Grendon as Roger rowing to Cormorant Island
Do you remember what you wanted to be before you became an actress? Did a writing career ever interest you as a child?
I acted professionally from the age of ten until I was twenty-one, going into television production at the BBC before I became a writer. I’ve also worked as a safari guide, wildlife artist and – thanks to Titty – as a cartographer. You can see a few maps I drew on my website here.
I’ve undertaken quite a bit of charity work, fundraising and acting as webmaster for The Waterberg Trust. I can’t remember having strong career ambitions as a child but knew art to be my strongest subject. I have a visual brain that flits about. Keeping a diary and constant letter writing has helped me develop my writing and has given me a huge quantity of material to draw upon.
Suzanna Hamilton with Sophie Neville as Titty busy writing the ship’s log
What led/inspired you to become a producer?
Claude Whatham was a ground-breaking director who inspired all those around him, but directing became a viable option at Opera Camp, annual amateur productions we took part in over our summer holidays as teenagers. I began directing plays at university and developed a burning desire to direct for television, always ‘looking for the shot.’ By producing documentaries, I got to direct and put them together, editing voice-overs into a narrative arc. I would now like to adapt my own stories for film, so have Final Draft software on my laptop and Witness Films Ltd registered as a UK company, but although I have a couple of ideas out to tender, I’ve been concentrating on polishing my historical novels.
Director Claude Whatham with his cast of Swallows in 1973
I’ve read that before filming Swallows and Amazons, you were in a production of Cider with Rosie. Was playing Titty anything like your experience of playing Eileen Brown?
Claude Whatham directed bother Cider With Rosie (1971) and Swallows and Amazons (1974) so the experience was similar. I also appeared in a Weetabix commercial he made in the Cotswolds. All three productions were set in roughly the same period, but Titty’s costumes, designed by Emma Porteous, were easiest to wear. Cider With Rosie was the most daunting production as I had to play the piano, which required three days of intensive practice. Titty only had to draw, write and row a boat, which was much more my thing.
Titty working on the chart
Working with Virginia McKenna was amazing. Hugely inspirational and one of our most iconic British film actresses, she taught me a great deal – and still does.
Virginia McKenna playing Mother in Swallows and Amazons
What were your favourite and least favourite parts of the filming process?
We loved eating iced buns on set but hated hanging around in the cold. There was a lot of waiting for clouds to pass in the Lake District where I spent days clad in nothing but a thin cotton dress and enormous pair of navy blue gym knickers. I became more interested in the technical aspects of filming rather than acting, which for us children was more a case of ‘Let’s pretend.’
Claude Whatham showing the 16mm camera to Simon West and Sophie Neville. Sue Merry and Denis Lewiston can be seen behind us.
What were your first impressions of the Lake District? Had you ever been to the Lake District before filming Swallows and Amazons?
My parents had taken me to the Lake District as a three-year-old and loved going themselves, so it was a treasured destination in my family. I was dazzled by the lakes and mountains. Holly Howe (Bank Ground Farm) above Coniston Water is a very special place. I love gazing up into the Langdales and walking up into the fells. We were members of the Steam Boat Association, something I have written about in my book,Funnily Enough and I returned over Lockdown to appear in BBC Antiques Roadshow when Swallows and Amazons was profiled.
Sophie Neville aged three in the Lake District
How detailed was the diary you wrote during the filming? Had you ever thought about turning your notes into a book before you were persuaded to write The Secrets of Filming Swallows and Amazons?
I’ve put every page of my diary kept whilst making Swallows and Amazons on my blog at Sophieneville.net/swallowsandamazons My mother kept them, nagging me to write them up for years. Finding the time was difficult but I got there in time for the 40th Anniversary of the film’s release when StudioCanal brought out a DVD with an Extras package we appeared in.
What was the writing process like? eg. challenges
The challenge with adapting a diary is to eliminate inevitable repetition but something extraordinary or disastrous happened everyday whilst filming Swallows and Amazons. With so much filmed afloat or on islands, it was an incredibly difficult production to work on and made a story in itself. I enjoyed finally bringing the book to life and interacting with readers who so kindly sent in reviews and comments. Some love hearing what we all went on to do after the film. One reader did not want to know, but I included this as there were many interesting links and coincidences, especially since I worked on the BBC serialisation of Coot Club and The Big Six.
and favourite moments?
It is very exciting when the first paperbacks arrive. Every author enjoys unpacking that box.
The first edition of The Making of Swallows and Amazons
What is the most surprising thing you’ve learned as a writer?
I never guessed how many times I would need to re-work my books. Each one is read though and edited repeatedly, on and on until it flows well and reads flawlessly. Recording the audiobooks has opened up a whole new world. I narrated them myself, which was far more complicated than I imagined. It’s difficult to digest the fact that I am on Spotify and the audiobookstore. Funnily Enough is selling well on audible.
Do you have any events lined up to promote the book?
Yes, I list the events on my website sophieneville.net/events I’m hoping to be signing copies at the Royal Thames Yacht Club in April and Southampton International Boat Show in September.
I often give illustrated talks on how Swallows and Amazons was made and Q&As at cinema screenings. I’ve begun running workshops on photographing books at literary conferences, which is proving popular.
Giving a talk on how sailing sequences are filmed
Could you tell me a little bit about your other books?
Merry Christmas EveryoneandWrite Wellare anthologies to which I have contributed a chapter. I have written Forewords to four books, including the Czech version of Swallowdale by Arthur Ransome, and Swallows, Amazons and Coots by Julian Lovelock. I have a couple of non-fiction books waiting in the wings including The Secrets of Filming Coot Club. The first three chapters have already been included in DVD extras for the remastered version of the DVD.
Swallows And Amazons Forever! (Coot Club & The Big Six) SPECIAL EDITION [DVD]
Are you currently writing anything, either to do with Arthur Ransome or entirely separate?
I often write articles for magazines, which have connections to Swallows and Amazons, and have completed two historical novels, which are set in East Africa.
Finally, could you tell me about your other pursuits such as your litter picking, art and the combination of the two? Have art and conservation always interested you?
I have always been passionate about wildlife conservation, often giving talks about otters since they are the key indicator species we have been active in protecting as a family. I am taking part in the Race for Reading by litter picking whilst walking the coast to raise funds for the UK literacy charity SchoolReaders. I sometimes make collages out of the rubbish to attract attention to the composition of sea plastic. You can see examples of this and my paintings on Instagram @Sophienevilleauthor
Fifty years ago this day, auditions were being held at 10 Long Acre near Leicester Square in London for parts in the original film of Arthur Ransome’s book ‘Swallows and Amazons’ produced by Richard Pilbrow of Theatre Projects with the help of Neville C Thompsom and financed by Anglo EMI Films. It was to star Dame Virginia McKenna, but the leading roles were all for children under the age of thirteen who needed to be able to row and sail.
Richard Pilbrow and Neville C Thompson in the Lake District in 1973
I recently received a Tweet from the award-winning author Wendy Clarke who wrote: ‘Funnily enough (many, many years ago) I auditioned for the film role of Titty Walker… I would have been 12 then. I didn’t belong to a sailing club and couldn’t sail! Amazed I got the audition!’
When I asked if she could tell me more, she replied: ‘I have next to no memory of the day so wouldn’t have very much to say about it! I’m seeing my mum tomorrow and have asked her to bring her 1973 diary!’ Here it is:
Wendy Clarke’s mother, Joy Matthews, kept a diary every day of her life
‘This is where I went for the audition apparently. Was that the same place as you?’
It was! I remember the actual room.
Wendy explained that her mother, Joy Matthews, ‘has written a diary every day since I can remember (even if it’s just to say what the weather was like). Over the years it’s been very useful. She is now 91. I think this was the photo we sent!’
Wendy Clarke, aged 12, who auditioned for a part
‘I’ve just been reading your post and laughing at the escapades during the shooting of S&A. Can I really picture myself in your shoes… if I’m honest, no! I would have been too much of a scary cat. Especially when the mast broke!‘
A friend of mine also auditioned for ‘Swallows and Amazons’ but she couldn’t remember any details. Simon West, who ended up being cast as Captain John, told me that he met Richard and Neville for a first audition at his sailing club. His sister, Ginny, who was keen on acting, spotted a notice, but his father was amazed when he said he would also like to be considered for a role in ‘Swallows and Amazons’. Aged eleven, he was a little young for the part of John, but he was bright, practical with a passion for sailing. Kit Seymour and Lesley Bennett, who would eventually play the Amazons, also heard about the opportunity at their respective sailing clubs. Richard Pilbrow was very keen to find children who could sail and were able to swim well.
Kay Frances Ecclestone wrote to say she saw a, “poster in my sailing club. If it was in 1973, I’d have been 12 or 13 & had been sailing since I was 9 & just started helming in races.” This was at “Pagham Yacht Club which was where my family sailed… I didn’t (audition) although I seriously thought about it, but I didn’t want my long hair bobbed! I can remember clearly being at the Club noticeboard and excitedly reading the poster. I loved all the Arthur Ransome books and spent my first ever sailing prize that year (which was a book voucher) on buying the final in the series of Puffin paperbacks that I didn’t have. I have no idea why my Mum didn’t point out that my hair would grow back!” She is still racing her Scorpion dinghy today. “The original Puffins (with some replacement Puffins as the original fell apart from constant reading) in my AR book collection.”
Wendy wrote: ‘Second interview… so I couldn’t have done too badly! (Probably still hadn’t mentioned the small matter of not being able to sail)… I may not have got the part but least I got to go to Madame Tussauds and the Planetarium!’
My parents only received a letter asking if I would like to be considered for a part on 26th March 1973. It was addressed to my father who was on an export mission to South Africa and the envelope lay unopened in our hall for a while. Luckily it was printed with the Theatre Projects logo and Mum did open it. We collected Dad from Heathrow and drove straight to Leicester Square and walked through China Town. I remember Claude looking rather intense as he asked me questions. He wanted to know what my favourite television progamme was. I don’t think he asked me to read anything, which was just as well as I would have been hopeless. Did he ask if I could row or sail? I might have told him that I could swim well, as I’d just gained a bronze life saving medal, one of my few achievements to date.
I too was taken to Madam Tausauds when the ticket took you to the neighbouring Planetarium as a double bill. We possibly went after another visit to London for ‘Swallows and Amazons’.
Wendy returned to Theatre Projects’s offices in Long Acre for a third interview. She was doing well:
I was fortunate in that I’d worked for Claude Whatham in 1971 when he had cast me as Eileen Brown in the first BBC adaptation of Laurie Lee’s book ‘Cider With Rosie’, set in the 1920s. We later found out that Claude liked working with actors like Brenda Bruce who he had employed on previous occasions. I’m not sure when he joined the production of ‘Swallows and Amazon’ but it could have been late in the day as he was the second director taken on board.
Sophie Neville with Claude Whatham
We were told that 1,800 children had been considered for the six parts in ‘Swallows and Amazons’. Most of them had been members of sailing clubs. Claude had not wanted to visit stage schools but Suzanna Hamilton, who was cast as Mate Susan, had been going to the Anna Scher after school Theatre Club in Islington, which he may have visited. I had first met him at a drama club in Stroud in Gloucestershire in 1971.
Our final audition was held afloat, when about twenty children spent a weekend on a scout boat at Burnham-on-Crouch in Essex. This can’t have been an easy location for my parents to get to but Richard and Claude wanted to see how confident we all were on the water. We were taken dinghy sailing in wet and windy conditions. I remember Kit and her twin sister Alison Seymour facing the waves without a qualm. Richard bought his children Abigail and Fred along and I knew Sten Grendon who had also been in ‘Cider With Rosie’. We might have travelled to Essex together. The five girls up for the part of Titty all shared a cabin. I thought I was too old, too tall and too gangly. We were not aware of a screen test but Richard’s assistant Molly took super 8 cine footage.
Meanwhile, Wendy Clarke had been taken to Cumbria by her parents: ‘We’d gone to the Lake District to get a feel for it. Hadn’t heard anything about interview so Mum rang and, as she so very succinctly put, ‘that’s that’. That made me laugh.’
I noticed they had been to see the waterfall where we eventually shot a scene on the way to visit the charcoal burners.
Wendy wrote: ‘That May, mentioned in Mum’s diary extract, was my very first time in the Lake District. It was only years later, in my forties, that I visited again and fell in love with it. Maybe I’m destined to sail that boat after all! So lovely to ‘meet’ you (even though I probably hated you at the time for taking my part (which I would have been rubbish at anyway!) x
‘My husband has just said, ‘why did you not tell me any of this?’ I was probably just relieved I didn’t have to get in a boat!In later life I discovered I was better at novel writing than acting!’
She added: ‘I’ve just found something else that links us. We both entered our books into the Flash Fiction Novel Opening Competition. My debut psychological thriller What She Saw, which was set in the Lake District, won it in 2017!’ I had a story shortlisted in 2022, which was encouraging.
Claude Whatham with the children he eventually cast as the Swallows
I would love to hear from others who auditioned all those years ago – do email me or leave a comment below. I have written a little more about the gaining the part from my perspective on an earlier post here.
We are approaching the 50th Anniversary of the filming, which began on 14th May 1973 – only a few weeks after my first interview. I’ve been asked to give a few talks on ‘The Making of Swallows and Amazons’, which I will detail on my Events page. You can find different editions of my books listed here
Different editions of ‘The Making of Swallows and Amazons (1974) by Sophie Neville’
with an audiobook, narrated by me, Sophie Neville, available on all the usual platforms.
Virginia McKenna in ‘Swallows and Amazons’ (1974) immortalized by the film poster artist Arnaldo Putzu (c) StudioCanal
I was so thrilled to read that Virginia McKenna has been awarded a DBE for services to wildlife conservation and to wild animal welfare in the New Year Honours. When I last spoke to her, she was working tirelessly for the Born Free Foundation that she co-founded with her son Will Travers OBE.
I first met Dame Virginia in 1973 when she agreed to star in the first big screen adaptation of ‘Swallows and Amazons’, produced by Richard Pilbrow, directed by Claude Whatham and released by EMI Films in 1974.
Dame Virginia McKenna at the Langdale Chase Hotel on Windermere in 1973 – photo: Philip Hatfield
She played the part of my mother, Mary Walker. The movie was shot entirely on location in the Lake District where Arthur Ransome set his classic series of children’s books.
Dame Virginia McKenna at Bank Ground Farm in 1973 ~ photo: Daphne Neville (c)
The film has been broadcast on British television more than any other but it is when you watch it on the big screen that you can appreciate what made Virginia McKenna such a great star. Her face conveys a thousand tiny emotions that sweep you into a long-forgotten time when children were able to run free.
Dame Virginia McKenna on location at Bank Ground in Cumbria ~ photo: Daphne Neville (c)
Dame Virginia had originally been scheduled to come up to Cumbria for the first ten days of the seven-week shoot but, since wet weather closed in, she was obliged to return when the sun came out for the famous scene when Roger tacks up the field at Holly Howe to receive ‘despatches’ in the form of the cryptic telegram BETTER DROWNED THAN DUFFERS IF NOT DUFFERS WONT DROWN.
Dame Virginia McKenna with Ronnie Cogan ~ photo:Daphne Neville (c)
Dame Virginia enjoyed the discipline and focus of concentration on set and helped centre us from the start. If you watch other movies made at the time, such as ‘The Railway Children’ (1970), most of the adult actresses are wearing wigs with a district nineteen-seventies feel to their costume and make-up. ‘Swallows and Amazons’ owes its timeless appeal to the fact that Virginia simply had had lovely thick hair scooped into a bun and wore her original 1929 garments with grace.
Sophie Neville as Titty in 1973 – photo: Daphne Neville (c)
I played Titty Walker who inveigled her mother into playing Man Friday to her Robinson Crusoe when she came to visit Wild Cat Island. The sequences were shot on Peel Island on Coniston Water where Ransome was taken as a boy by his own parents and met the Collingwood family in the 1890’s. He later became a good friend of Dora Collingwood whose five children became the inspiration for the story ‘Swallows and Amazons’. Her third daughter, the dreamer, was nicknamed Titty.
Dame Virginia McKenna and Sophie Neville on Peel Island ~ photo: Daphne Neville (c)
It can not have been easy for Virginia to act with me, a child of twelve, while frying pemmican in butter on a camp fire. I was self-conscious about having lost an eye-tooth the night before and had rather a sore mouth and she later had to row from the island with a 35mm Panavision camera in her boat.
What I’d forgotten until recently was that Bill Travers watched the filming that day on Peel Island. He’d been a hero of mine ever since he played George Adamson in ‘Born Free’ and Gavin Maxwell in ‘Ring of Bright Water’ opposite Virginia. Their film, ‘An Elephant Called Slowly’, was released as a double bill with ‘Swallows and Amazons’.
You can see a few more behind-the-scenes photos here and I’ve written more about being Robinson Crusoe here.
‘They were very savage savages’ ~ Virginia McKenna with Sophie Neville ~ photo: Daphne Neville (c)
Looking back, I realise how fortunate we were to be able to play out the scenes from the iconic book in the actual locations, such as Bank Ground Farm where the Collingwood children had stayed one holiday as children, so they could visit their grandparents who lived at Tent Lodge next door and were too unwell to have them in the house.
Sten Grendon, Simon West, Virginia McKenna, Suzanna Hamilton and Sophie Neville at Bank Ground Farm, in 1973 ~ photo: Daphne Neville (c)
We were not so keen on the publicity photographs taken for the film even though Virginia tried to make it fun. Right from the the very first day of filming, she worked hard to bring us together as a cast, playing games such as ‘Consequences’ to help us laugh and relax, while concentrating on the task of bringing the book to life.
Suzanna Hamilton Sten Grendon, Sophie Neville, Dame Virginia McKenna and Simon West – photo Daphne Neville (c)
In 1980, I went to work for Ginny and her husband Bill Travers, as a housekeeper for a few months. She needed domestic help while she was appearing with Yule Brynner in ‘The King and I’ at the London Palladium, for which she won an Olivier Award for Best Actress in a musical. I looked after her youngest son, Dan, who later worked as a safety officer and consultant on the 2016 film of ‘Swallows and Amazons’. I met him at the cast and crew screening in Leicester Square.
Dan Travers and Sophie Neville in 2016
Ginny and I kept in touch. She was ever-supportive, encouraging me to keep raising funds for anti-poaching in South Africa, where she had been evacuated as a child during WWII.
It was only when I heard her speak at the Kempsford Literary Festival in the Cotswolds that I learnt that other ships in her convoy to Cape Town had been torpedoed and sunk crossing the Bay of Biscay. By some miracle, her ship had been delayed in Liverpool but she described finding the flotsam left by the ships that had been hit.
Having written a number of books herself, Ginny encouraged me to write, urging me to keep focused on one thing.
Her letters and cards also inspired me to keep raising funds for wildlife conservation in Africa.
A Christmas card design by Sophie Neville
In turn, I supported the Born Free Foundation, printing them greeting cards, donating a Christmas card design for their catalogue and a picture that was auctioned at the Big Cat Open Day in Kent.
Sophie Neville with Virginia McKenna in about 2001 – photo Daphne Neville (c)
In 2014, StudioCanal invited us both to appear in the DVD Extras package for the 40th anniversary DVD of ‘Swallows and Amazons’ (1974). While we were waiting for the crew, she told me that she’d appeared in more than thirty movies. I know she’s made a few more since then.
You can watch her interview here:
Interview with Virginia Mckenna
I released the first edition of ‘The Making of Swallows and Amazons’ for which Virginia graciously provided a quote. You can read the first few pages in the preview of the ebook, entitled ‘The Secrets of Filming Swallows and Amazons 1974’here
To hear Virginia and her son Will Travers talking about receiving her DBE, please click here for BBC Sounds
Virginia McKenna as Man FridaySophie Neville as Robinson CrusoeDame Virginia McKenna as Mary Walker in ‘Swallows and Amazons’ (1974) – copyright StudioCanal (c)
~ ‘The Secrets of Filming Swallows & Amazons 1974’~
Why is it that film posters have become more valuable than oil paintings ?
I have only just learned that the poster for the 1974 film of ‘Swallows and Amazons’ was painted by the Italian artist Arnaldo Putzu.
Thomas Connery enlightened me, writing: ‘Whether it be Space 1999, The Railway Children, The Rollers or Jaimie Sommers, he always captured likeness’ of stars faithfully and remarkably accurately.’
I agree. He portrayed Virginia McKenna well. I wonder how large the original painting was and if any of the sketches have survived.
Virginia McKenna in ‘Swallows and Amazons’ (1974)
I have been given brown eyes and look a bit worried but am hugely honoured to have been featured at all. Kit Seymour looked far more cheery.
Kit Seymour as Nancy in ‘Swallows and Amazons’1974
A version of the artwork was used on cinema tickets, establishing the green parrot as one of the stars. I do like the way that Roger’s head looks out from the oval. This one gives Amazon a dark sail and shows the Amazons adopting different poses from on the poster. Nancy has folded arms and Peggy has her hands on her knees. Her stance is comic but a bit improbable. They have the wind behind them. What if the boat had gybed?
Premier ticket for the Gala of ‘Swallows and Amazons’
The ticket matched the souvenir programme for the film premier held in Shaftesbury Avenue on 4th April 1974. You can see inside this in an earlier post here.
The programme from the 1974 premier of the movie ‘Swallows and Amazons’
I also have a large sepia poster given to my mother by a cinema. I can remember being too shy to ask for it, but she persevered. I haven’t seen another since.
As children, we all asked, ‘Who was sailing the boats?’ Magnus Smith, who now looks after Swallow, says that you can tie off the mainsheet and Susan could just about be controlling Swallow’s tiller, but Amazon looks a bit precarious. I don’t expect Arnaldo had any experience sailing dinghies. Ours were on a collision course, pitched at odd angles with rather high reefing points but he added a swashbuckling spirit, and a bit of white water spray, which is always exciting.
Arnaldo Putzu’s poster for the EMI film Swallows & Amazons (1974)
Arnaldo Putzu (1927-2012) began working for Rank in the 1950s and moved to London in 1967. He worked on the advertising material for many iconic movies including That’ll Be The Day, featuring David Essex and Ringo Starr, which Claude Whatham directed in 1972 prior to working on Swallows and Amazons for EMI Films. Is that the cover of the LP in the right hand corner? Claude Whatham gave me a copy. It included the song ‘Smoke Gets In Your Eyes’.
Poster design by Arnaldo Putzu
This one is bordered by fairground lights, where as ours had been given the feel of a treasure map, with the credits on the reverse, which was clever. The original lettering, trendy in the mid-seventies, faded from fashion for a while but came back on-trend for the 40th Anniversary. The painting was somehow ageless, being used for the DVD cover up by StudioCanal until 2016. They still sell it as a jigsaw puzzle or on a mug.
According to The Guardian, ‘Putzu created some of the most famous Italian film posters of the 50s and early 60s, painting such stars as Sophia Loren and Gina Lollobrigida.’ By 1973 ‘Putzu found himself the top-rated and most in-demand poster illustrator working in Britain. His output over the 1970s included oddball Hammer Horror fantasies such as Creatures the World Forgot and Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires. For the Get Carter posters he put the ruthless gangster (played by) Michael Caine into an unlikely floral jacket, demonstrating the whimsical humour that makes his best posters unforgettable.’ An original of this poster signed by Michael Caine was once valued by Sotherby’s at between £4,000 to £6,000.
Lesley Bennett, who played Peggy, still has her copy of the original film poster. She should probably get it signed by the actors. Others were pasted in London Underground stations, which I found alarming as a child.
I spied a framed poster on display at Windermere Jetty Steamboat museum, where it was featured on BBC Antiques Roadshow. There is more about the movie memorabilia, which was valued by the expert Marc Allum, here.
Sophie Neville at Windermere Jetty museum in 2020
Some originals have been for sale on this site here. Studiocanal sell various prints here.
Her letters and cards also inspired me to keep raising funds for wildlife conservation in Africa.
Sophie Neville 