It was a glorious summer day to film on Windermere. Conditions were perfect. My father had been asked to appear as a film extra in the scene in Swallows and Amazons when the the crew of Swallow narrowly miss colliding with a Lakeland steamer, that transporting tourists up and down the lake.
He was the tall dark native in a blazer and white flannels aboard the elegant MV Tern. A lovely way to spend a sunny morning in the Lake District. Until your daughter nearly drowns.
Simon West, Suzanna Hamilton, Sten Grendon and I were sailing the Swallow, on our voyage to the island. The twelve-foot dinghy was laden with camping gear and had no buoyancy. We did not wear life jackets.
At the start of the day, Swallow was attached to the camera pontoon so that Claude Whatham, the film director, could capture our dialogue on film. The camera crew then went aboard the Tern and we sailed free, with the safety boat some distance away, behind the camera. Other boats were keeping modern boats clear of the shot.
In the script Roger is down to say, ‘Steamship on the port bow’. I think what came out was, ‘Look John! Over there – steamer ahead!’
The Tern had a young, inexperienced skipper who was coping with a notch throttle, as you can see if you watch the movie.
My mother, who normally looked after us, had been obliged to drive to Bristol as she presented a weekly programme for HTV with Jan Leeming called Women Only and had been summons to promote the channel at the Bath and West Show. Dad must have been acting as our chaperone, responsible for our safety. A sailor with years of experience racing on the Solent, he took a keen interest in all the boating scenes, but I’m sure he didn’t have a chaperone’s licence. As we sailed towards him, on an intentional collision course, he foresaw that the larger vessel would take our wind.
My father watched from above as we only just turned in time, missing the steamer by a mere nine inches as her bow wave bounced us away and we sailed on. Ronnie Cogan had to buy him a whisky. They knew Sten could hardly swim, that any of us could have been entangled in the ropes and camping gear if Swallow had gone over. Clinker-built dinghies can sink quickly. It was a sunny day but the water was icy and very deep.
We did not know it at the time, but Dad nearly took me off the film. He had a meeting with the producer when he tested the BOAC life jackets we rehearsed in. Mine did not inflate.
Phil Brown, who belongs to the Arthur Ransome Group, said: “Tern was re-engined in 1957 with two diesel engines. Interestingly she was to have been named SWALLOW, but after a last-minute change, she was launched in June 1891 as TERN.”
It is said that children bounce. The next day, I sat school exams: geography, science and maths.
…‘Carry on Matron’. I wonder what near disasters they had on that film.
You can read more in the ebook ‘The Secrets of Filming Swallows and Amazons (1974)’ available from Amazon Kindle, Kobo, iTunes and all other online retailers:
Sophie Neville 