Titty Walker – Page 9 – Sophie Neville

Publicity photographs used to promote ‘Swallows and Amazons’ in the early 1970s – or how we hated having our photographs taken.

A publicty photograph for 'Swallows and Amazons' — Lesley Bennett, Suzanna Hamilton, Stephen Grendon, Sophie Neville, Virginia McKenna, Simon West and Kit Seymour gathered at Bank Ground Farm above Coniston Water for a publicity photograph. This one was taken by Daphne Neville.

When a television drama is ready to be transmitted there is a little publicity, but not much. Photographs might be taken for the cover of the Radio Times or a book to accompany the series, there might be a Preview at BAFTA to which journalists from the colour supplements and daily newspapers are invited, but, because the programme can be advertised on air, the actors are not intensively involved in the promotion. A feature film is very different.

Whilst we didn’t mind our photographs being taken while we were acting, and were fine about Mum clicking away with her little instamatic, we all hated having promotional photographs taken for ‘Swallows and Amazons’. They were usually so posed, set up by strangers who had no idea of the story. Virginia McKenna tried to make it fun for us but this is what we all felt about this photo-call:

Virginia McKena, Lesley Bennett, Stephen Grendon, Suzanna Hamilton, Sophie Neville, Simon West, Kit Seymour for 'Swallows and Amazons' — ~ How not to set up a publicity shot for a feature film ~

Why were the Amazons at Holly Howe? Why weren’t we with any of the boats? It was all terribly hot and difficult to squint into the sunshine. Only Mrs Batty’s dog seemed to be enjoying the attention.

The glare of the flash bulbs had started on day one. As Suzanna said in her diary, it made us feel ‘right twits.’

Claude Whatham was very good at explaining things to children. Looking back I wish that he had explained why the publicity was so important, but of course this was not his job and he would have been busy setting up the next shot. Certainly once the filming had finished we needed to know how important it was to promote the film. Richard Pilbrow really wanted to make a sequel, particularly an adaptation of Ransome’s twelfth book in the series – ‘Great Northern?’ He loves the Outer Hebrides and has a house on Col. I think we might have been a little keener about publicity shots if we had been told that the out-come could have been going up there for another summer. We would have been able to look forward to the possibility, but I don’t suppose he was at leave to even suggest it.

Journalists were introduced to us and looked after by our unit publicist Brian Doyle. Brian had worked on ‘Straw Dogs’ in 1971, the thriller that starred Dustin Hoffman, Susan George and Peter Vaughan. Susan George had of course played Titty, or ‘Kitty’ in the black and white BBC adaptation of Swallows and Amazons in the early 1960s. She was now regarded as glamorous sex symbol in British cinema – setting me rather a daunting example. Much easier for Brian to publicise her then me. She had a gorgeous figure with beautiful, thick, blonde, hair. I had what my sister still calls ‘tendrils’ and my mother calls ‘bits’. And was skinny with crooked teeth.

Brian was a lovely man. He had an amazing career, going on to work on films such as Ken Russell’s Valentino with Rudolf Nureyev and Leslie Caron, The Wild Geese, Alien, Educating Rita starring Michael Caine and Julie Walters and the James Bond movie For Your Eyes Only – with Roger Moore in the lead role . He even has his name on the credits of one of George Lucas’ Star Wars films.

This was the profile he wrote for me:

Brian adored Children’s literature. His own children came up to stay on location over their half-term and spent hours playing with my sisters, indeed they all appeared together as extras in the scenes shot at Bowness, and can be seen playing on the beach. Sadly Brian died, very suddenly, in 2008. His daughter told me that he left a collection of 35,000 books.

I still have Brian’s announcement:

At this the journalists moved in. From all over the place!

There was a very trendy women’s magazine in the early 1970s called Over 21, which the senior girls at school used to read. My mother was thrilled to find that Celia Brayfield had written a double page feature. I was amazed. I didn’t mind the picture of us gutting fish, but started reading with trepidation.

(If you can read this, I’m afraid page one comes second.)

Over Twenty One — Over 21 ~ December 1973

I read it, looked up the word etiolated in the dictionary and burst into tears.

Far worse was to come.

Off to Elstree Studios ~ to dub ‘Swallows and Amazons’ in 1973

The process of editing a film can be terrifying for a director. There is always the prospect of finding a sequence that will not cut together. But working with a good film editor is hugely creative and fulfilling. Problems do arise but great things can happen. Richard Pilbrow says in his new book, A Theatre Project that he was completely captivated by the process. ‘Moving a few frames from here to there, could change the whole emphasis of a scene.’ On the whole editing is an exciting, yet more relaxing time for the director than having to lead a massive crew out on location. And the actors are never around.

Sadly I never met Michael Bradsell who edited Swallows and Amazons. Like many others on our film crew he’d worked with Claude Whatham before on the movie That’ll be the Day. He went to on edit many great movies; Local Hero for Bill Forsyth and David Puttman, Henry V for Kenneth Branagh and Wilde, which starred Stephen Fry. Oh, to think that he hauled my image over his Steenbeck.

I remember that when I saw Henry V at the Curzon Cinema in Mayfair, in 1989, there was something terribly wrong with the projection. The lip-sync was out. Kenneth Branagh’s voice was delivered after his lips started moving. It was most off-putting. I knew all about lip-sync because I had been involved in dubbing movies since I was twelve. For, it was back in 1973, when Claude Whatham was working on the sound track for Swallows and Amazons that, rather unusually, I was summons to the EMI Elstreee Studios.

Sophie Neville at Elstree Studios in 1973 — Sophie Neville at the EMI Elstree Studios on Friday 20th July 1973

Visiting Elstree Studios was exciting. I remember meeting the Dubbing Mixer and being there with the other Swallows, but I don’t think we saw anyone else in the cast. Suzanna came along with her nine-year-old cousin who was called Seymour – a very bright boy who was wearing stripey canvas trousers like a deck chair. Mummy had bought me a smart new dress that was the height of fashion. Looking at the photograph I rather wish she hadn’t bothered.

We were led into a huge dubbing theater hung with long black drapes around a high white screen. Claude explained that he needed to re-record our dialogue for various sequences. This was because the original soundtrack had been spoilt by the sound of motorboats, car horns or simply the wind. At first we were handed dubbing scripts, but it was difficult to look at them as well as the screen. As we could still remember our lines we didn’t need them. Instead, we stood in front of microphones on spindly stands and sung out the words we knew as sections of the film were projected. To help up a thick black cue-line would pass across the scene. When it hit one side it was time to start speaking. This was to ensure that our voices would be in sync with out lips. It could help, it could be off-putting. In the end we just went for it naturally. After each ‘take’ the film would be re-wound and we would go-again. There is a scene in at the Amazon Boathouse when John scrunches up the Amazon’s message and throws it in the water. It amused us to see this in reverse.

The post-syncing was a chance to improve on our performances and diction. Some time was spent in re-recording our sea shanty, Adieu and Farewell to you Fair Spanish Ladies. I made a mistake here that I have always regretted. Instead of singing sweetly and true I went for volume, which was not only unnecessary, but disastrous. It is acceptable on the film when you can see I am singing out on the water but sounds horrid on the LP. We had no idea at the time that EMI were going to bring out an album to accompany the movie, but they did.

Visiting the charcoal burners — Jack Woolgar as Old Billy confronting Simon West, Suzanna Hamilton, Sophie Neville and Stephen Grendon as the Swallows who were visiting the charcoal burners.

The one line that I simply could not replicate was the dialogue Titty delivered when saying goodbye to the charcoal burners: ‘Thank you so much for letting us see your lovely serpent.’ We went over it again and again, but Jack Woolgar wasn’t at the dubbing studio and I couldn’t do it without looking at him. The charm and sincerity of the moment was not something I could reproduce. In the end Claude said he just had to use the original despite the sound of the roaring wind.

I remember being at Elstree for a week. Mum has 20th July, 2nd and 3rd August (although that looks crossed out,) then EMI 6th and 7th August, marked in her diary. At lunch time we were shown around the back lot, where Sten refused to leave the wreckage of a WWII plane and the film stages. David Niven was playing Count Dracula in Vimpira, literally kissing the lovely actress Teresa Graves in the coffin as we watched from the edge of the set.

After we had left Elstree, sound effects would have been added. Richard Pilbrow said that, ‘Bill Rowe was our masterful sound mixer, working magic with birdsong, a rustle of leaves, a broken twig – all the tiniest details that went into making the story spring to life.’ When I watch the film of Swallows and Amazons now I so admire the technique of using sound to illustrate the soaring of Titty’s imagination. The storm bell on Robinson Crusoe’s ship heralds the roaring wind and lends reality to scene when I play the shipwrecked sailor, dragging my parched body towards the island campsite. You can hear parrots and monkeys in the palm trees. I am sure Arthur Ransome would have approved.

Bill Rowe, I read, was the director of Post Production and Sound at Elstree Studios until he died at the age of sixty in 1992. He’d worked on an amazing number of movies winning an Oscar for The Last Emperor and BAFTAs for The Killing Fields, The French Lieutenant’s Woman and Alien with nominations for Chariots of Fire, A Clockwork Orange, The Mission and Batman. And to think, we had been playing Hide and Seek behind his sound drapes.

John and Susan sailing past Peel Island — 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, where she has been left alone with the telescope. Sound of Swallow’s moving parts was added later by the dubbing editor Bill Rowe at Elstree Studios.

One thing that really worried me was that I saw Swallow lying outside Elstree Studios. She looked forlorn, a ship out of water. Looking back on it they must have needed her to record sound effects. I was concerned that we would not see her again, but we did. The next time we Swallows gathered was to publicize the film. We found ourselves climbing aboard Swallows again, albeit in a very different location from the Lake District. And this I will write about in my next post.

Sophie Neville not at 10 Downing Street but on the lot at Elstree Studios — Not at 10 Downing Street but on the Lot at Elstree Studios for the BBC Drama Directors’ studio course. I am wearing green.

Later in life, when I worked in television production, I spent many months at Elstree Studios at Borehamwood. However these were the BBC Studios on the other side of the road where we recorded endless episodes of Eastenders and the wartime romance Bluebell, programmes that were never post-synced.

'Bluebell' the BAFTA award winning BBC serial — Working on the Parisian set of ‘Bluebell’ constructed on the lot at Elstree.

I’d drive past the old EMI/ATV Studios and never breathe a word that I’d worked there once as an actress.

BBC Studio Director's Course at BBC Elstree Studios — Sophie Neville, in striped top, on the BBC Studio Director’s Course at the BBC Elstree Studios, Borehamwood in 1990

Sophie’s books about working in film and television are available online.

Swallows in Egham ~ a pick-up day, filming ‘Swallows and Amazons’ in 1973

Simon West, Stephen Grendon, Suzanna Hamilton and Sophie Neville as the Walker children dressed as they arrived at Holly Howe at the start of their holiday in the Lake District — Simon West, Stephen Grendon, Suzanna Hamilton and Sophie Neville playing the Walker children, as they arrived at Holly Howe at the start of their summer holiday in the Lake District ~ photo: Daphne Neville

While I had been at home with my family, Claude Whatham had been busy in the film editing suite putting ‘Swallows and Amazons’ together with Michael Bradsell. They had previously worked together on ‘That’ll be the Day’. Our Continuity supervisor Sue Merry must have known Michael too, as he’d edited Ken Russell’s film ‘The Boyfriend’. Claude found that they definitely needed the sequence when the Walker children run up to the Peak at Darien and see Wild Cat Island for the very first time.

It is the scene that heralds the start of the adventure and indeed the opening titles of the movie. Richard Pilbrow had always wanted it to be shot at Friar’s Craig on Derwent Water. There is a postcard of this headland with notes written on it by Arthur Ransome who labelled it for the first illustrator of the Jonathan Cape edition of the book, and it seemed just right for the Peak of Darien despite being a long way from Bank Ground Farm. Although there had been two attempts made to record the handful of shots needed as the evening light lit up the islands across the water, we had always been held up and reached the spot too late in the day.

Richard must have already been over budget but the money was found to mount a pick-up shoot at Runnymede near Egham in Surrey on Saturday 8th September. We were told that King John signed the Magna Carta under an oak tree there.

We loved the idea of meeting up again. Claude said he made an effort to get as many members of the same crew together as possible so it wouldn’t seem strange.

Sophie Neville with Sten Grendon, Jane Grendon, Claude Whatham and Neville Thompson — Sophie Neville looks on as Stephen Grendon organises his costume helped by Jane Grendon with Claude Whatham and Neville C Thompson.

The one thing that was striking was how much our hair had grown. We all needed a trim. Sten needed a full hair cut. Luckily Ronnie Cogan was free.

Sten and Ronnie Cogan — Stephen Grendon playing Roger Walker having his hair cut by Ronnie Cogan

Neville Thompson had even managed to book the same Make-up caravan. It was here that Peter Robb-King the make-up designer toned down our summer tans in an effort to match the skins of the pale Walker children who’d been sitting in the railway compartment with their mother at the beginning of the film.

Photograph of movie hair-stylist Ronnie Cogan giving a boy a short back and sides hair cut — Ronnie Cogan giving Sten Grendon a hair-cut. I was in the Make-up caravan beyond.

The ironic thing was that it was Make-up that held us up when we were first failed to record the scene in the Lake District. It took so long for Peter Robb-King to sponge down all four of us with pale foundation that the sun had set before we arrived on location. I can remember my mother hurrying him along, claiming it was ridiculous as it was too dark to see our freckles anyway. I was keen on the importance of continuity and had contradicted her. Claude couldn’t believe how long it had taken us to change. He had been furious when we turned up late but tried hard not to let us think it had been the fault of us children.

Simon West playing John Walker and Suzanna Hamilton as Susan Walker

There was no Peak of Darien at the farm in Surrey, but a field had been found where we could run up to an oak tree. We just had to pretend we were looking out over the lake.

If you click on the shot below it should take you to a post I wrote on the opening locations of the film. Scroll down and you’ll see the shot of us running down the meadow at Bank Ground farm. This was the shot Claude had to cut from to the sequence that we were currently filming. Scroll right down to the end of the post and you’ll see me on Friar’s crag looking exhausted after a long day’s filming. I am so glad we were not able to continue that day.

Richard Pilbrow with the Swallows in Egham — Director Claude Whatham with Sophie Neville, Stephen Grendon, Suzanna Hamilton and Simon West. Producer Richard Pilbow looks on ~ photo: Daphne Neville

Although he had a freelance camera operator in a stripy shirt who we did not know, we met our Director of Photography Denis Lewiston who was setting up the shot with Claude under the oak tree, using a 35mm Arriflex camera on ‘short legs’.

If you click on the photo above you should get to a Post written about a location that was set on Derwentwater near Friar’s Crag – or on part of Friar’s crag that will give you an idea of what the real Peak of Darien would look like. However, the day in September in Egham was hotter than any day we’d experienced in Cumbria. Claude was soon wearing my straw hat.

Claude in my hat in Egham — DoP Denis Lewiston, Claude Whatham, Sophie Neville, Suzanna Hamilton and Simon West with Gordon Hayman behind the 35mm Arriflex Camera ~ photo: D.Neville

If you click on the photo above it will take you to the day on 8th July when we had tried and failed to shoot this scene despite rushing around.

Although we look a bit hot and stiff in these photographs that my mother took when we were lining up the shots I think that the movie was probably made by this scene. We had learnt how to magic-up performances by this stage. If you watch the finished film our faces can be seen glowing with excitement. This was also partly because we were happy to be together again, on a sunny day in a lovely place.

My close-up in Egham — Sophie Neville playing Titty Walker with Stephen Grendon as Roger Walker with Gordon Hayman, Denis Lewiston and Claude Whatham behind the camera

I’ve just realised this image of Titty, clutching her school hat as she looked out over an entirely imaginary lake, was the last actual shot recorded. Soon my close-up was ‘in the can’ and ‘a wrap’ was called. It had been the 1003rd slate of the movie. We celebrated with tins of Fanta rather than champagne.

Since the first shot in the compartment of the steam train as it travelled between Haverthwaite Station and Windermere, recorded back in May, I had put on about seven pounds and grown taller than my elder brother and sister.

The Swallows at Egham — Daphne Neville with Stephen Grendon, Suzanna Hamilton, Sophie Neville, Jane Grendon and Simon West

I can’t help thinking that this photograph is symbolic of the futures we were to step into. Sten Grendon is holding an apple, Suzanna seems to have a framed photograph and I’d been given a roll of camera tape. What Simon West is holding is something of a mystery, but it is tightly clasped.

Simon West writing his address for me on a scrap of paper

Soon it was time to go. We changed back into our own clothes and said goodbye. Mummy took me on to see Robin Clarke, a music editor we had met on holiday who had worked on the movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

It wasn’t long before we saw Claude again. Once he’d finished editing the film we were called to the work on the sound. The movie was still in the making.

Sophie Neville saying goodbye to Claude Whatham in Egham — Sophie Neville saying goodbye to director Claude Whatham. The film actress Teresa Graves is speaking to Neville Thompson in the back ground.

There are now three editions of the illustrated book on ‘The Making of Swallows and Amazons’, all available from online retailers and libraries worldwide .

'The Making of Swallows and Amazons (1974) by Sophie Neville' — Different editions of ‘The Making of Swallows and Amazons (1974) by Sophie Neville’

You can read the first three chapters for free here:

‘We sailed the length of the lake’ ~ filming Swallows and Amazons on Derwentwater on 9th July 1973

Sophie Neville as Titty Walker with Stephen Grendon as the Boy Roger and Simon West playing Captain John Walker on Derwentwater — Sten Grendon as the Boy Roger, Sophie Neville as Able-seaman Titty and Simon West playing Captain John, Derwentwater in 1973 ~ photo: Daphne Neville

Monday morning on Derwentwater in the Lake District and we had no lessons. The Cumbrian schools had broken-up for the summer holidays, so we were free to play, or as freely as you can be when you are wearing a costume that can not under any circumstances get wet or dirty.

Terry Smith, Sophie Neville and Daphne Neville on location in the Lake District — Behind-the-scenes: wardrobe master Terry Smith with Sophie Neville and her chaperone outside the Make-up caravan on location near Keswick.

Although Claude Whatham was operating with a skeleton crew our wardrobe master Terry Smith was still getting us into the right kit for each scene. My mother said that he either got muddled or distracted at one point as a whole sequence was shot with all of us wearing the wrong costumes. It caused quite a fuss. It would have been expensive in time and money. She thought he had been given the sack, but this doesn’t appear to have been the case.

Sophie Neville, Simon West and Stephen Grendon in the Lake District — Simon West, Stephen Grendon and Sophie Neville whilst on location in the Lake District in 1973 ~ photo: Daphne Neville

One of the secrets of filming ‘Swallows and Amazons’ is that, on this day, Terry Smith adapted Ronald Fraser’s costume and white colonial pith helmet for our property master Bob Hedges to wear. It was he that fired the cannon on the houseboat.

You can tell which shots of the voyage to the island were taken that day as I was missing an eyetooth. One moment it’s there. In the next shot it’s missing.

A boatman working on Derwent Water in 1973 — Clive Stewart our boatman with the houseboat and the dinghies, Amazon and Swallow, on Derwentwater in 1973 ~ photo Daphne Neville

Clive Stewart of the Keswick Launch Co. was one of a number of Cumbrian boatman who worked on the support crew for the filming of Swallows and Amazons in 1973. They played a vital role not only ferrying us to the location but acting as safety boats and keeping modern boats out of shot.

Titty John and Susan on the voyage — Sophie Neville, Simon West and Suzanna Hamilton sailing Swallow

The boatmen were certainly busy once the wind got up on this particular day. Claude Whatham handed over the direction of montage sequence of the Swallows’ first voyage to the island to David Blagden, our sailing director. At last we had the sun and wind for it – if not too much wind. By now were were pretty experienced but the little ship was challenged to the full as wind gusted down from Cat Bells.

Suzanna Hamilton wrote in her diary that, ‘…it was very rough. We thought we were going to do a Chinese jibe but it was OK. We sailed the whole length of the lake.’ What must have been tricky for Simon West was that he had Denis Lewiston, the lighting-cameraman, on board with a 16mm camera, as well as all our clumsy camping equipment. You can see me heaving the crockery basket past the camera on the movie. The result was probably the most exciting sequence in the film, or so my father later declared.

Jean McGill, our unit nurse and driver, was ever around to scoop us up and keep everyone cheerful when we came in feeling a bit chilly.

Terry Smith and Jean McGill on Derwentwater — Wardrobe master Terry Smith wearing the safety officer’s wetsuit with unit nurse and driver Jean McGill on Derwentwater. Kit Seymour is sitting behind them to their right ~ photo: Daphne Neville

In the evening Richard Pilbrow, his girl-friend Molly Friedel and his assistant Liz Lomax came up to our guesthouse in Ambleside to show us the cine footage they took on the sailing weekend that had been the final audition for our parts. This had taken place in March at sailing town of Burnham-on-Crouch in the Maldon District of Essex when were stayed on board a moored vessel and went out sailing with David Blagden in quite grey, chilly weather. The conditions had been pretty rough then. I remember telling Claude that we ‘helmed like anything’. I felt terribly embarrassed later when I realised that ‘helmed’ was not exactly what I had meant to say but I don’t think Claude was familiar with sailing terminology at the time. He would have like the spirit of what I said.

Sophie Neville playing Titty in 1974 — Titty’s missing tooth

It had been choppy but none of our days had been as rough as David Blagden’s Atlantic crossing, famously made in his tiny orange-hulled 19 foot yacht Willing Griffin. I wonder if the footage of this still exists?

Richard Pilbrow must put me right on this, but the theory is that he acquired Swallow that weekend. We were told at the London Boat Show that she was originally the all-purpose run-around dinghy built by and for William King & Sons’ boatyard at Burnham-on-Crouch in the 1930s. She has the initials WK carved on her transom. They designed her well – a stable little ship with plenty of room inside and no centre-board to worry about. You can see detailed photographs of her on the Sailing Swallow website.

The story continues…. you can read more in The Secrets of Filming Swallows and Amazons available as an ebook for about £2.99 on all the usual platforms:

‘Four out of six missed him and hit me’ ~ filming ‘Swallows and Amazons’ on 8th July 1973.

Sten Grendon irriating Ronnie Fraser — Stephen Grendon sitting on top of Ronald Fraser during a break in the filming of ‘Swallows and Amazons’ on Derwentwater ~ photo: Daphne Neville

I am sure that as children we could be intensely irritating, especially when we were hanging around with not enough to do. Although we had found our lessons tiresome, they’d kept us occupied and out of mischief. It was now a Sunday, right the end of the summer term and the red double-decker school bus was no longer with us. Neither was the large camera box that the crew put Sten in to keep him quiet.

Sten Grendon in the camera box — Stephen Grendon resting between set-ups in the Panavision camera box, wearing the Grip’s cap and eating a bun ~ photo: Daphne Neville

Although the day was full of essential activity, there was no major scene to focus on. It was the last day Ronald Fraser could be with us. Claude Whatham must have had vital shots to pick up so that the scenes set in the houseboat would cut together. It was probably just as well there was no dialogue to record. Ronnie, it has to be said, was a little the worse for wear. Although he managed to play the accordion as Swallow and Amazon sailed into the distance, Uncle Jim was still drunk from the wrap party two days before.

Then, as a twelve-year-old I wrote:

“…now and again Captain Flint played his accordion to camera. They told us to lie on the floor. Ronald Fraser started throwing books at Sten. Four out of six missed him and hit me. One hit me in the face and the cover fell off. The others he hit. Then he threw all the parrot’s food over us. Plus the tin. ” Scandalous!

No animals were harmed. When the parrot’s cage was lowered into Swallow there was no parrot inside. Instead there were four children finding sunflower seed that had made its way inside their costumes.

Swallow about to leave the Houseboat on Derwentwater — Simon West, Suzanna Hamilton and Sophie Neville in Swallow about to leave Captain Flint’s Houseboat. Property Master Bob Hedges is on deck approaching the cannon. Amazon’s white sail can be seen the other side ~ photo: Daphe Neville

My father was not pleased to hear that Ronnie Fraser had flung books around the cabin, hitting me in the face. ‘They were valuable first editions!’

Stephen Grendon, Sophie Neville, Suzanna Hamilton and Simon West with the parrot's cage — Stephen Grendon, Sophie Neville, Suzanna Hamilton and Simon West with the parrot’s cage, standing-by to sail away from the Houseboat ~ photo: Daphne Neville

Our little ship still had much work to do. David Blagden was with us, making plans with Claude and Denis Lewiston to film more shots of us sailing in, what we hoped, would be sunny weather.

The Swallows about to lower sail having come alongside Captain Flint's Houseboat — The Swallows about to lower sail having come alongside Captain Flint’s Houseboat ~ photo: Daphne Neville

Claude was desperate to get the shot of us arriving for the first time at the Peak of Darien ~ Friar’s Craig on Derwent Water. He wanted to capture this just before the sun went down. Peter Robb-King, the Make-up Artist was insistent that the tans we had naturally gained over the summer be toned down. He had no help and preparation time had not been scheduled. Dabbing the four of us with a tiny sponge took ages. I don’t know why he bothered with my legs, as I really hadn’t changed colour, but he was a perfectionist. Mum kept saying that it was getting so dark no one would ever notice. ‘Who’s going to be looking at your legs?’ as Nancy Mitford’s nanny would have said.

By the time we were ready the sun had set. Claude missed the chance to film this vital scene. Again. It was the second time we had arrived too late for it to be captured.

Did we feel silly travelling back to Ambleside in full costume? We were cheeky and full of beans one minute, shy the next. It is difficult to reach the balance between becoming confident and being over confident when you are twelve years old. But, we were learning, and we learnt a great deal on those days spent out on the water in the Lake District.

This home-movie footage my mother shot shows the actors and crew relaxing after lunch on the shore of Derwentwater in Cumbria. Suzanna Hamilton, Kit Seymour, Simon West and Sophie Neville wait for Ronald Fraser, playing Captain Flint, who walks down the jetty and leaves for his houseboat with hair stylist Ronnie Cogan and make-up artist Peter Robb-King. Sophie Neville can be briefly seen sitting in the motor boat wearing the yellow Donny Osmond hat. Daphne Neville appears at the end presumably having handed her camera to someone else.

You can read more about our adventures in different edition of ‘The Making of Swallows and Amazons’ available online and from Waterstones. Do, please leave a review.

Sophie Neville will be giving talks on the making of Swallows and Amazons at the Southampton International Boat Show this September.

Southampton International Boat Show 2023

The Wrap Party ~ trying to film ‘Swallows and Amazons’ on 6th July 1973

Sophie Neville as Titty Walker on Derwentwater ~ photo: Daphne Neville

Before Jean McGill arrived at the Oaklands Guesthouse in Ambleside, to transport us to the location, a letter arrived. It was from my Daddy who somehow must have found time to post a quick note while taking my sisters to school. We were, indeed, all looking forward to the wrap party to be held that evening at the Langdale Chase Hotel. There was much to do before it started. Twelve scenes are listed on the Unit Call Sheet and it was pouring with rain.

It was Ernie Russell who was in charge of the action and support boats. Does anyone know where he is now? The day proved difficult and wet, but everyone was in high spirits. It was the last day for most.

It was a great wrap party. Suzanna noted that it didn’t start until 10 O’clock. 10pm! Very grown up. It must have been the talk of Ambleside. Mum took off her Donny Osmond hat and wore a long high-collared dress in pink gingham. I wore the brown and black velvet pinafore dress Mummy and Daddy had bought me in Carnaby Street when we went up to London for my first interview with Claude Whatham. Everyone was kind and jolly.

For a while the party revolved around us. We enjoyed the dancing so much didn’t want to leave, but it was evident that the adults wanted to start to play. As you can imagine, no one could persuade us to go to bed. Jean McGill saved the evening by organising a conga. Having led a sheltered life I had never danced the conga before and thought it the greatest fun. Luckily the Carnaby Street dress was well designed for the job. We conga-ed around the Langdale Chase Hotel with the entire crew. Somehow we ended up conga-ing into her mini-bus and were whisked back to Oaklands before midnight.

The Lady Deerwentwater starring in 'Swallows and Amazons' as Captin Flint's Houseboat — Ronald Fraser as Captain Flint on his houseboat, played by The Lady Derwentwater, with set dresser Ian Whittaker, photographer Albert Clarke and the props guys ~ photo: Daphne Neville

This clip shows Jean McGill (in red) with Sophie Neville (in blue tracksuit top) and Albert Clarke our stills photographer. Our Chaperone, Jane Grendon, is teasing Terry Needham, the second assistant director. Simon West, playing John Walker, stands by Derwentwater in costume. Neville C Thompson (in yellow shirt) smiles at our glamorous tutor Margaret Causey while Graham Ford and others get into a support boat. Actor Ronald Fraser walks towards the lake and waiting boat, followed by hairdresser Ronnie Cogan. You can see Swallow in the background whilst Jean McGill chats to my mother, Daphne Neville who is wearing her yellow, flowery Donny Osmond hat. She originally had a pink flowery version, which Claude admired (and wore himself) but it blew off and sunk to the bottom of the lake.

You can read about the adventures we had making the film in one of the editions of ‘The making of Swallows and Amazons’ available online and from Waterstones where it has been reviewed here:

Sophie Neville will be giving illustrated talks about sailing afloat on the Foredeck Stage at the Southampton International Boat Show in September 2023

Speaker Sophie Neville — Sophie Neville speaking on the Foredeck Stage

Walking the Plank – The Battle of Houseboat Bay, ending the original movie ‘Swallows and Amazons’ as recorded in my diary on 5th July 1973

Filming on location in Cumbria fifty years ago.

Our designer Simon Holland was rowing Swallow without his shirt. Producer Richard Pilbrow was hanging on the side of the houseboat clad in denim. Terry Smith, the wardrobe Master, was busy drying off Ronald Fraser’s wet costume on the aft deck. The white pith helmet was being touched up by the unit painter. Unions must have been strict back then.

Ronald Fraser with Sophie Neville, Kit Seymour, Simon West, Suzanna Hamilton and Lesley Bennett — The original film Swallows and Amazons (1974)

Director Claude Whatham was making the most of the rare but glorious Lake District weather to complete the scene on the foredeck of the houseboat. The Swallows, the Amazons and their Uncle Jim, who had just been made to walk the plank and was now dripping wet, waited patiently while I delivered Titty’s immortal line: ‘Captain Flint – we’ve got a surprise for you.’ Not quite the same as in Arthur Ransome’s book but it worked well.

War cries from everyone…

Kit Seymour, who was playing Nancy, must have dropped on top of us all.

The cabin of the houseboat had been turned into a dressing room for Ronald Fraser.

A long day’s filming out on the lake.

My mother took a series of photographs showing how the crew managed in the limited space:

Battle of Houseboat Bay ~ The film director and camera crew afloat — Director Claude Whatham in blue denim talks to DoP Denis Lewiston. Terry Needham stands on deck ~ Photo: Daphne Neville

The 16mm camera in the grey punt.

Battle of Houseboat Bay ~ The film crew afloat — The film crew with Director Claude Whatham talking to Simon West, Leseley Bennett, Ronald Fraser and Stephen Grendon on the foredeck ~ photo: Daphne Neville

I think the chap in the swimming trunks is a boatman from Keswick. Does anyone recognise him?

http://www.amazon.com/Swallows-Amazons-Region-Dinah-Sheridan/dp/B00008IARQ/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1344950585&sr=8-4&keywords=Swallows+and+Amazons+DVD — DoP Denis Lewiston with his assistant camerman, Sue Merry in black Claude Whatham and the film cast ~ photo: Daphne Neville

The 16mm camera was noisy. This would have been the shot taken when I said we just went through the movements.

Battle of Houseboat Bay ~ The film crew5 — Molly Pilbrow in the plaid jacket with the cast and crew on the houseboat ~ photo: Daphne Neville who was acting as chaperone.

And all the time Molly Pilbrow was keeping an eye on the script. I don’t think there was any room for Graham Ford. He was looking after the base camp:

Graham Ford in Derwentwater — Production Manager Graham Ford in Derwent Water: photo ~ Daphne Neville

It had been a productive day; a battle well fought, the treasure returned.

You can read the full story in ‘The Making of Swallows and Amazons (1974)’ available from The Nancy Blackett shop.

the-making-of-swallows-and-amazons-audiobook-cover

and on Kindle here:

The Battle of Houseboat Bay on Derwentwater, 5th July 1973

Battle of Houseboat Bay ~ Sophie Neville as Titty Walker in Swallow — Sophie Neville at Titty Walker in *Swallow* on Derwentwater in 1973: photo~ Daphne Neville

Sunlight on the water tells the story of my life. At last the skies cleared and fine weather we had hoped and prayed for settled over the Lake District. It enabled us to film the climax of Arthur Ransome’s adventure set on the high seas of Cumbria. It was the day we went to war. The day the Swallows and the Amazons took on Captain Flint at the Battle of Houseboat Bay.

Suzanna's Diary — An extra page in Suzanna’s Diary for 5th July 1973

‘There won’t be a leeside to him, ‘ said Captain John. ‘The houseboat’ll be lying head to wind. Our plan will be to reach into the bay, and then come head to wind one on each side of him.’ Arthur Ransome wrote. ‘If you’ll lay yourself aboard his starboard side, I’ll bring Swallow up on his port.’

the cover of the French DVD of 'Swallows and Amazons'(1974) — Caught shrieking on the cover of the French DVD of ‘Swallows and Amazons'(1974)

To my everlasting regret, while some of the others managed to yell, ‘Swallows and Amazons Forever!’ my battle cry was, ‘Kill, kill!’ The script was pretty sketchy. I have the original and the re-writes, not that I saw either on the day.

This is the revised version of David Wood’s screenplay typed up on 16th June ~

And suddenly I was up on the roof of the houseboat with the Siamese flag~

Simon West and Sophie Neville on Captian Flint's Houseboat — Simon West as Captain John and Sophie Neville as Titty taking Captain Flint’s Houseboat on Derwentwater : photo~ Daphne Neville

We loved capturing Ronald Fraser and of course making him walk the plank. He was very good about it. Here is the shot used for the cover of the 1977 VHS issue of the movie made available in the USA ~

Actually filming this was tricky. The entire film crew with all their equipment including two cameras, two huge reflector boards and a second costume for Ronald Fraser, had to be accommodated either on the house boat or other craft on the bay in Derwentwater. It was a squash. And there were no loos.

Battle of Houseboat Bay ~ The film crew on Derwentwater — The film crew on Captin Flint’s Houseboat on Derwentwater. Ronald Fraser, with a rope around his chest, can just be seen between the reflector boards: photo~ Daphne Neville

The good thing was that by now we were all pretty experienced with the procedure of getting out to what amounted to an inaccessible location with no lavatories – and certainly no room for tea urns. Oddly, space was made for a stand-in wearing a yellow bikini top. One stand-in. How could one stand-in be of any use when there were seven actors onboard?

Battle of Houseboat Bay ~ The film crew record Captin Flint walking the plank — Director Claude Whatham stands on the plank whilst Bobby Sitwell and DoP Denis Lewiston prepare the 35mm Panavision camera on board the Houseboat: Photo~ Daphne Neville

My mother recorded quite a bit of 8mm cine footage that day, showing life behind the scenes ~

The scraggy looking man alone in a glass fibre boat with a paddle was the chap who drove the mobile lavatories from one location to another and yet managed to persuade the girls of Ambleside that he was producing the film.

Sophie Neville with be giving illustrated talks on ‘The Making of Swallows and Amazons'(1974) at the Southampton International Boat Show on 15th, 16th, 21st and 24th September 2023. We’re hoping Amazon, the original dinghy, will be there too.

Inspirational speaker, Sophie Neville — Southampton International Boat Show 2022

You can read more about the adventures had in these paperbacks

and the multi-media ebook, for sale for £2.99:

Being a cormorant ~ filming more swimming scenes for Swallows and Amazons on 4th July 1973

bw Susan teaching Roger to Swim — Sten Gredon as Roger Walker being taught to swim by Suzanna Hamilton playing his sister Susan Walker on location at Peel Island on Coniston in 1973

Roger still couldn’t swim, but he was trying to. Very hard. The production manager had kindly scheduled the second of our swimming scenes as late in the summer as possible. The weather was warmer – we’d elected to go bathing in a river up near Rydal Water on our day off – but it was still pretty chilly out on Coniston.

swa_bw_neg_ 045

Whilst we tried to acclimatise by running around in our swimming costumes the crew were all in their thick coats as you can see from this home movie footage shot by my mother. We had bought her 8mm camera by saving up Green Shield stamps. (Can you remember collecting Green Shield stamps from petrol stations? They were an icon of the early 1970s all by themselves.) I remember someone on the crew calling out ‘Second unit!’ as Mum lifted what looked like a grey and white toy to her face. It was a bit noisy so she was not able to record during a take. You only see us before and after the sequences in the film, but her footage shows quite a few of the members of the crew – all smoking away, even when they were trying to warm us up after each sequence. You can watch Jean McGill, from Cumbria, our unit nurse who was dressed in red, popping Dextrose into our mouths and giving us hot drinks to warm us up. Jean made Gareth Tandy, the third assistant, who was aged about 18, wear a sun hat because he had previously suffered from sun stroke. David Blagden can be glimpsed as the one other man with short hair.

The camera pontoon must have been left up on Derwentwater. Claude was obliged to shoot these scenes from what we called the camera punt, which was smaller but quite useful. Richard Pilbrow sent me a picture. He has included others in a book that he has written about his career, including a section on the making of ‘Swallows and Amazons’ called ‘A Theatre Project’

Claude Whatham and his crew on the camera punt — First assistant David Bracknell, director Claude Whatham, grip David Cadwallader and DoP Dennis Lewiston (seated) with three local boatmen ~ photo: Richard Pilbrow

Do please let me know if you can tell me the names of the three Cumbrian boatmen featured in this photograph who helped us. Others are featured in the home-movie footage. They all look like pirates. Real ones.

Goodness knows that Health and Safety would say about that punt today. The DoP managed to get two sizeable electric lights, on stands, into a boat already overloaded with personnel and expensive equipment. You can see for yourself. Were these ‘Filler’ lights powered by portable batteries? The Lee Electric generator was on the shore. I was in the water. Busy being a cormorant.

We had an interesting afternoon filming with both dinghies. At one point we had the camera with us in Swallow. I found these photographs of us on the internet.

I was given the honour of clapping the clapper-board and calling out, ‘Shot 600, Take one!’ for a close-up of Suzanna Hamilton.

Suzanna Hamilton as Susan Walker sailing Swallow on Coniston Water in 1973

‘The worse possible kinds of natives’… Tourists were beginning to arrive for their summer holidays in the Lake District and we still had quite a bit more to film.

BW Voyage to the island — Sophie Neville, Suzanna Hamilton and Simon West sailing Swallow in 1973

You can read more about the adventures we had making the original film of Swallows and Amazons here:

‘They’re Pirates!’ ~ secrets of filming Swallows and Amazons on 3rd July 1973

Captian Flint on the houseboat with Swallow — Ronald Fraser as Captain Flint on his houseboat with Stephen Grendon, Sophie Neville, Suzanna Hamilton and Simon West in Swallow on Derwentwater, 1973

It was found on e-bay and brought to Coniston Water when we re-launched Swallow at the Bluebird Cafe in 2011. Everyone was fascinated. I’d never seen this hand-coloured print used to publicise the movie in cinema foyers, but it has memories of a good day, spent not on Coniston but further north on Derwentwater.

The movie Swallows and Amazons (1974) Swallow sailing past the houseboat — Swallow sailing past the houseboat on Derwentwater

When Richard Pilbrow’s movie of Swallows and Amazons was first shown on British television in 1977, ITV made a trailer to advertise it. This started with the shot of me saying, ‘They’re pirates!’ People loved it. Everyone was going around saying, ‘They’re pirates!’

If it was my best performance it was because I had been lying on a red ant’s nest – and they stung us.

The other secret is that that lighthouse tree in this shot is not a tree. Not one that was growing. It was a big log that Bobby Props had stuck in the ground making the ants very angry indeed.

Sophie Neville as Titty Walker in Swallows and Amazons — 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

This was the second location that we used for ‘Lookout Point on Wild Cat Island’. It was on a promontory that overlooks the bay where the houseboat was moored on Derwentwater. There were bushes but no sadly big pine trees. The log was planted so that our director Claude Whatham could get what is called a two-shot of the Swallows watching Nancy sail past Captain Flint’s houseboat, while Peggy raises the skull and crossbones. As we were keeping low the height of the lighthouse tree was not an issue.

The Swallows at the Lighthouse tree Lookout point — Simon West, Suzanna Hamilton, Sophie Neville and Stephen Grendon as the Swallows at the Lookout Point on Wild Cat Island

Just prior to this scene when we spot the Amazons for the first time, I was working on the chart while Susan was sewing a button onto Roger’s shirt. The needle stuck into him as he flung himself down on the grass beneath the lighthouse tree.

Roger and Susan at the camp site — Stephen Grendon as Roger having a button sewn back on by Suzanna Hamilton playing Susan Walker in the previous scene.

Since needles are small you can hardly see what is happening but I think it is a detail that Arthur Ransome would have appreciated. I wonder if the same sort of thing had happened to him as a child? He used his memories of Annie Swainson throwing boys across her lap to darn their knickerbockers whilst they remained on him, just as Mary Swainson frequently darns Roger’s shorts after sliding down the Knickerbockerbreaker rockface in Swallowdale. Claire Kendall-Price describes this and where it all happened beautifully.

Here is the diary entry I kept for that day in the Lake District ~

Suzanna’s diary is more succinct ~

I don’t know why she felt depressed. Perhaps it was the ants. She was on more of them than me and they were not waving. They were very angry.

So, the secret of Wild Cat Island is that the lighthouse tree sequences were shot in two different places. Although we were mainly on Peel Island on Coniston Water, Rampsholme, an island on Derwentwater is depicted in the opening titles. This is faithful in that Arthur Ransome annotated postcards to show that wanted this view and the fells beyond as a backdrop for his story. In her book, In the footsteps of the ‘Swallows and Amazons’, Claire Kendall-Price provides a wonderful map and guide showing how you can walk from Keswick to find some of the locations.

We didn’t use the island known as Blake Holme on Windermere at all even though Arthur Ransome had envisaged the camp fire as being there. Richard Pilbrow told us it had become a real camp site by 1973 with caravans on the nearest shore.

Sophie Neville with Swallow outside the Bluebird Cafe on Coniston Water — Sophie Neville in 2011 holding the original photograph in front of the newly restored dinghy at the Bluebird Cafe on Coniston Water. If you look carefully you can see that Swallow is being inspected by a modern day pirate ~ photo: Kitty Faulkner

The “They’re pirates” shot was used in the movie trailer, which you can watch on Amazon Prime here

The iconic photograph of Swallow sailing past the houseboat was used on the first edition of ‘The Making of Swallows and Amazons (1974)’ which has become a collector’s item but can still be found online.

The Making of SWALLOWS & AMAZONS