Sophie Neville, who played Titty in the original film ‘Swallows and Amazons’, gave a special talk on what is was like to take the lead part in a feature film at the Museum of Carpet in Kidderminster, on Saturday 21st February.
Richard Pilbrow, who produced the original film ‘Swallows and Amazons’ had been married to Vicky Brinton whose family donated many of the items on display at the former mill, along with a huge poster in the conference room.
Sophie was born in Worcestershire, seven miles from the venue. Her great-grandfather, Canon Hastings Neville, was a curate in Kidderminster and one of his ten sons, the Olympic athlete Dick Neville, pioneered the manufacture of woolen carpets in New Zealand, developing a crossbreed of sheep for the purpose. In 1960, he employed Richard Pugh-Cook who returned to the Midlands and founded the Museum of Carpet thirteen years ago.
About seventy people packed into the conference room to listen to the talk, which enjoyed a great response. “The degree of factual information contained in it is amazing…all those details of 50 years ago conveyed with such clarity and enthusiasm!”
“….such an inspiration to so many people especially younger people who have such different lives these days – another era then, it seems, but one we should not forget.”
“a great success – everyone seemed to have throughly enjoyed your talk, hearing about the other side of filming!”
Sophie signed copies of her books after the talk when she had a chance to meet ‘Swallows and Amazons’ enthusiasts and a little girl hoping to become a film actress. The event was covered in the local news.
Sophie Neville 