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Vickers Wellington LN514 was a Vickers Wellington bomber built in 1943 in record time, as part of a British propaganda effort during the Second World War.
The bomber was constructed in 23 hours and 50 minutes, and took off 24 hours and 48 minutes after the first parts of the airframe had been laid down, beating the previous record of 48 hours set by an American factory. It was constructed at the Vickers-Armstrongs factory in Broughton, Flintshire. The record attempt was the idea of the government to bolster morale at home and send a message abroad that British wartime manufacturing capacity was unaffected by German bombing.
The Ministry of Information produced the newsreel Worker's Week-End using film of the attempt, detailing the construction process from the beginning to first flight, emphasising the vital role of women in the workforce on the 'factory front'. It was distributed both at home and in America, deliberately using a North American sounding narrator.
As part of the BBC television's Battle of Britain 70th anniversary season, the record attempt was the subject of a one hour documentary film Wellington Bomber. Bringing together some of the workers who were originally involved, it examined the effort through their eyes, and together with historian Max Hastings and Rupert 'Tiny' Cooling, a former Wellington pilot, examined the bomber and the wider historical context. It was first broadcast on BBC Four on 14 September 2010.
With its geodetic aluminium skeleton airframe construction covered by a varnished linen fabric skin it was said to be held in great regard by aircrews and pilots for its durability and resistance to damage, able to survive long enough to return home, even on just a single engine.[2][4][3][1] Even so, the loss-rate was high during daylight raids over Germany.[4] This fabric construction and a frame which simply slotted together, likened to the children's toy Meccano, meant that it was easy to assemble, making it a perfect choice for the construction record attempt.[1]
It was the pre-eminent bomber of the Second World War, used throughout the conflict playing a crucial part first for RAF Bomber Command as Britain's main strike bomber during the 1940 Battle of Britain and beyond, and once superseded by the Halifax and Lancaster four-engine bombers, for RAF Coastal Command in the anti-shipping role from 1943.[3][1][4]
Two Wellington bombers survive into the present day, the one recovered from Loch Ness is on display at Brooklands Museum Weybridge, Surrey.[1]
Wellington bombers at RAF Stradishall in 1939, ready to fly to Brussells and Paris as a show of strength from the RAFWith the Broughton factory being run by the Ministry of Aircraft Production, 6,000 people, over half of them women used in place of the men sent to fight, worked 12-hour shifts to make 28 Wellington bombers a week at peak production.[1]
The use of propaganda films was an important part of the British war effort, and much of it concentrated on the 'factory front' which was crucial to the real front, paying tribute to the dedication and skill of the workers, encouraging new workers to volunteer, and keeping up morale of those already working and of the wider population.[5]
The Wellington bomber film came in 1943, at the height of the British bombing efforts against Germany. With speed and morale in aircraft production now an important part of sustaining that effort, the Ministry of War together with the RAF came up with the idea of a construction record attempt, and filming it for a Ministry of Information propaganda newsreel.[2][4][1][3] It was to be both a tribute to the workers of the British Aircraft Industry, and a way for the Ministry of War to demonstrate to allies and enemies around the world, the spirit and efficiency still evident in wartime aircraft production, despite heavy German bombardment.[1][1][6]
In particular it was to be shown in America, with an American sounding narrator deliberately chosen, to show Britain had not been beaten by The Blitz, the sustained German bombing of 1940-1941, and was now holding its own in production efforts. In a show of competitiveness, breaking the record held by the Americans was also seen as ' one in the eye for' them having come into the war late.[1][7]
Other propaganda films of the period focussing on factory production, now preserved in the Imperial War Museum, include the one off newsreels Night Shift (1942), Clyde-built (1943), Coalminer (1943), and A Date with a Tank (1944), as well as the series Worker and Warfront (1942-1946) and War Work News (1942-1945).[5]
The newsreel records that the bomber's wheels lifted from the ground exactly 24 hours and 48 minutes after construction began.[1] The 2010 documentary also states the build time from first bolt to last from the time the first part of the airframe had been laid was “ten minutes less than 24 hours”, and the take-off took place 24 hours and 48 minutes later.[3] Some sources state the assembly time was 23 hours and 48 minutes.[7][4]
The target time set by the workers was to assemble it in 30 hours or less, with a test pilot scheduled for an afternoon flight. Such was the speed of the build however, the test pilot had to be gotten out of bed to take the plane into the air.[1][8][6][3]
The exact date of the construction attempt is not known, with it believed to have been either early summer 1943 based on National Archives records[1], while the 2010 documentary asserts it was one autumn weekend[3] October 1943 was the newsreel's release date according to the National Archives,[6] or the production date according to Imperial War Museum records.[8] The newsreel's narrator states that the record attempt too place “not so long ago”.
Worker's Week-Enda was the propaganda newsreel that resulted from the construction effort.
As well as the construction process, early on in the reel just after the flap testing is show, the chief cameraman Chick Fowl and camera are briefly shown as they film the workers. In addition to simply describing the process and the workers, the narrator relates a couple of anecdotes during the reel - as the electrical work begins, and during the shot of the cockpit exterior and interior work. He indicates that the company test pilot Gerald Whinney, who was “stood next to me” (but not shown), said that the electrical fitters were “like a lot of bloody ants, hope they don't forget anything”. He also describes how he had noticed the girl working on the exterior of the cockpit, Ivy Bennett, because she was wearing a pink chiffon blouse, because she had come back from a party to help out in the attempt.
Wellington bomber Mk1 to Mk14 outline schematicsThe newsreel begins by showing a tractor opening the factory door, and with the workers arriving. The construction is seen beginning with the first fuselage pieces being assembled on jigs, as well as the work being inspected. The film moves on to show wing assembly and inspection, and the making of the cabin heater. Returning to the fuselage, it shows the fitting of the wooden floor and a bulkhead frame, moving on to the fitting of the cockpit floor, seat and control column, installed as one part. Moving away from the fuselage, the flaps are shown being tested and the ailerons being assembled. Returning to the fuselage, workers begin fitting the electrical wiring and systems. After some more detailed scenes of its assembly, the completed fuselage is then shown being removed from the jig.
The film then moves to show the bolting and stitching of the covering fabric to the wings and other large control surface frames, described as the “4 great sections” of the plane. After showing the assembly of the tail end of the fuselage frame, the covering of this and the main fuselage is also shown. While the covering is still being finished, the weather proofing of the finished parts with resin, a process known as doping, is seen beginning. Moving to the power department, an overhead crane is shown bringing an engine, to be fitted to the rest of the power nacelle, referred to as the 'egg', followed by more scenes of engine assembly. The film then shows all the major parts being moved to a main assembly area, including moving the whole fuselage. A crane moves the power 'eggs' into position, and then the tail and elevators are fitted to the fuselage.
Next shown is the fitting of the bomb bay beam, and the fuel tanks. A crane is then shown during the fitting of the wings to the fuselage, after which the crane then brings in one propeller for fitting, then the other. After a general scene of the construction, the crane is shown again assisting with the fitting of the rear gun turret, followed by a shot of the main undercarriage and wheel being moved into the raised position. After a general scene of the cockpit again being worked on simultaneously inside and out, the fitting of the inner fuel tank is shown, followed by another wide shot of the general scene at the front of the plane. A close-up of the Royal Air Force roundel being hand painted onto the fuselage is followed by a scene of the tailwheel being inspected.
The plane is then towed to the running shed at the end of the factory, the location for final inspection and engine testing. All the assembled workers are shown watching as the engines are started for the first time, for which the factory door is opened. After a shot of the front gun turret being tested for movement, the completed bomber is towed out of the factory tail wheel first, as a worker cleans the cockpit windows. With the assembled workers watching, the test pilot is seen entering the aircraft, and after watching the plane taxiing into position, the final scene of the film is the plane lifting off for its first test flight.
As workers are named by the narrator, he also relates many of their previous occupations. Eileen used to work in a Rayon factory, Evelyn (Coates) used to work in a draper's shop, Eva (Williams) used to be a nurse, Phyllis was a maid, Norman was Third Officer on the ocean liner SS Rawalpindi, Ailsa worked in a confectioners, and Ernest was a coachpainter.
Wellington Bomber is a 2010 television documentary film about the record attempt and accompanying newsreel.[2]
Rupert “Tiny” Cooling was included due to having been an RAF Wellington pilot. He is described as having flown 67 Wellington flights between 1939 and 1945, over two complete tours. According to the dedication in the film, Cooling died in 2010.
Max Hastings was included as the author of the book Bomber Command ISBN 0-7181-1603-8, described by the narrator as a “definitive work” on RAF Bomber Command.
The documentary featured lots of narrated archive footage and pictures interwoven with shots of the original newsreel being screened and of parts of the newsreel itself, supplemented with interviews with the workers and their relatives, pre-recorded in their homes. In addition, there is a large amount of interview material interwoven with this, from both Cooling and Hastings. Cooling is also interviewed in a home setting, while Hastings is interviewed at the Brooklands Museum in Surrey, site of another wartime Wellington factory, in the company of one of only two preserved Wellington bombers, N2980.
The film also discussed the Wellington in service, on operations and in crashes, the daily lives and individual roles of the bomber crews, with Hastings relaying how the pilots affectionately nicknamed the plane 'the wimpy' after the contemporary cartoon character J. Wellington Wimpy. It had a resilience to flak and could ride out trouble, albeit with Hastings asserting that pilots were still more likely to die than survive during a thirty mission tour. Cooling recounted how his first ever flight returned with petrol leaking out of the starboard fuel tank, with the pilot simply remarking they were 'back in time for last orders', with the crew flying out again two nights later.
By contrast, it also discussed the problems of instances of low morale, absenteeism, death, and the effect of industrial relations movements since the 1926 general strike, and the Labour Acts used to draft in Scottish workers. Dance music was piped into the hangers to boost morale, while the factory had its own doctor, dentist and barber, and employed strict control of comfort breaks. The film also relayed the use of children in the factory too, with Bill Anderson having appeared in shot in the original newsreel, being at the time a 14 year old working in joining wing spars together.
In terms of the workers lives, it covered the hardships of working long shifts at the factory, and of wartime rationing, with Eileen Lindfield relating how she ate raw black market eggs on the way home for nourishment, and took the linen offcuts home from the factory for domestic use. Other hazards included walking and driving home in the dark due to raids and the remote location. A particular experience was that relayed by the son of painter Ernest Tootle featured in the newsreel, about how his father once got trapped in the bomb bay as a plane conducted a test flight. By contrast, what workers did for entertainment in what little free time they had was also included, such as dances, with one worker citing the popular radio shows and entertainers she enjoyed, Arthur Askey and Workers' Playtime and It's That Man Again, as well as footage of Tommy Handley at a scale railway.
In the wider civilian context, the film dealt with the affects of domestic bomb damage and air raids, and air raid shelters, and the role of Welsh coal mining, a reserved industry supporting production at Broughton, with Ben Motram having been a coal miner at Llay main colliery, the deepest mine in Europe at the time, with wife Constance employed as a sewer at the factory.
In the wider military context, the film covered the Battle of Britain and German raids on south eastern RAF airfields, followed by the sequence of the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill ordering a raid on Berlin after a German raid damaged parts of London housing, which in turn led to Hitler switching raids to cities, which while devastating for civilians, took pressure off the RAF. Further on the film relayed the progress of the ground and aerial fighting in Europe, and covered German Luftwaffe raids on the Channel Ports and Dunkirk.
The documentary closes with an on screen dedication to “Flt Lt Rupert “Tiny” Cooling (1920-2010) and to the wartime workers on the Broughton production line”.
Vickers Wellington LN514 was a Vickers Wellington bomber built in 1943 in record time, as part of a British propaganda effort during the Second World War.
The bomber was constructed in 23 hours and 50 minutes, and took off 24 hours and 48 minutes after the first parts of the airframe had been laid down, beating the previous record of 48 hours set by an American factory. It was constructed at the Vickers-Armstrongs factory in Broughton, Flintshire. The record attempt was the idea of the government to bolster morale at home and send a message abroad that British wartime manufacturing capacity was unaffected by German bombing.
The Ministry of Information produced the newsreel Worker's Week-End using film of the attempt, detailing the construction process from the beginning to first flight, emphasising the vital role of women in the workforce on the 'factory front'. It was distributed both at home and in America, deliberately using a North American sounding narrator.
As part of the BBC television's Battle of Britain 70th anniversary season, the record attempt was the subject of a one hour documentary film Wellington Bomber. Bringing together some of the workers who were originally involved, it examined the effort through their eyes, and together with historian Max Hastings and Rupert 'Tiny' Cooling, a former Wellington pilot, examined the bomber and the wider historical context. It was first broadcast on BBC Four on 14 September 2010.
Contents[hide] |
[edit] Background
[edit] Wellington bomber
The 26.25 metres (86.1 ft) wingspan Vickers Wellington bomber was designed by Barnes Wallis and made by the Vickers-Armstrongs company.[1] It was named after Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. 11,461 were built during the war, more than any other British aircraft except the Supermarine Spitfire and Hawker Hurricane, both small fighter aircraft.[2][3]With its geodetic aluminium skeleton airframe construction covered by a varnished linen fabric skin it was said to be held in great regard by aircrews and pilots for its durability and resistance to damage, able to survive long enough to return home, even on just a single engine.[2][4][3][1] Even so, the loss-rate was high during daylight raids over Germany.[4] This fabric construction and a frame which simply slotted together, likened to the children's toy Meccano, meant that it was easy to assemble, making it a perfect choice for the construction record attempt.[1]
It was the pre-eminent bomber of the Second World War, used throughout the conflict playing a crucial part first for RAF Bomber Command as Britain's main strike bomber during the 1940 Battle of Britain and beyond, and once superseded by the Halifax and Lancaster four-engine bombers, for RAF Coastal Command in the anti-shipping role from 1943.[3][1][4]
Two Wellington bombers survive into the present day, the one recovered from Loch Ness is on display at Brooklands Museum Weybridge, Surrey.[1]
[edit] Propaganda
The use of propaganda films was an important part of the British war effort, and much of it concentrated on the 'factory front' which was crucial to the real front, paying tribute to the dedication and skill of the workers, encouraging new workers to volunteer, and keeping up morale of those already working and of the wider population.[5]
The Wellington bomber film came in 1943, at the height of the British bombing efforts against Germany. With speed and morale in aircraft production now an important part of sustaining that effort, the Ministry of War together with the RAF came up with the idea of a construction record attempt, and filming it for a Ministry of Information propaganda newsreel.[2][4][1][3] It was to be both a tribute to the workers of the British Aircraft Industry, and a way for the Ministry of War to demonstrate to allies and enemies around the world, the spirit and efficiency still evident in wartime aircraft production, despite heavy German bombardment.[1][1][6]
In particular it was to be shown in America, with an American sounding narrator deliberately chosen, to show Britain had not been beaten by The Blitz, the sustained German bombing of 1940-1941, and was now holding its own in production efforts. In a show of competitiveness, breaking the record held by the Americans was also seen as ' one in the eye for' them having come into the war late.[1][7]
Other propaganda films of the period focussing on factory production, now preserved in the Imperial War Museum, include the one off newsreels Night Shift (1942), Clyde-built (1943), Coalminer (1943), and A Date with a Tank (1944), as well as the series Worker and Warfront (1942-1946) and War Work News (1942-1945).[5]
[edit] Record attempt
[edit] Record
The aim was to build an operational Wellington bomber from scratch against the clock, “from first bolt to take-off”[2][1] The record was at the time held by the Americans, having achieved the feat in 48 hours in a bomber factory in California.[1][7][4]The newsreel records that the bomber's wheels lifted from the ground exactly 24 hours and 48 minutes after construction began.[1] The 2010 documentary also states the build time from first bolt to last from the time the first part of the airframe had been laid was “ten minutes less than 24 hours”, and the take-off took place 24 hours and 48 minutes later.[3] Some sources state the assembly time was 23 hours and 48 minutes.[7][4]
The target time set by the workers was to assemble it in 30 hours or less, with a test pilot scheduled for an afternoon flight. Such was the speed of the build however, the test pilot had to be gotten out of bed to take the plane into the air.[1][8][6][3]
[edit] Date
The bomber was constructed over a weekend, starting on a Saturday morning.[1][4] The workers donated their free time for the attempt, donating their bonus money to the Red Cross Aid to Russia Fund.[8][1][6]The exact date of the construction attempt is not known, with it believed to have been either early summer 1943 based on National Archives records[1], while the 2010 documentary asserts it was one autumn weekend[3] October 1943 was the newsreel's release date according to the National Archives,[6] or the production date according to Imperial War Museum records.[8] The newsreel's narrator states that the record attempt too place “not so long ago”.
[edit] Construction
The bomber airframe used for the record attempt was serial number LN514.[1] According to the Imperial War Museum record, the newsreel “stresses throughout that standards were not lowered for faster speed”.[8][edit] Worker's Week-End newsreel
| Worker's Week-End a | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Elton Ray |
| Produced by | John Monck |
| Narrated by | Flying Officer J. Peach, Royal Canadian Air Forcec |
| Starring | Wellington bomber LN514 Vickers aircraft factory workers in Broughton, Flintshire |
| Studio | Crown Film Unit |
| Distributed by | Ministry of Information |
| Release date(s) | October 1943 (United Kingdom) |
| Running time | Approx. 12 minutesb |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
[edit] Production
The reel was produced by the Crown Film Unit and financed by the Ministry of Information.[8] Filmed at the Vickers Armstrong factory in Broughton, Flintshire, it was directed by Ray Elton and produced by John Monck.[8] The reel was filmed in black and white on 2 reels of 35 mm film (P 1/35/N).[8][5] It was later also transferred to VHS.[5] The narration was done by Flying Officer J. Peach of the Royal Canadian Air Force.[6]c[edit] Format
The newsreel's picture closely followed the plane and its construction, interspersed with small periods of the wider scene. The audio only consisted of the narration, and some factory background sounds, and latterly the sound of the plane itself. The narration focuses on the people involved until the main parts come together, after which is describes more of the production process.As well as the construction process, early on in the reel just after the flap testing is show, the chief cameraman Chick Fowl and camera are briefly shown as they film the workers. In addition to simply describing the process and the workers, the narrator relates a couple of anecdotes during the reel - as the electrical work begins, and during the shot of the cockpit exterior and interior work. He indicates that the company test pilot Gerald Whinney, who was “stood next to me” (but not shown), said that the electrical fitters were “like a lot of bloody ants, hope they don't forget anything”. He also describes how he had noticed the girl working on the exterior of the cockpit, Ivy Bennett, because she was wearing a pink chiffon blouse, because she had come back from a party to help out in the attempt.
[edit] Assembly depiction
The film then moves to show the bolting and stitching of the covering fabric to the wings and other large control surface frames, described as the “4 great sections” of the plane. After showing the assembly of the tail end of the fuselage frame, the covering of this and the main fuselage is also shown. While the covering is still being finished, the weather proofing of the finished parts with resin, a process known as doping, is seen beginning. Moving to the power department, an overhead crane is shown bringing an engine, to be fitted to the rest of the power nacelle, referred to as the 'egg', followed by more scenes of engine assembly. The film then shows all the major parts being moved to a main assembly area, including moving the whole fuselage. A crane moves the power 'eggs' into position, and then the tail and elevators are fitted to the fuselage.
Next shown is the fitting of the bomb bay beam, and the fuel tanks. A crane is then shown during the fitting of the wings to the fuselage, after which the crane then brings in one propeller for fitting, then the other. After a general scene of the construction, the crane is shown again assisting with the fitting of the rear gun turret, followed by a shot of the main undercarriage and wheel being moved into the raised position. After a general scene of the cockpit again being worked on simultaneously inside and out, the fitting of the inner fuel tank is shown, followed by another wide shot of the general scene at the front of the plane. A close-up of the Royal Air Force roundel being hand painted onto the fuselage is followed by a scene of the tailwheel being inspected.
The plane is then towed to the running shed at the end of the factory, the location for final inspection and engine testing. All the assembled workers are shown watching as the engines are started for the first time, for which the factory door is opened. After a shot of the front gun turret being tested for movement, the completed bomber is towed out of the factory tail wheel first, as a worker cleans the cockpit windows. With the assembled workers watching, the test pilot is seen entering the aircraft, and after watching the plane taxiing into position, the final scene of the film is the plane lifting off for its first test flight.
[edit] Timing depiction
During the film, the narrator also relates how the attempt is doing for time. Stating at the beginning of the reel that the aim was for completion in under 30 hours, and that work started at 9am, he goes on to record it is 1.45pm as the main fuselage leaves the jig with electrics fitted. By 6.15pm the main parts are seen coming together. With the change in shifts also noted, the propeller fitting occurs at 8.23pm, having been brought in apparently by the arriving night-shift workers. It's noted the workers are now making bets as to whether they will beat the target set of completion in 30 hours. The landing gear is shown on the plane by 10.30pm. By 3.20am the next morning, it's being towed to the running shed. The engines are started for the first time at 6.15am, 21 hours and 15 minutes since construction began. He then relates how the attempt is delayed at this stage with 2 hours of snagging (last minute rectifications). At 8.50am (the 23 hour 50 minute mark), the completed bomber is wheeled out of the factory door. As the plane takes off, he states “its wheels lifted from the ground, in exactly 24 hours and 48 minutes.” The newsreel ends with a note, 'P.S. At 7.45p.m. this bomber was flown by a ferry pilot to its operational base.'[edit] Workers
The following people are named during the reel (all workers unless indicated):- Ivy Bennett
- Joan Butler
- Vera Butler
- Evelyn Coates
- Eileen Daphne
- Robert Davis
- Hilda Dodd
- Phyllis Evans
- Chick Fowl, chief camera man
- Ailsa Gryndley
- Agatha Hobson
- Evelyn Homewood
- Norman Martin
- Eva Powell
- Ernest Tootle
- Grace Wally
- Gerald Whinney, company test pilot
- George Woods
- Eva Williams
As workers are named by the narrator, he also relates many of their previous occupations. Eileen used to work in a Rayon factory, Evelyn (Coates) used to work in a draper's shop, Eva (Williams) used to be a nurse, Phyllis was a maid, Norman was Third Officer on the ocean liner SS Rawalpindi, Ailsa worked in a confectioners, and Ernest was a coachpainter.
[edit] Analysis
According to the Imperial War Museum, the newsreel “provides quite good coverage of various processes in construction” describing it as a “good film well put together: right atmosphere of dedication, efficiency, speed”.[8][edit] Wellington Bomber documentary
| Wellington Bomber | |
|---|---|
 The surviving Wellington in Brooklands Museum | |
| Genre | Documentary |
| Directed by | Peter Williams |
| Narrated by | Peter Steel |
| Theme music composer | The Bluebird, John Rutter & The Cambridge Singers |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 1 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Peter Williams Cassian Harrison Martin Davidson |
| Producer(s) | Peter Williams, Associate Producers: Jo Taylor Steve Hopkins |
| Editor(s) | Paul Meadows |
| Location(s) | Airbus, Brooklands |
| Camera setup | David Chilton |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Peter Williams Television |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | BBC Four |
| Original airing | September 14, 2010 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
| Production website | |
[edit] Production
The 1 hour documentary was commissioned by the BBC's digital channel BBC Four and produced by Peter Williams' company Peter Williams Television, with Williams and Cassian Harrison of the BBC acting as executive producers.[4][2] Williams directed the programme, assisted by Stephen Hopkins and Jo Taylor, with Paul Meadows as editor.[2] Having tracked down workers who originally worked on the record attempt, according to the BBC “Their story of the excitement of the attempt is the heart of this documentary.”[3][edit] Broadcast
The programme was part of the BBC's Battle Of Britain season, marking the 70th anniversary of the battle with special programmes across BBC One, BBC Two and BBC Four.[3][9] It was first broadcast on BBC Four at 8pm on Tuesday, 14 September 2010, and then at 7.30pm on BBC Two on Sunday 19 September.[3][9][edit] Participants
The documentary featured the following people speaking to camera (all original Broughton workers unless otherwise stated):- Bill Anderson
- Rupert “Tiny” Cooling, former Wellington pilot
- Hilda Dodd
- Max Hastings, author and historian
- Eileen Lindfield
- Richard Martin, son of Norman Martin
- Ben Motram, husband of Constance
- Constance Motram
- Betty Weaver
- Wilfred Williams
- Bob Wilson
- James Tootle, grandson of Ernest Tootle
- Peter Tootle, son of Ernest Tootle
Rupert “Tiny” Cooling was included due to having been an RAF Wellington pilot. He is described as having flown 67 Wellington flights between 1939 and 1945, over two complete tours. According to the dedication in the film, Cooling died in 2010.
Max Hastings was included as the author of the book Bomber Command ISBN 0-7181-1603-8, described by the narrator as a “definitive work” on RAF Bomber Command.
[edit] Format
The location for the documentary film is an evening at the Broughton factory, where several of the workers involved in the attempt and their relatives, have met to see a screening of the original newsreel in a small cinema room. Eleven of the original workers and their relatives were interviewed in the documentary, while the visible group present at the cinema numbered at least thirty. It is stated that the screening was the first time many of them had seen the newsreel.The documentary featured lots of narrated archive footage and pictures interwoven with shots of the original newsreel being screened and of parts of the newsreel itself, supplemented with interviews with the workers and their relatives, pre-recorded in their homes. In addition, there is a large amount of interview material interwoven with this, from both Cooling and Hastings. Cooling is also interviewed in a home setting, while Hastings is interviewed at the Brooklands Museum in Surrey, site of another wartime Wellington factory, in the company of one of only two preserved Wellington bombers, N2980.
[edit] Content
[edit] The bomber and its crew
The film covered the design of the bomber by Barnes Wallis and the background behind its urgent operational need and thus necessity of easy and quick manufacture. The preserved Brookland's Wellington N2980 is covered in detail with Hastings climbing through it, and with footage of it being raised from the bottom of Loch Ness in Scotland, into which it had ditched during a training flight.The film also discussed the Wellington in service, on operations and in crashes, the daily lives and individual roles of the bomber crews, with Hastings relaying how the pilots affectionately nicknamed the plane 'the wimpy' after the contemporary cartoon character J. Wellington Wimpy. It had a resilience to flak and could ride out trouble, albeit with Hastings asserting that pilots were still more likely to die than survive during a thirty mission tour. Cooling recounted how his first ever flight returned with petrol leaking out of the starboard fuel tank, with the pilot simply remarking they were 'back in time for last orders', with the crew flying out again two nights later.
[edit] The factory
The film covered the Broughton factory, set up as one of many shadow factories, which eventually built 11,461 Wellington bombers. It examined its production line and the construction of the Wellington hangar, its assembly lines, parts storage systems and component assembly hangars, and the processes of stitching and doping. It discussed the production line organisation, with Bob Wilson having been one of the original production supervisors. For the specific record attempt, Wilson relayed how some assembly work such as electrical panels had actually been prepared beforehand. The film covered air raids on the factory and the measures taken to prevent injury or damage, including a system of amber and red warning lights, and the illumination of nearby hills to fool German bombers. With all regular forces committed in theatre, security at the factory was provided by the Home Guard, who also escorted workers as they undertook snagging work to finished planes on the neighbouring fields into which they were distributed with wide spacings.[edit] Workers
It covered the role of women at the factory, who made up half the workforce, and the reasons why they were mobilised to work, with Hilda Dodd having been one of the first women to be employed there, having previously worked in a camera shop. It relayed how many had no experience of such work but were soon training new workers themselves, and how most if not all were motivated by having male relatives involved in the fighting. The son of Norman Martin relayed how his father had not told him of his involvement in the record, but showed a newspaper cutting he had found his father had kept of the reporting of the success, relaying in the by-line, “women's share in world record of plane-building”. It described the general patriotic feeling and productive urge felt among workers, in light of German bombing and propaganda efforts, such as the 1940 broadcasts of Lord Haw Haw.By contrast, it also discussed the problems of instances of low morale, absenteeism, death, and the effect of industrial relations movements since the 1926 general strike, and the Labour Acts used to draft in Scottish workers. Dance music was piped into the hangers to boost morale, while the factory had its own doctor, dentist and barber, and employed strict control of comfort breaks. The film also relayed the use of children in the factory too, with Bill Anderson having appeared in shot in the original newsreel, being at the time a 14 year old working in joining wing spars together.
In terms of the workers lives, it covered the hardships of working long shifts at the factory, and of wartime rationing, with Eileen Lindfield relating how she ate raw black market eggs on the way home for nourishment, and took the linen offcuts home from the factory for domestic use. Other hazards included walking and driving home in the dark due to raids and the remote location. A particular experience was that relayed by the son of painter Ernest Tootle featured in the newsreel, about how his father once got trapped in the bomb bay as a plane conducted a test flight. By contrast, what workers did for entertainment in what little free time they had was also included, such as dances, with one worker citing the popular radio shows and entertainers she enjoyed, Arthur Askey and Workers' Playtime and It's That Man Again, as well as footage of Tommy Handley at a scale railway.
[edit] Wider context
In terms of the wider political context, it discussed the build up to war and the approach of Neville Chamberlain, the Prime Minister until May 1940, and featured cabinet papers showing concern over the German effect on production, the domain of Lord Beaverbrook, the Minister of Aircraft Production. The documentary also covered the role of propaganda newsreels in the war effort. According to the documentary, a North American narrator was chosen for the newsreel to be shown in America, to show them that the British were also manufacturing efficiently while under attack, and to not only show them that Brits “could take it”, but that they could “dish it out as well”. According to Hastings it had probably been a Wellington force that had caused an air raid warning in Berlin, just as the visiting Russian ambassador Vyacheslav Molotov was being reassured by Hitler that the British were near defeat.In the wider civilian context, the film dealt with the affects of domestic bomb damage and air raids, and air raid shelters, and the role of Welsh coal mining, a reserved industry supporting production at Broughton, with Ben Motram having been a coal miner at Llay main colliery, the deepest mine in Europe at the time, with wife Constance employed as a sewer at the factory.
In the wider military context, the film covered the Battle of Britain and German raids on south eastern RAF airfields, followed by the sequence of the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill ordering a raid on Berlin after a German raid damaged parts of London housing, which in turn led to Hitler switching raids to cities, which while devastating for civilians, took pressure off the RAF. Further on the film relayed the progress of the ground and aerial fighting in Europe, and covered German Luftwaffe raids on the Channel Ports and Dunkirk.
[edit] Post war
Moving to after the war in Europe's end, the film relayed how the factory was then put to use making prefab houses, and while many single women workers were kept on, all the married women were made redundant, with varying stories about the success or otherwise of the resulting reunions with their husbands returning home from the fighting, moving forward into demobilized civilian life. Linking the Broughton factory of the present day to the time of the war, the film included footage of the present day Airbus operations at the site, with footage of the present day manufacturing, and of parts being loaded onto the Airbus Beluga transport plane, and a shot super-imposing the rafters of the wartime hangar shown in the newsreel, with the same ones today. It relayed how the grandson of Ernest Tootle featured in the newsreel, now works in the present day Airbus plant. Wilf Williams, who joined the factory at 16, subsequently stayed at the firm for many decades. Bill Anderson, the 14 year old boy, stayed at the factory until he was 64.
[edit] Dedications
Towards the end of the documentary, there is also extended footage of RAF Memorial, Runnymede, used as the backdrop as Cooling recites a poem he wrote. At the end of the cinema screening, the documentary shows an Airbus photographer taking an official photograph of the reunion group.The documentary closes with an on screen dedication to “Flt Lt Rupert “Tiny” Cooling (1920-2010) and to the wartime workers on the Broughton production line”.
[edit] See also
- Aircraft records
- List of newsreels by country
- List of Vickers Wellington operators
- SS Robert E. Peary, a US Liberty Ship built in under five days
[edit] Notes
- ^a The title page of the newsreel gives the title as Worker's Week-End in capitals. Alternate versions in later sources reflect changing English language use, giving it as Workers' Weekend,[2] Workers Weekend,[6] and Workers' Week End, [5][8], with the first now considered the more usual spelling according to the Imperial War Museum.[8]
- ^b The film's running time is variously recorded as 12 minutes (Telegraph, BBC Four),[7][3] 12 minutes 40 seconds (National Archives),[6] and 14 minutes (Imperial War Museum).[8]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "Building a bomber plane in just a day". BBC News Magazine. BBC. 13 September 2010. Archived from the original on 14 September 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5skAHHShz. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Making war history in one weekend". www.thisiskent.co.uk (Northcliffe Media). 11 July 2010. Archived from the original on 14 September 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5skAG8hfk. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Wellington Bomber". bbc.co.uk > BBC Four Programmes. BBC. 14 September 2010. Archived from the original on 14 September 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5skJhdRU4. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g h BBC (1 September 2010). "The Battle Of Britain Season – Wellington Bomber". Press release. Archived from the original on 14 September 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5skQY5HSc. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
- ^ a b c d e "Workers' Week End". Moving History archive project. Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). undated. Archived from the original on 14 September 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5skAD21UV. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Workers Weekend". www.nationalarchives.gov.uk > Research, education & online exhibitions > Exhibitions > The Art of War > Films > Workers Weekend. UK National Archives. undated. Archived from the original on 14 September 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5sk86OBp2. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
- ^ a b c d "Workers who featured in Second World War propaganda film reunited". The Telegraph. 13 September 2010. Archived from the original on 14 September 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5skJCYo3i. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "UKY 504". IWM Collection film number search database result. Imperial War Museum. undated. Archived from the original on 14 September 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5sk9Ip1pR. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
- ^ a b BBC (14 September 2010). "BATTLE OF BRITAIN SEASON Wellington Bomber". Press release. Archived from the original on 14 September 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5skAEbwT3. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
[edit] External links
- Wellington Bomber at BBC Programmes
- Workers Weekend (inc. embedded film) at National Archives
