BBC The Story of the Sea - URGENT Appeal for cine-film

The BBC is making a three-part television series looking at people's relationship with the sea.

Do you have amateur film of lifeboat launches in the 1960s? Did your parents or grandparents make early cine-film of ship wrecks? Do your films, or those of your friends and family, illustrate how danger at sea has changed over the last century? Do you have any amateur films showing life as a dredger, work on a coastal vessel, or fishing off British waters? Do you have any amateur film showing sailing, particularly on the J-class yachts?
The Story of the Sea will look at changes in how Britain's coastal waters have been used since the turn of the 20th century. The series will be divided into three programmes: Work, Leisure and Danger. From the pier-front to the dock-yard, each programme will use amateur film to illustrate how advances in technology have changed how we live and work with the sea.

If you, your friends or your family have cine-film showing marine and coastal life in years gone by, the BBC would love to hear from you. They are particularly interested in film footage that illustrates work on the sea and the dangers of doing so - everything from coastal flooding to shipping accidents; from smuggling to air-sea rescue. If you have cine-film that could contribute to this series, please email dparker@availablelight.tv or call Sue Bennett on 0117 9084433. Alternatively you can write to Available Light Productions, 3A Boyces Avenue, Clifton, Bristol BS84AA. Please mark correspondence "Story of the Sea".

Jonathan Alderson