1976: ROMNEY MARSH and the BATTLE of BRITAIN | Lifeline | Weird and Wonderful | BBC Archive

Romney Marsh has been dubbed the “sixth continent”, due to its size and the sense that it has its own rules.
A shingle beach that silently grows bigger every year, scattered debris from the Battle of Britain, an old-fashioned lighthouse hidden from the sea by a nuclear power station. It has a character unlike anywhere else in the UK.
Presented by Dilys Morgan and Bernard Clark.
Clip taken from Nationwide on the Road: Romney Marsh, originally broadcast on BBC One, Wednesday 7 April, 1976.
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[@bardo0007]

They used a video camera here outside instead of the traditional film camera , quite unusual for 1976.

[@thomasawl]

Fun related fact: The Romney, Hythe, and Dymchurch Railway (the ones thats used for some shots in this video) actually had an armoured train during WW2. It was the smallest one in the world, which is kind of what you get when you use a 15-inch gauge railway primarily built for tourists for defence…

[@fredo1070]

I wish BBC presenters could speak like that today, a cut glass accent. Today they all have nasally voices.

[@analogueman123456787]

In media today, everything HAS to be regionally diverse, or some smart alec will claim discrimination. Innit bro...

[@davem9204]

I read the title as Rodney Marsh! I thought he was a bit young to be in the Battle of Britain 😂

[@stephenspence1192]

If he had he would have been transferred to Submarines as I recall he was rather good at diving.

[@Baz-Ten]

@@stephenspence1192 Nein, nie, das war Jürgen Klinsmann

[@stephenspence1192]

@@Baz-Ten Lol!

[@cricketbatguitar]

​@@stephenspence1192He probably wouldn't have made the RAF then either.....😅

[@Slarti]

We can see the 1976 heatwave here with all the brown grass throughout Dungeness,

[@duncanpoundcake]

No heatwave in April 1976.

[@stephfoxwell4620]

Didn't he play for QPR?

[@londo776]

Still the same now I got out to Eastbourne

[@mrlotusmic]

Now those little sheds go for for several hundreds of thousands of pounds. Nice place to visit though.

[@john07973]

I wish the BBC produced decent programmes nowadays rather than diverse tripe

[@herbz2hot2]

sexy voice

[@EErail26]

Excellent! Please post more full length programmes like this on the Archive section of iPlayer.

[@plumduff3303]

We had a boggy marsh in our class at school

[@Mick_Ts_Chick]

My daughter had a girl in her class named Holly Wood. Her parents had a weird sense of humor evidently.

[@stephfoxwell4620]

We had a lad called Mozam Beak.

[@Mick_Ts_Chick]

@@stephfoxwell4620 Ha! 😂

[@nknguyen2877]

It must have been quite an investment to use videotape back then for a pre-recorded outdoor programme.

[@mpf6514]

I thought that as well! The picture quality is great for the era - it looks much more like a late 80s broadcast.

[@TinLeadHammer]

@@mpf6514 Looks better than Umatic. Was it an early 1-inch machine or a late 2-inch backpack? I which the BBC Archive provided more metadata for the videos.

[@FrankFalcon-ey9gw]

Thank you so much for thus❤❤😊😊

[@squire7618]

I thought this was going to be about a footballer..

[@MartinAhlman]

Is it true that the rescue service isn't payed by the government? If it isn't, that's a disgrace...

[@londo776]

You have got two coast guard rescue helicopters based at lydd airport which is in the middle of Dungeness and also at the moment coast guard fixed wing assets if I was you I do some research into national lifeboat institution

[@analogueman123456787]

@MartinAhlman - There's more than one way of looking at it. In the UK, the RNLI is a respected, professional and well-supported charitable organisation staffed largely by brave volunteers, who can call upon the assistance of the Royal Navy or RAF as circumstances dictate. If required, the rescue victim will subsequently be treated by the NHS, which is government funded. In other countries however, it's often the opposite, where coastguard and marine rescue is state funded as part of the military or law enforcement, but if the victim requires medical treatment, they'll be presented with a bill if they're uninsured. It's all just a different way of doing things.

[@johnberry5296]

Really disappointed as I thought it said Rodney Marsh

[@stevestannard6004]

Lifeboat men way back then weren't bringing in men of fighting age who hate our way of life.

[@RolandoRatas]

1:51 that's the very same Spitfire that went down that Valerie Singleton OBE piloted in WW II.

[@grrfy]

Do you mean her father Dennis?

[@wimgid]

Lovely music. Largo from the new world by Dvorak

[@thankyouforyourcompliance7386]

They were not really fond of bright colours, weren't they. And the guy who showed all the treasures he found over years were not very enthusiastic and looked quite depressed when she cut him off. Strange times. Educated, but somehow melancholic.

[@tonys1636]

British stoicism, something that seems to have vanished from the younger generations today.

[@analogueman123456787]

@@tonys1636 - Indeed, and most obvious with the national restrictions as a result of C*v*d in 2020. Older generations were both pragmatic and stoic. The young however took to social media en-mass, bleating how hard done by they were and that they couldn't cope. God help us if a third world war ever kicks off, and we're in dire need of a bit of Dunkirk spirit. 😞