S.O.S. Rescue At Sea - 1940 British Council Film Collection - CharlieDeanArchives / Archival Footage

A dramatic account of the lifeboatmen of Mousehole in Cornwall, and their efforts to rescue the crew of a foundering ship.
Trivia:
This film is set in Mousehole in Cornwall. The ships in the harbour at Mousehole all carry the registration mark 'PZ', for nearby Penzance.
The main character in this film, Bill Blewitt, was a genuine Cornish fisherman and postman. After a chance encounter with director Harry Watt, he starred in GPO documentary The Saving of Bill Blewitt (1937), and would go on to have roles in a handful of feature films such as Nine Men (1943). He also appears in the British Council Film Trinity House.
This film has been made available by the British Council Film Collection for non-commercial research and educational purposes . . The British Council Film Collection consists of 120 short documentaries made by the British Council during the 1940s designed to show the world how Britain lived, worked and played.
View, download and play with the Collection at www.britishcouncil.org/film .
CharlieDeanArchives - Archive footage from the 20th century making history come alive!

[@TomRelubbus]

Fantastic film of the fishermen of Mousehole manning the lifeboat. Unfortunately in 1981 the entire crew of the lifeboat perished trying to rescue the crew of the Union Star. The village looks almost identical today, alas you'd be lucky to find any fisherman living there any more though. The place has been taken over by middle class second/holiday homes - and today's residents wouldn't even cross the road in a shower of rain to help anyone in trouble!

[@MegaBoilermaker]

Like most of the West Country.

[@kwarts]

There is still, and likely always will be a lifeboat at Penzance / Penlee, like in most any fishing community, be it in Great Britain, Belgium, France or The Netherlands or anywhere else. Kind regards Christiaan

[@TomRelubbus]

@@kwarts There used to be a lifeboat station in Penzance, but that closed decades ago and is now a restaurant. The current lifeboat station for this area is now based in Newlyn Harbour. My wife's uncle used to be a volunteer lifeboatman when the lifeboats were based at Penlee

[@bobcharters]

I'd love to agree with you there, but then we'd both be wrong. I know a few lifeboat crews from around the coast and it's surprising how many part time residents would like to join the LB team. However, the complexities of the modern boats these days excludes part time crew because they are unable to fulfil the training requirements. There is a polite old saying that describes taking someone untrained to sea on a modern LB and that is that they would be worse than a man short, meaning that you lose two crew looking after the inexperienced, well meaning volunteer. Just a wee extra comment, on KZbin there are various videos of Peterhead LB out on 05/02/2021. This was the newly passed out Coxswain on his first shout in charge. Nothing to do with me I promise, but spool much respect goes out to these people. We are watching lives being saved..

[@TomRelubbus]

@@bobcharters Ah, you're talking about today's lifeboats, and I was talking about the Penlee Lifeboat disaster that happened 40 years ago. As far as I can remember, one of the crew that night was Charlie Greenaugh, who was the landlord of the Ship Inn in Mousehole. Whether paid or volunteer though, they're all brave people

[@chrisangove8997]

The loose of the Penlee Lifeboat came as a terrible shock to all of us in Cornwall, but three years before this film was made the St Ives Lifeboat was lost with only one survivor.

[@peterdavy6110]

The Penlee Lifeboat. Lost with all hands in December 1981. Very brave men.

[@DaimlerSleeveValve]

Within a day of the disaster, there were enough volunteers to form a fresh crew. That's real guts - your friends have just been killed, and you decide to risk the same. I would not do that for millions. They do it without payment.

[@fredfarnackle5455]

@@DaimlerSleeveValve Total respect for all RNLI volunteers. I've visited many lifeboat sheds and talked with the crews and support volunteers. A breed apart.

[@stephenwilliamson2410]

A great video of brave sailors

[@paulmoran217]

In the 1940's, at St. Ives, us boys hovered around lifeboat crews, hoping to catch a glimpse of that revered of all lifeboatmen....the Cox'n...... these were Henry Peters and Thomas Stevens Andrews. To hear them speak made our day and we practically fainted if they spoke to us!...Clark Gable?; he didn't make the cut...Roy Rogers?;...an also-ran......John Wayne?;....well, ok, he just fell short....in short, the Coxen's Ruled OK!

[@rjmun580]

I thought that they were going to do the almost 300 miles trip from London to Penzance with the new propeller in that little Austin 7 van. Leslie Mitchell; the commentator, was among other things a BBC announcer and his was the first voice heard on the new BBC television service in 1936.

[@stephenrice4554]

There are 2 charities I give to . One of them the RNLI . Support at every opportunity.

[@peterdavy6110]

Pity he can't pronounce "Mousehole". It's said "Muzzle".

[@denisiwaszczuk1176]

Wooden boats Iron men . Respect and Honour

[@elizabetharmada5335]

Of course, the human lives are very important. How about the ship? Who will pay if there's something important inside? I mean, like a sinking cargo ships. .there are many container vans in it. How to recover the looses?

[@lindabingham394]

loyds of london insure didnt they ack then

[@rapman5363]

@@coloradostrong I think she means losses. Who will cover the losses.

[@stephenrice4554]

That's where Lloyd's marine insurance comes in Not a boat sails if it's not covered .

[@neiloflongbeck5705]

Those are not ships but boats.