The Box is a major cultural and heritage attraction and archive, which opened in Plymouth’s city centre in September 2020. Its collection, formally the South West Film and Television Archive (SWFTA), is the regional film archive for the South West of England, comprising the combined programme libraries of Westward Television and Television South West (TSW). It also includes a significant number of donated film collections dating back to the early 1890s.
This film is part of Free
A Storm brews in St Ives
Fishermen batten down the hatches in St Ives.
In partnership with:
Overview
Local fishermen tie up and take extra precautions in St Ives in Cornwall as some of the worst storms in years batter Britain culminating in a night of severe gales on 7 March 1962. Here hasty preparations see all hands on deck as crew and locals do everything to protect vessels and livelihoods, tying up firmly and adding tyre fenders. The storm is thought to have developed off the east coast of Canada on 24 February and for a time stayed in the mid-Atlantic.
Today many ports and marinas have hurricane or storm plans but 1962 was a year of some of the worst weather and the country was caught counting the cost of extreme tide levels, damage to sea walls, homes and infrastructure, all requiring emergency intervention. St Ives, Penzance and Newlyn endured extensive damage to coastal defences with the army helping in the clean-up operation. Storm surges over several days happen when they coincide with high tides and hit low-lying coastlines resulting in severe flooding and flood damage. Nowadays storm surges are measured by skew surges which are the difference between the maximum observed sea level and the maximum predicted tide.
Related
Watch for free
Hart's Ice Cream of St Ives Hart's Ice Cream of St Ives
Current affairs 1983 4 mins Location: St Ives
Tune down, turn off and scoop out as the famous outlet for ice cream closes its doors.
Watch for free
Rough Seas at St Ives Rough Seas at St Ives
1925 1 mins Silent Location: St Ives
The notoriously windy Cornish art and fishing town is hit upon by the sea
Watch for free
The Duchy of Cornwall The Duchy of Cornwall
Travelogue 1938 15 mins Location: St Ives
Rapid survey of early Cornish history, featuring its language, landscape and industries.
Watch for free
Cornwall Trip 1935 - Part 1 Cornwall Trip 1935 - Part 1
Amateur film 1935 12 mins Silent Location: Penzance
The open road: come along on a motoring trip around the West Country in this early holiday home movie
Watch for free
Scenes on the Cornish Riviera Scenes on the Cornish Riviera
Advert 1912 19 mins Silent Location: Plymouth
From Saltash to St Ives, a whirlwind tour of Edwardian Cornwall.
Watch for free
Beatniks of St Ives Beatniks of St Ives
News 1963 2 mins Silent Location: St Ives
Clive Gunnell wanders around St Ives and ponders the Bohemian lifestyle of the beatniks.
Watch for free
Getting it Back: The Story of Cymande - Q&A Getting it Back: The Story of Cymande - Q&A
Inside Film 2024 22 mins
The director of a documentary about British funk pioneers Cymande joins the band at BFI Southbank to talk about the film.
Watch for free
The West Case The West Case
Action and Adventure 1923 28 mins Silent Location: Tilbury
Plotting world domination, Devil Doctor Fu-Manchu steals plans for a new aero-torpedo in this earliest surviving thrill-a-minute serial instalment.
Watch for free
Enter the Scala!!! Enter the Scala!!!
Inside Film 2024 16 mins
Filmmakers Jane Giles and Ali Catterall discuss their documentary Scala!!!, revisiting the legendary and inspirational cinema venue and some of the most notorious films that screened there.
Watch for free
Smith Smith
Charity appeal 1939 10 mins
Long thought lost, this Powell-directed promotional short for a veteran’s charity was only rediscovered in 2003.
Watch for free
An Airman's Letter to His Mother An Airman's Letter to His Mother
Documentary 1941 6 mins
A poignant, stirring letter from a recently deceased pilot to his mother is read by John Gielgud.
Watch for free
The NHS75 Celebration The NHS75 Celebration
Short documentary 2023 3 mins
Former Bristol Poet Laureate, Miles Chambers reads a poem specially commissioned for the 75th anniversary of the NHS.