Film archive glimpse of Weymouth's past (From Dorset Echo)

Film archive glimpse of Weymouth's past

1:30pm Tuesday 29th September 2009

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A NOSTALGIC ‘window on the past’ has been created by Weymouth filmmaker Roger Hardingham.

Weymouth & Portland In The Past is a wonderful DVD offering snapshots of the borough through former decades.

It shows people at work and play from the mid and early 20th century through to the 1970s, unloading boats at the harbour, watching Punch and Judy on the beach and much more.

Roger, who lives in Osmington, said: “I think the film has captured people’s imagination.

“It is perhaps more evocative than still photographs. When people see it they remember the occasion, or the people they were with, or the building they were in – sometimes they even see themselves on film. I have had instances of people phoning me up and saying they have seen themselves on film.

“In fact one woman phoned up to say that she had seen her mother in one of my films about Bradford in the 1930s.”

Much of the footage on Weymouth & Portland In The Past has been painstakingly collected from the now defunct Westward and Westcountry television archives.

“When the stations closed they kept their film footage – and it would have been horrible if they destroyed it because it is such a valuable social document. All the changes that have taken place across the South West over the years is caught here.”

Roger added that a lot of the footage was to do with many of the South West’s preoccupations, such as fishing and the weather – but as his real love is old railways, his next DVD project will be about the area’s old train routes.

But at the moment, he is concentrating his efforts on the filmic history of Weymouth and Portland.

“I love the Punch and Judy bits because it is a tradition that continues to this day,” he said. “And there are other aspects of beach fun that have continued such as canoeing and the Scouts and Guides celebrating 40 years on the beach.

“It is lovely because maybe people who were on the beach then as children will see themselves on film – and maybe their children or grandchildren have followed them into Guides and Scouts too.”

Weymouth & Portland In The Past costs £12.95 and is available from a range of outlets including Weymouth TIC, the Nothe Fort, Joys newsagents at Overcombe ad the Lobster Pot café at Portland Bill.

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