Videos filmed after leaving Halley Bay 1973

by Norman Eddleston


In 1972 I ordered a video camera. The plan was to make a video record before I left the base in 1973. As it turned out, I did not receive the camera and the super-8 tapes until I reached Signy, on the way home. That is where I started filming my silent movie. Back in the UK I spliced the 3-minute tapes together, including one tape that was recorded by Tony Gannon at Bird Island. The final film was 41 minutes long, spread over two reels.

I only watched the film a couple of times and it lay dormant until 1992 when I donated it to BAS. They converted the reels to VHS and sent me a copy. According to the paperwork I am still have the copyright.

The VHS tape lay in a drawer until a month ago, when I had it digitised.

Watching it again for the first time for many years, I am struck by a number of thoughts, not least of which is our apparent lack of H&S awareness. Nevertheless, we survived!

The following link allows anyone to view the film:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1tLXkL2ON6Sk4xpCjYrDOtSnuuxr-RWte

On the DVD I received last week, after digitisation, there were three main VOB files - VTS_3, VTS_1 and VTS_2.

I have written the files in that order because that is the actual time sequence of the filming. During the initial transcription, a timing track was added, as shown below.

VTS_3 runs from 27:05 - 41:03 and was recorded between 26/02/73 and 19/03/73 in the order:
Signy Island
Aboard the Bransfield
South Georgia, KEP and Grytviken
Bird Island
Stanley F.I.
Signy Island
Neumayer & Lemaire Channels

VTS_1 runs from 00:17 - 22:36 and was recorded between 19/03/73 and 18/05/73 in the order:
Neumayer & Lemaire Channels
Argentine Islands
Adelaide Island
Stonington Island
Palmer Base (U.S.)
Signy Island
South Georgia (including Bird Island and Annenkov Island)
Stanley F.I.
Montevideo
Voyage Home
Southampton

VTS_2 runs from 22:22 - 23:44 then from 23:44 - 27:05 (with the appended Tony Gannon Bird Island section) in the order:
Southampton
Bird Island

Quite a few familiar faces to be seen.

[16 Jul 2018]

29 July 2018
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