This Week in Britain: The Bespoke Bicycle
"I've never my inside leg measurement done before."
This is how Michele Brown starts her 5 minute report on bespoke bicycles and Witcomb Cycles, the "mecca of the pedal-pushing world". This film, the footage of which were recently rediscovered by chance in our workshop, is part of the This Week in Britain series produced by the Central Office of Information for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Thanks to Jonnie Scarlet, a new Witcomb owner, and his film editing company The Quarry, the 1974 short film has been digitalised and is now available for the world to see once again.
In addition to interviews of Ernie and Barry Witcomb, the film shows glimpses of the shop and workshop as they were in the 1970's. Lily, Ernie's wife and co-founder of the company, can also be seen in her office while frame-builders are busying themselves in the workshop.
This Week In Britain was the longest running magazine series or "cinemagazines" produced by the Central Office of Information (COI) for consumption abroad to promote Britain and the Commonwealth. It was a weekly five-minute film on a single topic, shown in cinemas as well as on television across the world. Started in 1959, the series was cut in 1980, by which time over 1100 stories had been produced.
A few years earlier, in 1971, Witcomb Cycles had been chosen to represent the British cycling industry at the British Fair in New York. The same year, Witcomb Cycles also attended the San Francisco Fair, where the stand was visited by Princess Alexandra, cousin to the Queen, and her husband, the late, Sir Angus Ogilvy. This marked the start of Witcomb USA in 1972, with Richard Sachs and Peter Weigle.
View the British Universities Newsreel Database entry for the film here.
This Week in Britain - No 795
The Bespoke Bicycle
Directed by Charles Leigh-Bennett
Presented by Michele Brown
Production: Foreign & Commonwealth Office
Camera: AI Films
Producer: Tony Hinton
This is how Michele Brown starts her 5 minute report on bespoke bicycles and Witcomb Cycles, the "mecca of the pedal-pushing world". This film, the footage of which were recently rediscovered by chance in our workshop, is part of the This Week in Britain series produced by the Central Office of Information for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Thanks to Jonnie Scarlet, a new Witcomb owner, and his film editing company The Quarry, the 1974 short film has been digitalised and is now available for the world to see once again.
In addition to interviews of Ernie and Barry Witcomb, the film shows glimpses of the shop and workshop as they were in the 1970's. Lily, Ernie's wife and co-founder of the company, can also be seen in her office while frame-builders are busying themselves in the workshop.
This Week In Britain was the longest running magazine series or "cinemagazines" produced by the Central Office of Information (COI) for consumption abroad to promote Britain and the Commonwealth. It was a weekly five-minute film on a single topic, shown in cinemas as well as on television across the world. Started in 1959, the series was cut in 1980, by which time over 1100 stories had been produced.
A few years earlier, in 1971, Witcomb Cycles had been chosen to represent the British cycling industry at the British Fair in New York. The same year, Witcomb Cycles also attended the San Francisco Fair, where the stand was visited by Princess Alexandra, cousin to the Queen, and her husband, the late, Sir Angus Ogilvy. This marked the start of Witcomb USA in 1972, with Richard Sachs and Peter Weigle.
View the British Universities Newsreel Database entry for the film here.
This Week in Britain - No 795
The Bespoke Bicycle
Directed by Charles Leigh-Bennett
Presented by Michele Brown
Production: Foreign & Commonwealth Office
Camera: AI Films
Producer: Tony Hinton
Labels: heritage
posted by TM at
00:29
1 Comments
Links to this post
The 
