TESTING OF THREE BRITISH POWER BOAT COMPANY CRAFT ON THE SOLENT [Allocated Title]

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  • Title: TESTING OF THREE BRITISH POWER BOAT COMPANY CRAFT ON THE SOLENT [Allocated Title]
  • Film Number: MGH 241-1
  • Other titles: BRITISH POWER BOAT COMPANY COLLECTION [Allocated Series Title]
  • Summary: Sea trials of various British Power Boat Company vessels in the Solent, Southampton - the prototype of RAF 200 seaplane tender, the hull of the 37 ft 6 inch target boat and a 16 ft dingy. (The trial of the RAF 200 was undertaken by T E Lawrence - "Lawrence of Arabia" - when he was known as aircraftman T E Shaw.)
  • Description: I. General views of the RAF 200 prototype 37 ft 6 inch seaplane tender, including close-up shots of people leaving the cabin to the back of the boat. Top left of the screen sits aircraftman T E Shaw (T E Lawrence, also known as "Lawrence of Arabia"). Four men leave the cabin. Brief shot of the men lowering an 'A' frame from the roof of the cabin. Brief shot of the men on the runnings by the cabin. In the background is the Supermarine factory at Southampton. Shots of the two Power-Meadows engines and interior of the cabin. Shots of the RAF 200 seaplane tender at sea. Shots of the moored RAF 200 seaplane tender. Walking up the side of the boat is T E Shaw; he turns and motions with his hand to another man walking up behind him. Further shots of the engines. Panning shot showing wicker chairs in the boat (no installed seats). Further shot of the occupants of the seaplane tender including Hubert Scott-Paine and T E Shaw. Shots of the engines and the dock side, most probably the British Power Boat Company at Hythe. II. Hubert Scott-Paine and an unidentified lady disembarking from a motor boat. Series of shots of a single motor boat. Close-up shots of the three propeller configuration and of the boat and an unidentified man. A "Sea Joker" dingy undertaking a series of passes at sea, including some quite rough chop. A series of passes by a RAF 200 class seaplane tender.
  • Access Conditions: IWM
  • Featured Period:
  • Production Date: 1932
  • Production Country: GB
  • Production Details:
  • Personalities, Units and Organisations:
  • Keywords:
  • Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W Sound format: Silent
  • Technical Details: Format: 16mm Number of items/reels/tapes: 1 Footage: 188ft; Running time: 8 mins
  • HD Media:Yes
  • Notes: One of a series of films promoting or featuring British Power Boat Company vessels. The British Power Boat Company was founded by Hubert Scott-Paine in 1927. Scott-Paine developed many fast stepped hull motorboats for the RAF, Admiralty and general public as well as racing many boats including Miss England I (now in the Science Museum) and Miss Britain III. He also developed the 70 ft motor torpedo boat (MTB) design that was taken up by the US Navy for their motor torpedo boat, and by the RAF as a sea rescue craft during the Second World War. Scott-Paine was born in Shoreham, Sussex in 1890 and died on the 14th April 1954 in the USA. Thomas Edward Lawrence b 1888 d 1935 (T E Lawrence known as "Lawrence of Arabia") became aircraftman T E Shaw by deed poll in 1927. This was his second assumed name after his withdrawal from public life. T E Lawrence studied at Jesus College Oxford and worked on archaeological excavations in Syria and Mesopotamia in 1910 and 1914. His knowledge of this area led him to be posted to Cairo and then Jedda in 1916, joining King Hussein and Prince Feisal as British Liaison Officer in the Arab Revolt against the Turks. T E Lawrence was a key link between the forces of General Allenby and Prince Feisal. During this time he was filmed by Lowell Thomas whose film helped to raise his public profile and led to the name "Lawrence of Arabia". After the end of the war T E Lawrence served in the British Delegation at the Paris Peace Conference at Versailles, 1919, promoting the cause of Arab independence. In 1919-1920, as a research fellow at All Souls College Oxford, he wrote " Seven Pillars of Wisdom", his account of the Arab Revolt. Following what he considered the betrayal of the Arab cause at Versailles T E Lawrence sought to withdraw from public life, first by joining the RAF under the name of aircraftman John Hume Ross. When this deception was uncovered by the press he assumed the name of Thomas Edward Shaw. It was as aircraftman T E Shaw, when posted to RAF Mount Batten, that Lawrence became involved with Hubert Scott-Paine and the British Power Boat Company as part of development work on new craft to be used by the RAF air sea rescue purposes. T E Lawrence died as a result of a motorcycle accident in 1935.
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    MGH 241-1

  • Related IWM Collections Objects:

    IWM 1131a (WITH LAWRENCE IN ARABIA : a Lowell Thomas Adventure Film [Main Title]) IWM 41 (LOWELL THOMAS' FILM OF LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (rough material) [Allocated Title]) IWM 13 (GENERAL ALLENBY'S ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM [Main Title])
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