• Short Summary

    A Pathe 'personality', William Knott, makes caravans, enjoys golf, cars, amateur radio and boats.

  • Description

    Parkstone, Dorset.

    Story about William Knott, who makes caravans and is a modern 1950's self made man, having the largest caravan manufacturing business in the world. M/S of the Bluebird Caravans site, with William Knott working on a luxury caravan with ornate railings forming a veranda at back . He unties a plastic curtain. C/U Ronnie Smith fixes screws in the side of the vehicle. William Knott leaves work and goes to a line of luxury cars, all his, and drives off in a red Aston Martin DB3 sports car.

    He meets up with his friend, Leonard Pountney, to play golf. C/U golf ball, and William tees off. They play and are seen wheeling golf trolleys about. William Knott is also an amateur radio enthusiast . M/S radio antenna aerials on roof, and C/U radio dials being turned, and various parts of the equipment. William has a 150 watt transmitter and is seen speaking to someone in Portugal. We then see him with his speed boat in Poole Harbour. The V8 engined speed boat is seen being launched from a trailer into the bay and there are various shots of the boat as he makes sharp turns with some point of view shots from the boat. Lovely sunny day in Poole Harbour..

    Leonard Pountney, a hairdresser is filmed in a few other fantastic Colour Pictorial films. Bizarre as much as entertaining they are all highly recommended - CP 89, CP 279, CP 405, CP 473 & CP 728.

  • Tags

  • Data

    Film ID:
    97.04
    Media URN:
    1074
    Group:
    Colour pictorials
    Archive:
    British Pathe
    Issue Date:
    12/10/1959
    Sound:
    sound
    HD Format:
    Available on request
    Stock:
    Colour
    Duration:
    00:04:17:00
    Time in/Out:
    01:03:52:00 / 01:08:09:00
    Canister:
    CP 250

Comments (6)

  1. jamied says

    "drives off in a red sports car." - it's an Aston Martin DB3.

  2. jamied says

    Note that a number of early Land Rover models can be seen early in this clip.

  3. ChrisDS says

    I used to work at Bluebird Caravans and the doors on the right of the picture as the Land Rovers come towards the camera were the furniture assembly section where the cabinets like the one being carried across the picture when Bill is shown working on the mobile home, were assembled. In the distance on the left is the main assembly line and the main mill where all the timber was cut ready for moving through the factory.

    At the back of this was the timber storage area and a building that was the home of a very large belt sanding machine with a very large extractor which took the dust to an enclosed trailer which in turn was towed by one of the many Series Two Land Rovers to a tip known as Cuckoo Bottom, this was where all the waste timber from the mill was taken.

    The some of the finished vans were towed to Mannings Heath Road where they were stored before dispatch. The caravans you see are being taken along Ringwood Road to Mannings Heath Road.

  4. Digidon says

    Does anyone know what the model of caravan Bill was working on ?

  5. Digidon says

    II remember the name now friends of ours had one at the White Horse Caravan Park in Selsey in the late 50\'s it is the Bluebird Pacific.

  6. British Pathé says

    Thanks for spotting this. We've added the DB3 to our description.

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