FALAISE AND VILLANDRY

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Some vintage Super 8 movie film

By Andy Gilbert

We've just been sent a link by Catherine de Villeneuve, to a Youtube movie, showing scenes from a Dieppe-Newhaven return crossing. 

The movie starts in black and white, in Dieppe and shows embarkation aboard Falaise, and a bit of a bumpy crossing to Newhaven.

The second half starts in Newhaven (in colour) and shows Villandry at the ramp, cars driving on board, the departure from Newhaven and life on board. It then goes back to black and white (remember how expensive colour film was back then!) for the entry into Dieppe and docking at the ramp.

On the way out of Newhaven, Villandry passes Dover, which has arrived to relieve Falaise for her yearly overhaul. This, plus the fact that Villandry doesn't yet have the Newhaven-Dieppe houseflag on her funnel, lets me date the film to a few months in 1967.

Link to movie

 

 

This page was added by Andy Gilbert on 26/01/2023.
Comments about this page

I was amazed to see this footage on You Tube, it belongs to the first dark haired French boy, ''Albert'' seen walking with his Mother around the windy deck of the Falaise.
His father was filming.
Albert's Father's footage was fascinating to me, I remember the deck hands casting off {?} as shown, and us watching.
Foreign Travel was relatively unusual in the 1960's..Most kids at my school went on holiday in UK.

Albert, in a comment says he inherited the footage after his Father's death.
He remembers being seasick.. Falaise was tiny, really and a lively lady.
The smoke room ..Urgh! 
People smoked so much then. 
Diesel fumes, cigarette smoke and oil smells are still things I remember.

Our Dad too would have taken images on the Newhaven/Dieppe ferries, but ciné film and  movie cameras were indeed really expensive..Dad had colour transparencies, and I don't know where they are now, after his sad passing.
He upgraded to Ciné in the early 70's, but I remember him saying how expensive it was. 
My brother says that it has a very vintage look, discoloured and orangey, but we were trapped on that celluloid, forever in childhood.

Nowadays, video is so easily done, we don't give it a second thought.

Thank you for sharing the link with us Catherine

John -- Editor

By Catherine M
On 27/01/2023

The French Youtube contributor has another video! This one shows Dieppe-Newhaven on the 'Dover' and returning on 'Villandry'. It also includes the rail journey from Paris to Dieppe, with the train pulling into the Quai Henri IV, next to the ship.

Footage in Newhaven shows Falaise, looking freshly painted after a refit - which explains the presence of Dover on the run - the tug Meeching and Cresta Marina also on the return trip the base section of the Royal Sovereign Light Tower can be seen afloat behind the East Pier waiting to be towed out to its final position off Eastbourne.

Link to video 

By Andy Gilbert
On 28/01/2023
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