Compac Links Commonwealth

Series

Series Name: British Movietone News

Issue

Issue No.

1800A

Date Released

5 Dec 1963

Date submitted

5 Sep 1963

Stories in this Issue:

Story

Story No. within this Issue

3 / 4

Summary

MOVIETONE CARD TITLE: Compac Links Commonwealth. DESCRIPTION: It was in 1958, when a special telephone cable was loaded aboard a British cable ship, before the first stage in the plan to create a closer link between the countries of the Commonwealth. This first stage was an undersea cable between Britain and Canada, a single, lightweight cable, capable of carrying 80 separate conversations at the same time. This trans-Atlantic link was opened in 1961. The second link was completed in October 1963, when the two halves were joined together off Hawaii. Now to London, for the inauguration of this 35 million pound project, with the Prime Minister and the Secretary for Commonwealth Relations taking part. Among the voices to span the world, that of Her Majesty the Queen, in a specially recorded message. SHOTLIST: Key scene. GV laying cable to sea. TS loading cable onto ship. CU same. GV cable laying ship at sea. ES winch on deck. ES same. CU winch operating (the ship’s name Monarch). CU paying out cable into sea. MCU girl making up electrical component. CU inspecting component. CU component under magnifier (2 shots). CU components of 2-way repeater. MS assembling same. CU same. TS deck of ship Mercury. CU winch operating. CU same. CU cable entering sea with 2-way repeater. GV palm trees on Pacific island. GV ship anchored out at sea. MS cable hauled from sea. MS winches on deck. MCU man prepares to weld cable. CU man inspecting join. CU through magnifier. CU welding cable. GV assembly for the inauguration. CU the Prime Minister Sir Alex Douglas-Home. CU Mr Duncan Sandys. MS flags of different nations. CU lifting receiver of phone. CU still of Queen Elizabeth. GV assembly listens. ES bow of Mercury. LAS man up mast. MS preparation for cable laying on deck. MS cable played out. MS wawing cable. CU same. ES winch. LAS same. ES cable into sea. GV pan up sea. GV rocks. CU map of Pacific. GV assembly at inauguration. LS same.

Keywords

Politics and government; Ships and boats; Communications; Ceremonies; Engineering

Locations

London; Pacific Ocean

Footage sources

Central Office of Information
Library

Card file number

87621

Credits:

Commentator: Geoffrey Sumner
Camera: Ronald E. Collins

Length of story (in feet)

213

Story extras:

Film clip

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