FREE FOR ALL

Series

Series Name

Mining Review 6th Year

Issue

Issue No.

4

Date Released

Dec 1952

Stories in this Issue:

1. 1SPECIAL TRAIN
2. 2LADY DAY
3. 3LONG HAUL
4. 4FREE FOR ALL

Story

Story No. within this Issue

4 / 4

Summary

NoS Summary - all-in wrestling at Fryston institute.
BFI synopsis: Miners at Fryston (Yorkshire) celebrate the first anniversary of the building of the Miners" Welfare Hall includes wrestling matches - Norman Walsh v Norman Carter and Bill Varna (Australian) v Charlie Scott.
NCB Commentary - Fryston Colliery is the most easterly of the Yorkshire pits - beyond this point there’s nothing but farming. But Fryston isn’t a dead end!
Mr. Bullock, colliery manager, shows Scottish miners’ leader Abe Moffatt the arena that his pitmen have constructed - hewn out of an old limestone quarry.
Today they’re celebrating the first anniversary of the Miners’ Welfare Hall - another spare time building job by the men of Fryston. Everyone’s keen on sport here; the colliery boasts 11 internationals in various spheres. They’re even planning another bigger stadium to hold 20,000 by the side of the first, but today there’s a fairground on the site for the anniversary celebrations.
Tonight, because of the weather, they won’t be using the arena - but just see what’s going on inside the hall!
It’s light heavyweight Norman Walsh from Perth having the better of 10 5-minute rounds against Norman Carter from Batley. In a bout that went the full distance, the crowd had their fill of action.
In the heavyweight class it’s Bill Verna, the fiar haired Australian, against Newcastle’s Charlie Scott. Can you sort out who’s who? Now Verna’s having a bad time, on the receiving end of Scott’s punches. But it wasn’t all one way. Listen to this ...
After Verna get a headlock on Scott in the 5th, Scott equalised in the 9th with a body blow and a body press. After 12 rounds, they called it a draw.
They think of everything at Fryston - but no, they didn’t need to bother the hospital after all.

Researcher Comments

BFI sources suggest that this story was researched by Shepard and then filmed on the 17th and 18th October 1952. The budget was £147 15s 9d. Commentary recorded 3 November 1952.

Keywords

Commemorations; Sport; Celebrations and festivals; Mining; Wrestling

Locations

Yorkshire; England

Written sources

British Film Institute Databases   Used for Synopsis
National Film Archive Catalogue
Film User   Vol.8 No.87 January 1954, p32.
The National Archives COAL 32   /3 Scripts for Mining Review, 1949-1956

Credits:

Production Co.

Documentary Technicians Alliance

Camera

John Gunn

Director

Leslie Shepard

Sponsor

National Coal Board

Camera

Ronald Bicker