OUTWARD BOUND

Series

Series Name

Mining Review 6th Year

Issue

Issue No.

12

Date Released

Aug 1953

Stories in this Issue:

1. 1SAVING CAMPAIGN
2. 2MORE POWER TO HIS ELBOW
3. 3OUTWARD BOUND

Story

Story No. within this Issue

3 / 3

Summary

BFI synopsis: four young miners at the Outward Bound Trust’s mountain school at Eskdale, Cumberland.
NCB Commentary - At Eskdale, in the heart of the Cumberland fells, is the Outward Bound School. It’s no ordinary school, but to it come ordinary boys from all walks of life to learn the kind of lessons you can’t pick up from books. Here they learn self-discipline and teamwork, they face physical hardship, they practice self-reliance. They learn to live adventure.
350 firms send boys on courses here. Among them the North-Eastern division of the Coal Board sent four lads recently, to learn, in the words of the school motto, to serve to strive and not to yield. Here’s one of them, Peter Gallager from Leeds. Before long, the boys found themselves on a Commando course as tough as anything that the Sray can serve up. Peter sailed through the air with the greatest of ease.
By way of contrast, there were more peaceful hours in the library - broken into by the familiar cry of "tea up!" A welcome break, too, when you’re on the go from 7 in the morning till 10 at night, as another mining lad, Neville German, would tell you.
At Eskdale, the accent is on mountain training. The school is a recognised mountain rescue station. Early on in the course, the boys learn how to use map and compass under instructors who come from the four corners of the world. Soon they’ll be out on their own in strange country. This young miner, John Naylor, will be making for the high tops - and he’ll be going the hard way.
On the Lakeland rocks the boys learn tenacity, thoroughness and that ability to work unselfishly and wholehearted together which has taken men to the summit of the highest mountain in the world.
Rock climbing is a sport grim and exciting, calling for cool heads, steady nerves and perfect coordination of limbs and muscles. Up here, there’s no-one around the corner to ask the way. Keith Pickersgill here, from Rothwell, has some of these qualities already, but he’ll have them in far greater measure when he gets back to the pit. What he teaches himself here will stand him in good stead all through his life.
It’s not surprising that so many firms and organisations send their boys to Eskdale to help them to find out for themselves what they’re capable of and where their varying talents lie.
The course is only a month long, but the end of that time each lad will have discovered for himself some of the qualities he will need on his voyage outward bound into life.

Researcher Comments

BFI sources suggest that this story was filmed in March 1953 and researched by Krish. Commentary recorded 6 July 1953.

Keywords

Education and training; Mining; Physical fitness and training; Youth

Locations

Cumberland; England

Written sources

British Film Institute Databases   Used for synopsis
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

Director

John Krish

Sponsor

National Coal Board