Landships II

I think that the whole film was made in Talbot Square, Blackpool. Not 100% certain, but maybe 90%.

In the first section, the architecture looks very similar to what is now called "The Counting House" (North side of the square?). Not an exact match.

Then the tank moves off and crosses some tram lines. Blackpool is not the only town with trams, but it is famous for them.

In the last section we can see trams moving in the background, and what I think is the entrance to North Pier, which is just across the tram lines from Talbot Square. Again, not an exact match.

The pics in these links might help:

http://web.archive.org/web/20090526035900/http://www.rossallbeach.co.uk/loostrenchesww1p.htm

http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?13592-WW1-Tank

http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&bvm=bv.41248874,d.b2U&biw=1463&bih=736&wrapid=tlif135896678187910&q=talbot+square+blackpool&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x487b447abf78c339:0x5e9b99c2c1bf8ba5,Talbot+Square,+Blackpool+FY1,+UK&gl=ca&sa=X&ei=6i8AUczRIuqr2AX6yYGYAw&ved=0CCwQ8gEwAA

Take a look at the sandbag ramp set up, Yates's, and the surrounding buildings.

Many thanks for the comments and the info re the trenches - that Rossall link also has some nice shots of Julian as does the hvmf link.

The probability must now be that the sequence with Gaunt's grocery shop is indeed also in Blackpool, and this is pretty much confirmed bu finding a J. Gaunt grocer at about this time in Blackpool, though I can't trace the shop. I assume that it was taken somewhere between Talbot Square and wherever the tank was detrained/emtrained. But I don't know Blackpool well enough to guess at a route, allowing also for showing the tank off or conversely avoiding the tramlines where possible - that was certainly done in Edinburgh in January 1918 when Julian took a route which minimised contact with the Princes Street tramlines and their pits to a simple transverse crossing (something which will provoke hollow laughter in anyone who knows what Edinburgh has been like for the last few years).

However, I'm happy with that now we've got most of the film located!

Just found a match for the shops. Couldn't find the ones named, but found an older photo that clearly matches the glass roof with it's curved edge, cast supports and tram pole with shield sign.

Long before a certain tank took over my life, hunting the history of buildings in my home town was a hobby of mine. Other than getting it completely wrong earlier... I've enjoyed this.

To wrap this up very nicely, we have a location for the hitherto uncertain second bit of footage. Ms Anne Cameron of the Local and Family History Centre at Blackpool Central Library kindly tells me that Gaunt's grocery was situated at number 50 on the north side of Talbot Road at the junction with May Bell Avenue (now renamed as Abingdon
Street) , and sent me the page from Kelly's Directory of 1918 to prove it.

A quick check instantly confirms this - the projecting canopies have gone, but the bay window and the side window (both on the first floor and only just visible in the film) of the (literally) corner shop News & Booze, on the north corner of this junction, match perfectly (the Cancer Research shop also seems to be part of Gaunt's establishment at this time). The lamppost is even in the same place, though this may be coincidence ...

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=abingdon+street+blackpool&hl=en&ll=53.819618,-3.052847&spn=0.00079,0.001751&hnear=Abingdon+St,+Blackpool,+United+Kingdom&gl=uk&t=h&z=19&layer=c&cbll=53.819647,-3.052757&panoid=711Y4e-rq7q5F0oFetRwvQ&cbp=12,40.55,,0,5.79

I presume the tank had detrained at Blackpool North station (but don't know enough to be sure they handled goods and had the right platform bay) and had come down along Talbot Road, and was turning off Talbot Road to have a bit of a diversion so that it could at some point turn right to hit the sea front road and come to Talbot Square in the right (and opposite) direction, as the "first" sequence in the video indeed shows.

-- Edited by Lothianman on Wednesday 30th of January 2013 05:44:44 PM

Oh, that's a nice pair of postcards.

The second is easy - though simply because a friend and I came across the same photo or a very similar one last summer, next to a very nice model of Julian at the Cupar model show in Fife, made by an amiable gentleman who is one of the local model society's committee. His wife, IIRC, had baked a very tasty looking chocolate iced cake version which was being raffled!

We found the spot on match outside Fisher and Donaldson's bakery where we were stocking up, as we always do when visiting Cupar ...

www.google.co.uk/maps/@56.319256,-3.011643,3a,75y,104.72h,86.16t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sUG6_hwsJGZXUHrJbQI26Pw!2e0!6m1!1e1

The photo in question or a similar one has also been puiblished in 'Old Cupar' published by Stenlake, with a brief caption.

To be sure, both my friend (a local) and the Cupar chap would have recognised the photo location at once, as it is so distinctive. It certainly wasn't me who found it.

www.eastneukmodelclub.com/

The cake!

17 Sept 1918

All

Thanks for the info. One last question. Is Coupar Angus the same place as Cupar? I have the below in my collection with a note of the visit here on 19/9/18.  Scottish geography not my strong point!

Tanks3