Peter Gower – What Was Pebble Mill?

Post Production Christmas Party

Mark Heslop, Ingrid Wagner, Stan Treasurer, Greg Miller

Jonathan Birkett, Victoria Trow, Roger Mulliner, Ian Bellion

Ian Bellion, Peter Gower, Charles White, John Rosser, Mike Duxbury

Photos by Shirley O’Mara, no reproduction without permission.

Each year the Pebble Mill Post Production department held its own Christmas party. These photos date from the late 1980s, when the department descended on the Forbidden City Chinese Restaurant for its festive treat!

Please add a comment if you can identify any of the missing names.

Pebble Mill Rifle Range

Photo by Ben Peissel

In the basement of BBC Pebble Mill there was, apparently, a fully functional rifle range. Journalist, Maurice Blisson used to shoot there most nights after Midlands Today went off air around 7pm. Peter Gower remembers using the range in the mid 1980s, along with fellow film editor, Roger Mulliner. Nigel Mercer remembers competing, as part of a Central TV team, against some Pebble Mill Staff, at pistol shooting, at the Police Range, in about 1983. It was a fairly informal occasion. Steve Dellow remembers going down in the basement to see the room with the ‘echo plates’. And Stuart Gandy also remembers seeing the door to the rifle range, but never went in. He thinks it was near the photographic dark room.

Thanks to everyone who posted their memories of the rifle range on the Pebble Mill Facebook Group.

Ann Gumbley-Williams added the following comment on the Pebble Mill Facebook group: I was a member and used to shoot at the rifle range on the basement. When I was there it was run by Pip Allkins who was the son of Maisie Allkins who worked on the old telephone system where you had to plug the phones in to connect! Maisie, her husband John and Pip also helped on the BBC pantomimes that used top take place every year. They were put on in the theatre at Cadburys.

Pebble Mill Film Editors – photos by Jim Gregory

Photos by Jim Gregory, no reproduction without permission.

The photos feature some of the Film Editors from BBC Pebble Mill, including: Beverly Mills and Dawn Mears, Alan Barnby, John Rosser, John Bland, Oliver White, Greg Miller, Peter Gower and Lynn Hawkins. They were taken in 2004 by Jim Gregory, at one of the editors’ annual get togethers.

The Drinkers

Copyright remains with the original holders, no reproduction without permission. The photographers include: Tim Savage, Paul Scholes, Brian Watkiss, Jim Gregory, Kate Davies, Ian Collins, Paul Vanezis, Steve May, Leigh Sinclair.

Making programmes is thirsty work as testament in these photos. Some of the drinks are definitely coffee!

Brian Watkiss

Reaching for the Skies – photos from Gail Herbert

Photos from Gail Herbert, no reproduction without permission.

‘Reaching for the Skies’ was a twelve part documentary series about the history of flight, transmitted on BBC 2 in 1988. The series was a co-production produced at BBC Pebble Mill. John Gau was the executive producer, Ivan Rendall the series producer, and Tony Salmon one of the directors. Peter Gower was one of the editors on the series, and Gail Herbert was a production assistant on it. The episode list included: Pioneers (12/9/88), The Aeroplane Goes to War (19/9/88), Trailblazers (26/9/88), Lighter than Air (3/10/88), Bombers (10/10/88), Quest for Speed (17/10/88), Giants of the Air (24/10/88), Rivals over the Atlantic (31/10/88), Fighters (7/11/88), Vertical Flight (14/11/88), Victory over the Sea (21/11/88), The Adventure of Flight (28/11/88).

The photos show filming of a B17 bomber, a Spitfire, and a Lancaster bomber.