Russell Parker – Page 2 – What Was Pebble Mill?

Machine Bays

Photo by Paul Vanezis, no reproduction without permission.

This photo is of the machines bays on the right hand side as you walked into the VT area from the main post production corridor at Pebble Mill. The jackfields contained most of the connections between the VT area and the other parts of the building.

The door to Dub 1 is on the left hand side at the back of the shot.

The photo probably dates from the late 1990s.

Thanks to Russell Parker and Stuart Gandy for adding information to this post.

Ray Lee added the following information on the Pebble Mill Facebook Page: ‘As Stuart says this was the VT Bays area just outside Dubbing 1. There were a stack of VHSes and the bottom LH rack I believe was Vision distribution amplifiers, (there is another set at the top of the middle bay). The panel below the monitor was a routing panel, but I can’t remember whether that was just for the VHSes and monitor, or whether it could also select other destinations as well. This was part of the re-engineered VT area when SDI (Serial Digital Interface) had been installed for routing combined sound and vision around the VT Suites. These 3 bays were the analogue vision and sound distribution, when separate non embedded audio and vision were needed. I think the black box top left was a stereo PPM.

Gyrocopter at Pebble Mill

These pictures are of a gyrocopter at Pebble Mill.

Keith Brook aka Scouse adds the following information:

‘This is Wing Commander Ken Wallis, born 1916 and still going strong.

The shots are from a ‘Pebble Mill’ item where he did some acrobatics and an interview. Wonderful man, mad as a hatter!! Can’t remember the date, life was a blur in those days.

After a rather good lunch he agreed to do some more flying and we shot some extra stuff that was edited together along with the Black Beauty theme by Tony Rayner.

The autogyro was featured in a James Bond film. That was the peg for the interview. ‘ That is the reason for the missiles on the frame! Russell Parker has identified the gyrocopter as ‘Little Nelly’ from ‘You Only Live Twice.’ Apparently Wing Commander Wallis used to make these autogyros at his home, Reymerston Hall, in Norffolk.

Thanks to VT Editor Ian Collins for making the images available, and to Conol O’Donnell, Murray Clarke, Russell Parker and Keith Brook (Scouse) for adding the information.

Pebble Mill Signs – from Russell Parker

Photos by Russell Parker, no reproduction without permission.

The first sign used to hang in MFA (multi format area) of Post Production, where tapes and film would be transferred. I don’t know what the machine was that the sign was pointing out the dangers to, nor what the ‘liquid’ was, but I love the dramatic nature of it!

The second sign obviously was displayed on the BBC Birmingham Club, which was a separate single storey building over the brook from the main Pebble Mill block.

The sign may have been referring to the film processing equipment, which was run by Alan Barnby and John Brian.

It’s reassuring to know that these little bits of history were not consigned to landfill when the building was demolished – but live on to be enjoyed!