IAC DISCUSSION FORUMS

An unfortunate misunderstanding meant that the North-West News part of the new Film & Video Maker magazine is reporting the demise of Bill Townley ... in fact he is giving a talk to Stoke Cine & Video Club on Wednesday.

A newspaper tribute to Mr. Townley was accidentally regarded as an obituary ... but he is alive, well and rather amused by the misunderstanding.

nothing better than finding out your still alive .... i often wonder when the wife don't answer me
mind you!!!!! if Bill looks green and starts groaning at the speech..do you think the club members should make haste towards the door

It was a relief to know that Bill Townley is alive and kicking. For those who don't know, Bill is something of a legend to those of us who were involved in amateur movies in the era of film. Towards the end of the 1960's Bill made an extraordinary film called Baskeyfield VC, a war movie which tells the true story of John Baskeyfield of the 2nd Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment who was awarded the Victoria Cross for gallantry. Bill made his movie on 8mm film and in cinemascope which was very ambitious for the time and it is quite an epic production with real tanks and guns. Thankfully the film has been digitally restored by Professor Ray Johnson MBE of the Staffordshire Film Archive and is now available on DVD. I remember many years ago Bill coming to Scotland to show the film, and discuss the making of it, to the then SAAC. From memory I think he used to show the film on a Eumig P8 projector with the sound on coupled tape and because he had modified the projector to take a higher powered and, therefore, hotter lamp, he used a hair drier with the element removed to cool the whole thing down.

Re Bill Townley:

Well well, and to quote Mark Twain, (was it?), "The reports of my death have been greatly exagerated"! - Um, and it's not even Easter yet!!!

Lee.