Alvin Bailey was a film editor. Born in Hackney in 1924 and died in 2005. In 1939 he was an extra in the movie  "Goodbye Mr Chips" . He visited Pinewood Studios a lot as an extra at 15.  In 1942 he went into the forces. He took part in the D Day landings  as fuel deliverer after first wave landed. At Rochester Art School he was employed as a  film extra. He joined Gainsborough Studios as a 3rd Assistant. Worked at Shepperton Studios with Darryl Zanuck on sound effects. Editor with Anglo Scottish.1951. Group 3 at Southall. He joined Norman Macqueen as Director.This interview was recorded on 28 Jun 2004. This is side 3 of 3

Alvin Bailey Side 3

John P. Hamilton was a British radio and  television director and producer active during the mid-20th century. Born in May 1924 in Kingston-Upon-Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, he had a significant impact on British television, particularly in the 1960s and 1970s. Hamilton passed away in January 2001 in London, England. 

Throughout his career, Hamilton worked on various notable radio programmes including "The Goon Show"  He directed television programmes including  episodes of “The Big Match” (1968), a popular football highlights show, and “Stars and Garters” (1963), a music and variety programme. Additionally, he directed “Buddy Greco Entertains” (1963), a TV special featuring the American singer and pianist. 

Hamilton’s versatility as a director is evident from his work across multiple genres, including children’s programming, drama, and light entertainment. His contributions to shows like “Here and Now” (1961–1962), “Needle Match” (1962), and “Three Live Wires” (1961) showcase his ability to engage diverse audiences. 

In his personal life, Hamilton was married to Daphne Shadwell, a fellow television director known for her work on children’s programs and light entertainment. Their partnership extended into their professional lives, with both contributing significantly to British television during its formative years. 

John P. Hamilton Side 16

John P. Hamilton Side 17

John P. Hamilton Side 18

John P. Hamilton Side 19

John P. Hamilton Side 20

John P. Hamilton Side 21

John P. Hamilton Side 22

Michael Clarke side 1

Michael Clarke side 2

Steve Minchin

Interview with Anne. V. Coates on 8th September 1992. Side 14 of 14 
Anne Voase Coates (born 12 December 1925) is a British film editor with a more than 60-year-long career. She is perhaps best known as the editor of David Lean's epic film Lawrence of Arabia in 1962. Coates has been nominated five times for the Academy Award for Film Editing for the films Lawrence of Arabia, Becket (1963), The Elephant Man (1980), In the Line of Fire (1993), and Out of Sight (1998). In an industry where women accounted for only 16 percent of all editors working on the top 250 films of 2004, and 80 percent of the films had absolutely no females on their editing teams at all, Coates continues to thrive as a top film editor. She was awarded BAFTA's highest honour, a BAFTA Fellowship, in February 2007 and was given an Academy Honorary Award, which are popularly known as a Lifetime Achievement Oscar, in November 2016 by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Anne V. Coates Side 14

Interview with Jim Clark on 25th January 1995. This side 1 of 10. Jim Clark was a British film editor with more than forty feature film credits from 1956–2008. Clark has also directed eight features and short films. Among his most recognized films are Midnight Cowboy (as creative consultant-1969), Marathon Man (1976), The Killing Fields (1984), and Vera Drake (2004). In 2011, Clark published Dream Repairman: Adventures in Film Editing, which is a memoir of his career.

Jim Clark Side 1

Christopher Challis Side 1

Harry Manley Side 1

Gerry Humphries was a prolific sound technician, and former head of Twickenham Film Studios, Humphreys’ 250  film and tv credits include many directed by Richard Attenborough. Nominated for five BAFTAs he won twice for A Bridge Too Far (1977) and Cry Freedom (1978). Other credits include Blade Runner (1982), Gandhi (1982) and Hamlet (1990).He was nominated for two Oscars - A Chorus Line 1985 and Gandhi in 1982  in the category Best Sound.

Gerry joined Twickenham Film Studios as Sound Recordist and, with the departure of Stephen Dalby in 1969, he became Head of the Sound Department. A talented mixer, Gerry was much in demand by directors. Richard Attenborough mixed all of his films with him at Twickenham and Gerry’s credits appear on many famous films throughout the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. During the 1970’s and 80’s, Twickenham Studios continued to do well, both on the stages and in the theatres, so much so, that it was decided to expand the facilities.
Gerry  succeeded Guido Coen in the running of Twickenham Film Studios in 1996.

Gerry Humphreys Side 1

Interview recorded on 30.08.89 . This side 5 of 6,
Born in London in 1918, Barbara 'Bimbi' Harris started her career at the BBC in 1939 as a trainee recording engineer, at a time when major industries were recruiting women in large numbers to fill vacancies caused by the war. In 1946, when television production recommenced, Harris applied to the Alexandra Palace studios and was hired as a vision mixer. She faced some resentment from peers, particularly returning servicemen, but she nonetheless applied for every opportunity to improve her skills.

In the 1950s she trained on the early camera systems Baird, Emitron and later Marconi, and is credited as the first woman to operate a television camera on live television, working alongside directors and producers like George More O'Ferrall and Rudolph Cartier.

In the early 1950s Harris moved to Lime Grove, where her career prospects improved somewhat. It was the era of colour experimentation.  Harris was invited to design a vision-mixing panel which was still in use at Lime Groveby the late 1980s, affectionately known as the 'Bimbi' Box, an ingenious device designed to throw colour onto the screen.

In 1955, Harris left the BBC to work as a director for the new commercial television service Rediffusion. She directed numerous programmes in variety, panel games and drama such as Double Your Money (1955-68), Cool For Cats (1956-1961), The Brighter Sex (1959) and children's drama serial The Old Pull'n'Push (1960). After Rediffusion, Harris moved to LWT, where she produced and directed light entertainment shows through the 1970s and early 1980s .

Barbara ( Bimbi) Harris Side 6

Interview with cinematographer Guy Green on 18th November 1991 This is side 1 of 3

Guy Green Side 1

Valmond Maurice `Grossman.  "Val" Guest (11 December 1911 – 10 May 2006) was an English film director and screenwriter. Beginning as a writer (and later director) of comedy films, he is best known for his work for Hammer, for whom he directed 14 films, and science fiction films. This interview was recorded on the 17th August 1988 This is side 1 of 15

Val Guest Side 1

Valmond Maurice `Grossman.  "Val" Guest (11 December 1911 – 10 May 2006) was an English film director and screenwriter. Beginning as a writer (and later director) of comedy films, he is best known for his work for Hammer, for whom he directed 14 films, and science fiction films. This interview was recorded on the 17th August 1988 This is side 2 of 15

Val Guest Side 2

Charles Wheeler was a British  journalist and broadcaster. Having joined the BBC in 1947, he became the corporation's longest-serving foreign correspondent from most of the world’s trouble spots, remaining in the role until his death. Wheeler also had spells as presenter of several BBC current affairs television programmes including Newsnight and Panorama.

Charles Wheeler Side 1

Interview with Daphne Shadwell television director and producer on 1st May 1991 This is side 1 of 10

Daphne Shadwell Side 1

Charles Bennett was a British writer, director and sometime actor most famous for his work with Alfred Hitchcock. Originally involved in the theatre, he wrote the play Blackmail, which Hitchcock later made into the first British feature film with synchronized sound. Other writing credits as a collaborator with Hitchcock include The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), The 39 Steps (1935) and The Secret Agent (1936). Bennett later moved to Hollywood, where he worked on Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent (1940). He returned to Britain for his directorial debut, Madness of the Heart (1949), but spent the rest of his career in America. His Hollywood filmography is extensive, and he also wrote for television in the 1950s and 1960s. This interview took place on 2nd March 1992. this is side 1 of 3

Charles Bennett Side 1

Ted Hill Part 1

Daphne Anstey widow of Edgar, editor with the National Film Board of Canada under her maiden name, Lily, interviewers JohnLegard  and Gloria Sachs , recorded in her home, in Hampstead Garden Suburb, 3 May 1989 This side 1 of 2

Daphne Anstey Side 1

Maurice Carter (film designer)was born on 24 April 1913 in London, England  was a British production designer. He was one of the first in England to use back projection. He also founded the Guild of Film Art Directors - British Film Designers Guild He was nominated for 2 Oscars and 3 BAFTAs. Notable films include Becket, Anne of the Thousand Days, the Quiller Memorandum, Battle of Britain. This interview was recorded on 19th December 1990 This side 10 of 12

Maurice Carter Side 10

June was a British continuity supervisor whose hugely important work happened behind the scenes during a career that spanned more than 50 years and 100 films. She  worked with Stanley Kubrick on A Clockwork Orange (1971), Barry Lyndon (1975) and The Shining (1980), as well as five James Bond films (1977-1995) and Ghandi (1982). She also worked in television, including 35 episodes of The Avengers  and 22 episodes of The Saint.  The Interview was recorded on 24th May 1991 This side 1 of 1

June Randall Side 1

Bernard Happe Side 1

Michael Relph Side 1

Geoff Mulligan

Australian filmmaker Don Sharp began his career in 1945 as an actor in Australian theatre and cinema. Three years later, he went to London where in 1949, he became a screenwriter. By the mid-'50s Sharp had become a prolific director; he began with children's movies and graduated to movies with Hammer Films with The Kiss of the Vampire (1963), The Devil-Ship Pirates (1964) and other movies including  Psychomania (1972) and The Thity-Nine Steps (1978). He also directed dozens of television shows including The Four Feathers (1978) and A Woman of Substance (1984) . Occasionally he returned to films as a second-unit director, prior to his death at age 89 in late 2011. This interview was recorded on the 2nd November 1993. This is side 6 of 8

Don Sharp Side 6

Colin Thomas was born on March 21, 1939 in Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire, Wales as John Colin Thomas. He is a director and producer, known for ”Ten Years On” in  (1973), "Look Stranger "(1970) and “A View of the Islands" (1971). He also worked with Philip Donnellan on a documentary in 1978  the BBC “A City on the Border” about Derry. This interview was recorded on the 7th March 2000. This is side 1 of 2

Colin Thomas Side 1

Andrew Mitchell Part 1

Norman Spencer Side 1

Harry Fowler was a "Cheeky cockney" character actor who graced British screens for more than 60 years. This interview was recorded on the 7th October 2011. This side 1 of 4

Harry Fowler Interview  Side 1

Peter De Normanville 1 Of 4

Jimmy Wright 2 Of 7

Bob Larbey Side 1 of 2

Bob Larbey Side 2 of 2

Edwin (Ted) Astley Part 3

Mike Craig 1 Of 3

Roy Douglas 
Composer and arranger 
Roy  was born at Royal Tunbridge Wells in 1907. He was self-taught in music. He gained experience writing film scores with Karma (1933) and Dick Turpin (1933). He assisted people such as Mischa Spoliansky on The Ghost Goes West (1935), Arthur Benjamin on Wings of the Morning (1937), Anthony Collins on Sixty Glorious Years (1938), Nicholas Brodzsky on Freedom Radio (aka A Voice in the Night, 1941) and Tomorrow We Live (aka At Dawn We Die, 1943), Noël Coward in In Which We Serve (1942), John Ireland in The Overlanders (1946), and Walter Goehr in Great Expectations (1946)
Other films to which he contributed music or orchestral arrangements  included:Victoria the Great (1937) Major Barbara (1941), The First of the Few (1942), Laurence Olivier's Henry V (1944), Night and Day (1945), and Great Expectations.
Roy Douglas died on 23 March 2015, at the age of 107

Roy Douglas

The British Entertainment History Project is the largest independent oral history archive of interviews with professionals drawn from across the UK's film, tv, theatre and radio industries.

The British Entertainment History Project

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