1 00:00:14,367 --> 00:00:16,801 This is Coast. 2 00:00:50,527 --> 00:00:58,320 All around us, every day, bustling and bursting with activity, our shoreline never sleeps. 3 00:01:00,287 --> 00:01:09,525 The coast is in a state of constant commotion, kept moving by an army of unsung heroes. 4 00:01:12,367 --> 00:01:21,116 This is their story, not only workers of today, but also the hard grafters of yesteryear. 5 00:01:21,167 --> 00:01:25,001 Ajourney to celebrate those who helped build Britain. 6 00:01:25,847 --> 00:01:29,044 We'll discover the secrets of our sea power. 7 00:01:31,247 --> 00:01:36,367 Can Tessa cast perfectly round cannonballs like the workers of old? 8 00:01:36,407 --> 00:01:40,241 So, the moment of truth. No pressure. 9 00:01:43,487 --> 00:01:49,164 ln great shipyards on the Clyde, when workers fought to save their community, 10 00:01:49,207 --> 00:01:52,165 their leader became a legend. 11 00:01:52,207 --> 00:01:56,678 He stood up to proclaim a manifesto for the workers' resistance. 12 00:01:56,727 --> 00:01:59,525 - There will be no bevvying. - Hear, hear! 13 00:02:00,447 --> 00:02:07,797 ln the grand tradition of our life-saving services, Miranda volunteers for an animal rescue squad. 14 00:02:07,847 --> 00:02:12,875 We're constantly learning more about how to protect our valuable sea life. 15 00:02:12,927 --> 00:02:19,878 And to reveal how resorts were built on hard work, lan stages a remarkable show, 16 00:02:19,927 --> 00:02:23,556 booking superstar performers from a hundred years ago. 17 00:02:23,607 --> 00:02:28,158 For one night only, Edwardian Britain's Got Seaside Talent. 18 00:02:33,047 --> 00:02:35,720 Welcome to the Workers' Coast. 19 00:02:41,647 --> 00:02:48,997 Our East coast is ideal to explore working endeavour, past and present. 20 00:02:49,047 --> 00:02:53,643 l'm heading for the Humber, but beginning on the Tyne. 21 00:02:55,247 --> 00:03:00,116 Newcastle upon Tyne prospered thanks to its coastal connections. 22 00:03:04,847 --> 00:03:11,161 The early workers who built the wealth of Newcastle shifted countless tonnes of coal, 23 00:03:11,207 --> 00:03:13,675 but coal's no longer king. 24 00:03:13,727 --> 00:03:16,685 These days the traffic is different. 25 00:03:20,567 --> 00:03:24,685 For most of us, parking up at the coast is the end of a journey. 26 00:03:24,727 --> 00:03:30,916 But for these brand-new cars, it's the beginning of a global adventure. 27 00:03:34,607 --> 00:03:39,123 Every two weeks on the Tyne, a massive car conveyor arrives. 28 00:03:40,767 --> 00:03:46,524 Then time is money. The port's workers go into overdrive. 29 00:04:02,767 --> 00:04:08,842 The challenge is to park a couple of thousand of these cars on that ship 30 00:04:08,887 --> 00:04:12,436 as fast as the drivers can get them on. 31 00:04:14,087 --> 00:04:18,478 To get a steer on the challenge, l'm cadging a lift with Derek Lay. 32 00:04:19,927 --> 00:04:23,363 lt's like an aircraft hanger, isn't it? lt's absolutely massive. 33 00:04:29,447 --> 00:04:33,645 l've been on cross-channel car ferries but this is in a league of its own. 34 00:04:33,687 --> 00:04:35,678 Vast. 35 00:04:35,727 --> 00:04:43,486 With 1 4 decks, there's room for almost 8,000 cars, if packed very tightly. 36 00:04:44,367 --> 00:04:47,837 Parking must be swift and exact. 37 00:04:49,527 --> 00:04:52,803 l've got to ask you, have you ever dinked a car, Derek? 38 00:04:52,847 --> 00:04:55,281 ln the past. 39 00:04:56,527 --> 00:05:00,839 Mysterious hand signals appear to be more important than mirrors. 40 00:05:02,287 --> 00:05:05,120 And it's my turn next. 41 00:05:08,527 --> 00:05:14,443 With some 700,000 cars a year on the move, l can't stop the traffic. 42 00:05:14,487 --> 00:05:18,765 So before l'm let loose, they've got a lesson lined up for me. 43 00:05:20,287 --> 00:05:24,678 Even though l'm more of a walker than a driver, l reckon l'm pretty handy behind the wheel, 44 00:05:24,727 --> 00:05:29,278 but this is going to test my parallel parking to the limits. 45 00:05:32,487 --> 00:05:35,445 My instructor's Jonathan Small. 46 00:05:36,167 --> 00:05:38,442 - That's really accurate, isn't it? - Yeah. Yeah. 47 00:05:38,487 --> 00:05:42,321 - So what are the main hand signals? - The hand signals are straight ahead, 48 00:05:42,367 --> 00:05:45,245 full-lock left-hand down, full-lock right-hand down, 49 00:05:45,287 --> 00:05:50,520 and when it's only small movements, we'll just use a finger, you'll turn half a turn left or right. 50 00:05:50,567 --> 00:05:54,037 He's coming in, and as soon as he gets close in, l take over control, 51 00:05:54,087 --> 00:06:00,435 bring the car in tight, which is 1 0cm between the cars. 52 00:06:00,487 --> 00:06:05,845 - Each time he's stopping dead. - Ooh. That's close, isn't it? 53 00:06:05,887 --> 00:06:09,163 lt is close. A little bit nerve-wracking getting used to it at the time, 54 00:06:09,207 --> 00:06:12,722 but as long as you put your faith and trust in me, we'll have no problem. 55 00:06:12,767 --> 00:06:15,600 - l tell you what, Derek... - Just take it nice and easy. 56 00:06:15,647 --> 00:06:20,118 l feel more nervous now than l did when l took my driving test. 57 00:06:20,167 --> 00:06:25,605 Just follow his signals all the time. Don't look at anything else, just watch his hand signals. 58 00:06:26,647 --> 00:06:30,037 Straight back, straight back. Stop. 59 00:06:30,087 --> 00:06:31,486 That's it. 60 00:06:31,527 --> 00:06:33,324 l've got to turn... 61 00:06:33,367 --> 00:06:34,925 And just keep going straight back. 62 00:06:34,967 --> 00:06:37,800 That car next door's, like, a hair's breadth away. 63 00:06:37,847 --> 00:06:40,441 lt's OK. You've got plenty of space. 64 00:06:41,807 --> 00:06:43,126 That's it. 65 00:06:43,167 --> 00:06:48,321 Well, l think l've got the hang of precision parking in a car park, 66 00:06:48,367 --> 00:06:52,838 but now l've got to do it on deck seven of a gigantic car-carrying ship. 67 00:07:00,207 --> 00:07:01,196 Up the ramp. 68 00:07:07,247 --> 00:07:09,238 Now, where's my leadsman? 69 00:07:15,887 --> 00:07:17,639 - You went a bit too far. - l did. 70 00:07:17,687 --> 00:07:19,200 Right. Stop. 71 00:07:19,247 --> 00:07:21,920 He's pointing left now. Can you see his hand? 72 00:07:21,967 --> 00:07:27,325 Keep going left. Watch his hand, don't watch what's on the left. He can see that. 73 00:07:27,367 --> 00:07:30,279 l've stalled. What about that? 74 00:07:30,327 --> 00:07:33,364 Now l've got a queue building up because l've stalled. 75 00:07:33,407 --> 00:07:36,001 Straight back. Concentrate. 76 00:07:36,047 --> 00:07:37,765 That's it. 77 00:07:38,727 --> 00:07:41,036 Phew. The eagle has landed. 78 00:07:48,567 --> 00:07:50,239 This is pretty stressful. 79 00:07:50,287 --> 00:07:54,599 Those flashing lights mean the taxi's waiting to take me back to pick up another car. 80 00:08:09,487 --> 00:08:14,766 When l'm not holding it up, a stream of steel flows from our shore. 81 00:08:16,087 --> 00:08:20,558 Four out of five cars we make, we ship overseas. 82 00:08:20,607 --> 00:08:23,724 That's well over one million motors a year. 83 00:08:29,727 --> 00:08:38,237 These precision parkers have helped put the Northeast into pole position for vehicle exports. 84 00:08:44,687 --> 00:08:47,565 But the Tyne isn't our only car port. 85 00:08:47,607 --> 00:08:51,441 There's queuing traffic all around the British coast. 86 00:08:55,247 --> 00:08:58,876 ln an age of instant communication at our fingertips, 87 00:08:58,927 --> 00:09:03,364 bulk cargo is still very much a hands-on business. 88 00:09:04,087 --> 00:09:09,002 Driven by the tides, the wealth of Britain washes through our ports. 89 00:09:09,047 --> 00:09:12,801 We'd all be poorer if it wasn't for our coastal workers 90 00:09:12,847 --> 00:09:15,805 keeping us connected to the wider world. 91 00:09:19,767 --> 00:09:24,636 The sea brings great benefits, opening up new markets. 92 00:09:24,687 --> 00:09:28,077 But business can also seep away overseas. 93 00:09:29,127 --> 00:09:33,757 Mighty coastal enterprises have suffered spectacular falls. 94 00:09:33,807 --> 00:09:39,359 But one gang of shipbuilders threatened with the scrapheap vowed to carry on regardless. 95 00:09:40,927 --> 00:09:48,402 ln 1 97 1, a proud industry was brought back from the brink on the River Clyde. 96 00:09:48,447 --> 00:09:53,316 Neil's exploring how ordinary folk become legends. 97 00:09:54,687 --> 00:10:00,683 NElL: 40 years ago, it seemed shipbuilding here was sleepwalking into oblivion. 98 00:10:01,407 --> 00:10:03,682 But the workers thought otherwise. 99 00:10:07,687 --> 00:10:11,965 The Clyde once gave birth to the world's greatest ships. 100 00:10:12,007 --> 00:10:16,285 There's big Tom O'Hara with his burning gear 101 00:10:17,447 --> 00:10:20,086 The plumber and the painter and the engineer 102 00:10:20,127 --> 00:10:24,200 There's young Willie Wiley with his welding rod 103 00:10:25,287 --> 00:10:28,085 They're waiting at the ready for the backroom nod 104 00:10:28,527 --> 00:10:33,999 But by the early 1 970s, shipbuilding on the upper Clyde was in crisis. 105 00:10:35,167 --> 00:10:41,766 There was competition from the Far East, poor labour relations, and bad management. 106 00:10:43,087 --> 00:10:48,161 So Clydeside had to go cap in hand to successive governments for cash. 107 00:10:48,727 --> 00:10:52,606 Until, in 1 97 1, a shock announcement. 108 00:10:55,087 --> 00:10:56,998 Public funding was to be axed. 109 00:10:58,087 --> 00:11:00,806 6,000 shipbuilders stood to lose theirjobs. 110 00:11:01,807 --> 00:11:06,676 Then, one worker made a speech that shook the world. 111 00:11:06,727 --> 00:11:09,958 The man was shop steward Jimmy Reid. 112 00:11:10,007 --> 00:11:12,840 He stood up in front of a mass meeting of shipbuilders 113 00:11:12,887 --> 00:11:17,677 to proclaim a manifesto for the workers' resistance. 114 00:11:18,287 --> 00:11:25,125 There will be no hooliganism, there will be no vandalism, there will be no bevvying. 115 00:11:25,167 --> 00:11:26,680 Hear, hear! 116 00:11:26,727 --> 00:11:28,638 Because the world is watching us. 117 00:11:29,487 --> 00:11:34,607 Jimmy Reid wasn't calling for a strike. The big idea was exactly the opposite. 118 00:11:34,647 --> 00:11:37,400 Not a walkout, but a work-in. 119 00:11:37,447 --> 00:11:39,802 Keep working whatever the bosses said, 120 00:11:39,847 --> 00:11:43,999 shame the government into saving the shipyards. 121 00:11:44,047 --> 00:11:49,280 We are taking over the yard because we refuse to accept that faceless men, 122 00:11:49,327 --> 00:11:52,717 or any group of men in Whitehall or anywhere else, 123 00:11:52,767 --> 00:11:56,362 can take decisions that devastate our livelihoods with impunity. 124 00:11:56,407 --> 00:11:57,806 They're not on. 125 00:11:57,847 --> 00:12:04,446 So, was the work-in that Jimmy Reid announced the saviour of shipbuilding here on the Clyde? 126 00:12:04,487 --> 00:12:09,356 ls the legend of that heroic struggle all that it seems? 127 00:12:09,407 --> 00:12:14,197 There is power in a union 128 00:12:14,967 --> 00:12:20,041 When Jimmy Reid passed away in 201 0, shipbuilders stood to pay their respects, 129 00:12:20,767 --> 00:12:23,486 and so did famous sons of the Clyde. 130 00:12:25,127 --> 00:12:34,763 l loved Jimmy Reid, and he loved me back and he told me, and l am going to miss him terribly. 131 00:12:35,487 --> 00:12:38,638 Reid's reputation on Clydebank was immortalised 132 00:12:38,687 --> 00:12:42,236 by his ''No-bevvying work-in'' speech in 1 97 1. 133 00:12:43,327 --> 00:12:47,206 By his side was fellow shop steward Bobbie Dickie. 134 00:12:47,687 --> 00:12:50,360 Whose idea was the work-in? 135 00:12:50,407 --> 00:12:54,639 l would credit Jimmy Reid for introducing the work-in. 136 00:12:54,687 --> 00:13:00,045 The joint shop stewards are utterly unanimous we're going to fight this. 137 00:13:00,087 --> 00:13:02,555 Jimmy didn't feel there was any alternative. 138 00:13:02,607 --> 00:13:05,997 lf we went on strike there was a possibility of them just shutting the gates 139 00:13:06,047 --> 00:13:07,844 and putting a padlock on it. 140 00:13:07,887 --> 00:13:10,685 And if we'd had a sit-in they would just leave us sitting in. 141 00:13:10,727 --> 00:13:14,436 So it was important that the work continued in the yard 142 00:13:14,487 --> 00:13:17,479 and that was the reason why we decided on a work-in. 143 00:13:19,927 --> 00:13:22,316 Their revolutionary plan? 144 00:13:22,367 --> 00:13:25,325 Start a fighting fund and pay those made redundant 145 00:13:25,367 --> 00:13:29,724 to carry on building the ships already ordered. 146 00:13:30,967 --> 00:13:34,926 The workers claimed they were in charge of the shipyards. 147 00:13:34,967 --> 00:13:40,724 Nobody and nothing will come in, and nothing will go out without our permission. 148 00:13:42,007 --> 00:13:48,526 Redundancies began, but most were still being paid by the yards to work normally, 149 00:13:48,567 --> 00:13:50,558 building ships, even in receivership. 150 00:13:52,927 --> 00:13:59,036 So what did the man who was actually running the shipyards make of ''power to the people''? 151 00:13:59,087 --> 00:14:01,043 Hello, Sir Robert. 152 00:14:01,087 --> 00:14:07,242 They were all my employees, including, of course, the senior shop stewards. 153 00:14:07,287 --> 00:14:11,838 Jimmy Reid, of course, was the visionary and a gifted orator, obviously, 154 00:14:11,887 --> 00:14:16,722 who commanded the huge public support for the whole exercise. 155 00:14:16,767 --> 00:14:24,321 Acting as the liquidator, Robert Smith plotted a rescue plan, working with the union. 156 00:14:25,287 --> 00:14:32,125 lsabel Dickie was one of those made redundant but paid to work on by the fighting fund. 157 00:14:32,167 --> 00:14:35,398 When l saw all the letters coming in and the support we were getting, 158 00:14:35,447 --> 00:14:38,325 l mean, it was fabulous, it really was. 159 00:14:38,367 --> 00:14:44,203 £450,000, and that was 40 years ago. lt was wonderful. 160 00:14:51,087 --> 00:14:55,319 With the work-in in full swing, ships were still taking shape, 161 00:14:56,007 --> 00:14:58,885 while Jimmy Reid spoke up for the workers. 162 00:15:01,047 --> 00:15:04,722 There's a terrible philosophy flying about now, 163 00:15:04,767 --> 00:15:09,636 that men and families and communities should follow work 164 00:15:09,687 --> 00:15:12,599 and that work shouldn't be brought to communities. 165 00:15:16,687 --> 00:15:18,564 Did you think you would win? 166 00:15:18,607 --> 00:15:23,635 Yes, yes, we thought we would win because we were getting support from all over the country, 167 00:15:23,687 --> 00:15:26,360 and even support from countries abroad. 168 00:15:26,407 --> 00:15:29,001 Oh, the red roses and the cheque for £500. 169 00:15:29,047 --> 00:15:31,197 That come from John Lennon and Yoko. 170 00:15:31,247 --> 00:15:35,559 And one of the shop stewards said, ''That's £500 from Lenin.'' 171 00:15:35,607 --> 00:15:37,962 They said, ''l thought he was dead.'' 172 00:15:38,007 --> 00:15:41,317 ''No, he's no dead. This is John Lennon. You know? The singer?'' 173 00:15:41,367 --> 00:15:43,756 ''Oh! l thought it was Lenin. You know? The Russian?'' 174 00:15:43,807 --> 00:15:47,800 - That Lenin. - That Lenin. The Russian. 175 00:15:51,327 --> 00:15:56,242 After some eight months of struggle, the publicity paid off. 176 00:15:56,287 --> 00:16:00,565 ln February 1 972, there was a startling announcement. 177 00:16:00,607 --> 00:16:03,917 More money would be made available to keep the yards going. 178 00:16:03,967 --> 00:16:08,677 There is power in a union 179 00:16:09,647 --> 00:16:12,639 lt was seen by some as a government climbdown, 180 00:16:12,687 --> 00:16:15,042 that the work-in had been a success. 181 00:16:15,087 --> 00:16:19,365 lt was the making of a Clydeside legend. 182 00:16:21,327 --> 00:16:25,400 John Brown's, the yard that built The Queen Mary and the QE2, 183 00:16:25,447 --> 00:16:28,245 was reprieved after the work-in, 184 00:16:28,287 --> 00:16:30,721 sold to an American oil-rig company. 185 00:16:31,727 --> 00:16:36,517 Does the man who helped broker that deal, liquidator Robert Smith, 186 00:16:36,567 --> 00:16:39,479 think the work-in won the day? 187 00:16:39,527 --> 00:16:47,081 l don't think so. l believe that the solution that was eventually achieved 188 00:16:47,127 --> 00:16:55,444 would actually have been achieved six months earlier without the work-in. 189 00:16:59,487 --> 00:17:02,285 The solution Robert and the unions arranged, 190 00:17:02,327 --> 00:17:06,525 to sell John Brown's shipyard, lasted for nearly 30 years. 191 00:17:06,567 --> 00:17:09,604 lt closed in 2001. 192 00:17:14,567 --> 00:17:20,403 Even so, there are still around 4,000 people busy making warships on the Clyde, 193 00:17:21,647 --> 00:17:26,198 and it's become received wisdom they owe theirjobs to the work-in. 194 00:17:26,727 --> 00:17:31,243 The first of a new tactic on behalf of workers. 195 00:17:33,807 --> 00:17:36,367 But there's a problem with the popular account 196 00:17:36,407 --> 00:17:40,002 that the work-in saved shipbuilding on Clydeside. 197 00:17:41,047 --> 00:17:47,998 The two surviving large yards weren't under threat of closure in the 1 97 1 announcement. 198 00:17:48,047 --> 00:17:53,280 Job losses, yes, but closure no. 199 00:17:53,327 --> 00:17:58,401 How do you account for the legend, the way that it has been perceived? 200 00:17:59,007 --> 00:18:03,922 There was a huge popular appeal in the work-in movement. 201 00:18:04,167 --> 00:18:10,766 A lot of people agree that it was a myth, but it was a marvellously successful myth. 202 00:18:11,327 --> 00:18:14,080 l don't dispute that. 203 00:18:25,327 --> 00:18:28,956 How are we to untangle the twists and turns of the work-in? 204 00:18:32,287 --> 00:18:36,599 To me, it's a story about ordinary people finding a voice 205 00:18:36,647 --> 00:18:41,516 to argue that communities should count for something on the balance sheet. 206 00:18:42,007 --> 00:18:48,276 And that's why this story will always matter to the folk who live beside this river. 207 00:18:57,647 --> 00:19:01,560 NlCK: Traditional jobs have ebbed away from our coast. 208 00:19:04,007 --> 00:19:11,357 Generations dreamt of the isolated life of the lighthouse keeper, a profession lost to history. 209 00:19:11,607 --> 00:19:16,681 But the automated lights and their houses still need the human touch. 210 00:19:18,007 --> 00:19:20,567 As they know on the lsle of Wight. 211 00:19:26,447 --> 00:19:30,520 lt's not just the light beam that sailors spy out. 212 00:19:31,687 --> 00:19:34,645 The house itself is a navigation aid. 213 00:19:35,567 --> 00:19:39,526 So they need a splash of colour to stand out. 214 00:19:40,607 --> 00:19:47,445 To take on the towering task, a specialist team of daredevil decorators is led by Alan Brooks. 215 00:19:48,607 --> 00:19:52,441 l've been painting lighthouses now for about 1 0 years. 216 00:19:54,007 --> 00:19:56,237 What we usually do is load the stuff onto the boat. 217 00:19:56,287 --> 00:20:01,077 The water jetter, the paint, brushes, rollers, the ropes, blocks, grinders. 218 00:20:01,127 --> 00:20:05,882 We bring it over and then getting it off the boat is a bit of a problem sometimes. 219 00:20:07,447 --> 00:20:08,926 Humping it up the steps, 220 00:20:09,007 --> 00:20:11,999 and we've got the same problem when we finish, getting it all back. 221 00:20:13,607 --> 00:20:16,405 Bit of a nightmare sometimes, unless you've got the weather. 222 00:20:18,407 --> 00:20:22,525 Norfolk was the first one. l'd done a little bit of work at Strumble Head. 223 00:20:22,567 --> 00:20:27,800 Bardsey, that's an island one. Trwyn Du, Point Lynas, Nash. 224 00:20:28,567 --> 00:20:31,400 There's a few more dotted here and there but only little ones. 225 00:20:31,447 --> 00:20:33,677 l can't remember them all, like. 226 00:20:37,447 --> 00:20:40,519 What we've got to do is apply two coats of paint to a job. 227 00:20:40,567 --> 00:20:44,640 Where it's blistered we've got to water jet it off and apply four coats of paint to it. 228 00:20:45,607 --> 00:20:48,724 When it's rusty, we've got to put a primer on and another four coats, 229 00:20:48,767 --> 00:20:51,520 just to bring it all up to scratch, really. 230 00:20:52,807 --> 00:20:56,083 lt's a special formula, this paint. You couldn't buy this off the shelf. 231 00:20:56,127 --> 00:20:58,083 No, it's got to be specially made for this. 232 00:20:58,127 --> 00:21:06,637 You see? l can't even rip it. lt doesn't go on that thick, but it is real strong stuff. 233 00:21:06,687 --> 00:21:09,679 You've got to sweep the brush on, then another dip. 234 00:21:09,727 --> 00:21:12,764 The thicker the better to allow for protection, really, 235 00:21:12,807 --> 00:21:15,605 with the elements getting at it all the time. 236 00:21:15,647 --> 00:21:19,435 And it's like a landmark for ships, 237 00:21:19,487 --> 00:21:22,604 as well as tourists come here to look at the thing all the time, like. 238 00:21:31,967 --> 00:21:35,118 We decided to use abseilers for all the outside 239 00:21:35,167 --> 00:21:39,319 and all the inaccessible areas we can't get at. 240 00:21:46,327 --> 00:21:50,206 Got a width of 8ft, 9ft to swing, you see. 241 00:21:50,247 --> 00:21:52,078 So it's OK. 242 00:21:52,127 --> 00:21:55,915 They're all right. Funny, some of them. Especially the Scousers, like. 243 00:21:55,967 --> 00:21:58,117 Am l allowed to say that? 244 00:21:58,167 --> 00:22:00,920 - l'm on one of your windows. - Good job l done there. 245 00:22:00,967 --> 00:22:02,002 What? 246 00:22:02,047 --> 00:22:03,958 Paint the glass, miss the frame. 247 00:22:04,007 --> 00:22:07,283 Yeah, they're funny. Good bunch of boys they are. 248 00:22:07,327 --> 00:22:11,843 Alan, he's Welsh, grumpy, he doesn't know what he's doing really. 249 00:22:13,287 --> 00:22:14,606 No, he's all right, Alan. 250 00:22:14,647 --> 00:22:17,559 The biggest problem we've got with lighthouses is weather. 251 00:22:17,607 --> 00:22:21,520 lt's been cancelled a few times because the sea conditions haven't been right. 252 00:22:21,567 --> 00:22:24,240 We wouldn't have been able to land. Waves are too high. 253 00:22:31,127 --> 00:22:34,119 lt's nice to do a good job on it, get on the boat and look back 254 00:22:34,167 --> 00:22:36,476 and see you've done a nice job, like. 255 00:22:36,527 --> 00:22:40,884 And it does give you a bit of satisfaction when you finish it. 256 00:22:53,847 --> 00:22:57,556 Coastal workers turn their hands to many trades. 257 00:22:57,607 --> 00:22:59,518 That's the way to do it! 258 00:23:01,927 --> 00:23:05,476 Sometimes it's a struggle to scratch a living on the margin. 259 00:23:09,607 --> 00:23:13,520 Even so, a generous spirit thrives. 260 00:23:13,567 --> 00:23:17,480 A noble tradition of life-saving volunteers. 261 00:23:19,567 --> 00:23:23,799 And the rescue services don't only save people around our shore. 262 00:23:25,287 --> 00:23:29,121 As day breaks at Exmouth, a strange sight. 263 00:23:41,767 --> 00:23:44,201 An emergency is unfolding. 264 00:23:44,247 --> 00:23:47,603 These bags are pretend dolphins and whales. 265 00:23:47,647 --> 00:23:51,959 They aren't being laid out for fun, this is planning for the worst. 266 00:23:52,807 --> 00:23:56,561 A specialist marine SWATteam is summoned to the beach. 267 00:23:56,607 --> 00:23:59,917 Could you put a text out, please, to all Devon and Cornwall medics? 268 00:23:59,967 --> 00:24:01,878 Thanks a lot. Cheers, bye. 269 00:24:02,887 --> 00:24:06,118 Miranda is responding to the distress call. 270 00:24:07,167 --> 00:24:12,161 By day l'm a trained zoologist, but l've also volunteered for another part-time job. 271 00:24:12,207 --> 00:24:17,042 For the last five or so years, l've been signed up to help save sea mammals in distress, 272 00:24:17,087 --> 00:24:22,081 and as you can see, there's a small army of us marine mammal medics around the coast. 273 00:24:22,127 --> 00:24:28,521 MlRANDA: ln fact, there are around 2,500 of us, constantly on call for a stranding emergency. 274 00:24:28,567 --> 00:24:30,478 And we're a varied bunch. 275 00:24:30,527 --> 00:24:33,405 - l'm a chartered surveyor. - l work in care, l've got a care home. 276 00:24:33,447 --> 00:24:35,358 - Carpenter. - Veterinary nurse. 277 00:24:35,407 --> 00:24:36,726 A production assistant. 278 00:24:37,247 --> 00:24:42,719 British Divers Marine Life Rescue train some 400 volunteers a year. 279 00:24:42,767 --> 00:24:47,158 This is a mass-stranding exercise, keeping the creatures alive 280 00:24:47,207 --> 00:24:51,166 until the tide comes in to get them back to sea. 281 00:24:51,727 --> 00:24:56,403 These pretend dolphins are the exact weight and size of the real thing. 282 00:24:56,447 --> 00:24:59,837 Now, they may just look like a bag filled with water, 283 00:24:59,887 --> 00:25:03,641 but for the purposes of the exercise we have to treat them like real animals. 284 00:25:03,687 --> 00:25:09,239 And you can immediately see how heavy they are and how difficult they are to handle. 285 00:25:11,247 --> 00:25:15,843 Getting to grips with dolphin and whale strandings is a big issue. 286 00:25:15,967 --> 00:25:20,643 Around 600 of these mammals a year need help. 287 00:25:20,927 --> 00:25:28,277 Some make headline news, like the whale discovered in the Thames in 2006. 288 00:25:28,607 --> 00:25:34,842 And in 201 1, a pod of around 60 pilot whales was floundering on the Scottish coast. 289 00:25:35,247 --> 00:25:38,683 Rescuers managed to save over 40 animals. 290 00:25:41,807 --> 00:25:45,083 One of the team leaders is organising our exercise. 291 00:25:45,127 --> 00:25:46,640 Stephen Marsh. 292 00:25:46,687 --> 00:25:48,643 Whales and dolphins have always stranded, 293 00:25:48,687 --> 00:25:52,236 but are we just more aware of it now or are numbers on the increase? 294 00:25:52,287 --> 00:25:55,006 We think that some strandings may well be increasing 295 00:25:55,047 --> 00:25:57,356 but animals will strand naturally, as well. 296 00:25:57,407 --> 00:26:01,878 You could have one animal that is ill and because they're all very very gregarious, 297 00:26:01,927 --> 00:26:03,883 they may well bring the whole of the pod in. 298 00:26:03,927 --> 00:26:08,318 So we work from the bottom up, if you like, sort of saying, ''What's wrong with this animal?'' 299 00:26:08,367 --> 00:26:10,403 ls it in a fit state to go back? 300 00:26:10,447 --> 00:26:14,042 Let's give it first-aid until a vet can come along and make that decision.'' 301 00:26:14,807 --> 00:26:20,325 Time is of the essence. The longer a dolphin's out of the water, the less likely it'll survive. 302 00:26:21,887 --> 00:26:23,400 lt might seem a bit comical, 303 00:26:23,447 --> 00:26:26,598 but training for a marine mammal rescue is a serious business. 304 00:26:27,327 --> 00:26:33,880 The animals'plight begs a simple question. Why are dolphins so utterly helpless on land, 305 00:26:33,927 --> 00:26:39,240 when being out of the water doesn't pose a problem for other marine mammals like seals? 306 00:26:39,607 --> 00:26:43,600 To find out we need to strip the animals to their bare bones. 307 00:26:56,567 --> 00:27:01,004 This is the skeleton of a seal. We've got the skull, quite a long neck, 308 00:27:01,047 --> 00:27:05,757 and then these front limbs which are very powerful, strong front flippers, 309 00:27:05,807 --> 00:27:09,516 and these are what it uses to manoeuvre itself on land. 310 00:27:09,567 --> 00:27:11,797 And when it's lumbering up and down the beach, 311 00:27:11,847 --> 00:27:16,637 the seal's internal organs are protected by quite a strong ribcage 312 00:27:16,687 --> 00:27:19,440 and the breast bone is quite strong and thick, as well. 313 00:27:24,487 --> 00:27:26,921 This is the skeleton of a common dolphin. 314 00:27:26,967 --> 00:27:29,401 The ribs are much more fragile, 315 00:27:29,447 --> 00:27:34,475 and the breastbone here is much thinner than that of the seal's. 316 00:27:34,527 --> 00:27:37,678 lf a dolphin or whale finds itself stranded on the beach, 317 00:27:37,727 --> 00:27:41,276 often it can't bear its own weight and it can suffocate. 318 00:27:41,327 --> 00:27:45,479 And the front limbs have been modified to make these pectoral fins, 319 00:27:45,527 --> 00:27:48,360 which are great when the dolphin's moving through the water 320 00:27:48,407 --> 00:27:51,240 but absolutely useless if it's stranded on a beach. 321 00:27:52,927 --> 00:27:57,717 The differences between dolphins and seals evolved millions of years ago. 322 00:28:01,647 --> 00:28:07,085 The fins and tails of whales and dolphins have become so perfectly adapted to the sea 323 00:28:07,127 --> 00:28:11,917 that they need a hand from volunteers like us when stranded. 324 00:28:11,967 --> 00:28:16,085 We've got two dolphins that we're ready to refloat, but because of the sun and the wind... 325 00:28:16,127 --> 00:28:18,482 We've got tarpaulins to protect them from the sun, 326 00:28:18,527 --> 00:28:20,882 we've got a windbreak to protect them from the wind, 327 00:28:20,927 --> 00:28:25,557 just trying to keep them as cool and as calm as possible before we get them down to the sea. 328 00:28:25,607 --> 00:28:30,397 Now the tide's turned we can try to master the delicate operation 329 00:28:30,447 --> 00:28:34,156 of returning a distressed animal to its home. 330 00:28:37,567 --> 00:28:40,127 Wow. There you go. lt's that easy. 331 00:28:40,167 --> 00:28:42,727 Now discard... One person hold on to that, form a line. 332 00:28:42,767 --> 00:28:45,486 Form a line straight across here now. 333 00:28:45,527 --> 00:28:47,677 Try and discourage them. Go on, off you go. 334 00:28:47,727 --> 00:28:49,683 Go away. We don't want to see you again. 335 00:28:56,127 --> 00:28:59,244 Strandings are obviously really sad events, 336 00:28:59,287 --> 00:29:03,678 but thanks to the great work of teams of volunteers and professionals, 337 00:29:03,727 --> 00:29:08,278 we're constantly learning more about how to protect our valuable sea life. 338 00:29:09,807 --> 00:29:12,275 And off they go. 339 00:29:18,087 --> 00:29:21,636 NlCK: We're celebrating the workers of our shores. 340 00:29:24,607 --> 00:29:29,635 The East coast of Britain is dotted with industrious communities. 341 00:29:31,687 --> 00:29:35,202 They strike out across the sea to earn a crust. 342 00:29:36,527 --> 00:29:41,681 Men who know the price to be paid for landing fish. 343 00:29:43,327 --> 00:29:51,405 But this harsh life on rolling seas relies on the support of those back on land. 344 00:29:52,007 --> 00:29:58,003 l'm in search of forgotten workers who kept our biggest fishing fleet afloat. 345 00:29:58,967 --> 00:30:02,357 We've arrived in Grimsby. 346 00:30:04,207 --> 00:30:08,120 This harbour used to be crammed with trawlers. 347 00:30:08,167 --> 00:30:10,886 At the high watermark of the North Sea Fleet, 348 00:30:10,927 --> 00:30:14,602 some 300 fishing vessels worked out of Grimsby. 349 00:30:15,767 --> 00:30:20,602 Magnificent vessels like this were a floating workplace, 350 00:30:20,647 --> 00:30:23,764 doing business in the wild North Sea. 351 00:30:24,727 --> 00:30:29,243 The crew scoured the seas for cod and haddock, 352 00:30:29,287 --> 00:30:32,518 fish that had to be kept fresh for weeks. 353 00:30:32,567 --> 00:30:38,676 They needed ice, lots of it, a challenge the early trawler men had to crack. 354 00:30:39,727 --> 00:30:42,036 We take ice for granted these days, 355 00:30:42,087 --> 00:30:47,639 but go back 1 50 years and refrigeration as we know it didn't exist. 356 00:30:47,687 --> 00:30:51,475 To preserve fish in the mid-1 9th Century, 357 00:30:51,527 --> 00:30:57,523 Grimsby had to rely on ice collected in winter from frozen ponds. 358 00:30:59,607 --> 00:31:05,557 For the trawling fleet to expand, they had to look further afield to chill their catch. 359 00:31:11,007 --> 00:31:15,159 Boats were dispatched to Norway's frozen north. 360 00:31:17,807 --> 00:31:22,881 But man-made ice on demand would be even better. 361 00:31:25,207 --> 00:31:32,477 This grand building houses a freezing machine constructed on a massive scale. 362 00:31:32,527 --> 00:31:35,837 This is an ice factory. 363 00:31:37,767 --> 00:31:44,240 Built in 1 901, the Grimsby lce Factory supplied the port's trawlers for nearly a century. 364 00:31:44,287 --> 00:31:51,398 My guide is Mike Sonley, who was the last man out when the factory closed its doors in 1 990. 365 00:31:52,847 --> 00:31:58,683 This precious film was shot just two weeks before production ceased. 366 00:32:00,287 --> 00:32:04,280 Today it looks very different. 367 00:32:04,847 --> 00:32:08,965 This is Mike's first visit back to his old workplace. 368 00:32:12,407 --> 00:32:13,317 Heartbreaking. 369 00:32:13,367 --> 00:32:15,756 l just can't believe it. 370 00:32:15,807 --> 00:32:21,564 A lump comes in your throat, definitely. A real shame. 371 00:32:21,607 --> 00:32:22,960 How did that finish up there? 372 00:32:23,007 --> 00:32:27,478 lt was immaculate. You could just eat your dinner off the floor. lt was spotless. 373 00:32:27,527 --> 00:32:32,476 NlCK: l suppose the ice factory was totally essential for the port for the trawlers. 374 00:32:32,527 --> 00:32:35,166 MlKE: We'd come out there at four o'clock in the morning, 375 00:32:35,207 --> 00:32:38,358 there'd be 20 wagons out there waiting for 20 tonnes of ice each. 376 00:32:38,407 --> 00:32:41,638 lt was a fantastic company to work for. 377 00:32:46,087 --> 00:32:51,684 When this machinery sprang into action, the ice palace came alive. 378 00:32:52,447 --> 00:32:57,475 These massive engines were used to compress ammonia gas. 379 00:32:57,967 --> 00:33:03,360 How did that compressed gas produce up to a thousand tonnes of ice a day? 380 00:33:05,527 --> 00:33:08,485 Chemist Mark Lorch has the answer. 381 00:33:10,687 --> 00:33:13,759 The first step is really just to get a gas and compress it. 382 00:33:13,807 --> 00:33:16,480 Now, you can feel that's cold. 383 00:33:16,527 --> 00:33:19,405 As it comes out it expands and in the process cools down 384 00:33:19,447 --> 00:33:21,961 because all the molecules are much further apart now, 385 00:33:22,007 --> 00:33:24,680 they're not able to bash into each other quite so much. 386 00:33:25,647 --> 00:33:29,686 That chilling effect is the principle behind all sorts of refrigeration 387 00:33:29,727 --> 00:33:32,082 including your domestic fridge and freezer. 388 00:33:32,127 --> 00:33:36,803 The next step is to show you how we can make ice with this simple setup. 389 00:33:36,847 --> 00:33:39,202 Pour this briny water into here, 390 00:33:39,247 --> 00:33:42,683 and what we need to do is to squirt some of this pressurised liquid, 391 00:33:42,727 --> 00:33:45,036 which will be very cold when it releases, 392 00:33:45,087 --> 00:33:51,003 through this coil here, and in so doing this whole coil will cool down, 393 00:33:51,047 --> 00:33:56,883 the salty water will cool down, but salty water will go below zero degrees centigrade 394 00:33:56,927 --> 00:34:02,684 before it freezes, so if we then take our tube of freshwater, put that in there, 395 00:34:02,727 --> 00:34:04,126 this tube will freeze. 396 00:34:04,167 --> 00:34:08,160 Because the brine has a lower freezing point than fresh water, 397 00:34:08,207 --> 00:34:11,756 it will cool this fresh water in here pretty quickly and that will turn to ice. 398 00:34:11,807 --> 00:34:13,081 That's the hope, yeah. 399 00:34:13,607 --> 00:34:16,565 So we just need to wait for that to freeze. 400 00:34:16,607 --> 00:34:21,317 We're minus two, heading for minus three degrees in there now. 401 00:34:21,727 --> 00:34:24,560 - There you go. - lt's solid. 402 00:34:24,607 --> 00:34:27,804 - Fantastic. - There you go. lce on the dockside. 403 00:34:28,487 --> 00:34:34,517 This cooling method, scaled up to an industrial process, powered the ice factory. 404 00:34:35,487 --> 00:34:39,605 lt started with piping in the fresh water to be frozen. 405 00:34:39,647 --> 00:34:41,444 That there came down. 406 00:34:41,487 --> 00:34:44,479 - All these nozzles... - Came down all in one go. 407 00:34:44,527 --> 00:34:46,643 So they filled every pan with water. 408 00:34:46,687 --> 00:34:49,326 So the fresh water came out of these pipes, filled those pans. 409 00:34:49,367 --> 00:34:50,482 That's correct. 410 00:34:50,527 --> 00:34:54,486 So these metal boxes was where the ice actually formed. 411 00:34:54,527 --> 00:34:57,405 That's it, the same as when you put your ice cubes in a fridge. 412 00:34:57,447 --> 00:35:00,917 But where was the brine that chilled this fresh water? 413 00:35:00,967 --> 00:35:05,438 Below the pans. lf you took all the pans out it would be just one gigantic swimming pool. 414 00:35:05,487 --> 00:35:08,320 So you've got hundreds of these metal pans full of fresh water, 415 00:35:08,367 --> 00:35:13,361 they get filled up here and they get pushed by gigantic rams through the brine 416 00:35:13,407 --> 00:35:15,079 from one end of this hall to the other. 417 00:35:15,127 --> 00:35:17,800 - You've got it. - By the time the pans have got to the far end, 418 00:35:17,847 --> 00:35:19,405 the water's turned to ice. 419 00:35:19,447 --> 00:35:23,963 lt took 27 hours for the pans to reach the far side of the building, 420 00:35:24,007 --> 00:35:26,646 gradually being chilled on their journey 421 00:35:26,687 --> 00:35:29,759 through the super-cooled brine beneath the floorboards. 422 00:35:31,047 --> 00:35:33,641 So the pans have travelled the full length of the hall, 423 00:35:33,687 --> 00:35:36,121 and they've emerged this end and turned into ice. 424 00:35:36,167 --> 00:35:39,955 That's correct. Then, of course, the crane comes along with the hooks, picks it up, 425 00:35:40,007 --> 00:35:42,475 drops it in the thaw tank, which is warm water. 426 00:35:42,527 --> 00:35:45,883 Your ice pops up out here in the moulds, it's into the cradle then. 427 00:35:45,927 --> 00:35:48,361 The cradle's balanced with 71/2 tonnes of ice, 428 00:35:48,407 --> 00:35:53,242 it tips over, slides down, all onto the floor, like, you know? 429 00:35:54,807 --> 00:36:00,837 Then you fed the ice onto the conveyor, into this crusher in the far end here. 430 00:36:00,887 --> 00:36:03,447 For the ice factory, this is the end of the process. 431 00:36:03,487 --> 00:36:07,321 What's falling out the bottom of the crusher is crushed ice ready for the trawlers. 432 00:36:07,367 --> 00:36:14,717 That's it, and it takes it up there and onto that conveyor out there and onto the ships. 433 00:36:14,767 --> 00:36:21,639 The empty trays travelled back to the start of the cycle to be filled again with fresh water. 434 00:36:21,687 --> 00:36:24,565 But as Grimsby's fishing fleet dwindled, 435 00:36:24,607 --> 00:36:28,316 fewer workers were waiting at the end of the line for ice. 436 00:36:29,087 --> 00:36:33,160 The factory doors closed in 1 990. 437 00:36:33,607 --> 00:36:36,041 And what was it like that day that you left here, 438 00:36:36,087 --> 00:36:38,885 the last man to be in here and lock the door for the last time? 439 00:36:38,927 --> 00:36:45,605 Well, l can't explain it. lt was like if you'd lost somebody, you know, in your family, really. 440 00:36:45,647 --> 00:36:52,997 And... Oh, it was heartbreaking. l mean, and now to see it like this... 441 00:37:04,807 --> 00:37:08,720 There's not much market for ice these days in Grimsby Harbour, 442 00:37:08,767 --> 00:37:11,679 but it's still doing brisk business. 443 00:37:14,607 --> 00:37:16,199 The busiest boats now 444 00:37:16,247 --> 00:37:21,116 are those coming and going to service offshore wind farms in the North Sea. 445 00:37:22,327 --> 00:37:25,399 Workers adapting to our changing coast. 446 00:37:27,047 --> 00:37:35,239 New technology driving new opportunities. lt's an old, old story around our shores. 447 00:37:35,727 --> 00:37:40,357 The Royal Navy has often been at the vanguard of innovation. 448 00:37:40,927 --> 00:37:44,442 Fine ships have always needed skilled workers. 449 00:37:44,967 --> 00:37:49,006 Those backroom boffins have given our sailors the edge in battle 450 00:37:49,047 --> 00:37:52,801 since the days of wooden warships. 451 00:37:53,927 --> 00:37:59,320 Back then, the Navy's cannonballs flew truer than those of our enemies. 452 00:38:06,247 --> 00:38:10,763 Their deadly accuracy was largely due to a secret ingredient we used 453 00:38:10,807 --> 00:38:14,686 to make our shot perfectly round. 454 00:38:17,127 --> 00:38:23,157 A rare mineral used to manufacture precision cannonballs was mined near Whitehaven. 455 00:38:29,567 --> 00:38:32,639 Tessa is on the mineworkers'trail. 456 00:38:33,927 --> 00:38:38,364 l'm going back over 200 years to the time of Nelson's Navy. 457 00:38:40,087 --> 00:38:49,120 At the Battle of Trafalgar, HMS Victory alone fired over 2,500 rounds of heavy iron shot. 458 00:38:53,367 --> 00:38:58,122 At war with Napoleon, the Navy needed lots of ammunition. 459 00:38:58,807 --> 00:39:03,722 Maritime historian Gareth Cole knows the numbers. 460 00:39:03,767 --> 00:39:07,157 l have a couple of receipts which show just how many cannonballs were sent 461 00:39:07,207 --> 00:39:09,038 to the ordnance by various companies. 462 00:39:09,087 --> 00:39:12,682 - We've got one here for 1 00,000 cannonballs. - 1 00,000? 463 00:39:12,727 --> 00:39:16,402 1 00,000 in one delivery, which cost about £8,500. 464 00:39:16,447 --> 00:39:18,597 Considerable amounts of cash are being parted. 465 00:39:18,647 --> 00:39:20,877 lt was. Over the course of about a 30-year period, 466 00:39:20,927 --> 00:39:23,157 over the French Revolution and Napoleonic wars, 467 00:39:23,207 --> 00:39:30,204 the ordnance spent about £1 0 million on the Navy, which is about £1 billion in today's money. 468 00:39:32,287 --> 00:39:35,597 Foundries could make a mint from government contracts. 469 00:39:35,647 --> 00:39:41,916 But they had their work cut out. The Navy wasn't easy to please. 470 00:39:41,967 --> 00:39:44,401 There's more to cannonballs than meets the eye. 471 00:39:44,447 --> 00:39:49,123 To fly true and hit the intended target, they have to be as round and as smooth 472 00:39:49,167 --> 00:39:51,601 and as perfect as possible. 473 00:39:52,687 --> 00:39:59,923 Making cannonballs in large quantities and of high quality pushed the limits of early engineers. 474 00:40:00,327 --> 00:40:03,876 But Britain had a secret ingredient for success. 475 00:40:04,287 --> 00:40:09,315 ln the lofty hinterland beyond Whitehaven Harbour lay a precious mineral, 476 00:40:09,367 --> 00:40:13,565 with a purity unmatched anywhere else on Earth. 477 00:40:14,487 --> 00:40:20,881 Miners working in the hills near here discovered a very very rare substance called plumbago. 478 00:40:21,127 --> 00:40:24,164 The plumbago mines were so valuable to the military, 479 00:40:24,207 --> 00:40:28,803 they had them protected by an Act of Parliament in 1 752. 480 00:40:29,247 --> 00:40:36,119 This is the act and it says, ''Plumbago has been necessary for diverse useful purposes, 481 00:40:36,167 --> 00:40:39,079 and more particularly in the casting of bombshells, 482 00:40:39,127 --> 00:40:41,595 round shot and cannonballs.'' 483 00:40:48,047 --> 00:40:50,720 To appreciate why the plumbago miners were so important, 484 00:40:50,767 --> 00:40:56,080 we need to find out what plumbago actually is and how it helped cast cannonballs. 485 00:40:56,127 --> 00:40:59,039 So we're going to make our own, old style. 486 00:41:00,327 --> 00:41:05,196 The trade secrets of cannonball casting were lost as the industry dwindled. 487 00:41:05,687 --> 00:41:09,396 But foundryman Andrew Laing is trying to turn back time. 488 00:41:13,767 --> 00:41:16,235 The plumbago was a bit of a secret process. 489 00:41:16,287 --> 00:41:20,724 You coat the mould with the plumbago to make it nice and smooth when the casting is removed. 490 00:41:20,767 --> 00:41:24,680 lt allows what we call casting strip. There's no sand sticking to the actual casting. 491 00:41:24,727 --> 00:41:27,958 The effect it has in the mould is a bit like buttering a baking tray. 492 00:41:28,007 --> 00:41:30,567 - lt can do, yeah. - lt slips out at the end. 493 00:41:31,967 --> 00:41:38,406 Plumbago powder stopped the cast iron cannonballs sticking, even when red hot. 494 00:41:38,447 --> 00:41:44,079 Nothing else was such a good lubricant, and only we had the best. 495 00:41:44,127 --> 00:41:47,676 - You're smoothing it in with your finger. - Yeah, we're just sleeking it up. 496 00:41:47,727 --> 00:41:49,285 And that's to help it ease out. 497 00:41:49,327 --> 00:41:51,557 And again, to make the ball as smooth as possible. 498 00:41:51,607 --> 00:41:54,724 When it's being fired. So will l have a go at doing that? 499 00:41:54,767 --> 00:41:56,200 Fill in the gouge. 500 00:41:56,247 --> 00:42:01,082 Plumbago is common today. We know it as graphite, or pencil lead. 501 00:42:01,927 --> 00:42:06,557 But some 200 years ago, high-grade plumbago was rare. 502 00:42:06,887 --> 00:42:10,880 Whitehaven was close to the only mine for the precious element... 503 00:42:13,167 --> 00:42:16,159 ..hidden in the surrounding hills. 504 00:42:20,687 --> 00:42:23,201 A treasure map of Borrowdale points the way 505 00:42:23,247 --> 00:42:28,799 to what was for centuries the world's purest source of plumbago. 506 00:42:29,527 --> 00:42:33,520 This land conceals that secret of our sea power. 507 00:42:34,007 --> 00:42:39,400 A silver-grey substance workers clawed their way underground to extract. 508 00:42:40,167 --> 00:42:43,955 l've got permission to explore their labyrinth of tunnels 509 00:42:44,007 --> 00:42:47,522 in search of an abandoned plumbago seam. 510 00:42:47,567 --> 00:42:50,718 My guide is Paul Witheridge. 511 00:42:50,767 --> 00:42:52,166 Let's go and explore. 512 00:42:52,207 --> 00:42:57,042 And every day you're in this place you're two days nearer death 513 00:42:57,087 --> 00:43:00,045 But you go 514 00:43:00,087 --> 00:43:04,717 Well, a process man am l and l'm telling you no lie 515 00:43:04,767 --> 00:43:07,156 l work and breathe among the fumes... 516 00:43:07,207 --> 00:43:10,119 l'm glad l've got Paul. l wouldn't have a clue how to get back. 517 00:43:10,167 --> 00:43:13,398 All around me, and there's poison in the air 518 00:43:13,447 --> 00:43:17,679 There's a lousy smell that smacks of hell and dust all in the air 519 00:43:18,687 --> 00:43:20,086 OK. We're here. This is it. 520 00:43:20,727 --> 00:43:23,002 You can see how it's been cut away. 521 00:43:23,047 --> 00:43:25,845 Yeah, imagine, this is a big place that we're stood in here. 522 00:43:25,887 --> 00:43:28,401 This would have been a real bonanza find for them. 523 00:43:28,447 --> 00:43:31,803 So if l touch that, it's going to be like the surface of a pencil, is it? 524 00:43:31,847 --> 00:43:34,042 Pencil lead. Give it a rub and you'll find... 525 00:43:34,087 --> 00:43:36,999 - There you go. - Oh, yeah. Look at that. 526 00:43:40,487 --> 00:43:44,844 There you have it. Plumbago. A pretty ordinary-looking grey mineral, 527 00:43:44,887 --> 00:43:48,277 but once a precious commodity of the British Empire, 528 00:43:48,327 --> 00:43:54,357 key to the success of our navy, and vital for the men who made cannonballs. 529 00:43:54,407 --> 00:43:58,764 And every day you're in this place you're two days nearer death 530 00:43:58,807 --> 00:44:01,480 But you go 531 00:44:02,407 --> 00:44:08,357 Plumbago was hard to get, and working with it was a closely guarded commercial secret. 532 00:44:08,407 --> 00:44:13,117 We haven't a manual for casting cannonballs, and we're nowhere near a foundry. 533 00:44:13,167 --> 00:44:15,806 Can we manage it on the quayside? 534 00:44:15,847 --> 00:44:17,997 - Which one? - Any one. That one. 535 00:44:18,047 --> 00:44:22,279 Go on. Go on. Go on. That's it. 536 00:44:24,007 --> 00:44:29,127 So, the moment of truth. Will our graphite lining, in other words the plumbago, 537 00:44:29,167 --> 00:44:32,284 have delivered a perfectly formed smooth cannonball? 538 00:44:32,327 --> 00:44:34,363 No pressure. 539 00:44:39,047 --> 00:44:41,356 Oh, it's a disaster. 540 00:44:41,407 --> 00:44:43,159 - There isn't one! - There isn't one. 541 00:44:43,207 --> 00:44:46,961 lt's not run, the metal's chilled. 542 00:44:47,287 --> 00:44:52,884 The sea breeze cooled my molten iron so quickly it didn't flow into the mould. 543 00:44:53,567 --> 00:44:55,285 Of course, you did cast it. 544 00:44:57,567 --> 00:45:01,242 But these wily lads have left nothing to chance. 545 00:45:01,287 --> 00:45:04,165 They've brought cannonballs cast in their foundry, 546 00:45:04,207 --> 00:45:07,483 half the mould with plumbago, half without. 547 00:45:08,207 --> 00:45:13,884 You can see from the surface finish on that one, the effects of the plumbago. 548 00:45:13,927 --> 00:45:19,763 Yeah, you can immediately. This is smooth, and on this side it is very sandy-feeling. 549 00:45:19,807 --> 00:45:26,645 A real magic ingredient, and quite sobering to think we didn't even get off step one today. 550 00:45:27,367 --> 00:45:30,564 Clearly l wouldn't make a living from cannonballs. 551 00:45:30,607 --> 00:45:34,395 But then the bottom fell out of the market a while ago. 552 00:45:35,407 --> 00:45:39,923 Early in the 1 9th Century, plumbago from near here started to fall in value 553 00:45:39,967 --> 00:45:42,686 as other sources were discovered overseas. 554 00:45:42,727 --> 00:45:48,279 Local miners had to find new uses for their graphite, in other words plumbago, 555 00:45:48,327 --> 00:45:50,716 and turned it into pencil leads. 556 00:45:50,767 --> 00:45:55,795 Swords into ploughshares, cannonballs into pencils. 557 00:46:01,967 --> 00:46:06,916 NlCK: Heading south from the Cumbrian Mountains, rock rolls into sand. 558 00:46:14,167 --> 00:46:17,603 We've reached the pleasure palace of Blackpool. 559 00:46:22,127 --> 00:46:24,960 Fun for some meansjobs for others. 560 00:46:27,087 --> 00:46:33,356 This is the shoreline with the largest concentration of workers dedicated to leisure. 561 00:46:33,767 --> 00:46:36,998 The resort owes its existence to entertainers. 562 00:46:38,127 --> 00:46:43,247 From the earliest days, stars of stage and screen treading the boards 563 00:46:43,287 --> 00:46:47,075 brought in the crowds, and their cash. 564 00:46:47,527 --> 00:46:51,998 Those performers with mighty pulling power have lan intrigued. 565 00:46:52,967 --> 00:46:56,960 ''Garlic bread, it's the future. l've tasted it.'' 566 00:46:57,007 --> 00:47:00,966 That's Peter Kay. He's as northern as Blackpool rock. 567 00:47:01,767 --> 00:47:05,806 ''l'm playing all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order.'' 568 00:47:05,847 --> 00:47:08,407 Eric Morecambe, of course. 569 00:47:08,447 --> 00:47:12,201 Blackpool honours the stellar names of the stage with this comedy carpet, 570 00:47:12,247 --> 00:47:14,681 but they're not just being nice, it's good business. 571 00:47:14,727 --> 00:47:19,278 Booking the best talent meant that Blackpool was booming a hundred years ago, 572 00:47:19,327 --> 00:47:21,966 and those hard-working entertainers from a century back 573 00:47:22,007 --> 00:47:24,919 were true superstars of the Edwardian era. 574 00:47:24,967 --> 00:47:26,605 But how would they get on today? 575 00:47:26,647 --> 00:47:29,286 When Ma said, ''Percy, fie, for shame...'' 576 00:47:29,327 --> 00:47:32,922 lAN: To put their material to the test, we've engaged our own troupe of top talent. 577 00:47:32,967 --> 00:47:36,004 l'm following in Father's footsteps... 578 00:47:36,047 --> 00:47:39,323 Tribute acts to performers who once packed in the punters, 579 00:47:39,367 --> 00:47:42,165 and commanded a King's ransom to perform. 580 00:47:42,207 --> 00:47:49,204 Now appearing 1 00 years on, Coast presents, at great expense, the vivacious Vesta Tilley. 581 00:47:51,367 --> 00:47:53,358 The lovable Little Tich. 582 00:47:54,887 --> 00:47:59,403 - For one time only... - Edwardian Britain's Got Seaside Talent. 583 00:48:02,887 --> 00:48:05,606 To draw tourists into the growing resort, 584 00:48:05,647 --> 00:48:09,925 Blackpool needed to attract the best talent working in Britain. 585 00:48:10,167 --> 00:48:16,003 That meant building lavish theatres to lure the stars away from the London stage. 586 00:48:18,687 --> 00:48:24,045 Nothing exemplifies the ambition and glamour of Blackpool's theatre land better than the Grand. 587 00:48:27,247 --> 00:48:31,320 This is the venue where we'll stage our century-old talent show 588 00:48:31,367 --> 00:48:35,360 to see if those performers can still work a crowd today. 589 00:48:37,327 --> 00:48:43,118 And to tell me more about our Edwardian acts, we've booked a Blackpool legend. 590 00:48:45,687 --> 00:48:48,360 By jove, folks. What a beautiful day! 591 00:48:48,407 --> 00:48:51,843 What a beautiful day for jumping off the top of Blackpool Tower, 592 00:48:51,887 --> 00:48:56,119 holding your granny's corsets over your head and saying, ''How's this for skydiving?'' 593 00:48:56,167 --> 00:48:59,364 What a beautiful theatre! What a plumptious place! 594 00:48:59,407 --> 00:49:00,760 What a grand theatre! 595 00:49:00,807 --> 00:49:06,245 - Get to Barnsley! - l'm being heckled. l'll sort him out. 596 00:49:06,287 --> 00:49:09,279 - Who are you? Where are you from? - lan McMillan from Barnsley. 597 00:49:09,327 --> 00:49:12,637 Not Barnsley. Oh, Barnsley! Remember The Good Companions? 598 00:49:12,687 --> 00:49:15,281 ''Never again to Barnsley.'' Are you really from Barnsley? 599 00:49:15,327 --> 00:49:17,204 - l am. - lt's nice of you to take the blame. 600 00:49:17,247 --> 00:49:19,397 (Laughs) 601 00:49:19,447 --> 00:49:23,918 - This is a fantastic theatre. - Probably the most beautiful theatre in Britain. 602 00:49:23,967 --> 00:49:27,084 This was a Frank Matcham theatre. He was the great theatre architect. 603 00:49:27,127 --> 00:49:29,960 He did about 1 20 theatres all over Britain. 604 00:49:30,007 --> 00:49:36,480 But this is the most beautiful and it has been absolutely lovingly restored to its magnificence. 605 00:49:37,047 --> 00:49:41,040 And what do you think it is about Blackpool? Why is Blackpool such a great place? 606 00:49:41,087 --> 00:49:43,840 Blackpool is the greatest show town in the world. 607 00:49:43,887 --> 00:49:49,007 lt was in Edwardian times and it is today. 608 00:49:49,047 --> 00:49:51,845 l was always very lucky. l lived up the road here in digs. 609 00:49:51,887 --> 00:49:57,439 Mrs Diggen's dignified digs. No dogs, 30 shillings a week, all in, one bed. 610 00:49:57,487 --> 00:50:02,436 - She used to change the sheets every...spring. - (Laughs) 611 00:50:02,487 --> 00:50:05,445 Some of those old stars like Vesta Tilley and Little Tich, 612 00:50:05,487 --> 00:50:10,322 what was it about them that made them so attractive to audiences? 613 00:50:10,367 --> 00:50:13,006 There were no films, no television, no radio. 614 00:50:13,047 --> 00:50:17,962 Entertainment was really in the music hall, in the theatre, and they were the superstars. 615 00:50:18,007 --> 00:50:21,795 They all had great, wonderful personalities. That's what really makes an artist. 616 00:50:21,847 --> 00:50:24,805 lt's not what they do, it's how they do it. 617 00:50:24,847 --> 00:50:28,044 So, let's see how they do do it. 618 00:50:31,247 --> 00:50:32,919 (Cheering and applause) 619 00:50:35,087 --> 00:50:40,445 Let's begin with the diva of drag. l'm talking about Vesta Tilley. 620 00:50:45,807 --> 00:50:52,519 The ladies, heaven bless them, now we love them, every one 621 00:50:52,567 --> 00:50:54,205 We praise them and we toast them... 622 00:50:54,247 --> 00:50:58,126 Vesta Tilley dressed up as a masher, 623 00:50:58,167 --> 00:51:00,476 and a masher was a dandy or a man about town. 624 00:51:00,527 --> 00:51:03,121 That was sort of probably her most famous act. 625 00:51:03,167 --> 00:51:11,438 Angels, angels, angels without wings 626 00:51:11,487 --> 00:51:14,285 She was a woman wearing trousers. 627 00:51:14,327 --> 00:51:18,923 Now, you didn't very often get the opportunity to see a woman wearing trousers, 628 00:51:18,967 --> 00:51:24,166 so l'm sure there was an element of excitement at her silhouette. 629 00:51:24,207 --> 00:51:26,880 Angels, angels... 630 00:51:26,927 --> 00:51:31,364 l would say her act was very much directed towards the men in the audience, 631 00:51:31,407 --> 00:51:34,319 but she got a lot of love letters from women, 632 00:51:34,367 --> 00:51:40,556 married women, who really did convince themselves that she was a young man. 633 00:51:40,607 --> 00:51:42,598 (Cheering and applause) 634 00:51:45,527 --> 00:51:49,566 l want to find out more about this cross-dressing star of the Edwardian era, 635 00:51:49,607 --> 00:51:52,644 and more about her Blackpool audience. 636 00:51:52,687 --> 00:51:54,803 l'm meeting historian Fern Riddell. 637 00:51:54,847 --> 00:51:57,520 - Hello, Fern. - Hi, lan. 638 00:51:57,567 --> 00:51:59,478 Now, she portrayed toffs and swells, 639 00:51:59,527 --> 00:52:02,564 so why would this have appealed to this working-class audience? 640 00:52:02,607 --> 00:52:06,122 Well, it was this whole idea of seeing how the other half lived. 641 00:52:06,167 --> 00:52:08,044 That was why they went to the music halls. 642 00:52:08,087 --> 00:52:09,600 For the glitz and the glamour. 643 00:52:09,647 --> 00:52:12,207 They didn't have access to the gossip magazines 644 00:52:12,247 --> 00:52:15,922 that we have today, that's why they got so excited by it, and especially by Vesta. 645 00:52:15,967 --> 00:52:18,561 She really was paid a vast amount of money, wasn't she? 646 00:52:18,607 --> 00:52:24,716 She really was. You can see here in the admissions book from 1 91 2 that she's paid £300 647 00:52:24,767 --> 00:52:26,200 for her weekly performance, 648 00:52:26,247 --> 00:52:30,718 which in comparison to the male comedian underneath her, he only got £45. 649 00:52:30,767 --> 00:52:36,683 lf we think of this in terms of modern day, it was around £20,000. 650 00:52:39,287 --> 00:52:44,680 The equivalent of 20 grand a week elevated Vesta Tilley to the premier league of performers. 651 00:52:46,927 --> 00:52:50,840 Our other hardworking Edwardian entertainer was a little guy 652 00:52:50,887 --> 00:52:55,677 whose remarkably big boots take some filling, and polishing. 653 00:52:56,927 --> 00:52:59,805 Will his novelty act still shine today? 654 00:53:01,447 --> 00:53:05,076 Let's imagine we're in the Grand Theatre Blackpool a hundred years ago. 655 00:53:05,127 --> 00:53:07,766 Please welcome a man small in stature but with a big heart. 656 00:53:07,807 --> 00:53:10,196 Let's have a big round of applause for Little Tich. 657 00:53:10,247 --> 00:53:11,396 (Cheering and applause) 658 00:53:16,207 --> 00:53:22,601 Little Tich was a 4'6'' music-hall performer who became one of the biggest live stars. 659 00:53:24,487 --> 00:53:25,602 He had a number of acts 660 00:53:25,647 --> 00:53:30,323 but was best known for the big-boot dance where he'd wear 28-inch long boots. 661 00:53:30,367 --> 00:53:34,201 l've always had the mania since the day that l was born 662 00:53:34,247 --> 00:53:38,957 To study in the art of Terpsichore 663 00:53:39,007 --> 00:53:42,602 l was always dancing mad and l would practise night and morn 664 00:53:42,647 --> 00:53:46,322 To jump and shuffle on our kitchen floor 665 00:53:46,367 --> 00:53:49,200 Little Tich appealed to the working classes 666 00:53:49,247 --> 00:53:53,001 because it was a little guy taking the mick out of the upper classes. 667 00:53:53,047 --> 00:53:57,040 He'd dress up as gas inspectors, politicians and even royalty. 668 00:54:03,207 --> 00:54:05,198 (Cheering and applause) 669 00:54:14,847 --> 00:54:20,479 Putting bums on seats by booking the biggest stars to perform in palatial surroundings. 670 00:54:21,527 --> 00:54:25,520 lt was a business model that proved just the ticket for Blackpool. 671 00:54:25,567 --> 00:54:30,960 Year in, year out, workers wanting a break from the mill towns nearby would flood in 672 00:54:31,007 --> 00:54:34,966 with holiday cash burning a hole in their pockets. 673 00:54:38,127 --> 00:54:40,880 They would get on an early train, arrive at 7 am, 674 00:54:40,927 --> 00:54:44,124 and they'd go straight onto the beachfront and start dancing. 675 00:54:44,167 --> 00:54:46,203 So was anything allowed, then? 676 00:54:46,247 --> 00:54:48,238 Drunkenness, yes, was accepted. 677 00:54:48,287 --> 00:54:51,518 lt was taken that when you get large groups of working-class people, 678 00:54:51,567 --> 00:54:55,606 they would want to spend their money on beer and have a good time and be able to be free. 679 00:54:57,887 --> 00:55:01,084 Once they'd done the seafront and downed a few ales, 680 00:55:01,127 --> 00:55:05,484 generations of workers loved to end the day with a singsong. 681 00:55:07,127 --> 00:55:10,517 So let's finish with a great seaside anthem, written almost 1 00 years ago. 682 00:55:10,567 --> 00:55:13,161 l Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside. 683 00:55:13,207 --> 00:55:18,235 Oh, l do like to be beside the seaside 684 00:55:18,287 --> 00:55:21,882 Oh, l do like to be beside the sea 685 00:55:21,927 --> 00:55:25,761 Oh, l do like to stroll along the prom, prom, prom 686 00:55:25,807 --> 00:55:29,004 Where the brass bands play tiddly-om-pom-pom 687 00:55:29,047 --> 00:55:33,916 So just let me be beside the seaside 688 00:55:33,967 --> 00:55:37,084 l'll be beside myself with glee 689 00:55:37,127 --> 00:55:40,642 And there's lots of girls beside l should like to be beside 690 00:55:40,687 --> 00:55:42,439 Beside the seaside 691 00:55:42,487 --> 00:55:45,285 Beside the sea 692 00:55:45,327 --> 00:55:47,318 (Cheering and applause) 693 00:56:18,767 --> 00:56:24,285 NlCK: Being beside the seaside wasn't a getaway for many hard-pressed coastal folk. 694 00:56:25,247 --> 00:56:29,035 lt was a harsh life for manual workers in the docks. 695 00:56:30,127 --> 00:56:35,679 But there was dignity in labour, with splendid surroundings. 696 00:56:37,447 --> 00:56:42,885 The port of Grimsby marked its workers' achievements with a mighty tower. 697 00:56:45,327 --> 00:56:48,399 Close up, it's quite a sight. 698 00:56:48,447 --> 00:56:55,080 lt was completed in 1 852 and it's a copy of a beautiful tower in the ltalian town of Siena. 699 00:56:55,127 --> 00:56:59,996 But like everything else in this port, their tower had to work for a living. 700 00:57:01,607 --> 00:57:05,885 The pretty brick facade conceals the building's true function. 701 00:57:06,487 --> 00:57:09,445 lt's a giant water tower. 702 00:57:11,687 --> 00:57:15,475 Wow. This is even more monumental on the inside. 703 00:57:15,527 --> 00:57:20,521 This pipe here used to pump water way up the tower to a huge holding tank. 704 00:57:20,567 --> 00:57:24,242 The water was then released down this pipe here, 705 00:57:24,287 --> 00:57:30,362 which fed hydraulic pumps that worked the lock gates and the cranes in the harbour. 706 00:57:31,527 --> 00:57:35,839 One thing that's missing from the tower, though, is a lift. 707 00:57:35,887 --> 00:57:41,041 That means walking up the biggest spiral staircase l've ever seen. 708 00:57:44,767 --> 00:57:47,520 The workers'coast is hard work. 709 00:57:48,127 --> 00:57:53,804 A million bricks built the tower and it takes 450 steps to climb it. 710 00:57:54,327 --> 00:57:57,000 l hope the view's worth it. 711 00:57:58,967 --> 00:58:04,724 The mammoth efforts of labourers to remodel our shore unfolds below. 712 00:58:07,087 --> 00:58:10,841 The Grimsby Tower doesn't disappoint. 713 00:58:11,487 --> 00:58:16,561 This monument in brick may have been paid for by the great and the good 714 00:58:16,607 --> 00:58:19,041 but it was built by ordinary folk. 715 00:58:19,087 --> 00:58:25,276 The skills, the endeavours of such unsung heroes, are written all around our shores. 716 00:58:25,327 --> 00:58:29,036 This is the workers' coast, it's our coast. 717 00:58:29,087 --> 00:58:31,123 Let's celebrate it.