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Crown of the Year (shortest version)

1943 , Filby (Norfolk)

Cat no. 1176

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The film shows the harvesting process and was filmed on Mr. C. Wharton's farm in East Norfolk

The film begins with a tractor ploughing the field and then a horse-drawn seed drill sows the field. The grain harvest is described in the commentary as the crown of the farming year. The uses of the crops are explained including a reminder that in wartime barley was used for making bread also. The farmer, called George Hodge in the film, explains how his farm has developed and runs through a few statistics; the farm is about 1,000 acres and employs 20 men and 12 women. In the next sequence a tractor-pulled self binder is shown cutting and tying the bundles of corn. The shocks are collected and stacked by women, some of who are in land girl uniform. Mr. Hodge explains that the wheat continues ripening in the shocks. In these scenes All Saints Church. Filby is visible in the background. Mr. John Hollis, an ex-East Coast fisherman, is shown out on the farm with a gun scaring the birds. The crop is loaded into a horse drawn cart. The farm horse is being ridden by a small boy. Next the farm workers are shown building a strawstack. After a panorama of the surrounding countryside, a tractor-drawn combine is shown harvesting and a tractor-drawn baler, driven by a land girl collects the straw. At one stage an industrial town is seen in the background. Other farm activities are shown. The film moves on to the harvest festival service in All Saints Church. This is inter shot with scenes, probably from another farm, showing harvesting of other crops, including potatoes. All machinery in this sequence is horse-drawn. The film moves back to Mr. Hodge's farm, showing ploughing in the stubble and lifting and topping the sugar beet crop.Mr. Hodge is shown doing his accounts, planning for the next year, in which he explains crop rotation, and the importance of food supply for the country during the war. In a conversation with his local adviser, Mr. Cock, he agrees to plough up more of the marshland in an attempt to increase the cultivation of wheat. The film ends with general farming scenes, illustrating he cyclical nature of farming.

Featured Buildings

All Saints Church, Filby; Stokesley Barns

Keywords

Agriculture; Farming; Harvesting

  • Production company : The Greenpark Unit of Verity Films Ltd

  • Sponsor : Ministry of Information

  • Camera : Raymond Elton

  • Camera : Reg Wyer

  • Director : Ralph Keene

  • Script : Ralph Keene

  • Commentator : Reginald Gamble

  • Commentator : Philip Robinson

  • Music : William Allwyn

  • Music : (Played by) The London Symphony Orchestra

  • Producer : Edgar Anstey (associate producer)

  • Sound : Al Rhind

Manifestations

Crown of the Year (shortest version)

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