Amethyst Incident

[Habebty]

Down at my Mums in Plymouth at the mo. Watching the Amethyst Incident On the TV. Rivers Stour and Orwell doubling for the Yangtze! Thought it looked familiar so I looked up the film on Wikipedia.

 

[Tamar]

The Chinese guns were firing from HMS Ganges

 

[nortada]

Down at my Mums in Plymouth at the mo. Watching the Amethyst Incident On the TV. Rivers Stour and Orwell doubling for the Yangtze! Thought it looked familiar so I looked up the film on Wikipedia.

A Plymouth boy, I remember seeing Amethyst arriving back in Plymouth and later watching her being broken up.

For those who want it the full film is available on You Tube.

 

[Habebty]

The Chinese guns were firing from HMS Ganges

Yes, there were some suspiciously European looking Chinese there And i wouldn’t like to try landing a Sunderland off Shotley these days?

 

[sailorman]

Yes, there were some suspiciously European looking Chinese there And i wouldn’t like to try landing a Sunderland off Shotley these days?

what anchor was it deploying

 

[Habebty]

what anchor was it deploying

Dunno...but they got it up PDQ

 

[Bru]

Dunno...but they got it up PDQ

Does East Coast mud resemble Chinese mud i wonder?

 

[Habebty]

Does East Coast mud resemble Chinese mud i wonder?
[/QUOTE
Apparently yes, as the Amethyst appeared to hit the putty in the same place as me once

 

[DavidofMersea]

Down at my Mums in Plymouth at the mo. Watching the Amethyst Incident On the TV. Rivers Stour and Orwell doubling for the Yangtze! Thought it looked familiar so I looked up the film on Wikipedia.

The film "The battle of the River Plate" was also filmed in Stour and Orwell in about 1960

 

[Habebty]

The film "The battle of the River Plate" was also filmed in Stour and Orwell in about 1960

Are you sure? ...

Production[edit]
The Battle of the River Plate had its genesis in an invitation to Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger to attend a film festival in Argentina in 1954. They decided they could not afford to take the time from their schedules unless it was a working holiday, and used the trip to research the defeat of Admiral Graf Spee. They came across the "hook" for their story when one of the surviving British naval officers gave Pressburger a copy of Captain Patrick Dove's book I Was A Prisoner on the Graf Spee, which became the basis of the human story of the film.[8]
Principal photography began on 13 December 1955, the sixteenth anniversary of the battle. The HMS Ajax and River Plate Association reportedly sent a message to the producers: "Hope your shooting will be as successful as ours". Location shooting for the arrival and departure of Admiral Graf Spee took place at the port of Montevideo, using thousands of locals as extras.[8] However, the scenes showing Admiral Graf Spee sailing from Montevideo were shot in the Grand Harbour at Valletta in Malta, and the launch taking McCall out to HMS Ajax was filmed in Gozo harbour on Malta's northern island.[citation needed]

 

[Koeketiene]

Are you sure? ...

Production[edit]
The Battle of the River Plate had its genesis in an invitation to Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger to attend a film festival in Argentina in 1954. They decided they could not afford to take the time from their schedules unless it was a working holiday, and used the trip to research the defeat of Admiral Graf Spee. They came across the "hook" for their story when one of the surviving British naval officers gave Pressburger a copy of Captain Patrick Dove's book I Was A Prisoner on the Graf Spee, which became the basis of the human story of the film.[8]
Principal photography began on 13 December 1955, the sixteenth anniversary of the battle. The HMS Ajax and River Plate Association reportedly sent a message to the producers: "Hope your shooting will be as successful as ours". Location shooting for the arrival and departure of Admiral Graf Spee took place at the port of Montevideo, using thousands of locals as extras.[8] However, the scenes showing Admiral Graf Spee sailing from Montevideo were shot in the Grand Harbour at Valletta in Malta, and the launch taking McCall out to HMS Ajax was filmed in Gozo harbour on Malta's northern island.[citation needed]

DoM is always sure - but not often correct.

 

[DavidofMersea]

Are you sure? ...

Production[edit]
The Battle of the River Plate had its genesis in an invitation to Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger to attend a film festival in Argentina in 1954. They decided they could not afford to take the time from their schedules unless it was a working holiday, and used the trip to research the defeat of Admiral Graf Spee. They came across the "hook" for their story when one of the surviving British naval officers gave Pressburger a copy of Captain Patrick Dove's book I Was A Prisoner on the Graf Spee, which became the basis of the human story of the film.[8]
Principal photography began on 13 December 1955, the sixteenth anniversary of the battle. The HMS Ajax and River Plate Association reportedly sent a message to the producers: "Hope your shooting will be as successful as ours". Location shooting for the arrival and departure of Admiral Graf Spee took place at the port of Montevideo, using thousands of locals as extras.[8] However, the scenes showing Admiral Graf Spee sailing from Montevideo were shot in the Grand Harbour at Valletta in Malta, and the launch taking McCall out to HMS Ajax was filmed in Gozo harbour on Malta's northern island.[citation needed]

No, I am not 100% sure it was The Battle of the River Plate, but I recall there was a navel battle film, (or part of) filmed in the Orwell/Stour in about 1960, and many of the cast stayed in a hotel in Dedham

 

[DavidofMersea]

DoM is always sure - but not often correct.

That is nasty. at least I know who I am, and I am not so ashamed of myself, that I feel the need to keep changing to hide my identity

 

[Aquaboy]

I thought the film was called the "Yangtse Incident" which was certainly filmed around Harwich Haven

 

[LONG_KEELER]

I thought the film was called the "Yangtse Incident" which was certainly filmed around Harwich Haven

Sure you are right. I watched it very recently.

 

[Habebty]

I thought the film was called the "Yangtse Incident" which was certainly filmed around Harwich Haven

You are of course absolutely correct.

 

[bromleybysea]

Walking the dog in the park not long ago, I met an old lady who’s husband had been a petty officer on HMS Amethyst. She later showed me his bosun‘s call and cap tally. As an aficionado of old British war films, especially naval ones, this gave me a great deal of pleasure. I hadn’t clocked the Stour/Orwell connection with the Yangsee Incident; but will watch it again with renewed interest.

 

[Koeketiene]

That is nasty. at least I know who I am, and I am not so ashamed of myself, that I feel the need to keep changing to hide my identity

I changed my 'identity' when I changed boats.
Many on here know who I am.
Quite a few know me personally.
No hiding - no shame - no mystery.

 

[Tamar]

When I did my basic training in HMS Ganges we had an elderly CPO instructor seeing out his time there who was stationed at the base when they were filming the Chinese fireing at the British ships.

They used to show us the movie almost every week ? They were using old obsolete field guns, and he was one of the 'chinese' gunners. I always try to look for him when they show that part of the film.

 

[Sharky34]

Walking the dog in the park not long ago, I met an old lady who’s husband had been a petty officer on HMS Amethyst. She later showed me his bosun‘s call and cap tally. As an aficionado of old British war films, especially naval ones, this gave me a great deal of pleasure. I hadn’t clocked the Stour/Orwell connection with the Yangsee Incident; but will watch it again with renewed interest.

The Amethyst Capt lived in my village.