Cockleshell Heroes (locations)

[Bobj]

Anyone know of any of the specific locations for this film. I'm thinking especially of the harbour scenes where their targets are located and also at the beginning the exercise where the volunteers are dropped in Scotland and asked to make their way back to base dressed in German uniforms.



Imdb gives locations as Shepperton Studios & Portugal but anyone know details?

[Christopher Matheson]

I haven't seen this film in ages and the print I viewed was not widescreen, so the extreme left and right of the image were missing. I cannot identify any of the scenes which especially interest you, but I think I know two locations. In one scene one of the marines, I think it was John Van Eyssen, is picked up by a woman in a big car at the corner of Parliament Square and Great George Street. In another scene a marine, David Lodge I believe, arrives back but at the depot in running gear. As he enters the depot a London trolleybus and a British Railways steam engine are visible behind him. I think this scene must be Albert Road between Silvertown and North Woolwich. I hope this is of some use.



Christopher Matheson

[Steve Crook]

(Christopher Matheson @ Apr 21 2006, 12:11 AM)



I haven't seen this film in ages and the print I viewed was not widescreen, so the extreme left and right of the image were missing. I cannot identify any of the scenes which especially interest you, but I think I know two locations. In one scene one of the marines, I think it was John Van Eyssen, is picked up by a woman in a big car at the corner of Parliament Square and Great George Street. In another scene a marine, David Lodge I believe, arrives back but at the depot in running gear. As he enters the depot a London trolleybus and a British Railways steam engine are visible behind him. I think this scene must be Albert Road between Silvertown and North Woolwich. I hope this is of some use.



Christopher Matheson

That last suggestion could be worth exploring, but it's all been quite heavily rebuilt around there. Was that really a Marines depot or other barraks there or did they just find something that looked like it could be suitable?



Steve

[mark-b]

I am pretty certain 80% that the Barrack scenes/pool and the "running across the top of the rifle Butts" was filmed at the Royal Marine Barracks at Southsea/Eastney -Portsmouth, it is now the Royal Marines Museum

http://www.royalmarinesmuseum.co.uk/visit_find.htm



If you use google maps and zoom in on the area and go to sat photo you can see the rifle range and shingle beach area at the old fort area at Eastney.



Hope you find this of use and interesting



Cheers

Mark

[Bobj]

Thanks to you all for your responses.

I should imagine some of the UK scenes were probably filmed locally around Shepperton Studios as it was a pretty rural area around that time.

[David Thrower]

The trolleybus and steam train sequence was definitely on the Stratford-North Woolwich route - it was the one place where there was an extended length of both a rail line and a trolley line, and the steam train was the correct type.



The level crossing sequence earlier on looked as though it was locomotive 30729. If I got that correctly (did I?), it is a London & South western Drummond T9 class, very rare on film, the last of which ran in 1961. The crossing and station looked like Hampshire, possibly the Romsey area. The locomotive was based at Bournemouth at that time (mid-1950s), so that lends support. But the electric train sequence looks like the Thames Valley area, perhaps Staines/Virginia Water - not very far from Shepperton.



I will have to obtain a copy of the film! (screened on Channel 5 on 21st June 2008).



David Thrower

[Bunnyboy]

I caught most of it on TV today. The street and house where David Lodge goes back with Trevor Howard to beat up his wife's 'fancy man' looks interesting. Looked a bit neglected and run down in 1955. Was it a film set or does it still exist? If so, where? Nice to see a film of this genre and age in colour as they all seem to be B & W!

[glyn horton]

The trolleybus and steam train sequence was definitely on the Stratford-North Woolwich route - it was the one place where there was an extended length of both a rail line and a trolley line, and the steam train was the correct type.



The level crossing sequence earlier on looked as though it was locomotive 30729. If I got that correctly (did I?), it is a London & South western Drummond T9 class, very rare on film, the last of which ran in 1961. The crossing and station looked like Hampshire, possibly the Romsey area. The locomotive was based at Bournemouth at that time (mid-1950s), so that lends support. But the electric train sequence looks like the Thames Valley area, perhaps Staines/Virginia Water - not very far from Shepperton.



I will have to obtain a copy of the film! (screened on Channel 5 on 21st June 2008).



David Thrower

Hi David



I did a bit of research on Cockleshell Heroes some years ago while preparing a book about railways in British films - the North Woolwich line does appear in that scene, I think the station is Custom House but it might be Silvertown.



The scene looking down from a bridge with a Southern electric train arriving at a station was filmed at Chertsey and there is a scene where Jose Ferrer(?) walks up to station which was filmed at Shepperton station.



The T9 is 30729! Unfortunately I never discovered where this bit was filmed. What I particularly like about the railway scenes in this film is all the British Railways signs that can be seen even though it wasn't formed until 3 years after the war!

[Alan F]

The T9 is 30729! Unfortunately I never discovered where this bit was filmed. What I particularly like about the railway scenes in this film is all the British Railways signs that can be seen even though it wasn't formed until 3 years after the war!

The station with the T9 passing through was Fort Brockhurst on the Gosport branch. On the subject of signs, the light green strip on the canopy at Shepperton is covering the words “SHEPPERTON STATION”.

To answer part of the original question, some of Dave Lodge’s scenes were filmed in Charlton Road, Shepperton. The shot where he is chased by the dog is at the junction with Marion Avenue and the ford where he gets splashed by the car is at the end of what is now Nutty Lane, renamed after the M3 cut through Charlton Lane. The footbridge is still there, a few feet from the motorway, but the ford has gone.

[PS68060]

In one scene you can clearly see the SETT (Submarine Escape Training Tower) in the background. It looks like a silvery grey tower block. It's in Gosport.



It's a 30m high water tank used to train submariners how to escape a sub. My club have scuba dived it a few times. It's lovely and warm and quite strange to look out through the portholes at 28m and see a desk and the windows out onto the dockside.

[Steve Crook]

In one scene you can clearly see the SETT (Submarine Escape Training Tower) in the background. It looks like a silvery grey tower block. It's in Gosport.



It's a 30m high water tank used to train submariners how to escape a sub. My club have scuba dived it a few times. It's lovely and warm and quite strange to look out through the portholes at 28m and see a desk and the windows out onto the dockside.

Is it in Gosport? The Royal Navy site says it's across the water in Portsmouth.



I know they do get confused. I used to sail out of Gosport and I've done a few training courses at various RN shore stations in Portsmouth



Steve

[earlb]

Royal Navy Submarine Museum

[Tony Pendrey]

There is a pub right next to the barracks. It says "Brickwood" on the sign which, as far as I can determine, is a Portsmouth brewery. Anyone know what pub it is/was ?



I bet it was quite lively in there some nights.

[Steve Crook]

There is a pub right next to the barracks. It says "Brickwood" on the sign which, as far as I can determine, is a Portsmouth brewery. Anyone know what pub it is/was ?



I bet it was quite lively in there some nights.

Bearing in mind that they were Royal Marines, not Navy.

The Marines were stationed over in Eastney Barracks. That's on gthe same little peninsula as Portsmouth but right down in the SE corner of it. Facing across to South Hayling.



When I did some courses on RN shore establishments we had a few evenings in Portsmouth. That place isn't short of pubs and yes, it did get very lively



Steve

[steve d holt]

Having watched the film again this weekend on TV, always interested in locations from my favourite films.

This site is a gem is finding out old film locations. Keep up the good work everyone.

[spinalman]

Having lived in Southsea I think it doubtful that you'd see the submarine tower from the Eastney Barracks.



Barracks: Flash Earth ...satellite and aerial imagery of the Earth in Flash





tower:

Flash Earth ...satellite and aerial imagery of the Earth in Flash



+ marks the tower





As a student in Pompey we had a computer print out of all the pubs on the "island" - IIR 300+ was the total. I never visted the Eastney Brickwoods pub. (a large number were Brickwoods: including the Mars Bar, Gravediggers, and Fawcett Inn)

[Steve Crook]

Having lived in Southsea I think it doubtful that you'd see the submarine tower from the Eastney Barracks.

That's the magic of film. The way that you can see Big Ben and Tower Bridge in the same shot out of every window in London.



Do you ever see the barracks gates in the same shot as the submarine tower?



Steve

[spinalman]

That's the magic of film. The way that you can see Big Ben and Tower Bridge in the same shot out of every window in London.



Do you ever see the barracks gates in the same shot as the submarine tower?



Steve

Can anyone supply frame grabs so we can see what we are trying to identify here?

[chajun]

My Dad worked at the Royal Albert docks in London now the site of the City Airport. i remember him telling little me that the water scenes were shot there.