16mm Memories
About this film.
Jean and Hugh Weir - Granny and Grandpa
Hubert Cecil Weir, Grandpa. I have a few very vague memories of my Grandpa but sadly he died when I was very young. My Granny (on the left there) lived with us growing up; her and other older members of my family tell me what a great man he was. I grew up hearing some fascinating tales of Grandpa working as a Doctor in Nigeria, where my mum was subsequently born. Stories of Grandpa using modern medicine to counter act the 'curses' handed out by witch doctors (more often than not, a nail banged into the top of the skull) amazed me. My favourite story, however, was that Grandpa had a number of pets - most notable a monkey and a Lioness, reared from a cub. The Lioness would sit next his big mahogany chair as he read, whilst the monkey would swing around the rafters above.
Some time a while ago, my Mum had a big box of slides belonging to Grandpa, which I volunteered to take. History excites me as it is, even more so when it's a family connection (and even more so when there's a chance of finding a picture of said Lioness).
Sadly, no Lioness photo, but seeing my Grandpa capture his life through his photographs was wonderful. Then, in 2015, my Mum had another box, this time filled with several old reels of film. Some in plastic cases, some in rusted old tins.
Jackpot.
I set about getting the film processed, which I then realised would cost me quite a bit. I found Excelsior Video
who could transfer the reels for me so took them all along. We agreed to do 1 test reel, to make sure we've got something, at least, and go from there. The reel chosen was labelled 'Africa', so I was confident of some interesting video. The 12ish minutes I got back was incredible. I sat in silence slowly realising that the Grandpa I didn't have much time to know, but whose looks, mind and memories I've grown up with, had documented his life through film. As someone who has made, and who likes to make, documentary films - I was stunned.
Immediately, I followed up with 5 more reels; the content of which have been edited together into the film you see above. Every single clip is also available to download for yourself. There are still more reels to develop - I only did the ones in plastic boxes.
Who was Dr Hubert C. Weir?
Born in Dublin in 1905, in the house next door to where Oscar Wilde had lived, young Hubert was educated at St Columbus Public School, where he excelled at everything. He was in the first Rugby and Cricket teams and he also fenced and played the piano to a concert level.
He went to Medical School, Trinity College Dublin University and became BA in 1927, followed by BA Medicine, Surgery and Obstetrics in 1927. After 2 years in Wolverhampton as registrar, he went on to a 6 month stint at the Edinburgh School of Tropical Medicine. in 1929 he applied to the colonial office to work in Nigeria as a Doctor and qualified again for this position in clinical bacteriology and biochemistry, finally making it out to Kano, Northern Nigeria, at the end of 1930 aged just 25.
He married in 1934 and had two sons, Godfrey and Terence. In 1939 he tried to enlist but his services in Nigeria were needed so he stayed there, performing many operations on soldiers coming south from the fighting in North Africa. Sadly, his wife and youngest son, Terence, died within 6 months of each other in 1940 - 41.
In 1946, he was to marry again, after meeting Jean (Granny!) the year previous, and their first child (My Aunty June, who helped me with this history) came in 1947, followed my mum Mum (Jilli) 2 years later. The family did not stay in Kano, spending time living in Lagos, the Cameroons, Cape Town and Victoria Falls, a place which Grandpa really fell in love with.
In 1952, the family moved back to England, to Whitley Bay in the North East, where he achieved a Diploma in Public Health at Newcastle University, before moving back to the Gold Coast in 1954 (My Aunty says she doesn't think he liked the cold!). Born in Takoradi in 1959, my Uncle Robb completed the family.
In 1960, the 5 returned once again to Whitley Bay to their house which had been rented out. Uncle Robb still lives there to this day, claiming to be the world's only Geordie Ghanian - I don't doubt that! British Heavy Metal fans may remember Robb from 'Tygers of Pan Tang' - Grandpa's musical genes worked their way down the family.
Aside from those mentioned, Grandpa apparently had lots of other degrees and qualifications. He was a boxer at university and loved amateur dramatics, regularly appearing in plays; he even had a private pilots licence. He played the banjo, would tell wicked jokes and loved classic music, which he shared with his kids.
It seems magical to me, but as someone who loves photography, makes documentaries, is a musician, actor and wants to someday fly planes - seeing my Grandpa's photos, films and hearing about his musical abilities, interest in the theatre and ability to fly planes; phew, I don't know. It blows my mind; both my brother and I (and our wonderful cousins!) have been lucky enough to inherit this great man's creativity and brains, but sadly unlike him, I didn't inherit his amazing hair! Ben
got that, I got his body shape.
I'll end with this, a card we found that Grandpa used to hand out at parties - it sums up his sense of humour, and for me, is timeless. I hope you enjoy the history of this great man, and the footage he filmed just as much as I do.
Gallery.
Here are a few photos from my Aunty June's collection of old family pics.
Click left and right to scroll.
The soundtrack.
A huge thank you goes out to the incredible Joep Beving
for allowing his music to be used to soundtrack this film.
I searched for literally hours to find the right music to support this footage, and I think I hit the jackpot with these tracks from "Solipsism".
In order:
"Sleeping Lotus"
"Etude"
"The Light She Brings"
The album, "Solipsism" is available in the following places:
Click below to like Joep on Facebook.
Free Archive Footage.
As part of this project, I grew to realise that this footage was more than just a family heirloom, but a slice of history. Grandpa wasn't just an avid documentarian but a real man of the people. This use of this footage shouldn't be exclusive to me, or anyone else in my family, but for everyone to enjoy.
All footage is here for anyone to use. Browse the files below; they have basic labels but most are a minute or more long and contain a few different clips.
Arbitration
If you use the footage, please let us know that you are doing so, and link back to this site.
Commercial
We do not want this footage to be used for commercial purposes without explicit permission. Please contact me if you would like to do so.
Donate.
This is a free film for everyone to enjoy. Also, all the footage is free for you to use, as mentioned above.
However, getting the reels developed is quite pricey and I still have more reels to develop; who knows what will be on those ones! If you enjoyed the film, used the footage or want to help out, please do consider a small donation.
Many thanks!
Contact.
Hey, I'm Tippers and I put together the film, the archive of footage and this (pretty basic) website. I'd love to hear your feedback on the film so do please get in touch!
Share.
Please help out and share this page/the film with your friends/family/neighbours/strangers.
