An award winning feature-length film documenting the history of a small English village in rural Bedfordshire. Capturing the stories of local people and bringing back to life the contrasting Second World War tales of those who went off to fight and those they left behind.
"We are convinced that this film will form an important document, valuable in the education of our children and in the integration of new residents for years to come."
- Glenn Rodford
Chairman, Langford & District History Society
Synopsis
Running alongside the River Ivel in Central Bedfordshire lies the small village of Langford.
The 'Long Ford' was a thriving community that lived off the land, where kids swam away the summer months in the waters by the village mill.
Despite the inevitable changes over the years, many tales from a bygone age can still be found.
'Langford Tales' takes us back to the 1920s; a simple era when horses could be seen on every street corner.
We follow the story of a small group of Langford school friends whose lives were full of innocence and mischief as they stumbled their way through childhood. These care-free times slowly changed as the dark cloud of the Second World War moved across the village.
For some, life would never be the same again.
The boys were called up, left the village and headed over to the beaches of Normandy, liberating occupied Europe along the way and eventually ending up in Berlin. In their absence Langford life continued, but what was it like for those who remained in the village? How did they take to the evacuees who arrived at Biggleswade Station and ended up on their doorstep? And at the war's end, how did the families cope when their sons never returned?
After extensive research conducted over the last three years these stories are brought back to life through personal testimony backed up with photographic/film archive generously donated by the 'Langford and District History Society', 'Biggleswade History Society' and local families.
All woven together into a mosaic of nostalgia, history, friendship, family and loss.
Contributors
Ralph William Turner
Ralph shares his experiences growing up in Langford in the early 1920's.
During WWII he was called up and made his way across Europe.
After the war, he returned home to find out the fate of his friends.
''Weren't very nice leaving the village ... but I thought I'd go and see what's happening in the outside world''
Rex Swain
''It was quite the biggest thrill of my life and I enjoyed every minute of it"
Rex was a popular Langford figure who sang in the Methodist Choir and loved to play the mouth organ.
He was called up in 1942 and left the village to join the RAF.
Malcolm Handscombe
Malcolm went to school with Ralph and years later they trained together before heading over to the beaches of Normandy. Malcolm returned to Langford in 1946 and found his passion as a photographer.
''He always had a roll of film on him"
Donald Arthur Brown
Donald was exempt but joined the RAF voluntarily and flew many bombing raids over Germany.
His story is told though the many letters he sent back home to his family in Langford
'We got back to the English Coast just as dawn was breaking .... I don't think I've ever seen such a glorious sight"
Joyce Howard
Before her passing in 2008, Joyce put pen to paper and recorded her war-time story.
She was evacuated from London in 1939. She had no idea where she was heading as the train pulled into Biggleswade Station.
''My Mother came to say goodbye. She had tears in her eyes when the train left"
June Roberts
June was just four years old when WWII was declared.
She was an only child when her parents took in two evacuees from London.
''I can remember the day that everyone said we were at war and I wondered what the hell they were talking about"
Tony Hills
''We didn't know what was happening. All of a sudden this searchlight come, towed behind one of the lorries"
Tony reminisces about his schooldays during the war,
and what it was like witnessing tanks roll past the water tower when troops moved into the village.
John Handscombe
John recounts stories about the village his family have lived in for over 300 years and shines a light
on the photographic legacy his Uncle Malcolm left behind.
''One small group of photographs have only recently come to light. And they do tell an extraordinary story"
Emily Handscombe
Emily recounts the stories she has been told about Langford and the land her family farmed over the years.
She remembers her Great-Uncle Malcolm fondly and talks about his love of photography.
''He just had this huge interest in anything and everything but particularly photographs and recording local life"
David Quinlan
David has been working on the land since 1991 and comes from a long line of Langford farmers.
Great-Nephew of Donald Arthur Brown, David and his family share his war time letters and stories of life in Langford.
''Coming from a farming family, he was exempt from going to war. He needn't have gone, but he chose to off his own back"
Crew
Theo Maximilian Goble
Director / Editor
Geoff Moseley
Camera
Christos Andreou
Composer
Linda Franklin
Researcher
Paul Reilly
Aerial Cinematographer
Rowena Wolfe
Langford & District History Society
Sophie-Alice Davies
Sound Mixer
Luke Dabbs
Picture Colourist
Theo Maximilian Goble
(Director / Editor)
Theo has been working as a professional television editor since 1996. When not busy in the edit suite he loves to produce documentaries.
His debut film 'Living with Lava' (Iceland 2011) was shown at the National Geographic/BANFF Film Festival in Canada.
His second documentary project 'Portraits of Karlag' took him to the vast steppes of Karaganda in Kazakhstan.
" I am always looking out for stories to tell. My last two documentary projects took me overseas so I decided the next one should be a little closer to home.
Being able to apply the filmmaking skills I have learnt over the last 25 years to produce this documentary for my community
has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, professionally but more so on a personal level.
Learning all about the village that is now my home has been a humbling experience,
one that has seen me immersing myself in the history of Langford and its people, both past and present.
I think every town, village and city needs their very own 'Langford Tales'".
Geoff Moseley
(Camera)
Geoff has worked professionally as a cinematographer, film editor and sound designer for major networks in Britain, Europe, the US and Australia.
He trained at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in Sydney, and went on to complete an MA in documentary editing
at Australia’s national film school, AFTRS.
Geoff's involvement in 'Langford Tales' was cut short due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but the early material he shot helped catapult the project into life.
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"Theo asked me to shoot his passion project and I was more than happy to help.
Then COVID paid a visit and lockdown made it impossible to carry on, but I did get to shoot some nice stuff I’m sure will make to the screen.
I’m very much looking forward to seeing the end result and I’m sure you’ll all enjoy it.
I’m currently in oz visiting my very sick father, so I’ll probably miss the premier and the opportunity to see you all again,
but I’m sure you’ll all have a very entertaining evening."
Linda Franklin
(Researcher)
Langford born and bred, Linda has spent many years collecting and sharing local archive with the community.
She has been an invaluable asset to the film. Using her local knowledge and connections, she has linked stories together,
identifying and sourcing photographs and articles which have helped us bring the past to life.
" I have had the great pleasure working as researcher on the unique and very special 'Langford Tales' film'.
I have learned so much about the village in which I spent an idyllic childhood and early adult life
and where generations of my family lived and worked throughout the years.
Most of all though, the war years are bought to life in such a way that I have gained a much greater insight
into what life must have been like for the people of Langford during those dark years."
Christos Andreou
(Composer)
Christos is a multi-award winning composer who has collaborated on an array of international Film, Television and Theatre projects.
His music has been featured on prime time shows for HBO, CNN, BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Sky Sports, CNBC, ABC, History Channel, Discovery and CyBC.
" It was such a pleasure and honour to be asked to compose the music for the very important 'Langford Tales' film.
It is an amazing project to work on with such an incredible and wonderful collaborative team."
Paul Reilly
(Aerial Cinematographer)
Paul has a background in engineering, film making and photography. He is head of 'Redcopters' which he set up in 2011 and has completed projects for a vast array of clients in the world of architecture, film, news and media. As a fully registered commercial pilot, Paul has the experience and legitimacy to shoot in places that are unaccessible to members of the public. His aerial cinematography will enhance the 'Langford Tales' stories with a perspective that cannot be achieved with cameras on the ground.
Rowena Wolfe
(Langford & District History Society)
Rowena has been a part of the 'Langford and District History Society' since 1991 and currently acts as its secretary.
She looks after all the local archive that have been amassed over the years.
The society made all of this available for use in 'Langford Tales'. They have been an invaluable partner during the production and post-production process.
'We moved to Langford in 1991 and joined the History Society later that year.
One of the early meetings we went to was a guided walk by the village historian, Ralph Turner.
He made the village come to life for us with his tales. As we had the space, we took over storage of the society’s books and,
over the years ended up with quite a collection of photographs and documents.
Many were from Malcolm Handscombe, who along with Ralph had been collecting village items for years.
Many of the photographs appeared in our publications as well as in the 'Langford Diary'.
On a visit to Ralph he told me he’d been approached by a mystery film maker and thought the society should get involved
as I had, by then most of Ralph’s archive. It didn’t take long to see what an exciting project this was and along with the chairman,
Glenn Rodford we were delighted to see much of the early development of the 'Langford Tales'.
Watching an early version of the film proved to be quite an emotional experience for us, learning how these young village lads had gone off to war together.
Now there are even more stories of other villagers’ experiences and lives as well as beautiful photography of the village itself.
Sometimes we don’t notice the beauty that is right in front of our eyes so thanks to Theo and his team the village will have an amazing resource for the future.
The Langford and District History Society are pleased to have been able to help support this project."
Sophie-Alice Davies
(Audio Mixer)
Sophie works on a large variety of shows for broadcasters like the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, Netflix, Discovery and many others.
With nearly 20 years in the field, Sophie offers experience, passion and love for her work. Always striving to get it that bit better!
She enjoys bringing stories to life, using sound to pull you further in.
"'It's so important that we tell the stories for each individual correctly, by using the right sounds for shots and scenes;
like the battle footage and the beautiful landscapes of Langford. I feel so honoured to be taking part in such a heart felt and beautiful film"
Luke Dabbs
(Picture Colourist)
Luke is a professional freelance Colourist/Editor who has been working in the industry since 2008.
He has worked on everything from feature films, documentaries and music videos for the Discovery Channel, Netflix, BBC and CH4.
Behind the Scenes
The Shoot
Archive
Narration
Music
The Edit
Click on an image to see behind the scenes during the making of 'Langford Tales'.
The Shoot
The 'Langford Tales' team has has been filming continuously since January 2019 and have been out with the cameras more than 130 times across all four seasons.
Local farmers, farriers, horses, chickens, football and cricket teams have all helped us capture the essence and beauty of the Bedfordshire countryside.
Important testimonies have been recorded with senior members of the community, so their stories can be preserved and shared for many years to come.
Archive
A large part of the 'Langford Tales' project has been searching for and acquiring archive.
This has been done with the assistance of Linda Franklin. The material has come in various forms.
Over a thousand photographs - some almost 100 years old - have been handed over to us for use in the film.
These have been gifted by local families and the 'Langford and District History Society' generously opened up their vaults to help us bring the stories to life.
Cine film has come from various sources including rare footage of Biggleswade from 1936,
which has been kindly donated for use in the film by Mr Edward Street.
Film archive from the war years has been licensed from various archive bodies including the BBC and Prime Time Video in Lincoln.
Narration
Precious letters from the war years have been donated by local families.
JPI Media have granted permission to feature Biggleswade Chronicle newspaper articles from the war years.
These are brought to life through the use of narration.
War-time letters and written testimonies from those who are no longer with us have been narrated by family members and local children. Biggleswade Chronicle articles from the 1940's are read by Langford legend Les King.
The Music
Music can be a powerful storytelling tool and is an integral part of 'Langford Tales'.
The emotional and powerful stories presented will be told against a backdrop of original music.
The film is being scored by award winning composer Christos Andreou.
He has been involved in the project since the beginning and has been working closely with the director where they have discussed everything
from creating moods for individual scenes, using music to develop characters and how re-occurring melodies
can be used in different ways throughout the whole film.
Christos will ultimately be responsible for writing over sixty original pieces of music for 'Langford Tales'.
"The stories we are telling cover such a wide range emotions and the music needs to reflect the many shades of light and dark
the viewer will be taken through when watching 'Langford Tales'.
Not only is Christos an extremely talented composer who is able to write exemplary music in whatever style we throw at him,
but he understands the importance what we are trying to achieve has been a great soundboard to bounce editorial ideas off."
- Theo Maximilian Goble - (Director)
The Edit
The editing process began the minute the first frame was shot back in January 2019 and has been an on-going process ever since.
It has been a mammoth job, piecing together on-camera interviews, audio-only testimonies, photographs and 8mm film archive into once cohesive story.
Funding
Funding
'Langford Tales' has mostly been a self-financed project with all the editing and most of the filming done by Theo Maximilian Goble.
In October 2020 the film was granted £4000 by the 'Langford & Biggleswade Windfarm Community Fund'.
This has gone towards the cost of obtaining licenses for archive and the high-resolution scanning of over two-hundred old photographs.
The total budget for the film was around £20,000.
In July 2020 local farmer and 'Langford Tales' contributor David Quinlan donated a field of Sunflowers to the project.
These were sold as bouquets and a 'Pick Your Own' was put on for the people of Langford and surrounding areas.
As well as raising much-needed funds for the the film, it was a great way to promote the project and gain interest in the community.
David generously donated the same field again in 2021.
Testimonials
Langford Parish Council supports Theo Goble and his community project to produce a documentary film about Langford and the people who lived and worked in the village in peace time and served their country in world conflicts.
The project plan has already shown and proved to be of great interest to the community and many people and village organisations have pledged support for this worthwhile venture.
The making of this film has already brought together villagers in a common goal and has strengthened social links between all age groups during a difficult time of isolation and threatened mental health created by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Parish Council supports the production and presentation of this film in the village to celebrate the lives and sacrifices of ordinary folk both in peace and in war.
Michelle Albone
Langford Parish Council Clerk and RFO
‘Langford Tales’ is a delightfully poetic documentary by Theo Maximilian Goble that could easily have been two hours and I would have wanted more! It speaks to the village of Langford, Bedfordshire, and in particular the contrasting, captivating Second World War tales of those who went off to fight and just as importantly, those that were left behind. With super writing, directing and photography, immaculate research (including archive stills and movie footage) and quite simply one of the best scores you'll hear for a very long time this is undoubtedly one to highlight in your program.
- Bradley Barton
Romford Film Festival
The Langford & District History Society has been involved with Theo Goble’s project to document Langford village lifeand the contributions and sacrifices of its people. We have been impressed with the content and quality of the film in production and with the research that has been done. This exciting project has aroused considerable interest and excitement within the village.We feel that the production and presentation of the film and associated events will strengthen links between residentsa nd promote community spirit. In a post pandemic world this will be particularly important. We are convinced that this film will form an important document, valuable in the education of our children and in the integration of new residents for years to come.
Glenn RodfordChairman, Langford & District History Society
