S E A S A L T S ============= and C E L L U L O I D ============== by ALFRED J. WEST ============== CONTENTS 1 CONTENTS 2 CONTENTS CONTENTS ......................................................................................................................................................................... 3 PREFACE ............................................................................................................................................................................ 5 CHAPTER I. FIRST SNAPSHOTS. .............................................................................................................................. 6 CHAPTER II. A FLOATING EXHIBITION............................................................................................................... 11 CHAPTER III. THE FIRST FILMS........................................................................................................................... 14 CHAPTER IV. THE TRAINING OF THE BOY. ..................................................................................................... 19 CHAPTER V. THE OLD ORDER CHANGETH........................................................................................................ 22 CHAPTER VI. LIFE ON THE OCEAN WAVE. ...................................................................................................... 24 CHAPTER VII. THE CRUISE OF THE “OPHIR”. .................................................................................................. 30 CHAPTER VIII. TRAFALGAR CENTENARY. ......................................................................................................... 33 CHAPTER IX. THE BAIT. ......................................................................................................................................... 35 CHAPTER X. “LET LOOSE THE DOGS OF WAR!”............................................................................................... 39 CHAPTER XI JACK'S THE BOY FOR PLAY. .......................................................................................................... 41 CHAPTER XII. ADVENTURE IN A TALL SHIP..................................................................................................... 45 CHAPTER XIII. SOLDIERS OF THE KING.............................................................................................................. 48 CHAPTER XIV OUR OLDEST ALLY........................................................................................................................ 52 CHAPTER XV BATTLES OF THE PAST. ............................................................................................................... 56 CHAPTER XVI. “AND IT’S WESTWARD HO FOR TRINIDAD!” ........................................................................ 60 CHAPTER XVII A FURTHER CRUISE. ..................................................................................................................... 65 CHAPTER XVIII THE LAND OF’ THE FREE........................................................................................................... 71 CHAPTER XIX THE COMING OF THE CINEMAS. .............................................................................................. 74 EPILOGUE. ....................................................................................................................................................................... 77 CONTENTS 3 “… Mr Alfred West has accomplished with his pictures what Mr. Rudyard Kipling has done in story and verse ……………..” ‘MORNING POST’, 1905 ===================== CONTENTS 4 PREFACE Living beside the historic harbour of Portsmouth with its great naval traditions and fame as a yachting centre, and with my own love of the sea which as a boy gave me a strong desire to join the Royal Navy and capture pirates, it was natural that in taking up photography I should grasp the op- portunity that dry plates offered to obtain sea scenes, and that on the advent of cinematography I should welcome the chance to take living pictures where I had taken still ones. My first attempts with snapshots in 1881 and with the ciné camera in 1897 were both brought to Royal notice, and be- ing thus honoured gave me zest to obtain pictures which were to cause considerable sensation in all parts of the world. There are still many who have happy recollection of my films which, under the title of “Our Navy”, were shown for fourteen years at the Polytechnic, Regent Street, and throughout this country and Colonies. Commencing with an exhibition given before the late King George V when he was Captain of H.M.S. “Crescent” in 1898, it subsequently was honoured by Royal commands from Queen Victoria and King Edward VII. I think I may lay claim to be one of the earliest of the pioneers following M. Lumière and Mr. Paul, who started exhibiting films in this country in 1896. Certainly I was the first to take films of scenes at sea, and to my programme were later added films of the Army, the Mercantile Marine and the Dominions overseas. Thus was formed an entertainment of imperial interest, in which I was greatly encouraged by the intense enthusiasm with which it was received by the public. With the aid of these pictures it was made possible for people to realise what life in the Services is like, and in the Midlands, where many had never seen a ship and some not even the sea, the films aroused intense patriotic feeling and stimulated recruiting. The Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty and the members of the Army Council recognised that my efforts were proving splendid propaganda for recruiting purposes, and granted me every fa- cility for obtaining films. I felt that in stimulating patriotic interest with my pictures, I was making myself useful to my country, and from the time of its regal inception until the moment when, four- teen years later, I had to relinquish my work through ill-health, this was my aim. Before I started, I knew nothing of how to run a show, but with the able help of my staff, which numbered something over 50, all of whom loved their work and rendered me loyal assistance, most of the difficulties were overcome. On the eve of my departure for Canada in 1902, my wife and I were deeply touched when the staff presented me with a gold watch and her with a gold bracelet as tokens of their esteem. It has been suggested that I should write a book about my life’s work, and I am leaving this record of my experiences in the hope that it may be as interesting in the reading as it has been in the fulfil- ment. ALFRED J. WEST. ============== PORTSMOUTH 1936. --------------------------- PREFACE 5 CHAPTER I. FIRST SNAPSHOTS. It was the first week in August, 1882, and the anchorage at Cowes was crowded with vessels of all descriptions, ranging from the smallest racing craft to the stately Royal Yachts. Queen Victoria was in residence at Osborne, and the great yachting festival was in full swing. Dotted about the So- lent, “White Wings” were heeling over and tearing along under clouds of canvas; truly a glorious sight, and one not to be seen in any other part of the world. From the direction of the Needles came steaming into the Roads a British corvette, H.M.S. “Bac- chante”, on board which the two Royal Midshipmen, Prince Albert Victor and Prince George, were returning home from a two years’ cruise to South America, South Africa, Australia, Fiji, Japan, Ceylon, Egypt, Palestine and Greece. The Trinity House yacht “Lively” led the procession, and astern was the cruiser H.M.S. “Inconstant”. The first Lieutenant of the latter vessel was a young offi- cer named Percy Scott, afterwards Admiral Sir Percy Scott, whose name will be for ever associated with the relief of Ladysmith. Little did I think then that I was subsequently to be so intimately ac- quainted with him, and that the country was to owe to him the state of efficiency which he was instrumental in bringing to the gunnery of the Royal Navy. How small an incident often determines the whole of one’s after life may be appreciated from the following fact. From aboard the guardship, H.M.S. “Hector”, I obtained an instantaneous photograph of the “Bacchante”, one of my earliest snapshots, then just made possible by the introduction of the dry plate process. Had this trivial incident never taken place, the whole tenor of my after life would have been altered, and this book would never have come to be written, for Captain Balliston of the Royal Yacht happened to see a copy of this snapshot. Taking it aboard with him, he showed it to the Prince of Wales (afterwards King Edward VII), who was so pleased with it that he expressed a desire for the photographer to be presented to him. A telegram was sent commanding me to attend at once on board the Royal Yacht, and from this contact with Royalty resulted my long association with the Navy, Army and Mercantile Marine, the whole of my after life, until my retirement, dating from this episode. Though I had been a photographer for some time before the advent of dry plates, yet, until then, I had not been able to fulfil my great ambition, which was to photograph racing yachts under full sail. I was the first to attempt to do so as soon as it became possible, and my first pictures were ob- tained during a regatta held off Southsea beach by the Royal Albert Yacht Club in 1881. I took six exposures in all, and was highly delighted with the results. For the next regatta held by this club I was able to obtain views from the Committee boat at much closer quarters than formerly. But though they