It’s Quicker By Hearse The Tale of the Petitioning Housewife, the Protesting Schoolboy and the Campaign Trail Student
Image by Esther Johnson
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Image by Esther Johnson
Synopsis
When Madge Elliot complained about the announced closure of her local train station in Hawick, her mother told her to do something about it, and that’s just what she did. It’s Quicker By Hearse The Tale of the Petitioning Housewife, the Protesting Schoolboy and the Campaign Trail Student tells the story of Elliot who, together with her 11-year-old son Kim, Harry Brown the piper and Edinburgh University Railway Society president Bruce McCartney, marched to Downing Street to deliver a petition of 11,768 signatures on 18 December 1968. When final closure was penciled for January 7 1969, Madge and her campaign group continued their protest by posting a coffin on the last train to leave Hawick station and travel to London. The coffin was emblazoned with the words ‘Waverley Line – born 1848 killed 1969’ and was addressed to the then Minister of Transport Richard Marsh.
This work investigates how the national changes recommended in the infamous Beeching report, titled The Reshaping of British Railways, impacted Elliot and her local community. Like Sir Walter Scott’s historical novel Waverley (the railway lines namesake), Elliot’s grassroots campaign raised questions of the need for social progress that does not reject the traditions of the past. http://blanchepictures.com/its-quicker-by-hearse/
Details
- Year
- 2013
- Type of film
- Shorts
- Running Time
- 19'
- Format
- HD and Archive Super 8 film
- Director
- Esther Johnson
- Producer
- Esther Johnson
- Executive Producer
- Science Museum Group and National Railway Museum
- Editor
- Chris Wyatt and Esther Johnson
- Director of Photography
- Liam Iandoli and Esther Johnson
- Principal Cast
- Featuring: Madge Elliot, Kim Elliot, Bruce McCarthy
Production status
Complete
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Last updated 5th June 2017
