The Media Archive for Central England is the public screen archive for the East and West Midlands. An independent charity and company based at the University of Lincoln, MACE acquires, catalogues, preserves and makes widely available moving image materials that inform our understanding of the diverse cultures and histories of communities between the Lincolnshire coast and the Welsh border.
This film is part of Free
Canal Bargee
Jack Roberts has spent a life on the canals of Britain. With his trusty horse Sally how much longer can this veteran carry on?
From the collection of:
Overview
From Norbury Junction in Staffordshire Jack Roberts travels along the Shropshire Union canal and remembers the days of the fly-boats, the high speed canal system that tried to compete with rail and road. It might not be the fastest way to travel but for Jack it's about more than transport and as one of the final canal bargees using a horse it's a way of life that's under threat by twentieth century progress.
Jack Roberts was born on a canal boat in 1894 and spent a lifetime working on the cut. His autobiography written in the 1960s was published in 2015.
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