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Paddling a Canoe on Montgomery Canal

Davids Trant and Millward set off on an expedition along the Montgomery Canal in their home-made canoe ‘Mamourah’.

School programme and Educational film 1959 10 mins Silent

From the collection of:

Logo for National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales

Overview

Paddling their own, home-made canoe, David Trant of Maesmawr Hall, Welshpool, and his friend David Millward make their way along the Montgomery Canal, having been ‘officially’ launched at Llanfair Caereinion by the Mayor of Welshpool, Richard Turner and his wife, Eve.

Ion Trant of Dovea Farm in Tipperary, Ireland, studied agriculture in Canada and then joined the staff of the Welsh Plant Breeding Station in Aberystwyth where he met his future wife, Janet Owen of Maesmawr Hall, Welshpool. The Trants farmed at Maesmawr Hall, the adjoining farm Cefn Du, and Esgairdraenllwyn at Llaithddu, Llandrindod, where Janet bred Welsh Black cattle crossed with Herefords. Conscious of a gulf emerging between town and country, Ion welcomed school visits to his farms and also created/filmed the "Country Close-Up" series for children (BBC TV - 1956-62), the programmes often featuring his own 3 children. He was subsequently offered work as a freelance cameraman.