The skill of camera and sound technicians enables TV audiences to witness some of the world’s biggest events. In the second programme of the series, two former news cameramen, who were pioneers in filming Welsh news, discuss the highlights of their long and colourful careers.
It’s an interesting look at some of Wales’ greatest news stories over the past few decades and a fascinating insight to life on the other side of the camera. Tomi Owen from Goodwick, Fishguard and Ken Davies from Carmarthen are now in their seventies and have long since retired from their TV careers but this is the first time for them to share their experiences on camera.
Early on in their careers, the story of Aberfan shook more than just the close-knit community where the disaster happened, and the news was relayed around the world. Tomi and Ken were responsible for some of the harrowing pictures broadcast to Welsh homes showing the horrors of this terrible event. Today of course, just the name Aberfan, sends shivers of sadness down people’s spines.
From Cayo Evans and his followers in their dark livery, Gwynfor Evans’ historic victory in Carmarthen and the Llanddewi Brefi murder, the two men have worked on a variety of stories bringing them alive.
“The strangest protest I ever saw was in Llangadog,” says Tomi, recalling a protest against the milk quotas in 1984. “There were hundreds of police there and hundreds of farmers. I was filming, going down the street behind one of those huge tankers and they opened the valve of the tanker and let the milk out in front of us all over the road. In five minutes, the farmers and police were fighting each other.”
The Miners’ Strike, the Meibion Glyndŵr campaign, drugs in Seal Bay, the Texaco oil refinery fire, the Sea Empress disaster... charting the careers of these two men is like following a timeline of Welsh history since the 1960s. The satisfaction they got from their work over the years is obvious.
“If I ever come back to this world again, I’d put in for a job as a cameraman,” says Tomi.
“If I started again tomorrow, I’d do it all over again,” says Ken. “I’ve been lucky – we had a lot of fun.”
© 2008 S4C
O Gymru / Made in Wales