Rag Regatta (1956)

Richmond, London. M/S of a young man placing a pointed boat on the river; it looks like half a canoe. M/S of people watching from the river bank as commentator tells us members of Richmond Canoe Club are staging a ’rag’ regatta in aid of the British Empire Cancer Research Campaign. The same young man, now in vest and shorts, sits astride the canoe as we hear “One of the events features ambitious attempts to board and float the thinnest Kayak, known as the ’razor blade’“. The man falls off and is helped back on; he attempts to paddle off, but falls again. Various M/Ss of two large canoes on the river having a jousting match; as they pass each other, each team tries to push a member of the rival team off the boat. On the riverbank, various shots as a woman presents a ’rag bouquet’ to Mrs Baker, the Mayoress; the ’bouquet’ is a stick with potatoes, lollipops, leaves and ribbons attached, with a carrot on the top. FILM ID: A VIDEO FROM BRITISH PATHÉ. EXPLORE OUR ONLINE CHANNEL, BRITISH PATHÉ