0:00:20 > 0:00:23MUSIC: Stand By Me by Ben E King
0:00:28 > 0:00:32A quarter of a million tonnes of concrete,
0:00:32 > 0:00:35moulded by human genius and endeavour.
0:00:40 > 0:00:45A one-mile ribbon of steel forged in the white heat of technology.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48Something which put British engineering
0:00:48 > 0:00:50back on top of the world.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58The Severn Bridge is 50 years old,
0:00:58 > 0:01:00but its elegance is timeless
0:01:00 > 0:01:04and its ground-breaking design continues to be flattered
0:01:04 > 0:01:07by imitation the world over.
0:01:08 > 0:01:14This, then, is the scene set for the royal opening of the Severn Bridge.
0:01:14 > 0:01:20It is with great pleasure that I now declare the Severn Bridge open.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24The inauguration came six weeks after England had won the World Cup
0:01:24 > 0:01:28and six months after the launch of colour television -
0:01:28 > 0:01:31a time of huge national optimism.
0:01:31 > 0:01:33CHEERING
0:01:35 > 0:01:38As Her Majesty's car, leading this great procession
0:01:38 > 0:01:40on to the bridge itself,
0:01:40 > 0:01:45to make the first official crossing.
0:01:45 > 0:01:491966 was actually a pretty great year for British design,
0:01:49 > 0:01:52for British music, for British film,
0:01:52 > 0:01:55for British fashion, for British architecture,
0:01:55 > 0:01:57for British bridge design.
0:01:57 > 0:01:58Britain was on a roll.
0:02:00 > 0:02:04Bridges have this power to transform and excite
0:02:04 > 0:02:07a community and to make people really believe
0:02:07 > 0:02:09in the power of the future, in a way,
0:02:09 > 0:02:12you know, that man's works can actually make life better.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18This is the story of the Severn Bridge,
0:02:18 > 0:02:21told by those who designed it...
0:02:21 > 0:02:24The Severn Bridge is the most perfect example
0:02:24 > 0:02:27of a suspension bridge in the world.
0:02:27 > 0:02:31It remains the leader of that sort of innovation.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34Nobody has found a way of doing it better.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37..and those who built it.
0:02:37 > 0:02:42The workforce on that bridge, they were a breed of men on their own.
0:02:42 > 0:02:46The older I get, I'm very, very proud of the job
0:02:46 > 0:02:48and everything that went into the bridge.
0:02:49 > 0:02:53But it's also the story of the men who lost their lives
0:02:53 > 0:02:57in the conquest of Britain's mightiest river.
0:02:57 > 0:02:59I always think of it as my father's.
0:03:01 > 0:03:02His bridge.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23For many of its 200 miles, the River Severn shadows
0:03:23 > 0:03:25the border between England and Wales.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30But in its lower reaches, it presents a formidable barrier
0:03:30 > 0:03:32between the two countries,
0:03:32 > 0:03:36isolating the industrial powerhouse of South Wales.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42Once, if you wanted to drive between Cardiff and Bristol,
0:03:42 > 0:03:47you faced a 100-mile journey through Gloucester and Chepstow -
0:03:47 > 0:03:51their narrow roads increasingly overwhelmed by traffic.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59Or you could take a small ferry, but it ran only in daytime
0:03:59 > 0:04:01for a handful of cars.
0:04:04 > 0:04:08The road links into South Wales from England were unbelievably awful.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11People cannot really envisage how it was.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14For instance, if you left South Wales and you went
0:04:14 > 0:04:16to the Beachley-Aust ferry, which was the way
0:04:16 > 0:04:19to get over the estuary,
0:04:19 > 0:04:22that ferry didn't always run because of the tide problems.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25And alongside the road down to the ferry
0:04:25 > 0:04:27were stakes in the ground which said,
0:04:27 > 0:04:29"Half an hour, hour, one and a half hours, two hours."
0:04:29 > 0:04:32That was how long it would take you to get into the ferry.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35And if it was about one and a half hours and you wanted to go down
0:04:35 > 0:04:38to Torquay, that was the point your father said,
0:04:38 > 0:04:40"OK, we're off."
0:04:40 > 0:04:42Up through Gloucester, down the other side.
0:04:44 > 0:04:45That gives you a flavour.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47It was unbelievably cut off.
0:04:49 > 0:04:53My name is Derek Hudd, I'm 86 years of age.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56I worked on the Old Passage Severn Ferry.
0:04:58 > 0:05:03It was quite hard work. You were on your feet most of the time.
0:05:03 > 0:05:07I, as an engineer, worked down below, on the engines.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10You were also expected to go up on deck and help load
0:05:10 > 0:05:13the boat as well, which I did. But you never minded that
0:05:13 > 0:05:17because it was good to get out of the engine room.
0:05:27 > 0:05:32There were cars, there was a queue of cars, it was fantastic.
0:05:32 > 0:05:36You could have a queue of 100 cars or more.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39There was this chap, he was up there with his children.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41And I said, "How long have you been here?"
0:05:41 > 0:05:43And he said, "Well, we got here at half past eight."
0:05:43 > 0:05:47Remember now that this was about one o'clock in the afternoon.
0:05:47 > 0:05:49And I said to him, "Well, why didn't you go around?"
0:05:49 > 0:05:52And he said, "God, I couldn't do that.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55"The kids and the missus would have gone mad."
0:06:00 > 0:06:02I used to go to stay near Chepstow.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05I used to go by ferry, this ramshackle affair,
0:06:05 > 0:06:07to get across this wide piece of water.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10It was wonderful as a child. You would arrive, go on the ferry,
0:06:10 > 0:06:12clunk across, then you got to the other side and people said,
0:06:12 > 0:06:14"You made it all right, then?"
0:06:14 > 0:06:15Like they expected that you weren't going to.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18So the arrival of the bridge was a big deal, a great expression
0:06:18 > 0:06:21of human endeavour on their doorstep.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27The Severn Bridge was greenlit in the 1940s
0:06:27 > 0:06:29to be the biggest in Britain.
0:06:29 > 0:06:33The mile-long crossing would follow the same route as the ferry.
0:06:33 > 0:06:38It would pass through an army camp and over the neighbouring River Wye
0:06:38 > 0:06:40to complete the link between England and Wales.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44My name is Michael Parsons.
0:06:44 > 0:06:50I'm 87 years old and I'm the most senior surviving design engineer
0:06:50 > 0:06:54for the superstructure of the Severn Bridge.
0:06:59 > 0:07:04This was to be the longest span bridge in the world
0:07:04 > 0:07:07outside of the United States of America.
0:07:07 > 0:07:13So it had big importance to the firms and to the government.
0:07:14 > 0:07:19And we were all conscious of the importance of what we were doing.
0:07:24 > 0:07:30I was born and brought up in Bristol, so from a very early age
0:07:30 > 0:07:34I used to go to the Clifton Suspension Bridge,
0:07:34 > 0:07:39which meant I was inspired with the whole idea of a bridge
0:07:39 > 0:07:42leaping from one side of a gorge to the other.
0:07:45 > 0:07:49The masters of long span suspension bridges were the Americans,
0:07:49 > 0:07:51and they made them big.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54The Golden Gate and the bridges of New York
0:07:54 > 0:07:57were heavyweight structures with stone towers
0:07:57 > 0:08:00supporting iron and concrete roadways.
0:08:00 > 0:08:04But when engineers tried to lighten the load, disaster struck.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07A terrifying example of the danger of vibration.
0:08:07 > 0:08:11The third longest suspension bridge in the world plunges to destruction
0:08:11 > 0:08:13at Tacoma in the United States.
0:08:13 > 0:08:17This was quite a major bridge in the United States,
0:08:17 > 0:08:22and it was a radical departure from the conventional American design.
0:08:22 > 0:08:26But the fatal flaw with that design was that it had
0:08:26 > 0:08:30virtually no torsional stiffness.
0:08:30 > 0:08:32It was too flexible.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35It wobbled itself to death, basically because there is movement,
0:08:35 > 0:08:37there is inherent movement in structures and the trouble with
0:08:37 > 0:08:41suspension bridges is that the vibration set off by the wind
0:08:41 > 0:08:45can be like a semi-perpetual state that increases and increases
0:08:45 > 0:08:48to the point where the bridge actually falls apart.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51These were big issues, but the Severn Bridge
0:08:51 > 0:08:53pioneered certain solutions to that.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58Defying the wind was the greatest challenge
0:08:58 > 0:09:01and, ultimately, the bridge's greatest claim to fame.
0:09:02 > 0:09:06A unique road design would hang from suspension cables
0:09:06 > 0:09:09draped over 450-foot steel towers.
0:09:11 > 0:09:12But before all that,
0:09:12 > 0:09:15the foundations had to be laid
0:09:15 > 0:09:19in a river infamous for the second highest tide in the world.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33Sir John, will you be faced with any particular difficulties
0:09:33 > 0:09:35bridging the Severn at this point?
0:09:35 > 0:09:37We will have to cope, of course,
0:09:37 > 0:09:42with an extremely high range of tide between high
0:09:42 > 0:09:46and low water, as much as 40 feet in this case.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48So we will be able to get to Wales in comfort by 1965?
0:09:48 > 0:09:51- I hope so, yes. - Thank you very much, Sir John.
0:09:54 > 0:09:58I'm talking to you from the middle of the M4,
0:09:58 > 0:10:00the London to South Wales motorway.
0:10:00 > 0:10:05Or at least, it will be the middle of the M4 in 1966.
0:10:05 > 0:10:10The BBC reporter Tom Salmon documented the entire construction,
0:10:10 > 0:10:13beginning in May, 1961.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18This, in fact, is the long-awaited Severn Bridge,
0:10:18 > 0:10:21the bridge they've been talking about building now for 100 years.
0:10:22 > 0:10:26The first two years would be all about the foundations.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29On either side, enormous anchorages would counter
0:10:29 > 0:10:32the weight of the bridge and, in the river itself,
0:10:32 > 0:10:35two bases would support the towers.
0:10:35 > 0:10:37The huge tides made this the most dangerous part
0:10:37 > 0:10:39of the entire project,
0:10:39 > 0:10:43especially for the foundation of the east tower.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46I've heard a lot since I've been out here about tidal workings.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49What, in fact, does tidal working mean?
0:10:49 > 0:10:52The tide goes out and the men go down on the blocks.
0:10:52 > 0:10:56The tide comes back, and the men have to get off the blocks
0:10:56 > 0:10:58and wait for the next time.
0:10:59 > 0:11:03It's a dog-rough job and there's not many men can stick it.
0:11:05 > 0:11:11This is a picture of me with our casing sinking foreman.
0:11:11 > 0:11:12I had hair then.
0:11:13 > 0:11:15I'm John Evans.
0:11:15 > 0:11:19I was the most junior site engineer of the Severn Bridge.
0:11:21 > 0:11:25We were working in a regime where
0:11:25 > 0:11:30at a point in time of day there was 40-plus feet of water.
0:11:30 > 0:11:35Six and a half hours later, you were on exposed rock.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38Six and a half hours later, there was another 40 feet of water.
0:11:38 > 0:11:43So working in this river with this huge rise and fall
0:11:43 > 0:11:46was a major civil engineering challenge.
0:11:48 > 0:11:54The rock was probably exposed for a maximum of two hours
0:11:54 > 0:11:55at low water springs.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58So you could take a very small area, clean it off,
0:11:58 > 0:12:00and put a bit of concrete down.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04And then you'd come back 12 hours later and do another bit.
0:12:04 > 0:12:08And some of the lower parts of the rock were literally only exposed
0:12:08 > 0:12:11for about half an hour at low springs.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16I thought the men were brave because of
0:12:16 > 0:12:19the intimidation of that water coming in.
0:12:19 > 0:12:25I did feel a deep admiration for the foundation contractors.
0:12:28 > 0:12:33Because of the tides, safety launches were on permanent standby
0:12:33 > 0:12:35throughout the construction.
0:12:35 > 0:12:39The first one was skippered by a local fisherman, Jack Hollins.
0:12:41 > 0:12:42I think it's a family thing.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49My father was in the shipyard. My uncle Jack was a fisherman.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52He used to go out and fish for salmon.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56He worked on the ferry.
0:12:56 > 0:12:58He loved the water.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04As a family, we knew the river.
0:13:04 > 0:13:06We were warned about not getting in the river.
0:13:08 > 0:13:12We were frightened of it because we knew how deadly it was.
0:13:17 > 0:13:25In late '61, we heard that some men had fallen in the water
0:13:25 > 0:13:29and were drifting upstream on the flood tide.
0:13:31 > 0:13:37In the gathering dusk, one of the ferries set off upstream
0:13:37 > 0:13:40looking for these men,
0:13:40 > 0:13:44and by a marvellous set of circumstances,
0:13:44 > 0:13:46the three men were picked up
0:13:46 > 0:13:51some...mile or more above the work site.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55Jack Hollins' safety launch had joined the search,
0:13:55 > 0:13:58but when the men were rescued, he turned for home
0:13:58 > 0:14:01unaware that a tanker, the Wyresdale H,
0:14:01 > 0:14:03was heading towards him.
0:14:05 > 0:14:10We on the Wyresdale H were bound for Swansea from Sharpness.
0:14:10 > 0:14:14As I remember it, it was a very cold night.
0:14:14 > 0:14:19But all of a sudden, about 6.30pm, there was this loud crashing noise,
0:14:19 > 0:14:23and we thought, "Crikey, we've hit one of the marker posts."
0:14:24 > 0:14:28And we ran up on deck and we were shocked to see that we had hit
0:14:28 > 0:14:31a launch and the launch was smashed up between
0:14:31 > 0:14:35the two bows with one man clinging to the wreckage,
0:14:35 > 0:14:38shouting that his mate was in the water.
0:14:40 > 0:14:43We turned on the big searchlight that was mounted
0:14:43 > 0:14:46on top of the wheelhouse, trained it into the water,
0:14:46 > 0:14:47and we could see this man,
0:14:47 > 0:14:51in the water, with his hands above the water
0:14:51 > 0:14:54and his head there, and suddenly he just slipped away.
0:14:56 > 0:14:58It was just this vision of this man.
0:14:58 > 0:15:00It was as peaceful as that.
0:15:05 > 0:15:09Jack Hollins survived the collision, but his mate was lost.
0:15:12 > 0:15:17My name is Deborah Jones. I am the eldest daughter
0:15:17 > 0:15:21of John Newton, who was the first man
0:15:21 > 0:15:25to die during the building of the first Severn crossing.
0:15:27 > 0:15:31He was happy, had a lovely sense of humour.
0:15:33 > 0:15:34He was a lovely father.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39The body was never found,
0:15:39 > 0:15:43despite searching and the lifeboat going out,
0:15:43 > 0:15:46until this day, it's never been found.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51I don't think my mother said anything else,
0:15:51 > 0:15:55other than he'd jumped into the water to save somebody.
0:15:55 > 0:16:02Her way was, say nothing and just get on with it.
0:16:02 > 0:16:04And that's what she did.
0:16:07 > 0:16:14This was the first incident that had occurred on the construction site
0:16:14 > 0:16:19where serious injury or loss of life had occurred,
0:16:19 > 0:16:22and so it was quite a sobering period.
0:16:32 > 0:16:34MUSIC: Wondrous Place by Billy Fury
0:16:48 > 0:16:53Well, this is the Eastern anchorage, and this will take the whole weight
0:16:53 > 0:16:55of the Severn Bridge.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58And the next time you complain about having to lay
0:16:58 > 0:17:02a concrete path in the garden, well, just you think of this little lot.
0:17:02 > 0:17:09It's 140 feet long, 110 feet wide and 120 foot high.
0:17:09 > 0:17:13And into it, when it's finished, 90,000 tonnes of concrete,
0:17:13 > 0:17:17and 90,000 tonnes means that it will weigh more than the Queen Mary.
0:17:18 > 0:17:22The concrete consumed vast quantities of stone,
0:17:22 > 0:17:24pushing nearby quarries to the limit.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29The area's hotels were stretched to accommodate
0:17:29 > 0:17:32hundreds of workers coming in from across the country.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37But local people knew it would all help to relieve
0:17:37 > 0:17:39their biggest problem.
0:17:39 > 0:17:43Before the bridge, Chepstow had a real blockage.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46There were queues and queues and queues of people
0:17:46 > 0:17:48that couldn't get through.
0:17:48 > 0:17:52Huge lorries - they would shake the house.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55And we'd even been reduced, in very warm weather,
0:17:55 > 0:17:59to go and take drinks outside to the lorry drivers!
0:18:04 > 0:18:07There were queues every bloody day.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10Some days, it would take us bloody half a day to get to work
0:18:10 > 0:18:13with the traffic in Chepstow.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16Lorries crashing into shops and what have you.
0:18:16 > 0:18:18And it was a bottleneck.
0:18:18 > 0:18:23The famous arch in Chepstow used to be one big congestion.
0:18:23 > 0:18:26And when people drive into Chepstow, they have only one object
0:18:26 > 0:18:29at the moment, and that's to drive out of it, if they can.
0:18:29 > 0:18:33I think once the bulk of the thundering lorries
0:18:33 > 0:18:37are out of the town, people will want to come to Chepstow.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49Well, personally, I'd rather come down in the bucket.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52Well, so much, then, for the anchorage, 90,000 tonnes of it,
0:18:52 > 0:18:5545,000 tonnes still to go.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58There's another one just like it on the other side of the river,
0:18:58 > 0:19:01and they tell me there's quite a bit of rivalry between the two.
0:19:01 > 0:19:07We had to establish where the west anchorage was going to be.
0:19:07 > 0:19:11That was in the middle of the Army Apprentice College
0:19:11 > 0:19:14first rugby pitch.
0:19:14 > 0:19:19And one of the early jobs was to take up the turf
0:19:19 > 0:19:21and get rid of that.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24Lots of new lawns in Chepstow.
0:19:27 > 0:19:33Attention now switched to the base of the west tower and a new problem.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36Here, there was no bedrock on the surface,
0:19:36 > 0:19:39so to gain a solid footing, they had to dig 30 feet
0:19:39 > 0:19:42below the river and that meant installing
0:19:42 > 0:19:44temporary dams to stem the tide.
0:19:46 > 0:19:52The cofferdams themselves were, in effect, a vertical cylinder,
0:19:52 > 0:19:5540 feet high, 60 feet wide,
0:19:55 > 0:19:58and they were formed of sheet piling.
0:19:58 > 0:20:02You see it on dock walls and places like that.
0:20:02 > 0:20:04My name is Graham Nash.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07I arrived on the site of the Severn Bridge
0:20:07 > 0:20:10to supervise the construction, as a junior engineer.
0:20:13 > 0:20:17This shows the water coming in through the joints.
0:20:17 > 0:20:20The cofferdam would only leak until the tide dropped
0:20:20 > 0:20:23and then it would leak the other way.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28Then the conventional method for sealing these leaking joints
0:20:28 > 0:20:31was to pour ashes down the outside,
0:20:31 > 0:20:33and it was quite fascinating, the way in which
0:20:33 > 0:20:37the water jets just reduced away to nothing.
0:20:37 > 0:20:42So we had faith in the structure, and so once you've got faith
0:20:42 > 0:20:46in the structure, you'd put on your wet suit and your helmet
0:20:46 > 0:20:48and you'd go down there.
0:20:57 > 0:21:01We were working something like 60 or 70 feet
0:21:01 > 0:21:05below the tide level outside.
0:21:05 > 0:21:09As a ferry went past at high water, you could hear
0:21:09 > 0:21:13the thump, thump, thump of the engines and the screws.
0:21:13 > 0:21:17And sometimes, if the ferries came a little bit too close,
0:21:17 > 0:21:20you would get an extra drenching down below.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23It was an exciting job, too.
0:21:23 > 0:21:24Make no mistake, it was...
0:21:24 > 0:21:28We knew we were building something quite historical.
0:21:33 > 0:21:37The weather was also making history in 1962.
0:21:37 > 0:21:41The first inkling we had that we were in for something exceptional
0:21:41 > 0:21:43came the weekend after Christmas.
0:21:43 > 0:21:47We had the coldest spell of weather I can remember.
0:21:47 > 0:21:49Salt water in the river,
0:21:49 > 0:21:52and it became full of ice floes.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55If you were down at water level on the bank, it looked as though
0:21:55 > 0:21:58there were enough there to enable you to walk across.
0:21:58 > 0:21:59That was quite remarkable.
0:21:59 > 0:22:01Before the first snow had even looked like melting,
0:22:01 > 0:22:03in fact, while most of it was still lying where
0:22:03 > 0:22:07it had fallen, there came another and even greater blizzard.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13Again it was the south-west that bore the brunt.
0:22:13 > 0:22:18Throughout this period, we continued working
0:22:18 > 0:22:22and, towards the end of February and into March,
0:22:22 > 0:22:26the local quarries had to give up.
0:22:26 > 0:22:31The temperatures were so low that the crusher jaws,
0:22:31 > 0:22:37which were a cast-iron material, were shattering in the cold.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40Motorists were advised to take no journeys whatsoever,
0:22:40 > 0:22:42not even essential ones.
0:22:42 > 0:22:441962 went out with the southern half of Britain
0:22:44 > 0:22:46littered with abandoned cars.
0:22:53 > 0:22:58The winter also saw the second fatal accident and it involved
0:22:58 > 0:22:59another safety launch.
0:23:01 > 0:23:05There was always a safety boat, and it was out there 24 hours a day
0:23:05 > 0:23:09so that it could go to assist, if it was needed.
0:23:09 > 0:23:11And one night, during the night shift,
0:23:11 > 0:23:13it broke away from its mooring and...
0:23:16 > 0:23:19..smashed into the pier, or one of the... I'm not quite sure what.
0:23:19 > 0:23:23It was all very sad, because we lost two people with that one.
0:23:31 > 0:23:33Both men were locals.
0:23:33 > 0:23:36One was from Bristol. The other, a father of four
0:23:36 > 0:23:40from the Forest of Dean, Albert Nelmes.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43He was a family man.
0:23:43 > 0:23:45He didn't have a trade apart from...
0:23:45 > 0:23:47He started to go fishing
0:23:47 > 0:23:51when there was not much work around in the '30s.
0:23:51 > 0:23:52Because it was out of season,
0:23:52 > 0:23:54and he always got a job,
0:23:54 > 0:23:59sometimes it was building, anything he could do for the few months,
0:23:59 > 0:24:02obviously to keep us four children.
0:24:02 > 0:24:04I went down on that morning
0:24:04 > 0:24:10to pick him up because we were sending some cattle to market.
0:24:10 > 0:24:12They'd said that there had been an accident.
0:24:12 > 0:24:18I was at school, in the sixth form, and the headmistress came in
0:24:18 > 0:24:22and stopped the lesson and called me out,
0:24:22 > 0:24:27and my sister was outside waiting and said that Dad was missing.
0:24:27 > 0:24:32It wasn't until later on in that day that we were told
0:24:32 > 0:24:36that they'd found his body in the launch, like.
0:24:39 > 0:24:43Obviously, the tide is quite fast, running in.
0:24:46 > 0:24:50Gone into one of the stanchions, uprights, and capsized.
0:24:56 > 0:24:58Slowly, almost imperceptibly,
0:24:58 > 0:25:01the sixth biggest bridge in the world takes shape.
0:25:03 > 0:25:04Despite the setbacks,
0:25:04 > 0:25:08the foundations were completed on schedule,
0:25:08 > 0:25:11the anchorages on each side and the bases
0:25:11 > 0:25:13in the river ready for the towers.
0:25:16 > 0:25:20It was time for the concrete mixers to give way to the steel erectors.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33It wasn't exactly exciting doing the foundations, really.
0:25:33 > 0:25:37It was interesting but it seemed to be slow, you know.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40It took two years to get that pier constructed
0:25:40 > 0:25:43but once we started to erect the towers, I think then
0:25:43 > 0:25:47it began to strike home that we were really going up.
0:25:47 > 0:25:51A lot of people think that the towers of the bridge are made
0:25:51 > 0:25:55of concrete, but in fact they consist of steel boxes,
0:25:55 > 0:25:58bolted one on top of the other.
0:25:58 > 0:26:00When you're building a suspension bridge,
0:26:00 > 0:26:04because of the curvature of the earth, if each tower is vertical,
0:26:04 > 0:26:06they're actually not parallel to one another,
0:26:06 > 0:26:08because of the centre of the earth down here.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11And believe it or not, that is allowed for.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18If you want to get an idea of the precision of the job,
0:26:18 > 0:26:21just consider, when the towers were completed,
0:26:21 > 0:26:26they were strained outwards exactly 32 inches.
0:26:26 > 0:26:28When the centre span is completed,
0:26:28 > 0:26:32they will lean inwards exactly eight inches.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35And when the side spans are added...
0:26:35 > 0:26:38The towers end up vertical. Isn't that miraculous?
0:26:42 > 0:26:43And on they went.
0:26:44 > 0:26:49Two towers, 1,200 tonnes each, erected in eight months.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55The next thing they had to do was to join the towers together.
0:26:55 > 0:27:00They had to get a piece of wire across 3,000 feet of water.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03Well, this they did quite simply by loading a huge reel
0:27:03 > 0:27:07of wire onto a barge and driving it across
0:27:07 > 0:27:11and paying out the wire as they went and letting it rest on the riverbed.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16The demand for wire was insatiable,
0:27:16 > 0:27:19the length almost enough to encircle the planet.
0:27:20 > 0:27:25I'm Howard Peterson and I left my father's farm
0:27:25 > 0:27:28and went to work in the winding shed.
0:27:28 > 0:27:30I'd never seen anything like it before.
0:27:30 > 0:27:34The machinery and the coils were starting to come in
0:27:34 > 0:27:38and what the devil do I do with this lot?
0:27:38 > 0:27:41They would come in on... Lorry loads was coming in.
0:27:41 > 0:27:46You'd cut the bands on these coils and it could fly anywhere
0:27:46 > 0:27:48if you didn't have it under control
0:27:48 > 0:27:53and then reel it on to the main drum which was like a giant cotton reel.
0:27:53 > 0:27:56The big drum was off-loaded and taken away
0:27:56 > 0:27:59ready for spinning across the bridge.
0:27:59 > 0:28:02And the foreman came to me one day, and he says,
0:28:02 > 0:28:06"Got another job for you. I want you to go
0:28:06 > 0:28:09"and you'll be labourer to the carpenter."
0:28:13 > 0:28:16That was the first time I'd been up the tower.
0:28:16 > 0:28:20They then put square pieces of steel mesh
0:28:20 > 0:28:24to make foot-walks from one side to the other.
0:28:24 > 0:28:29To look around and see for miles and then you'd think,
0:28:29 > 0:28:33"God, I'm about 450 foot up.
0:28:33 > 0:28:36"I've never been up this high before."
0:28:36 > 0:28:40And I looked over the side then, and had a look down and see
0:28:40 > 0:28:45the safety launch and all below and it was like...
0:28:45 > 0:28:48Like dots down below. Unbelievable.
0:28:48 > 0:28:52You'd go to the handrail, and one time the handrail wasn't there.
0:28:52 > 0:28:55It would have been open. Men were working on the top
0:28:55 > 0:28:57of this structure, putting...
0:28:57 > 0:29:00And they had to work right on the edge of this structure.
0:29:00 > 0:29:02They put the handrails around.
0:29:02 > 0:29:05You can't envisage being in that situation.
0:29:10 > 0:29:15The first wires were there simply to support the catwalks.
0:29:15 > 0:29:17But now it was time for the main cables,
0:29:17 > 0:29:20from which the road deck would hang.
0:29:20 > 0:29:23And they were a different matter altogether.
0:29:28 > 0:29:31And I think this is just about the finest argument
0:29:31 > 0:29:33I've ever heard for giving up smoking.
0:29:35 > 0:29:39And this is one of the main cables of the bridge,
0:29:39 > 0:29:43looking rather more substantial up here than it does from down below.
0:29:43 > 0:29:45And this, I suppose, to the layman,
0:29:45 > 0:29:49is just about the most baffling bit there is of bridge building.
0:29:49 > 0:29:53How do they get a cable as massive as this one across the river?
0:29:53 > 0:29:55It's going now.
0:29:55 > 0:30:02It's a process, whereby you pull a loop of this up over the towers,
0:30:02 > 0:30:05across the main span, up over the other tower
0:30:05 > 0:30:07and down to the far anchorage.
0:30:07 > 0:30:09And then the carrying device
0:30:09 > 0:30:14comes back with a loop of wire again
0:30:14 > 0:30:17and it goes back and forward, back and forward.
0:30:17 > 0:30:21Cable spinning, as it was known, was relentless.
0:30:21 > 0:30:2316 hours a day for six months
0:30:23 > 0:30:28until 18,000 miles of wire had been spun across the river.
0:30:28 > 0:30:31All rights, Rob? Tether that up.
0:30:31 > 0:30:33And for the whole six months,
0:30:33 > 0:30:37only strong winds gave the steel erectors any respite.
0:30:37 > 0:30:40Food and drink was brought to them on the catwalks
0:30:40 > 0:30:42as the spinning went on.
0:30:44 > 0:30:47I'm Brian Hughes and I worked on the Severn Bridge,
0:30:47 > 0:30:52supplying the men that were spinning the cable with tea and soup.
0:30:53 > 0:30:57My job actually was delivering the tea down to the men on
0:30:57 > 0:31:00the catwalk. It takes about half an hour to
0:31:00 > 0:31:04walk down there and back. With the tea on your back, mind.
0:31:05 > 0:31:08But it was all right.
0:31:08 > 0:31:10They were God.
0:31:10 > 0:31:13Everything a steel erector wanted, he had to have.
0:31:13 > 0:31:17And if a steel erector was unhappy, you'd be for the high jump!
0:31:18 > 0:31:23Our tearoom was bolted to the side of the tower
0:31:23 > 0:31:26and you'd enter through the roof, like, go down
0:31:26 > 0:31:29the ladder, just like going into a submarine.
0:31:29 > 0:31:33And towers was moving...
0:31:33 > 0:31:36easy, could fall eight foot from side to side.
0:31:36 > 0:31:40Cos when you was in that canteen, down by the side of the what's-his-name,
0:31:40 > 0:31:45you put a cup under the table, he'd moved from one side back to the other.
0:31:45 > 0:31:46Even a full cup of tea, mind.
0:31:48 > 0:31:52When the weather was bad and the guys had to come in...
0:31:53 > 0:31:57..I suppose they wore out more packs of cards than
0:31:57 > 0:31:59any other industry I know!
0:32:02 > 0:32:09The sound of the pulleys pulling the wires across was very distinctive.
0:32:09 > 0:32:11It was a sort of tinkling,
0:32:11 > 0:32:15clanking noise and you could hear this going on
0:32:15 > 0:32:18from early in the morning until late in the evening.
0:32:19 > 0:32:25Spinning continued day and night through the summer of 1964.
0:32:25 > 0:32:26It became a way of life.
0:32:29 > 0:32:33The team were very keen on skittles.
0:32:33 > 0:32:36And we became interested in the possibility of competing
0:32:36 > 0:32:38with some teams from Chepstow.
0:32:38 > 0:32:41Once or twice we drove around the top and down to Chepstow and
0:32:41 > 0:32:43that meant a very late return home at the end
0:32:43 > 0:32:46of the evening. And then someone said,
0:32:46 > 0:32:47"Well, why don't we walk across?"
0:32:47 > 0:32:52The lights are always on. They're always safe and so we used to
0:32:52 > 0:32:54walk across and have our skittles
0:32:54 > 0:32:56and then have a beer and walk back again.
0:32:56 > 0:32:59It was a very good way of spending an evening.
0:33:05 > 0:33:07On the deck,
0:33:07 > 0:33:11on the top of the towers, it was...portable loos.
0:33:12 > 0:33:14We had a guy there that looked after the loos.
0:33:17 > 0:33:21And he stunk that much, we wouldn't let him in our tea hut
0:33:21 > 0:33:23so we used to bolt the hatch down.
0:33:26 > 0:33:28I don't know what possessed the man.
0:33:28 > 0:33:31He came to empty the toilets
0:33:31 > 0:33:35and threw the bucket of waste over the side
0:33:35 > 0:33:39and didn't even look to see where it was going to land.
0:33:39 > 0:33:43And, unfortunately, the safety launch.
0:33:43 > 0:33:45Beautiful day, the sun was shining
0:33:45 > 0:33:50and we heard a splitter splutter, which sounded like heavy rain.
0:33:50 > 0:33:52I went out of the wheelhouse and found
0:33:52 > 0:33:58that somebody had tipped the contents of the chemical toilet
0:33:58 > 0:34:00and most of it had landed on us.
0:34:00 > 0:34:04The gaffer came rearing into the...
0:34:04 > 0:34:10to the tea hut and gave us boys a real dressing down
0:34:10 > 0:34:14about throwing the bucket of waste over the side of the bridge
0:34:14 > 0:34:18and we said, "Well, it wasn't us. You'd better go and examine
0:34:18 > 0:34:23"what the contents are and you can see it wasn't our fault."
0:34:23 > 0:34:25And one of the steel erectors slapped me on
0:34:25 > 0:34:28the shoulder and said, "It must be your lucky day.
0:34:28 > 0:34:30"What are you backing on the horses?"
0:34:47 > 0:34:49Once all the wires are in position, they are
0:34:49 > 0:34:51compressed into a circle...
0:34:54 > 0:34:57..and clamped together at a controlled tension. Each cable is
0:34:57 > 0:35:00now ready to take a load of 10,000 tonnes
0:35:00 > 0:35:03and the equation is almost complete.
0:35:06 > 0:35:08MUSIC: Girl From Ipanema
0:35:09 > 0:35:11The final stage of construction
0:35:11 > 0:35:14was where the Severn Bridge achieved its greatest innovation.
0:35:17 > 0:35:21Today, the old shipyard in Chepstow shows little sign
0:35:21 > 0:35:24of its ground-breaking role in civil engineering history
0:35:24 > 0:35:29but this was where they built the bridge's revolutionary roadway.
0:35:31 > 0:35:34This was the first time a box structure had been made
0:35:34 > 0:35:36of this shape or this size.
0:35:36 > 0:35:38It was built from stiffened plates.
0:35:38 > 0:35:44One, two, three, four, five and we all knew this was
0:35:44 > 0:35:48an innovation and I think we all wanted to make a success of it.
0:35:48 > 0:35:51Well, I could describe it as a spaceship.
0:35:51 > 0:35:54The wind coming up the river,
0:35:54 > 0:35:57they were designed for it to go underneath
0:35:57 > 0:36:04and up and over, so it was an aeroplane shape, really.
0:36:05 > 0:36:07Well, you know, I do believe I'm...
0:36:07 > 0:36:09There. It looks like
0:36:09 > 0:36:12we're discussing whether it's time to go for lunch!
0:36:14 > 0:36:16The plated box design was a response to
0:36:16 > 0:36:20the Tacoma disaster in 1940.
0:36:20 > 0:36:24But it took 20 years for the idea to gain favour.
0:36:24 > 0:36:27Those winds had sent shock waves through the world of
0:36:27 > 0:36:28civil engineering.
0:36:29 > 0:36:32Fortunately, the only casualties were a car stalled on the bridge
0:36:32 > 0:36:34and a dog.
0:36:34 > 0:36:38As a result of the failure, we in this country decided
0:36:38 > 0:36:41that we would have to
0:36:41 > 0:36:44stick to the open truss,
0:36:44 > 0:36:46as in all previous American big bridges.
0:36:48 > 0:36:51The classic American truss deck
0:36:51 > 0:36:54comprised a heavyweight lattice of steel girders
0:36:54 > 0:36:55under a concrete roadway.
0:36:55 > 0:36:58And right up to the start of the Severn Bridge construction,
0:36:58 > 0:37:02this was the plan that was being fine-tuned in the wind tunnel.
0:37:04 > 0:37:07But the design team led by a taciturn Welshman called
0:37:07 > 0:37:11Gilbert Roberts already had the plated box in mind.
0:37:11 > 0:37:15They just hadn't had the time or opportunity to test it.
0:37:15 > 0:37:18A very good solution had been found
0:37:18 > 0:37:21to the problem of the Tacoman errors by making it
0:37:21 > 0:37:24with openwork trusses.
0:37:24 > 0:37:28As the wind stream meets the front girder, it divides
0:37:28 > 0:37:32and curls round the top and bottom edges of the girder.
0:37:32 > 0:37:35But this had the cost of considerably
0:37:35 > 0:37:38increasing the actual ordinary wind forces.
0:37:40 > 0:37:42And the way to get round that would be to
0:37:42 > 0:37:45make them much more like an aircraft wing.
0:37:46 > 0:37:50And Gilbert Roberts wanted to test the new aerofoil
0:37:50 > 0:37:54type deck. This was unprecedented
0:37:54 > 0:37:59and wind tunnel testing time is scarce and expensive.
0:37:59 > 0:38:04And then one day, Gilbert came over into my...
0:38:04 > 0:38:07into the office and said the model they were testing
0:38:07 > 0:38:12in the wind tunnel has broken loose from its anchorages
0:38:12 > 0:38:14and has smashed itself.
0:38:14 > 0:38:17The man responsible was seriously worried and
0:38:17 > 0:38:20thought that Roberts would be highly critical.
0:38:20 > 0:38:22"I'm dreadfully sorry, Mr Roberts, but
0:38:22 > 0:38:24"we've just broken the model."
0:38:25 > 0:38:29And it wasn't in Roberts's nature to say, "Hurray!"
0:38:29 > 0:38:31But that was his reaction, in fact.
0:38:32 > 0:38:37So I said, "Well, the time has come, I think, sir..."
0:38:37 > 0:38:39He was sir to me.
0:38:39 > 0:38:41"I think the time has come, sir, that we've got
0:38:41 > 0:38:47"to think about the possibility of using the plated box."
0:38:49 > 0:38:51So out went the heavyweight truss
0:38:51 > 0:38:56and in came the plated box, a third of the depth and half the weight.
0:39:03 > 0:39:07It sailed through its tests and went quickly into construction,
0:39:07 > 0:39:10a stroke of genius with a touch of serendipity.
0:39:17 > 0:39:22It was streamlined, which meant that the wind forces were less.
0:39:23 > 0:39:27It used less steel and therefore it weighed less
0:39:27 > 0:39:29and therefore, you've reduced both the lateral forces
0:39:29 > 0:39:32and the vertical forces so there were savings on
0:39:32 > 0:39:36the cables, on the towers and on the anchorages,
0:39:36 > 0:39:39because the tension of the cables was less.
0:39:39 > 0:39:43And if you add all those savings together, it's immense.
0:39:43 > 0:39:45One of the towers of one of the big
0:39:45 > 0:39:49American bridges contained more steel
0:39:49 > 0:39:52than the whole of the Severn Bridge.
0:39:54 > 0:39:56And, you know, I think, when this was pointed out
0:39:56 > 0:40:00to the American engineers, they got a bit annoyed, really,
0:40:00 > 0:40:02and thought that we'd been cheating.
0:40:03 > 0:40:06The Americans might have envied another benefit
0:40:06 > 0:40:09of the boxes - that they could float and
0:40:09 > 0:40:12therefore be towed down to the bridge.
0:40:12 > 0:40:15The first of 88 that would span the Severn was launched
0:40:15 > 0:40:17in September 1964.
0:40:19 > 0:40:21All the dignitaries were
0:40:21 > 0:40:24watching and already on the sides and he had to
0:40:24 > 0:40:27blow, give it a blow with a hammer
0:40:27 > 0:40:30and the pin flew up, hit the hammer out of his hand,
0:40:30 > 0:40:34up in the air, caused quite a lot of amusement
0:40:34 > 0:40:37but slowly, the unit started up
0:40:37 > 0:40:41and slowly launched itself into the river.
0:40:41 > 0:40:43And no problems, all perfect,
0:40:43 > 0:40:46much to our delight and relief!
0:40:56 > 0:40:57Slender, streamlined,
0:40:57 > 0:41:00almost fragile looking, their appearance
0:41:00 > 0:41:02conceals a strength and solidity which will
0:41:02 > 0:41:05allow winds of 100mph to blow harmlessly around them.
0:41:06 > 0:41:08The road sections of the bridge
0:41:08 > 0:41:10are made of steel - in fact, they really are
0:41:10 > 0:41:12just a series of steel boxes which have been
0:41:12 > 0:41:15made up in the steelyard at Chepstow and then
0:41:15 > 0:41:17launched into the River Wye down a slipway.
0:41:19 > 0:41:22A special barge was built to collect the boxes and
0:41:22 > 0:41:24take them to the bridge.
0:41:24 > 0:41:25Called the Severn Knave,
0:41:25 > 0:41:28it had no rudder and was steered by four outboard
0:41:28 > 0:41:30engines, one on each corner.
0:41:33 > 0:41:36My name is John Roberts.
0:41:36 > 0:41:39I was a deckhand on the Severn Knave in 1964.
0:41:41 > 0:41:45We were just waiting for the sections to come into the water
0:41:45 > 0:41:48and then we'd get hold of it and secure it.
0:41:48 > 0:41:50It was a very nice job to work on.
0:41:50 > 0:41:54We used to look at each other and say, "They pay us for this!"
0:41:57 > 0:42:01The skipper of the Severn Knave was Jack Hollins,
0:42:01 > 0:42:04the man who'd survived the fatal accident on the first
0:42:04 > 0:42:06safety launch in 1961.
0:42:06 > 0:42:10Now, his knowledge of the river would prove invaluable.
0:42:11 > 0:42:14Jack had always worked on the river.
0:42:14 > 0:42:19He was a fisherman, operated one of the boats in the Wye.
0:42:19 > 0:42:24Very skilful. He was just always in control.
0:42:24 > 0:42:29He used to see things before they happened.
0:42:30 > 0:42:32Jack was tall, dark and handsome
0:42:32 > 0:42:36and he was always part of our lives as children.
0:42:36 > 0:42:39And we used to go and stand at the end of Raglan Way
0:42:39 > 0:42:43and we look down on the Wye River and it was
0:42:43 > 0:42:46something to see, it was like looking at a submarine, actually.
0:42:46 > 0:42:48Very large, wide submarine.
0:42:50 > 0:42:51The main part of the road decking,
0:42:51 > 0:42:54as they call it, is 80 feet wide and there will be
0:42:54 > 0:42:57four traffic lines 12 feet wide, two in each direction.
0:42:58 > 0:43:03All the sections for Severn were bought down the Wye
0:43:03 > 0:43:07past our construction work and then we would
0:43:07 > 0:43:10go round to Beachley Point and watch the work
0:43:10 > 0:43:14of lifting the Severn units.
0:43:15 > 0:43:19To form the roadway, the 88 boxes had to be hoisted into
0:43:19 > 0:43:22position, a job demanding patience and seamanship.
0:43:22 > 0:43:24INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER
0:43:26 > 0:43:28The tide doesn't run truly
0:43:28 > 0:43:31underneath the bridge. You can get sections and
0:43:31 > 0:43:35you can get parts of it where it's running upstream
0:43:35 > 0:43:39and another part where it is running downstream, both at the same time.
0:43:41 > 0:43:46So Jack had to manoeuvre this vessel into position
0:43:46 > 0:43:48underneath the lifting tackle
0:43:48 > 0:43:51and it would've been a fairly tricky job to do.
0:43:53 > 0:43:55INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER
0:43:58 > 0:44:00We'd get the sections,
0:44:00 > 0:44:06bring them out into the Severn, drop anchor, 50 yards,
0:44:06 > 0:44:09100 yards before the bridge and then you'd let it out
0:44:09 > 0:44:12on the winch, and just drop it down under the bridge.
0:44:12 > 0:44:14You've got to have good visibility.
0:44:14 > 0:44:17You've got to have wind less than 30 knots and
0:44:17 > 0:44:19preferably no snow and ice.
0:44:25 > 0:44:29They also needed particular tides, which meant it would take
0:44:29 > 0:44:3118 months to complete the task.
0:44:33 > 0:44:35I don't think there was any other skipper around that
0:44:35 > 0:44:36could have done it myself.
0:44:38 > 0:44:41I don't know, but I had a lot of respect for him.
0:44:44 > 0:44:47When you're building a suspension bridge, the classic way
0:44:47 > 0:44:50was to start at the towers and work both
0:44:50 > 0:44:53into the side spans and then into the main span
0:44:53 > 0:44:57whereas at Severn, the first boxes were lifted in the middle.
0:44:57 > 0:45:02And immediately, you began to see what a huge structure
0:45:02 > 0:45:04it was going to be.
0:45:04 > 0:45:06So then just behind me, the winches
0:45:06 > 0:45:09which are used to winch and hoist the main
0:45:09 > 0:45:11road sections into position, and if you walk
0:45:11 > 0:45:14to the very edge of the tower and look over,
0:45:14 > 0:45:17you can see the sections of the roadway or decking
0:45:17 > 0:45:20as they call it, that have already been hoisted into place.
0:45:20 > 0:45:22And of course, the ferries
0:45:22 > 0:45:25used to pass underneath the works so everybody
0:45:25 > 0:45:28could see what was going on.
0:45:28 > 0:45:31And it generated huge interest locally.
0:45:31 > 0:45:34MUSIC: The Times They Are A-Changin' by Bob Dylan
0:45:34 > 0:45:36# Come gather around, people
0:45:36 > 0:45:39# Wherever you roam
0:45:39 > 0:45:40# And admit that the waters
0:45:40 > 0:45:44# Around you have grown
0:45:44 > 0:45:46# And accept it that soon
0:45:46 > 0:45:48# You'll be drenched to the bone
0:45:50 > 0:45:54# If your time to you is worth saving
0:45:54 > 0:45:59# Then you better start swimming or you'll sink like a stone
0:45:59 > 0:46:04# For the times, they are a-changing. #
0:46:04 > 0:46:05There's a lovely moment
0:46:05 > 0:46:08in the story of the evolution of the Severn Bridge
0:46:08 > 0:46:12when none other than Bob Dylan, one of the greatest stars of the day,
0:46:12 > 0:46:15turns up. Barry Feinstein took this wonderful photograph
0:46:15 > 0:46:19where you see Bob Dylan in shades looking very cool
0:46:19 > 0:46:22but what's exciting, I think, is the fact that
0:46:22 > 0:46:25this was the very tour that Bob Dylan changed
0:46:25 > 0:46:29from his acoustic set to playing electric.
0:46:29 > 0:46:33He was changing. The times, in his own words, were a-changing
0:46:33 > 0:46:37and there is Bob Dylan, standing at this very moment
0:46:37 > 0:46:40of great change in British culture,
0:46:40 > 0:46:43popular culture and, of course, how remarkably,
0:46:43 > 0:46:45in civil engineering too.
0:46:45 > 0:46:48# The times they are a-changin'. #
0:46:52 > 0:46:55I remember the bridge was being built.
0:46:55 > 0:46:56It was a sight to see, of course,
0:46:56 > 0:47:00and this been has a memory I've carried with me. The understanding
0:47:00 > 0:47:03that bridges have this power to transform and excite
0:47:03 > 0:47:05a community and to make people really
0:47:05 > 0:47:09believe in the power of the future, in a way,
0:47:09 > 0:47:12that man's works can actually make life better.
0:47:17 > 0:47:20For a year, the roadway spread slowly to
0:47:20 > 0:47:23the east and west. But before the crossing
0:47:23 > 0:47:26could be completed, there was another setback.
0:47:33 > 0:47:36I just got a message on the weekend
0:47:36 > 0:47:38that Jack was dead. Simple as that.
0:47:41 > 0:47:46It was just a normal day. He was in the garden and
0:47:46 > 0:47:49Jack got stung by a bee and because the traffic
0:47:49 > 0:47:53was stopped, he was unfortunate that the doctor had to run,
0:47:53 > 0:47:57couldn't get to him in time to give him the injection
0:47:57 > 0:47:58and he died in the garden.
0:48:00 > 0:48:03Disbelief. Disbelief.
0:48:05 > 0:48:09He'd survived all sorts of things and to die from a rather
0:48:09 > 0:48:12paltry thing like a bee sting was just unbelievable.
0:48:12 > 0:48:15But that's when his luck ran out.
0:48:16 > 0:48:19We didn't know what they would do, the bridge builders,
0:48:19 > 0:48:20or whatever.
0:48:22 > 0:48:27So I ended up in charge of the Severn Knave.
0:48:30 > 0:48:31BIRDS CAW
0:48:39 > 0:48:43March the 1st 1966, St David's Day.
0:48:44 > 0:48:46And the last section of roadway to go in.
0:48:50 > 0:48:53The last section was at Beachley on St David's Day.
0:48:53 > 0:48:57Just drove it around on the engines with the anchor secure.
0:48:57 > 0:49:01When it was in position, it was hoisted up the river.
0:49:03 > 0:49:07I think the man who designed and built the bridge,
0:49:07 > 0:49:08very, very clever.
0:49:10 > 0:49:16How everything fitted, everything went together, everything
0:49:16 > 0:49:17come together smoothly.
0:49:17 > 0:49:19That was the end of the job.
0:49:22 > 0:49:24But it was a good job.
0:49:28 > 0:49:30MUSIC: Paint It Black by The Rolling Stones
0:49:35 > 0:49:41# I see a red door and I want to paint it black
0:49:41 > 0:49:46# No colours any more, I want them to turn black... #
0:49:47 > 0:49:52After over five years of the most advanced engineering,
0:49:52 > 0:49:56four men on their hands and knees did the final job,
0:49:56 > 0:49:59because no-one had yet invented a machine that
0:49:59 > 0:50:00could tarmac the roadway.
0:50:00 > 0:50:06# ..line of cars and they're all painted black
0:50:06 > 0:50:10# I see people turn their heads and quickly look away... #
0:50:11 > 0:50:16Two decades in the planning, six years in the making and
0:50:16 > 0:50:18five months ahead of schedule,
0:50:18 > 0:50:21the Severn Bridge was fit for a queen.
0:50:25 > 0:50:30This, then, is the scene set for the royal opening of the Severn Bridge.
0:50:30 > 0:50:32An occasion of such importance
0:50:32 > 0:50:37that the BBC scheduled two hours of live coverage.
0:50:37 > 0:50:39We all went across to Aust,
0:50:39 > 0:50:44where the Queen appeared and she was introduced
0:50:44 > 0:50:48to everybody, dignitaries from far and wide.
0:50:48 > 0:50:51Sir Gilbert Roberts, responsible for the design of the superstructure
0:50:51 > 0:50:53and the steelwork.
0:50:53 > 0:50:55Magnificent lady that she is.
0:50:55 > 0:50:59Mike Parsons has been working on the Severn Bridge
0:50:59 > 0:51:01on and off for 17 years.
0:51:01 > 0:51:07I was much more...almost servile in those days, faced with the Queen.
0:51:07 > 0:51:11I see the pictures of myself, slightly bowing
0:51:11 > 0:51:13with my hand held out.
0:51:13 > 0:51:15And now, John Robertson.
0:51:15 > 0:51:18He's 25 years old. He's from over in the other side, from Chepstow.
0:51:18 > 0:51:20Met the Queen!
0:51:21 > 0:51:26Eventually, he became skipper of the Severn Knave.
0:51:26 > 0:51:29I was called around to Mr Hyatt's office. He thanked me
0:51:29 > 0:51:33and he said, "For what you've done, I'd like
0:51:33 > 0:51:34"you to meet the Queen."
0:51:36 > 0:51:39And so, the royal car
0:51:39 > 0:51:43moves towards the eastern approach to the new Severn Bridge.
0:51:49 > 0:51:51And down below us now,
0:51:51 > 0:51:55the klaxon horns are sounding from the boats.
0:51:55 > 0:51:58There's something very special about seeing a very
0:51:58 > 0:52:01light structure, especially a bridge,
0:52:01 > 0:52:03crossing a great big landscape,
0:52:03 > 0:52:06so at that point you might expect a bridge to be this
0:52:06 > 0:52:08mighty great stone or concrete construction,
0:52:08 > 0:52:10to take you safely across and what you find is
0:52:10 > 0:52:13something very filigree and fine indeed.
0:52:14 > 0:52:17The overwhelmingly simple fact about all this is
0:52:17 > 0:52:20that nowhere in the world is there a bridge like this one.
0:52:20 > 0:52:23It's the lightest for its length and strength ever built.
0:52:23 > 0:52:26And the techniques used in its construction have
0:52:26 > 0:52:29already been copied and will certainly continue
0:52:29 > 0:52:31to be copied, not only in this country
0:52:31 > 0:52:33but in all parts of the world.
0:52:34 > 0:52:36The breakage of the model
0:52:36 > 0:52:39was completely crucial, because it opened the door to testing
0:52:39 > 0:52:41the new scheme, and the new
0:52:41 > 0:52:44scheme at that time was completely innovative
0:52:44 > 0:52:45for long span bridges.
0:52:47 > 0:52:49And later, she is to see the Concorde.
0:52:49 > 0:52:53Now building at the BAC's Filton factory.
0:52:53 > 0:52:57So quite a day, this, for British engineering.
0:52:57 > 0:53:02I think as a nation at that time, we did feel supremely confident.
0:53:03 > 0:53:09I personally felt I could do anything. I know it's ridiculous,
0:53:09 > 0:53:14really, but everybody felt confident for the future.
0:53:14 > 0:53:17The idea of a bridge to span
0:53:17 > 0:53:21the Severn has been a vision for many years.
0:53:22 > 0:53:27And as an advertisement of the ability of British
0:53:27 > 0:53:31engineers and constructors and shows
0:53:31 > 0:53:32just what can be achieved.
0:53:34 > 0:53:38It is with great pleasure that I now declare
0:53:38 > 0:53:39the Severn Bridge open.
0:53:41 > 0:53:43The bridge was considered so
0:53:43 > 0:53:45special that an orchestral piece was
0:53:45 > 0:53:46commissioned for the occasion.
0:53:46 > 0:53:49It was commissioned, actually, by none other than the BBC.
0:53:49 > 0:53:52It was a work called Severn Bridge Variations,
0:53:52 > 0:53:55written in six connecting parts by
0:53:55 > 0:53:58three Welsh and three English composers.
0:54:00 > 0:54:02The French had done this quite a bit over the years,
0:54:02 > 0:54:06celebrating engineering structures with modern music.
0:54:06 > 0:54:07The British came in,
0:54:07 > 0:54:11this Anglo-Welsh venture, rather beautiful.
0:54:18 > 0:54:21A year after the royal opening, a second plaque was
0:54:21 > 0:54:25unveiled to commemorate the six men who lost their lives
0:54:25 > 0:54:29in the construction of the Severn Bridge. Remarkably few, perhaps,
0:54:29 > 0:54:31for such a perilous project.
0:54:33 > 0:54:37In 50 years, many more of the 400 who built the bridge have
0:54:37 > 0:54:39passed away. But those that remain
0:54:39 > 0:54:42preserve their memories with great pride.
0:54:44 > 0:54:47At the end of the day, we had a party and we all got
0:54:47 > 0:54:49very merry and that was it.
0:54:51 > 0:54:54Some years after I finished on the ferry, I thought,
0:54:54 > 0:54:57"I'll paint a picture of the last day"
0:54:57 > 0:54:59and I just sat down and painted this.
0:54:59 > 0:55:02I like Raoul Dufy and I try to
0:55:02 > 0:55:07paint like him but his paintings look very easy to do.
0:55:07 > 0:55:10But, no, it's not easy. No, it wasn't easy to do.
0:55:10 > 0:55:15But I just painted. I just painted it and there it is.
0:55:16 > 0:55:19I've got shallots in the corner now, waiting,
0:55:19 > 0:55:20when they grow up, they'll
0:55:20 > 0:55:22be for pickled onions, for pickling.
0:55:22 > 0:55:25Broad beans, leeks,
0:55:25 > 0:55:29and this is the walkway from the Severn Bridge. Oh, and by the way,
0:55:29 > 0:55:31I forgot to mention my rhubarb.
0:55:33 > 0:55:34You can see how strong...
0:55:34 > 0:55:36You can put all the pressure on it.
0:55:38 > 0:55:42And it's perfect. Not a bit of rust after 50 years.
0:55:43 > 0:55:47I think the bridge today looks just as fine as
0:55:47 > 0:55:50what it was when it was first built.
0:55:50 > 0:55:53I can remember flying, coming back from holiday on the flight,
0:55:53 > 0:55:55looking down from the plane and you could see
0:55:55 > 0:55:58the bridge, absolutely perfect.
0:55:59 > 0:56:01That made me feel proud.
0:56:03 > 0:56:05I'm glad we landed!
0:56:05 > 0:56:07CREW LAUGHS
0:56:07 > 0:56:09MUSIC: Stand By Me by Ben E King
0:56:09 > 0:56:11It has an inherent beauty, doesn't it?
0:56:11 > 0:56:14Between the towers, they suspended this cable which takes
0:56:14 > 0:56:16a particularly strong characteristic form,
0:56:16 > 0:56:20a parabolic curve and I suppose, part of the great success
0:56:20 > 0:56:22of the Severn Bridge truly is
0:56:22 > 0:56:26the fact it is simply beautiful. Like a great work of art.
0:56:26 > 0:56:28It looks right to people who
0:56:28 > 0:56:31don't know anything about engineering.
0:56:31 > 0:56:33They can see how it works.
0:56:34 > 0:56:37It's like hanging washing on the line, you know, you can see how
0:56:37 > 0:56:42the washing is supported by the thin wire
0:56:42 > 0:56:45but it is a fact that if it looks right, it's a good
0:56:45 > 0:56:49indication that maybe you have got it right.
0:56:49 > 0:56:52So right that the Severn Bridge design has been
0:56:52 > 0:56:56adopted by every subsequent long span suspension bridge
0:56:56 > 0:57:01and Mike Parsons and his team won a prestigious engineering award,
0:57:01 > 0:57:03sharing it with the inventors of the jump jet.
0:57:05 > 0:57:07- Are you all right? - This is a form of
0:57:07 > 0:57:09stability I've never investigated.
0:57:09 > 0:57:14I received the MacRobert award as part of the prize given
0:57:14 > 0:57:17to Freeman, Fox and Partners for the design
0:57:17 > 0:57:21of the Severn Bridge. And this was the first one
0:57:21 > 0:57:23that's ever been awarded
0:57:23 > 0:57:27but I think they picked a good one to start with.
0:57:30 > 0:57:3320 years ago, the second Severn Crossing created
0:57:33 > 0:57:35a more direct route for the M4
0:57:35 > 0:57:39and prompted questions about the future of the old bridge
0:57:39 > 0:57:42that continue to this day.
0:57:42 > 0:57:45But for the men who built it, there will only ever be one way.
0:57:48 > 0:57:52It remains the leader of that sort of innovation.
0:57:52 > 0:57:55Nobody has found a way of doing it better
0:57:55 > 0:57:58and I always use the old Severn Bridge
0:57:58 > 0:58:01whenever I have occasion to go to South Wales.
0:58:16 > 0:58:20# Darlin', darlin', stand by me
0:58:20 > 0:58:24# Oh, stand by me
0:58:24 > 0:58:27# Oh, stand now
0:58:27 > 0:58:29# Stand by me. #