A gala film night hosted by the film critic Mark Kermode was held by The British Safety Council. The film night was organized in order to show the contributions it has made over the last 60 years towards improving health and safety. The gala event took place in the Regen Street cinema and the British Safety Council presented their recent achievements and the plans for the future in the style of a film festival. The event took place on the 23rd March, and is a celebration of the charity and membership organisation.
The evening was launched in order to show the film British Safety Council at 60. The film shows the story of the start of the British Safety Council in 1957 as well as the significant growth that has been achieved by the campaigning organisation in order to transform the Health and Safety standards in Britain. The film uses long lost archival footage and focuses on James Tye, the founder of the organisation. The founder was considered charismatic although sometimes thought to be controversial as he attempted to improve health and safety during a period of time where hundreds of people were being killed each year at work, with inadequate and piecemeal laws there to protect the workers in Britain.
The film will include footage of James Tye at work with campaigning and training, but will also show photographs of the founder with celebrities including Barbara Windsor. As part of the event, the guests were given a book entitled ‘Beware! Watchdog with fearsome bark’ which holds posters and other documents that have been commissioned over the years by the British Safety Council. The guests at the event also saw the launch of the competition to mark 60 years of the organisation. The guests watched the four finalists’ pieces as well as the winning piece by Juan Cruz-Hernández. The event will also look to the future of the council and how the gig economy and the ageing workforce can impact the future for the British Safety Council.
