Remembrance

Gary Oldman (Daniel) attempts to get a room for the night at a property on Elliot St, Plymouth PL1.

The hotel is now closed for business.

Turned away at the door, Daniel managed to get into a taxi on Elliot St, Plymouth PL1.

Little change but not so wet and misty today!

A rejected and drunk Gary Oldman staggers along Union St, Plymouth PL1 (Bath Street is to the left).

The taxi business long since closed and is now a nightclub.

Gary makes a possibly unwise decision to enter a nightspot on Plymouth Union Street.

The windows partly remain but these days you can only get served items such as fridges and sofas.

Nice bright shot from Plymouth Hoe, looking out past Smeaton's Tower. The location also features in 'In Which We Serve'.

Smeaton's Tower marked a major step forward in lighthouse design. In use from 1759 to 1877, it was largely dismantled and rebuilt on Plymouth Hoe where it now stands as a memorial to its designer, John Smeaton.

Kenneth Griffith (Joe) seems to be troubled. He is currently under cover of a small shelter on Plymouth Hoe.

Lick of paint and glass removal, but much the same in 2016.

Joe is pondering a possible crisis. Smeaton's Tower again visible in the background.

Almost exactly the same.

Joe heads back up to the top of the Hoe Promenade, with the houses of The Esplanade, Plymouth PL1 visible in the background.

The subsequent growth makes an exact match shot impossible, but without trampling on the plants, this is quite close. Some of the properties have been given a lick of paint.

In a flashback, Daniel is outside Exeter motorway services next to the M5. His intentions are not so much honourable as opportunistic.

Changes happen over the years, in this case it seems mainly to involve coffee advertisements.

David John (Mark) and Peter Lee Wilson (Vincent) leave for a day out from Glen Park Ave, Plymouth PL4.

The street is pretty much the same in 2016.

The mode of transport for the trip around the dockyard and ships is a boat from Plymouth Barbican.

The addition of the modern marina in the background has greatly increased the water traffic around the Barbican area.

The enthusiastic parents wave the boat on its way from just in front of Madeira Road, Plymouth PL1.

The structure behind (with the window) seems to have been demolished.

Dawn Archibald (Jill) looks uninterested in the banter on board, with David John (Mark) and Peter Lee Wilson (Vincent) in the background.

Getting an exact match shot is more difficult when on a moving boat!

Among the Plymouth sights on view is Smeaton's Tower with the Plymouth Hoe Memorial behind. The Monumental obelisk commemorates British and Commonwealth naval casualties from the world wars.

To the left is part of the old Plymouth Dome attraction that was empty for several years before being reopened as a restaurant.

Timothy Spall (Douglas) and his partner leave Exeter motorway services next to the M5 to head for Plymouth.

The remaining metal grill above the right hand door is the main location indicator. This shot is right next to the doors where Gary Oldman enters in the earlier shot (rembre09).

John Croft (Stan) owner of the club, visits a taxi hq looking for John Rutland (Alf). Again this is Union Street, Plymouth PL1.

The building is now redeveloped as a nightclub with a closed nightclub across the road (in years past the building across the road was an Odeon Cinema).

Stan discusses Daniel's condition along Union Street, Plymouth with John Rutland (Alf).

The background view is all blocked from view due to subsequent building. In this case the bricks belong to the Plymouth Pavilions entertainment complex.

Daniel is a patient in the Royal Navy Hospital at Stonehouse on Craigie Dr, Plymouth PL1.

On the 31st March 1995, RNH Plymouth (Stonehouse) built for the reception of sick and hurt seamen and marines, closed its gates, 235 years after admitting it's first patient. Credit to members of the team at the Devonport Naval Heritage Centre for assisting in identifying the exact location.

Some of the new naval recruits arrive at Plymouth Railway Station at North Road East, Plymouth PL4.

What was once outside is now inside!

Daniel gets what he needs from the bag with Plymouth Sound in the background.

All that's changed is the paint colour.

Moving quickly in the cold weather, Daniel heads down towards Hoe Road, Plymouth.

He would have to find a slightly different route today.

Gary Oldman (Daniel) is on a bag disposal mission down on The Hoe, Plymouth PL1.

The circular construction is the edge of Tinside Pool, a unique 1935 Art Deco outdoor swimming pool. The pool closed in 1992 but a local campaign led to a renovation and Grade II Listed Building status in 1998. The facility re-opened to the public in 2005. Thankfully it does get cleaned before each summer season.

Al Ashton (John) arrives at Glen Park Avenue, Plymouth.

Most of the properties look much the same over 30 years later.

John has an unwanted discussion with Derek Benfield (Vincent's father) on Glen Park Avenue, Plymouth.

Again little difference.

Timothy Spall (Douglas) steps out of the New Continental Hotel, Millbay Rd, Plymouth.

The hotel still operates, albeit with a slight frontal make-over.

Stan and his wife Marie (Sheila Ballantine) head back into Cornwall along the Tamar Bridge.

A lot more traffic and other things in the way prevent an exact match-up with the 'then' shot.

Douglas looks at the War Memorial on Plymouth Hoe.

Memorials seldom change. Even the weather was similar!

Douglas talks local Navy history on a bench on Plymouth Hoe.

Most of the buildings in the background remain. The benches are nicer though.

A shot looking down from Plymouth Hoe towards Grand Parade. The edge of Drake Island to the left.

This location is also visible in 'The Uncle' and the Beatles film 'Magical Mystery Tour'.

Douglas is back out on Plymouth Hoe after a heated exchange with his girl.

The multi-storey building on the left was run as a hotel for years, but is due to be demolished in 2016.

The recruits enter Navy HQ at the back gates of Mount Wise, Richmond Walk, Plymouth PL1. You can see the front of the Royal William Yard in the background with white boat masts in front.

All the buildings have been demolished and rebuilt as other facilities. The view of the Royal William Yard in the background has been obscured further. Again credit is due to members of Devonport Naval Heritage Centre for helping identify where this shot was located.

The recruits come ashore in Devon from the Torpoint Ferry...

Lack of a camera crane makes it tricky to match the shot.

...and head into Plymouth

A lot of redevelopment including the removal of the telephone boxes. Buses now pick-up where the cars once parked.

John Altman (Steve), crosses the road on Edgcumbe Street, Plymouth PL1 and considers buying a dangerous item. All of the buildings in the background were demolished in the mid-1980s to enable road widening.

Between the 2 large trees on the left there is a short footpath which is where part of Market Street used to be before the immediate area was redeveloped. On the 'then' shot from the film, the turning for that part of Market Street would have been just to the left of the building with the green front (which was the Queens Hotel).

The evening drinking is beginning at The Phoenix Tavern on Phoenix Street, Plymouth PL1.

As is the case with much of the Union street area of Plymouth, many of the buildings have been demolished and redeveloped since the film was made. But the Phoenix still remains!

David John enters the Two Trees pub on Union Street, Plymouth.

The pub is still going strong and remains a popular nightspot.

Derek Benfield (Vincent's father) walks up past The Two Trees on Plymouth's Union Street to speak to his son.

Not much difference in over 30 years apart from yellow window frames.

Following a massive pub disturbance, the crowd spills out onto Union Street, Plymouth PL1.

Many of the nightspots here have either closed or have been reopened as other businesses.

The police arrive in Union Street to try and sort out the trouble.

Generally the police don't have quite as much trouble here, now that many of the clubs have closed. The old long-closed Palace Theatre is the brown building. It has recently undergone some much needed renovation due to structural decay. Laurel & Hardy, Chaplin and others once played there in what was then the heart of Plymouth's entertainment district.

Peter Lee-Wilson (Vincent) gets out of his car and takes a walk that leads him along an unnamed road that is linked from Wearde Road close to Churchtown Farm Nature Reserve, just south of the Cornish town of Saltash. Jonathan Horswell was helpful in providing more detailed specifics of the location.

Old stone bridges don't change that much.

Vincent continues his stroll. The railway line that passes under the bridge in the background is the mainline that runs through Cornwall.

Much of the Devon hillside that was viewable in the background has been obscured by 30+ years of growth.

Vincent contemplates the future and looks towards dawn over the River Tamar, with Plymouth dockyard and city skyline in the background. Jonathan Horswell also points out that this unnamed road continues down to Wearde Quay on the banks of the Tamar.

Slightly misty day but this the best view of the Tamar River from this spot. In the summer the leaves on the trees almost completely block the pretty view.

The time has come for Douglas and his partner to part company.

The station obviously looks similar, but again yellow paint is the main colour addition.

Moving along platform 7 at Plymouth station, the couple feels each others heartbreak at enforced separation.

Not a lot of change here either.

The soon-to-be parents enjoy their last moments before compulsory Navy duties will take Douglas away.

Just missing the happy couple in this shot.

Douglas offers a deflated wave as the train departs. Months will pass before he will see her again.

Another bit of yellow paint marks the only main change.

Timothy Spall (Douglas) exits the taxi with the large sheds and cranes of Devonport Dockyard in the background. Plymouth PL1.

The three large sheds of Devonport Dockyard are still a famous part of the Plymouth skyline.

Douglas heads down to the ferry port for the crossing to Torpoint.

Only one main building makes the area recognisable. Even several of the cranes have been removed.

The recruits head to the Ferry. In the background is the Cornish town of Torpoint. Services operate 24 hours a day, every day (including throughout Christmas and all other holiday periods), with service frequency never falling below half-hourly.

Again lack of a camera crane makes an exact shot match difficult. The current ferries were brought into service in 2005.