I cannot begin to tell you how happy I am that Ray still gets recognition. His knowledge and more than that, the way he explains what he knows is unmatched. I have grew up watching Ray and he makes me proud to be British. Also he would have been a deadly archer
Listning to him is more like listning to a friend. tellling a story. then listning to someone who thinks they have to make a show to get pepoles attention.
It's almost like he demonstrates what we might now call experimental archeology. That is, he explores the past, and our evolution by experimenting hands-on with their technologies from a first-hand basis. So it gives him a bit more authority than having read a book on, say, Longbow archers, or seaisde hunter gatherers, as he has hands-on knowledge of how to do these things himself. This also makes it easy for him to talk with the various experts, as his skills crossover and transfer across various fields so well.
dont rely on TOD! ive messaged him 3 times, about the uk govs proposal to ban ALL styles of broadhead arrow, ive not had one reply, on helping spread the word about the petition or posting my links! Nothing from sprave, nor uk archy olympic team. if your the little guy, your on your own, they only care about there own business empire!
@@HistoricalWeapons I largely agree. Mears though is pretty unapologetically British. And the tone of the video does not pretend to be a global history--its Mears' normal focus on British things.
I grew up as a young lad watching Ray, I even made my own bow and arrow after watching him make one. I used slate that I nicked from the garden for arrow heads. It's great to see he hasn't changed one bit and still has a love for what he does. Please more of Ray!
He's been screwed over / embarrassed (not by his fault) by the media a fair few times :( eg. Graham Norton show where he was asked to make a fire , but the entire area had been sprayed with anti inflammatory substance for safety. Or the time the tabloids called him a bloodhound in the hunt for Roul Moat aka Moaty in the North East :(
His survival stuff is awesome. Screw all this running around, do things the right way and make yourself comfortable! The complete opposite of Bear Grylls & etc.
this man and his craft is a big part of why i make arrowheads and bows/arrows today , as a boy ray inspired the hunter and craftsman in me and for this i am forever in debt to him
I helped in the construction of the museum on the Mary Rose and I would sometimes be onsite until two in the morning , I would just sit with the ship when the dock was empty . Sat with her by myself I would feel this great sense of sorrow , the fact that she’s not just a ship but also a grave . The souls of those sailors is in every inch of that wood . Strange the feelings you can have when you have a personal moment with such a piece of history .
Thank you for sharing this. It's easy to unintentionally overlook the human element of historic sites and events, getting swept up in the numbers and the technology. Too few experience those moments of quiet, uninterrupted reflection, particularly in proximity to such historically significant sites and artifacts. Tours and exhibits are awesome, of course, but nothing compares to the overwhelming power and emotion that can only be experienced when you're alone with your thoughts and surrounded by history.
I have a tiki dating back to the Maori wars .Its a family heirloom carved from a bone belonging to a British trooper.My missus won't touch it ,reckons its evil but my eldest son and I can feel the direct connection to both our ancestor and his former enemy whose mana he respected to the point of possession.
Fascinating. And a real pleasure to meet Ray Mears once again. Not to mention Barry, Nicky, Joe, Tod, Mark, Chris, Jo and Alex who lent their expertise in the most charming fashion. Cheers.
When you see Ray holding a bow, touching a yew tree, saying how the forest emends him of when he was a boy… one sees that boy… still doing boyhood things… in a wood, with bow, making arrows, fletching and shooting. ❤️Stay true to what you are.
This is my first Ray Mears documentary I have seen and literally as soon as I saw Joe and Tod. I paused made a cup of English breakfast tea and sat back down because I am not getting up until this video is done.
1:48 WHAT?!! Joe Gibbs, Ray Mears, and Todd fom Todd's Workshop all in the same archery jam session, just chillin together like legends? THIS IS THE GREATEST CROSSOVER IN THE HISTORY OF FILM!!!
Feed your feline beside your chair It will purr and your kindness will always be there Feed it late and unkindly you'll not negate The feeling you know to it you can relate To a bow and an arrow... Practicing Oooh you let it go too late... No archers cider for you... Longbow, composite, crossbow, oh-oh?!
I really like how Ray is always putting himself in the shoes of the people in the past. And vice versa. I think it's a good exercise, and enjoy it alot!
I would love it if you did a journey around the world comparing different designs and methods of archery. From tribal double bow, syrian horse bows to japanese yumi
This is the sort of unapologetically British documentary I grew up watching in the US, "...our island home..." & "...Britain was known for...", not any sort of false or showy patriotism, just a subtle and casual reference to your sense of nationhood/community and shared history of which you can be justly proud. I honestly shocked somebody didn't edit it out to placate the mob.
This has been an incredible documentary. The voice and nature of Ray Mears is absolutely perfect to describe the delicate and yet powerfull impact of archery in history. Tod and Joe was just icing on the cake to see. Thanks very much for making this come together and sharing with the world.
This is brilliant, I've loved Ray Mears since I was a teenager and I've been subscribed to Tod's Workshop for years too. To see them together is almost as good for me as when Ray was on Talking Pints with Nigel Farage!
Best video i have seen on the subject good to see ray again i have shot with a longbow for well over 30 years and still enjoy it there is a lot of skill in making bows and arrows and there use
Ray Mears is always a joy to watch. He is so passionate about bushcraft, it's infectious. I am old enough to remember the Mary Rose being lifted - the preservation on those bows is astonishing.
So excited to have found this video. I’m an archer myself, mainly shooting recurve, it have recently started shooting longbow. My first experience with a longbow was at a class run by Joe. Its amazing watching him in real life the way he draws these heavy bows.
13:18 It's so incredibly valuable for our understanding of pre-history to have someone like Ray with all his knowledge, experience and time spend with peoples who still life in the traditional ways. It's amazing how he can look at a shard of petrified wood and go 'Oh, it's probably [..]. I've seen something similar with the [..]people of [..]' Truly an amazing man!
Spanish yew is and was the perfect wood for bow making . Wood grown slowly at altitude. I have the honour to own the last bow made from the last half dozen staves from the last private Spanish yew Forrest which is now banned for sale made by one of the best bow makers . It comes alive in your hands in a way i cannot describe. I was allowed to own it on the understanding that it would never be sold and it would stay in the area and loved as much as by the man who made it originally for himself and passed it to me months before his death . It is all catalogued from start to finish so its history can follow the bow for its life . As you can see i am justifiably extremely proud of my bow and the amazingly skilled talented gentleman and friend who brought it to life .
Very exciting to see Ray collaborating with Todd & Joe - this is fantastic. The differing properties of the Yew tree (outer & inner) are not dissimilar to a katana (call me crazy).
Good to see Ray back in the media :) He got me into bush craft stuff back as a kid in the 90's. It pisses me off he got screwed over a bunch of times by the media :/
Amazing documentary, it was a pleasure to watch! I also very much enjoyed Tod's Workshop and Ray Mears joining forces, I've been a big fan of both for a long time. Just one correction for Ötzi: he is 5300 years old, not 4000, as mentioned at 4:15.
I am just 26 mins into the video and I must say, this was extraordinarily well done. Well presented, narrated, edited, shot, etc... Just a bang-on solid job. 💜
Great vid, great presentation - always a treat to have History Hit with Ray.....I literally finished reading his autobiography an hour before watching this. I started dabbling with archery over lockdown and have made a couple of ash bows as well as using modern - my yew collected with permission of the local diocese has been dried for 2 years now, so I'll have a go making a bow or 3 this year.
Cześć Ray! Pozdrawiam z Polski. Lubię cię. Nie wiedziałem,że interesuje cię historia. Ja uwielbiam historię. Ostatnio przeszukuję karty historii na temat szlaków handlowych między Damaszkiem a półwyspem Skandynawii w epoce Viking. Zastanawiam się jakim cudem stal damasceńska( tworzona z rudy indyjskiej) była wytapiana w piecach w Damaszku ,a potem kawałki stopu stali wędrowały z bliskiego Wschodu poprzez morzem czarne,poprzez Dniepr,na półwysep Skandynawii... Tam kowale,młotami wykuwali wspaniałe miecze ,,ULFVERTH,,-oręż siejący śmierć w Europie. Szczyty oszczepów też były wykuwane z takiej stali... Najbardziej zadziwia mnie jak słowiańscy piraci Bałtyku umieli przezwyciężać Vikingów, zabijać ich i kraść im te miecze... Zdumiewa mnie też północny szlak handlowy cyny z epoki brązu... Czyżby Viking wiedział o rzekach i szlakach od pradziada z epoki brązu... Pewnie tak....
This is superb love it! My Dad and I both have longbows made by the legend Steve Ralphs. I just love archery it's so cool. More vids on archery please!
I loved this video. I used to shoot a 50# Grizzly Bear, a recurve. I wasn't bad. Seeing Mary Rose was a special treat. There is so much history in that ship. The remains found in her were not limited to the bows. Remains of her crew. Remains of barrels with food in them. Mary Rose was a time capsule. Henry VIII was supposedly standing on shore watching as she sank. There is a story that the captain's wife was standing next to Henry. When Mary Rose went down, she fainted and Henry caught her. The story is not verified. I would love for HH to do an entire episode just on Mary Rose. BTW, A young Prince of Wales, Charles, was among those who dove on her in the Solent. (sp?)
It’s fascinating, isn’t it, that people would come from France in 1066 to teach the English how to fight with bows and then people from England go to France in 1415 in order to show them what they learned.
