English Heritage has acquired rare colour footage of the first Battle of Hastings re-enactment, staged in October 1966 by 500 students from Kent and Sussex universities to mark the 900th anniversary of the original clash.
The event took place on the same fields outside Battle in East Sussex where the historic battle occurred. The English combatants wore belted sacks and carried swords and axes made of wood and hardboard painted silver. The Norman army, delayed by traffic on the A27 from Brighton, arrived 20 minutes late while getting into costumes.
A 'God-almighty punch-up' between rival universities
Peter Sampson, a Sussex fresher who joined after being promised "a grand day out" and free beer, said the rivalry between the universities was real. "There was actually a lot of real pushing and shoving, a lot of fighting going on in there … My friend John got a big whack around the head with the end of a [fake] spear, which hurt his face quite a lot," he recalled. Once the two sides met, it turned into "a God-almighty punch-up".
The inaugural event was attended by a bemused French foreign minister, with Queen Matilda played by Miss World. Health and safety was "a far-off dream", according to the source.
Film discovered by founder's son
The footage was filmed by Alan Wootton, an electronics manufacturer from Hastings invited by the town council to capture the celebrations. The film came to light when his son Cliff, who helped out on the day aged 12, visited Battle Abbey and mentioned to a volunteer that he had 300 reels of the event.
The result, condensed into a 12-minute film, shows re-enactors in fake chainmail hitting each other with fake weapons while others ride horses, watched by 30,000 spectators. James Witcombe, site manager of Battle Abbey, said: "When Cliff showed me the footage, I was blown away by it, it was really, really impressive."
Modern re-enactments more authentic
Witcombe noted the film is very much of its time, contrasting with the event staged annually since. "Looking at it from a modern perspective – yeah, it is a little bit of an interesting watch. I think the thing that's very obvious is that it's a load of amateurs getting together and really having fun … From our point of view, that's the atmosphere that we want to preserve, just making sure we've got a few more sort of boundaries in place and nobody actually gets hurt."
Present-day crowds still tend to back "the home side", though "it's a bit less partisan than it used to be". This year's event will be staged on 10 and 11 October, with a full battle run-through each day. Today's 1,000 expected combatants pay more attention to historical details, with Witcombe saying: "Whereas in 1966, there were knitted outfits and all that sort of stuff, the re-enactors today take it very seriously. It's all about authenticity and, actually, experimental archaeology – [the idea that] living the experience gives you a much greater insight." English Heritage is expecting bumper crowds due to the Bayeux tapestry's presence in London and is inviting anyone involved in the original 1966 event to attend.
Sampson recalled that after 25 minutes of fisticuffs, hostilities ended and things became convivial. When the promised free beer did not materialise, "we took matters somewhat into our own hands and, shall we say, liberated a couple of beer kegs from the back of the refreshment tent. We cracked them open and then sat down with the Kent lads and lasses, and in the warm afternoon sunshine, just discussed the events of the day. So it became very friendly at the end of the day."
