‘A God-almighty punch-up’: rare footage shows Battle of Hastings (the 1966 one)
Photograph: Keystone Press/AlamyIt was filmed by Alan Wootton, an innovative manufacturer of electronics who lived in Hastings and had been invited to capture a film record of the celebrations by Hastings town council. The film came to light when Alan’s son Cliff, who had helped out on the day as a 12-year-old, recently visited Battle Abbey, the medieval foundation that was built on the site of the skirmish and is today overseen by English Heritage. Photograph: Jack Taylor/Getty ImagesThe film is, he says, very much of its time – and very different from the event which the charity has continued to stage every year since.
- ▪Photograph: Keystone Press/AlamyIt was filmed by Alan Wootton, an innovative manufacturer of electronics who lived in Hastings and had been invited to capture a film record of the celebrations by Hastings town council.
- ▪The film came to light when Alan’s son Cliff, who had helped out on the day as a 12-year-old, recently visited Battle Abbey, the medieval foundation that was built on the site of the skirmish and is today overseen by English Heritage.
- ▪Photograph: Jack Taylor/Getty ImagesThe film is, he says, very much of its time – and very different from the event which the charity has continued to stage every year since.
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| Original publisher | The Guardian — UK |
| Canonical URL | https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/oct/06/rare-footage-first-battle-of-hastings-re-enactment |
| Publication time | Mon, 05 Oct 2026 23:01:55 GMT |
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English Heritage‘A God-almighty punch-up’: rare footage shows Battle of Hastings (the 1966 one)English Heritage acquires film of first re-enactment, ‘a lot of pushing and shoving’ between Kent and Sussex studentsEsther AddleyMon 5 Oct 2026 19.01 EDTSharePrefer the Guardian on GoogleAt the top of a hill in a field near Hastings, a group of defiant English combatants awaited the invading army of William the Conqueror, brandishing their spears and shouting “Harold! Harold!”.Unfortunately, the Norman army had been held up in traffic on the A27 from Brighton, meaning the most significant battle in English history had to be delayed by 20 minutes while the French got into their costumes.On 14 October 1966, when a group of 500 students from Kent and Sussex universities met to re-enact the Battle…
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