Hastings 60s battle re-enactment film is restored

Footage of a 1960s re-enactment of the Battle of Hastings has been restored 60 years on.

The footage was captured at an event in East Sussex in 1966 to mark 900 years since the historical battle, which was a key event in the 1066 Norman conquest of England.

The re-enactment went on to become an annual event which English Heritage now hosts at Battle Abbey, with the 2026 event due to take place on Saturday and Sunday where the footage will be screened.

Cliff Wootton, who restored the footage, said he remembered it "being a huge event" and it was "fascinating to work on the footage again after all these years".

Hastings Town Council had commissioned Wootton's father Alan, who owned an electronics company in the town, to film the 1966 event, according to English Heritage.

The reels of film were passed down to Cliff Wootton after his father's death and he began restoring them.

James Witcombe, site manager for Battle Abbey, said the footage was "an incredible time capsule".

Some of the film was "a reminder of just how much re-enactment – and health and safety – has changed over the past 60 years", he said.

Wootton said he was "delighted" the footage would be shown to "so many other people who share an interest in this fantastic piece of British history".

"I was just 12 years old but Dad had me helping him at the 1966 re-enactment, so I was right there in the middle of it all," he said.

Peter Sampson, who took part in the re-enactment in 1966 dressed as a Norman foot soldier, said the event had turned "into an almighty punch-up really".

"We were recruited with the promise of beer on the day, and a coach trip and a good day out," he told the BBC.

"At times it got very realistic in terms of aggression between the two sides."

Sampson added: "I haven't done any further re-enactment since then but I really enjoyed the day."

English Heritage has called for others who took part in the 1966 reenactment to contact them ahead of the 2026 events.

"We know that many of the original foot soldiers were recruited from Sussex and Kent universities but have no record of names," Witcombe said.

"We'd love to invite surviving 1966 reenactors to join us as special guests at this weekend's reenactment, now in its 60th year."

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