The East Anglian Film Archive, the first and largest Regional Film Archive in England, was established in 1976. Since 1984, EAFA has been owned and operated by the University of East Anglia, Norwich (UEA), to support research and work to preserve our moving image heritage. More than 250 hours are freely available online as examples of the wide range of film which attracts interest the world over.
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Bathing Beauty Contest
Butlins bounces back after the war and, as a bid to forget the years of austerity, focus is on glamour as Clacton campers parade as prospective beauty queens.
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Overview
It was William King, a businessman from Cambridge we have to thank for this film of fun and frolics at Butlins. William had a holiday house at nearby Holland-on-sea and, as an enthusiastic amateur film maker, would visit Butlins at Clacton to film campers participating in events. These films were then screened at the Camp as part of the entertainment.
Billy Butlin's holiday camps were a successful formula providing budget holidays for thousands of working families keen to experience the on-site facilties and continuous timetable of entertainment. The Clacton-on-sea camp opened in 1938 but was soon requisitioned during WW2 as a training camp. Butlins reopened in 1946 and continued to operate there until 1983.
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