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It's a Great Life

Unemployed men go back to nature at a Grith Fyrd camp in Godshill, Hampshire.

Documentary 1934 23 mins Silent

Overview

At the height of the 1930s economic depression, rural camps like the one seen here at Godshill, Hampshire were set up by the Grith Fyrd movement to give young unemployed men from the cities a useful, healthy lifestyle. The carefree, back-to-nature ethos of the camp is reflected in the fluid, intimate camerawork that beautifully captures the men at work and play.

The Grith Fyrd movement was launched in 1932 by the Order of Woodcraft Chivalry, a secular moment akin to the scouting tradition. A similar camp to the one in this film was set up at Shining Cliff, near Ambergate in Derbyshire, in 1934. The camps were part funded by the men themselves, who contributed a proportion of their unemployment insurance pay. The camps continued until the end of the 1930s.

Genres

Documentary

Country

United Kingdom

Location

GodshillFordingbridge

Language

No Dialogue with English subtitles

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