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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Purfleet Floods
This film charts the spectacular turnaround following the devastation of the East Coast floods of '53 and the challenge of a riverside factory to get back into production.
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Overview
Proof that margarine and water just don't mix! This film made by Unilever would have raised the spirits of many people affected by the floods. People worked round the clock to get the Van den Burghs and Jurgens margarine factory drained and rebuilt making the transformation from disaster back to business as usual within 43 days.
The Queen herself visited the factory to support and pay tribute to the workers. More than 2 million sand bags were filled and laid against the clock to stop the imminent high tides and more than 20 million tonnes of water drained from the site at Purfleet. To recover so quickly from such horrendous damage was certainly worth recording and this film is a tremendous tribute to all concerned.
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