The South West Film and Television Archive (SWFTA) is the regional film archive for the South West of England. Established in 1993, SWFTA's core collection comprises of the combined programme libraries of Westward Television and TSW (Television South West). The archive also cares for a significant number of donated film collections, both amateur and professional, dating back to the early 1900s.
This film is part of Free
Seaside Escape
Children from inner city Brixton in London having fun at Wembury Beach.
From the collection of:
Overview
Schoolchildren from Brixton in the London borough of Lambeth are on summer holiday by the sea at Wembury Beach in Devon. Brixton in the early eighties was suffering from high unemployment, high crime and poor housing. In 1981 following police initiatives to reduce street crime in a broken windows-type policy, the Metropolitan Police resorted to stop and search but the vast majority of those targeted during the operation were young black males.
The policy sparked riots and a subsequent enquiry led to the publication of the Scarman Report concluding disproportionate and indiscriminate use of stop and search powers. Initiatives were put in place for the Afro-Caribbean community including offering relief for inner city schoolchildren through subsidised holidays outside London. The so-called Windrush generation formed after the first wave of immigration from Jamaica when 492 individuals disembarked at Tilbury Docks from the Empire Windrush passenger liner in 1948. The Job Centre was on Coldharbour Lane Brixton and the Jamaicans took up accommodation in the area. Today Brixton is a vibrant multiethnic centre attracting many visitors.