Description

This new DVD presents a fascinating look back at bygone Clacton. It explores Clacton’s growth from an insignificant hamlet to a fashionable Victorian resort, its transformation into a playground for day-trippers from London, and its rise to become one of the country’s leading holiday resorts.

It recalls some of the memorable events from the town’s past including, its role as a haunt of smugglers, the opening of the Pier, the coming of the railway, the opening of Butlin’s, and the floods of 1953, which claimed 35 lives in Jaywick. The DVD also looks back at Clacton’s experience during the Second World War. At the outbreak of war it was declared a safe zone and received evacuees from London, and later suffered the first civilian casualties of the war, its own children were evacuated, and it was fortified against an expected invasion. This remarkable period in Clacton’s past is brought to life with a selection of old photos and a unique collection of archive film, which captures many aspects of life in old Clacton and the surrounding district from the 1920s to the 1960s. It shows many views of the town that will bring memories flooding back for those who remember the Clacton of old – and surprise and intrigue those who don’t.

Many of the events featured in the DVD are brought to life with first-hand accounts from the archives of the Clacton Times and the Clacton Gazette. The DVD is narrated by Howard Ellison.

Additional information