{"id":7080069,"date":"2026-10-08T12:22:48","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T12:22:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7080069"},"modified":"2026-10-08T12:22:48","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T12:22:48","slug":"hundreds-of-british-college-students-clashed-with-wooden-swords-in-a-1966-re-enactment-of-the-battle-of-hastings-watch-the-rediscovered-time-capsule-of-lost-footage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7080069","title":{"rendered":"Hundreds of British College Students Clashed With Wooden Swords in a 1966 Re-enactment of the Battle of Hastings. Watch the Rediscovered \u2018Time Capsule\u2019 of Lost Footage"},"content":{"rendered":"


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A local videographer shot 300 reels of color film during the re-enactment, which shows \u201csoldiers on foot getting remarkably close to horses\u201d and \u201ca rather relaxed attitude towards health and safety.\u201d The event sparked an annual tradition that continues to this day<\/h2>\n
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Sonja Anderson<\/a><\/p>\n

| Daily Correspondent<\/span><\/p>\n

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Students from the universities of Kent and Sussex fighting at the first Battle of Hastings re-enactment on October 14, 1966
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On October 14, 1966, several hundred college students dressed in burlap and fake chainmail converged on a grassy hill<\/a> in southern England. Armed with wooden swords and shields, they prepared to re-enact the Battle of Hastings<\/a>\u2014the key event in England\u2019s Norman Conquest<\/a>\u2014to commemorate its 900th anniversary.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were recruited with the promise of beer on the day and a coach trip and a good day out,\u201d Peter Sampson, who played a Norman foot soldier in the re-enactment, tells the BBC<\/a>\u2019s Craig Buchan. \u201cAt times it got very realistic in terms of aggression between the two sides,\u201d he explains, not least because the students hailed from the rival universities of Kent and Sussex.<\/p>\n

Following that 25-minute dust-up, re-enacting the Battle of Hastings became an annual tradition<\/a>, albeit with greater attention to historical accuracy. The rowdy 900th anniversary re-enactment appeared to be lost to history, and Sampson, for one, never participated in a re-enactment again.<\/p>\n

Now, rare color footage of the 1966 event has emerged for the first time. The conservation charity English Heritage<\/a> has released it as a 12-minute film<\/a> ahead of this year\u2019s re-enactment, which will take place on October 10 and 11 at Battle Abbey<\/a> in East Sussex, the site of the 1066 battle.<\/p>\n

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The 1966 Battle of Hastings<\/p>\n

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