Boys Camp: Cuckoo Weir (1920-1929) | British Pathé

Watch this rare silent footage of boys from Eton School in the 1920's camping at Cuckoo Weir and swimming in the river. For Archive Licensing Enquiries Visit: https://goo.gl/W4hZBv Explore Our Online Channel For FULL Documentaries, Fascinating Interviews & Classic Movies: https://goo.gl/7dVe8r #BritishPathé #History #Camping Subscribe to the British Pathé YT Channel: https://goo.gl/hV1nkf (FILM ID:2444.13) Boys' Camp - Cuckoo Weir, exact location of events unknown. Opens w/ morning ritual: camp leaders in pyjamas stride past row of wigwam tents; burst into the tents; wake boys; drag them out on their blankets. Men pick up briefly-clad / naked boys - swing them by their hands & feet; toss them into the river. (Probably meant to be funny at the time, it looks pretty disturbing viewed in 2002.) Leaders wake up the rest of the camp; boys emerge from tents; come running; dive; jump or climb into the water; start swimming. L/S of food being prepared at cooking tent. Next; boys (now clothed) eat breakfast at long table. Tent inspection: boys finish tidying tent; they exit as inspectors enter. MS several boys peeling potatoes. 2 boy cooks put puddings in pot over fire. 3 lines of boys play leapfrog. Midday swimming: boys dive off diving board; then from wall. Swim race: boys dive in; pan on swimmers all the way to finish line. Boys carry food to be cooked. Leaders carving the meat. CU man blowing small horn to announce dinner. Campers running to tables. Cook dishes up potatoes in white basins. Boys and men eating at long table. Boys carry puddings to table (looks like suet sausages). Puds being chopped up and tent captains queuing for their quota. Boys hang over river bank to wash dishes in the water. One poor boys is 'tossed in the blanket' to "help the pudding down". Looks like some kind of sadistic game with the boys curled up in foetal position being tossed incredibly high! Swim race: teams dive from wall; swim across the drink & back; then partners help each other to climb back up the wall. Back at the long outdoor tables; various shots of campers & a visiting team of Old Boy cricketers having tea. CU young couple at table; laughing (Title preceding shot says Mr. & Mrs. Old Boy on their honeymoon.) Shot of a bunch of boys in front of the canteen; a small shed w/ open window; beside it boys hold fill cups from a barrel; and a guy minding the barrel kicks or pretends to kick each one out of the way as if to make them hurry up. Next; shots of various pairs of boys boxing w/ gloves; while the others sit on ground in a circle around them. Boys at table writing letters; titles say 'Writing Home - To Mother' - boys writing; w/ serious expressions; then 'And the Bird!' (girlfriend) - boys look up from letters; laughing. Brief shot of boys going for evening swim. Title: 'The Smiling Face - the most important thing in camp'. Shot panning across the whole camp posing for camera. Title: 'Three Cheers for Cuckoo Weir!'. Shot of the group waving hats and hands, giving 3 cheers. BRITISH PATHÉ'S STORY Before television, people came to movie theatres to watch the news. British Pathé was at the forefront of cinematic journalism, blending information with entertainment to popular effect. Over the course of a century, it documented everything from major armed conflicts and seismic political crises to the curious hobbies and eccentric lives of ordinary people. If it happened, British Pathé filmed it. Now considered to be the finest newsreel archive in the world, British Pathé is a treasure trove of 85,000 films unrivalled in their historical and cultural significance. British Pathé also represents the Reuters historical collection, which includes more than 136,000 items from the news agencies Gaumont Graphic (1910-1932), Empire News Bulletin (1926-1930), British Paramount (1931-1957), and Gaumont British (1934-1959), as well as Visnews content from 1957 to the end of 1984. All footage can be viewed on the British Pathé website. https://www.britishpathe.com/