The Cross Family: Caravan and Boating Holiday, Devon (1957). By Abigail Roberts

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In 1955 a tourist information film was made on ‘Glorious Devon’s Ocean Coast’ in order to encourage visitors to Devon. This film claimed that children could ‘play in safety whilst parents bathe in the sun or relax in a deck chair content to watch the more energetic’. Elements of such can be seen in the home movie of the Cross family on a caravan and boating in Devon in 1957. This film provides an insight into family leisure time and the dynamics of the family during the 1950s. In particular, it provides a glimpse at the behaviour of adults once they are away from the home environment. This analysis will focus on British family holidays during the late 1950s, how families used their leisure time, and the use of caravans in the period. Lastly, it will explore how fathers embraced a different masculine identity when out in public with their family and children.

This tourist film provided the Cross family and others the ability to witness for themselves the ‘slow content of being at home’ whilst on holiday.[1] John Walton illustrates how the Second World War put a halt on the process of the democratisation of the seaside, thus in the post-war period families were eager to start this process.[2] The late 1950s saw people starting to get back into a stable society that allowed for a more affluent society which in turn lead to more people taking holidays. Families like the Cross family during the late 1950s found getting about easier with post-war road building, rising car ownership and the end of petrol rationing allowing people to travel further afield than ever before.[3] Alongside, the affordability of travel, workers during this period were awarded more leisure time, which totalled to a week’s annual paid work. The Cross family in the film used their caravans as accommodation, this allowed for ‘self-catering’ and an all-round cheaper family break.[4] To have a caravan in this period demonstrated that you were a ‘pioneer’ of the idea of the individual family. Essentially travelling in a caravan meant you were carrying your house on your back.[5] In a period of individualism, caravans offered an opportunity to have a do-it-yourself seaside holiday.[6] Caravans before the 1950s were owned by a privileged minority. However, by the 1950s almost a quarter of British holiday-makers owned one, making them a ‘firm favourite’ of holiday transportation.[7] Therefore, the Cross family may have been a working-class family. Owning a caravan gave families the opportunity to be independent within their travels and also offered a chance to explore the hidden corners of Britain which may have been very different from everyday living.[8] For women especially, holiday-making offered escapism from the day to day life of being a housewife. The open country appeared to be very different from the suburbs which they were used to.[9] The post-war period saw a new generation of people eager to explore the country and caravans became the ideal way to educate children in the beauty and history of England.[10] The Cross family in the film set camp on top of cliff in Devon, highlighting the ability in this period to pull up wherever and spend the night or the whole holiday in any idyllic spot that took people’s fancy. Kathryn Ferry demonstrates that families such as the Cross family negotiated space in farmer’s fields so that they could enjoy the quiet coast.[11] As illustrated in the film, families set up awnings so that they could double the amount of internal space. The ability to film family holidays became a lot easier during this period as cameras were cheaper and there was a growing market for second-hand equipment.[12] Heather Norris Nicholson highlights that visual collections of holiday moments, which were selected at the moment of taking and any subsequent editing stage, post-war footage offered nostalgic escapism from the dullness of some people’s working lives.[13]

In the middle of the film, there are a few sections where you can see elements of fatherhood.[14] This can be seen in the film when a father appears to be holding his son on his lap whilst on the beach, highlighting how men in this period adopted a ‘public-facing identity’ surrounded by the idea of maintaining a protective stance towards women and children.[15] A photograph taken in the 1950s demonstrates how fathers offered a protective hand by holding their child’s hand whilst on the beach (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Jane Brown, On the Beach in Swanage, Dorset, 1950s, Guardian News and Media Archive. https://www.theguardian.com/travel/gallery/2017/aug/01/sunshine-in-black-and-white-british-holidays-1950s-1990s-in-pictures

Further on in the film the father gets into the water to help his son onto a lilo and appears to be playing with him whilst he is on it.[16] The image also illustrates how entertaining children whilst guiding and shaping their characters became increasingly intertwined in the seemingly light-hearted duty of fathers to play with their children.[17] Thus, fathers became associated with fun during this period. The image of the Cross family playing on the beach emphasises how normal conduct was in suspension, as getting wet and muddy was a process unlikely to have been sanctioned within the home environment.[18] Therefore, on holiday adults became children, casting away the day to day cares of everyday life.

This amateur film illustrates how families during the 1950s witnessed a leisure revolution. Moreover, it encapsulates the transition from the Second World War to the post-war period and how leisure was viewed differently by people, with more and more taking holiday breaks to the seaside. Furthermore, the film highlights the immediate end of Victorian ideals as fathers developed a public facing masculine identity in a period characterised by its affluence and optimism. Throughout the MACE archive, family holidays were a popular moment to capture during this era. However, more focus is on holiday reporting during this period. Although home movies are often perceived as having a lack of relevance as a primary source, amateur imagery ‘helped to shape and define people’s sense of themselves and the world around them’.[19] Therefore, amateur film provides valuable insights into family holidays, the way people travelled, leisure time and fatherhood during the post-war era.

 

[1] ‘On Glorious Devon’s Ocean Coast’, 1955, British Film Institute, SWFTA. https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-on-glorious-devons-ocean-coast-1955-online.

[2] John Walton, The British Seaside: Holidays and resorts in the twentieth century (Oxford,2000), 61.

[3] Heather Norris Nicholson, Amateur film: Meaning and Practice, 1927-77 (Manchester, 2012), 184.

[4] Kathryn Ferry, The British Seaside Holiday (Oxford, 2009), 43.

[5] Ferry, The British Seaside Holiday (Oxford, 2009), 43.

[6] Caravans: A British Love Affair (BBC Four, 2009), 05:10.

[7] ‘Caravans’ (BBC Four, 2009) 05:10.

[8] ‘Caravans’ (BBC Four, 2009) 05:26.

[9] ‘Caravans’ (BBC Four, 2009) 05:26.

[10] ‘Caravans’ (BBC Four, 2009) 15:00.

[11] Ferry, The British Seaside Holiday (Oxford, 2009), 43-44.

[12] Nicholson, Amateur film (Manchester, 2012), 184.

[13] Nicholson, Amateur film (Manchester, 2012), 201.

[14] ‘Caravan and Boating Holiday, Devon’, 1957, MACE, University of Lincoln. https://vimeo.com/album/4904448/video/251631665.

[15] Laura King, Family Men: Fatherhood & Masculinity in Britain 1914-1960 (Oxford, 2015), 163.

[16] ‘Caravan and Boating Holiday, Devon’, 1957, MACE, University of Lincoln. https://vimeo.com/album/4904448/video/251631665.

[17] Laura King, Family Men: Fatherhood & Masculinity in Britain 1914-1960 (Oxford, 2015), 52.

[18] Walton, The British Seaside (Oxford,2000), 95.

[19] Nicholson, Amateur film (Manchester, 2012), 200.

Caravan and Boating Holiday, Devon (1957). By Amy Worcester

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‘Caravan and Boating Holiday’ is an amateur film surrounding the experience of a family during their seaside holiday in 1957. The film presents footage mainly of the family together either on the beach or within the caravan site. The main focus within each shot is the children, with the purpose of the film being the preservation of memories. The film is useful in revealing how the 1950s were changing in culture with people having more leisure time to go on holiday to the seaside, but also showing how Britain was becoming more family-oriented in lifestyle.

The film is interesting in the way that the seaside holiday the family are on is very typical of the time. In the film, the family spends most of their time on the beach, either sunbathing, reading, playing or swimming in the sea. John Walton has investigated in his book British Seaside Holidays and Resorts in the Twentieth Century how the most popular holiday in Britain was at home by the seaside.[1] Walton argues that this period saw the rising wealth of the expanding middle and upper working classes, who now had more disposable time and income than their European counterparts.[2] The twentieth century also saw the improvement of transport systems such as roads and railways, which meant it was easier for people to escape the pollution of city life, to the fresh air of the seaside.[3] Akhtar and Humphries have described how after the deprivations of war and rationing, the ‘simple pleasures of the sun, sea and sand tasted much better.’[4] Like many Britons of the time, the family are caravanning by the sea. One estimate has shown that two million people took caravan holidays in 1955 and this increased every year.[5] This popularity in holidaying can also be seen in the ‘Kleenex’ competition in 1956, which would see five hundred pounds go to the winner, to spend towards ‘travelling and seaside holidays.’[6] This competition shows us the popularity of seaside holidaying in the 1950s was becoming the ultimate way for families to spend their leisure time. As this film shows, the seaside became an important part in bringing up a happy child in the 1950s, with the annual pilgrimage of mum, dad and children becoming a common occurrence.[7]

In the film, the children are the focus with the purpose being the preservation of memories. In the film, there is lots of footage of certain children posing in front of the camera. An example of this is the shot when one of the boys is crouched down by the sea holding a rubber ring, smiling towards the camera. These types of posed shots run throughout the film, especially when you get to the boat, where one of the boys is pretending to drive the boat while wearing a sailor’s hat. The children in the film are part of the ‘baby-boomers’ of post-war Britain, for whom the 1950s was seen as the ‘golden age of childhood.’[8] Akhtar and Humphries have argued that the 1950s saw the evolution in the upbringing of a child, with children probably receiving more individual care and attention than those in the previous generation.[9] The change in parenting was down to the post-war redevelopment, where family oriented lifestyle was seen as the necessity in bring Britain back from the horrors of war.[10] Psychologists of the time saw the more child-centred family would help a child’s cognitive, social and moral development.[11] Therefore, the film is a perfect example in showing how Britain was becoming more family-oriented in lifestyle, with the loving experience of a child being crucial in their development as a useful member of society.

As this decade was defined as being more family oriented it saw the evolution of masculinity.[12] As Akhtar and Humphries and King have argued, fatherhood began to evolve with fathers wanting to be seen as friends rather than authority figures.[13] As McCarthy has investigated, the modern marriage of the twentieth century involved fathers taking more responsibility in the upbringing of their children.[14] In the film, the relationship between father and children is revealed to be more informal rather than authoritarian, seen in the way the father helps his son get onto the lilo while also messing around, and also when the grandfather has a plait in his hair for a joke. This change in the father and child relationship can be seen in the 1956 Daily Mirror article entitled ‘Happy Families,’ where a journalist recounts how ‘family life is more enlightened today than it used to be. Gone (and good riddance to him) is the Victorian father who thought he was God – with a mission to hold down those perishing sinners, his offspring.’[15] As both the film and article reveal that fatherhood was evolving to suit a more family oriented society.

In conclusion, the film is valuable in showing how post-war Britain was changing in lifestyle. The film reveals how many Britons had more leisure time and money to go on holiday to the seaside, which for many became a seasonal occasion. The footage also shows us how Britain in the second half of the twentieth century, was becoming more family oriented. The focus on the children in the film, shows us that family life was becoming more child centred, with the close bond between both parents essential in the healthy development of children. As the film shows the 1950s was the ‘golden age’ to be a child.

 

[1] John Walton, British Seaside Holidays and Resorts in the Twentieth Century, (Manchester, 2000) 27.

[2] Walton, British Seaside Holidays,27.

[3] Walton, British Seaside Holidays,27

[4] Miriam Akhtar and Steve Humphries, The Fifties and Sixties: A Lifestyle Revolution (2002), 14.

[5] Walton, British Seaside Holidays,43

[6] Kleenex,’ Daily Mail, (London, 17^th July 1956).

[7] Akhtar and Humphries, Fifties and Sixties, 14.

[8] Akhtar and Humphries, Fifties and Sixties, 16.

[9] Akhtar and Humphries, Fifties and Sixties, 16.

[10] Akhtar and Humphries, Fifties and Sixties, 14.

[11] Laura Tisdall, ‘Education, Parenting and Concepts of Childhood in England, C. 1945 to 1979,’ Contemporary British History, 31:1 (2017), 24-46 (27).

[12] Helen McCarthy, ‘Women, Marriage and Paid Work in Post-war Britain,’ Women’s History Review, 26:1 (2017), 46-62 (47).

[13] Laura King, Family Men: Fatherhood and Masculinity in Britain, c. 1914-1960 (Oxford, 2015), 1.

[14] McCarthy, ‘Women, Marriage and Paid Work’47.

[15] ‘Happy Families,’ Daily Mirror (2 February 1956), 2.

 

Caravan and Boating Holiday, Devon (1957). By James Merrills

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The film I have chosen is ‘Caravan and Boating Holiday, Devon’ from 1957. The film is a really entertaining clip and shows a rather large family partaking in a number of holiday pastimes. We see a number of activities being undertaken, each in different locations. Whilst at the beach, the children are seen playing in the sea learning how to swim and jumping over waves. Whilst the children are playing, we see the adults lounging on the pebbly beach doing a variety of different activities. Some of the women can be seen knitting and preparing food whilst the men read, entertain the children and smoke cigarettes. Occasionally, we see some adults in the sea too, with one woman throwing sand towards the camera and another adult male helping a child onto an inflatable. We also see the family partake in a boat ride with the children taking it in turns to steer the boat. Whilst in the boat, we see children peering over the side, a young man fishing, and an elderly gentleman sat towards the front of the boat watching the children steer. We also see a number of shots of caravans, seeing the view from the outside and also women preparing food inside. We really do get a sense of the whole family being there when we see that there are two dogs on the holiday too. These dogs can be seen both laying on the beach and jumping in the shallow water. We also see picturesque landscapes of both the coastline and of a local farm. We also see the playful side to a number of people in the film with one man having his hair put into bobbles and another male with something up his top which simulates him having breasts. Throughout the film, we really do get the sense that they are enjoying themselves. The duration of the film is filled with smiling faces and people clearly having a great holiday. The entire film is shot by a family member on a hand-held camera, this allows the person filming to take the camera everywhere the family goes. The main reason this footage has been filmed is to allow the family to relive their holiday in the future. Because there is such a wide variety of footage, the family through watching this footage can reminisce about their time on holiday and remember all of the enjoyable things they got up to.

The film I have chosen is significant due to the fact it shows a typical British 1950s holiday. It is important to remember that people in Britain during the 1950s very rarely holiday abroad and instead stayed in the United Kingdom, usually visiting one of her many coastal towns. In the twentieth century, Britain and England in particular had a system of coastal resorts that was unmatched anywhere else in the world, this is due to the vast amount of coastline the United Kingdom has.[1] The increase in disposable income for the middle class and upper working class meant that more and more people were able to enjoy Britain’s coasts. This was made even easier by the strong network of railways across Britain.[2] Commuting holidaymakers helped resorts such as Brighton, Southend, Blackpool and Bournemouth become enjoyable and easily accessible places to holiday.[3] The fact that the family in the film visit Devon is evidence of the fact the caravan holiday was becoming increasingly popular. In 1949, there were only 1037 caravans in Devon, this number however was to multiply tenfold over the next nine years and the county was to experience a great camping and caravan boom.[4] Caravanning holidays were so popular due to the freedom they offered, holidaymakers could choose from a variety of sites and could determine where they would stay depending on what activities they wanted to. The family in the film can be seen at the beach, this was the most popular thing to do whilst on holiday in Britain. The beach was so popular due to the variety of activities that could be undertaken, time could be spent actively walking, digging or playing games or spent reading and chatting.[5] There are so many things engrained in British culture that we associate with the beach: donkeys and deckchairs, rock pools and sand castles, Punch and Judy as well as buckets and spades.[6] Holidaying in Britain also stimulated the economy, it created a great amount of jobs in seaside towns and generated revenue through people paying for accommodation, food, drink and gifts.[7] A study into nostalgia about British holidays by David Jarratt and Sean Gammon found that people were nostalgic about the simplicity of their holidays as children; holidays were much more simple and modest yet were still very happy.[8]

The two other primary sources I have chosen are both clips that show coach trips to the seaside from the North of England.

These clips show what holidaying in Britain was like for those who were not able to afford overnight stays in a resort. Both videos show working and middle-class people boarding buses in an urban setting smiling in anticipation of the day ahead. What is interesting about these two clips is they don’t include many young children, instead the clip shows couples and groups of friends ranging from teenagers to the elderly. A coach trip to the seaside takes a lot less preparation which means the younger generation can enjoy a day at the seaside at a relatively low cost and without their parents. The coach was at the core of the imagery of the seaside day-trip and was associated with freedom, camaraderie and endless amounts of brown ale.[9] What is so appealing about coach trips is the fact the holiday begins once you set foot on the bus, the journey full of pub stops was sure to be fun and enjoyable and added to the excitement.

 

[1] John Walton, The British Seaside (Manchester, 2000), 27.

[2] Walton, Seaside, 27.

[3] John Walton, ‘The seaside resorts of England and Wales, 1900-1950’, in Gareth Shaw and Allan Williams (eds.), The Rise and Fall of British Coastal Resorts (London, 1997), 21-48 (39-40).

[4] Walton, ‘Seaside’, 35.

[5] Kathryn Ferry, The British Seaside Holiday (Oxford, 2009), 77.

[6] Ferry, Seaside Holiday, 77.

[7] Jeffrey Hill, Leisure and Culture in Twentieth Century Britain (Basingstoke, 2002), 77.

[8] David Jarratt and Sean Gammon, ‘Seaside Nostalgia at British Resorts’, Tourism Recreation Research 41:2 (2016), 123-133 (129).

[9] Walton, Seaside, 78.