At Wessex Film and Sound Archive you can see and hear history, from late Victorian times to the present day, through moving images and sound recordings. The Archive contains over 36,000 film and sound recordings relating to Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, including film and tapes of local TV and radio.
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Rowing in Henley 1948 Olympics
From the Austerity Games of 1948 comes G H Wooton's short film showing Olympic rowing events held at Henley-on-Thames
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Overview
The 1948 Olympic Games rowing events took place in Henley-on-Thames as this fim from G H Wooton shows. It opens with a shot of two British rowers who could be winning either a heat or the final of the coxless pairs. This is followed by competitors racing in the single sculls event with officials following behind in motorboats. The film ends with colour footage of Henley Regatta with several races taking place including coxless fours, double sculls, eights and coxed fours.
The footage of the 1948 Olympic Regatta seen in this film shows a pair of British rowers in a lead position. The eventual gold medal winners of the 1948 London Olympic Games' double sculls event were Richard Burnell and Bertie Bushnell while John Wilson and Ran Laurie won gold in the coxless pairs and it is possible that this film captured their moment of victory.
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