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The Kapek Family In Valley Road

1943 , Dovercourt (Essex)

Cat no. 1145

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Ther children of Wartime refugees play in their Essex garden.

The film begins in the garden of the 1920s' style house and shows Mrs. Kapek and her daughter and Mrs Last and her two sons. The two Last brothers play in the garden and Mrs. Kapek and Mrs. Last peg out the washing. The Kapeks' daughter is playing with a ball. There are close up shots of the women together and of another, older, boy. There is a shot of the two Last brothers before a longer shot of the women laughing together.In the street, the Last brothers ride bicycles. There is a shot of the house and then another of the children; three local girls watching the two boys riding their bikes. The women call to them from an upstairs window.Back in the garden, Mrs. Kapek sweeps the path. The film ends with a scene showing the two women turning a skipping rope for Miss Kapek.

Featured Buildings

16, Valley Road, Dovercourt

Keywords

Family life; Immigrants; Refugees

Background Information

Mr. Kapek was a professional photographer and at one time Mayor of a town in Czechoslovakia. During the invasion of Czechoslovakia, he and his wife, daughter and mother-in-law had to flee from the Nazis, having only a few minutes to leave to avoid being shot. They fled on foot and any other available transport across Europe to England. Mrs. Kapek's mother was lost on the journey and it is not known what happened to her. Mr. Kapek joined the Czech unit of the British army and was stationed at Harwich. Mr. and Mrs. Last of 16 Valley Road, Dovercourt, let rooms during the war and these were rented by the Kapek family. Sometime during he war, Mr. Kapek made this film of his family and the Lasts. After the war the Kapek's returned to Czechoslovakia but settled in South Africa. (Information provided by Roger Last, 1997.)

Manifestations

The Kapek Family In Valley Road

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