A newsreel that was released by British Pathé in the summer of 1932 paints an idyllic scene. The black-and-white film pans across men in flat caps and braces and women in long skirts toiling in the Kent hop fields, diligently stripping the bines of their precious seed cones. Children play hide-and-seek, their grinning faces full of summer-holiday excitement. No wonder the title card reads, “East-Enders ‘profit & pleasure’ holiday is now in full swing in the hop fields.”
Until the 1800s local villagers, migrant workers and Romany Gypsies provided seasonal labour, but as the 19th century progressed and the demand for hops grew, a new type of picker emerged – the ‘holiday hopper’. A hop-picking holiday was the ideal way for our urban ancestors to escape the slums, soak up the sun
