大象传媒

Writer Damian Le Bas explores a pivotal decade in the lives of Romany people, the 1960s.

聽Large numbers were forced to abandon their nomadic way of life for a more settled existence - a painful transition for many.聽

Focusing on the Home Counties, Damian draws on his own Romany family background, and a rich film archive, to show how Romany Gypsy people faced becoming outlaws in their own land.聽

New legislation led to tighter planning laws and a further erosion of traditional stopping places, but some councils did provide a handful of official caravan sites.

Damian charts the highs and lows the Romany Gypsy community faced, and the stories of the people who helped them.

They included the romantic novelist Barbara Cartland, who secured a permanent site in Hertfordshire, and Grattan Puxon, from the first National Gypsy Council, who brought in new tactics to support travellers.

Breakthrough legislation in 1968 finally compelled councils to provide permanent sites that gave hope to many.

But it was at the cost of losing a freedom, which was closely tied to their identity.聽

Damian reveals that despite this, 50 years on, Romany people still have a clear sense of their ethnicity, on full show at the Horse Fair in Appleby, Cumbria.