Rare home movie footage surfaces from Bill Brown’s 1938 Ashes tour

The late Bill Brown, one of Steve Waugh’s heroes, has been hailed a ‘Go Pro star’ 80 years ahead of his time after documenting an Ashes tour on an eight millimetre camera. Watch some of the incredible footage.

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As Tim Paine’s squad celebrates retaining the Ashes, rare behind-the-scenes footage has emerged of another famous Ashes team who also crushed the Poms.

The late, great opening batsman Bill Brown, one of Steve Waugh’s favourite players, has been hailed as a Go Pro star 80 years ahead of his time after taking his eight millimetre camera on the 1938 Ashes tour.

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He captured Don Bradman’s tourists meeting film stars such as Jesse Matthews, travelling down the Suez Canal, playing golf, kicking footballs, watching the Wimbledon finals, seeing famous landmarks in Paris and going to the Melbourne Cup once they were home.

Brown, who died in 2008 aged 97, gave the footage to well known Brisbane cameraman Anthony George, a close family friend, who has cut it for public viewing.

“Bill deserves to be regarded as a leader - a Go Pro pioneer,’’ George said.

“I cannot think of anyone in any sport who went behind the scenes on a tour like that before Bill. There may have been stuff taken of games but we are talking away from the game colour.

“Bill owned sports stores and he would bring the footage home and show it to his customers on special nights.’’

George said he had no idea of the footage until he was searching through some old rolls of film.

“I remember going to Bill’s place and was having (Bill’s wife) Barbara’s famous curried egg sandwiches and a cup of tea and Barbara came out with a box with six different film canisters.

“I took them home and cleaned up the film and got a projector and digitised it.

“I saw footage of Bills kids on a farm but right in the middle of it there was 20 minutes on the 1938 Ashes tour.’’