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Festival of Britain
In our last Chat Column, we featured a 1949 Carnival Program
kindly forwarded by Jock Harnett. This prompted Jackie Evans to
dig out another fascinating document from two years
later. It's this one....
... and it was handed down to Jacky from her
grandparents via her mum. Jacky's granddad was, of course, popular taxi
proprietor Jumbo Gisby.
I was just two years old in 1951 and, so, I know very little
about the Festival of Britain. However, I am told that its
main centre was located on London's South Bank ... but it also
had regional implementations. Clearly, Whitstable joined in the
celebrations.
What was it all about. Well, again, I have to rely on my
seniors for an explanation! Apparently, the festival did two main things.
Firstly it marked the centenary of the Great Exhibition of 1851.
Secondly, it demonstrated the progress that the nation had made in
the aftermath of World War II. I am sure that there had been a lot
of such progress but rationing of some goods continued until 1954
and, throughout the 1950s, we kids played amidst the many scars
left by the conflict. Those scars weren't just physical features
of the town map. They were also mental scars that affected
attitudes.
That Cover....
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Isn't that cover page a super piece of work. I assume
that the creator was Alex Jardine whose name appears in
the bottom left corner of the document.
It's interesting that the central feature includes both
the crest of the old Whitstable Urban District Council and
the Invicta emblem of the County of Kent. Was this because the festival was sub-divided on a
county basis?
On the left edge of the program, there are six small engravings
(see below) ....
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It's interesting how times have changed over the last 50 years.
In modern times, three of the above icons would still be
acknowledged as symbols of Whitstable..... ie the Mill, Castle and Harbour. A fourth
(the Oldest Railway Bridge in the World) may
also get the nod even though it was demolished in 1969. However, I doubt that
many would plump for All Saints Church and the Old Parsonage. Of
course, these two buildings actually mark the location of what is
generally accepted as the original Whitstable. In 1951, this
locality still had a village feel to it.
All this has me wondering about the design of a festival
program today. How would we chose six icons to sum up Whitstable
of 2008? Why not let us have your view... serious... or otherwise!
The Adverts
Last week, we spent some time looking at adverts in the 1949
Carnival program. We can do the same with Jacky's Festival
program. However, you will notice that the ads are quite different
in character in that many have a historical theme to demonstrate
progress.
Our first sample will bring back some memories....
Although the ad compares the "1951" Regal
Cinema with The Picture House (its 1914
predecessor),
it does miss one important phase in the establishment's
development. I believe that the cinema was actually rebuilt as The
Argosy in 1937. That rebuild gave it its
more modern look and, post-war, it was simply renamed The Regal
with little alteration to the fascia.
It's interesting how terminology sticks around for
many years. Long after the name Regal was introduced, my dad still
insisted on calling it The Argosy. We kids were even
worse. We never went to "the Cinema". We
always went to "The Pictures" or "The
Flicks".
In Jock's 1949 carnival program, the Oxford Cinema
(Oxford Street) claimed to be the town's "premier"
cinema. Encouraged by it's new name and the demise of the massive
Trocadera in Tankerton, the Regal obviously staked a claim to that
the title in '51. Which etsbalishment was the better? Well, I think a lot depended
on which one was showing Norman Wisdom. However, my parents always
argued that the Oxford was warmer!
Whatever your personal preference, there is no
arguing about which lasted longer or retained it shape better. The Oxford
outlived the Regal before metamorphosing into the current day
bingo hall. In so doing, it retained both its name and its
familiar frontage.
Mind you, whilst the Regal succumbed first, it's
demise did make a bit history..... by becoming the town's
first supermarket (Fine Fare) and housing the town's first Chinese
Restaurant on the first floor. It is now Somerfields.
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The ad for Arthur Collars (left) also had a "then
and now" theme... comparing the company premises at 35 High
Street with its original shop of 1913.
The business flourished for many years after the
Festival of Britain. It became Cakebread, Robey
Collar before the closing its doors for the last time.
The site is now occupied by Boots the Chemist. |
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| Griffeys also referred back to pre-WWI with their "40
years of decoration theme" and a general
photo of the High Street circa 1911.
Their comment about "steady supplies even
when supplies are difficult" probably
reflected post-WWII shortages.
The shop survived for another half century before
closing just a couple of years ago. |
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Our final sample features the ad of Ernest
Lyne-Aker & Co. Most of us will remember it in
later times as Cadle, Lyne-Aker.
I rather like their address in Tankerton.... given as "The
Bow Window, Tankerton Circus". I wonder what
happened to that window!
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Do You
Remember The Festival?
Well, do you? If so send us your recollections of
activity around Whitstable in 1951. In the meantime, I would like
to thank Jacky for taking the trouble to resurrect her mementoes
of the event. It will be a nice addition to our "Past
Events" section.
Reaction on Festival Article...
Messages received on the article are as
follows....
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Festival Program
I have a copy of this
publication sitting on my desk here in Tacoma, WA, USA!
It truly is a fascinating lens into 1950's Whitstable.
Lawrence Bradley
Tacoma
Washington
USA |
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Reply: Thanks, Lawrence. The program is
now starting to turn up all around the world. It looks as
if Cliff Cuttelle also has a copy out in Hua Hin,
Thailand! |
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Local Cinemas
As a teenager, it was
always a challenge to get into A or X-rated films by
convincing the person in the ticket office that you were
"with those people over there" for an A film
(you had to have an adult with you) or that you really
were 16 to get into an X film. This, of course, in the
context that you had probably tried to buy a child's
ticket the week before to save a few pennies! You just had
to hope they didn't remember you ...
It's a long time ago but I seem to recall that there was a
price difference between the Oxford (1s) and the Regal
(9p) - these may well be the children's prices. We usually
went to the Oxford as it showed the better films and the
Regal was known amongst our crowd as the
"flea-pit".
The front couple of rows in the Oxford were a bit
cheaper - I can recall people buying tickets for the front
and then sneaking back to the better seats in the interval
between the two films (yes, there was always a
"B" movie as well as the main feature). The
toilets and emergency exits were down by the screen at the
back of the cinema and some people used this facility to
let their friends in for nothing (no alarms on emergency
exits in those days).
The other thing I remember is that it was in the Oxford
that I was introduced to cigarettes - a packet of 10
Consulate, shared between a group of us. Fortunately I
kicked the habit when I was in my early 20s, but I guess
others didn't.
Jackie Evans (nee Ferrell)
Digswell
Herts |
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Reply: Thanks, Jacky. The Oxford was
very cheap indeed. You only had to pay for the one who
opened the fire door near the men's toilets. It was an old
fashioned implementation of "Buy One Get Six
Free". |
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Festival
I read with interest Jackie's article on the Festival
of Britain. I was around 5 years old at the time. I
remember that my dad - Wally Darby - went up to London. I
am not sure who with. I think maybe his work firm but
can't confirm that now. However, I do remember him walking
in the door that evening full of what he had seen at the
Festival hall and bringing home, for my brother Colin and
me, a coin that had been specially minted for the
occasion.
It's strange that this subject should come up at this
moment as I was looking through my childhood bits and bobs
a few months ago and came across the coin which I had
forgotten all about. It is still in its presentation box
with the paperwork telling it's story.
Local Cinemas
I also remember the Regal Cinema. I had an Aunt -
Maggie Hill (nee Rowden) who worked there for years. I
stayed with her and Uncle Eddie when my Mother had to go
into hospital for a big operation when I was around 11
years old.
At the time, the film that was showing was The
King and I. I watched it every single day while
eating my tea!! It may sound boring to some people
but I loved the music and still like listening to it on my
old 45's.
My brother Colin was quite tall for his age and, when
the X rated films were on, he used to wear my Dad's
raincoat and trilby hat to make himself look older. I
don't really know how he got away with it as, when it
suited him to be younger, he just dressed accordingly.
Cheeky eh? He obviously didn't think that they knew who he
was all the time.
Margarett Emery
Whitstable |
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Reply:
Thanks, Margarett. It would be nice to add a page on
the Festival in our "Celebrations" section. The
photo of the coin would be a really nice addition.
I also saw the King and I... but I think it impacted
rather differently on young lads!!!! I fell asleep... but
my mum loved it. ;-)
It remained one of my worst cinematic nightmares
until, many years later, I fell asleep during the "Sword
in the Stone"... The Blues Brothers... and
the Incredible Journey. I also walked out
after 10 minutes of Myra Beckinbridge. It was such
a nightmare that I couldn't get off to sleep.
The Myra Beckinbridge incident was quite
funny.... as we were about the tenth party to leave. It
would certainly get my vote as the worst film ever
made...with The Blues Brothers pressing for second
place.
Mind you, I do have some film favourites. If I was
stuck on a Desert Island with a DVD player, my DVD
collection would include.... Crocodile Dundee, The
Graduate, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Scrooge
(with Alastair Sim) and Here We Go Round the Mulberry
Bush. I could watch them time and time again.
I would also add my all time favourite.... On
Golden Pond.
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Festival My
memories of the Festival of Britain are the school trip we
made to London to visit the exhibition. The features I
remember were the Skylon and the Shot Tower.T he former I
seem to remember was sold to a third party at the end of
the festival and exhibited elsewhere in the country. I
did, at one time, have shot (lead for guns type) that were
produced on site at the Shot Tower. You are absolutely
correct in regard to post war shortages and my most
vivid memory concerns this.You could buy a range of
sandwiches at the Festival with fillings such as tongue
and ham. The price was prohibitive unless you were very
upper middle class and I consoled myself by reckoning my
Marmite sarnies were more tasty and much better healthwise. Local Cinemas
In my youth, I went to all three local cinemas (we called
it going to the pictures). I did the Argosy both with that
name and in its subsequent Regal guise. The Troc was short
lived of course, so I never got to feel at home in it. The
Oxford was my favourite and, at 15 years old, back row
downstairs were the best seats (I don't think I will have
to explain why!!). It also helped if you knew the
usherettes in regard to securing two adjacent such seats.
In those days of course, you had the interval fag and ice
cream sale as well as two films and a newsreel. I think,
for me, the Oxford's appeal was partly the always
immaculate and bow tied manager Mr Barker and, at the end
of the day, that sales kiosk. It was the only place
I knew and, as a non smoker, was forced to buy a 20
package of M.Melachrino & Co cigarettes in order to
add to my collection. With the price of 20 in those days,
it just goes to show how competitive I was.
Bill
Dancer
Victoria
BC
Canada |
| Our
Reply: Thanks Bill.
Note: Bill has
provided an article on his amazing cigarette packet
collection. The item contains some amazing samples and
provides a lovely insight into life during the middle of
the twentieth century. Click
here to view.
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