The Festival of Britain was a major post-war celebration of the country and a beacon of hope for a better and brighter future. The main site at the South Bank in London was opened on 4 May 1951. However towns, cities and villages across the United Kingdom were encouraged to put on their own celebrations. This blog celebrates the quirkiness of the Festival of Britain away from the main London venues. It is by no means comprehensive as it only draws from my collection of Festival of Britain memorabilia. Each week over the course of the main festival period I will attempt to go through the alphabet. If you want to find out more about the Festival of Britain you may like to become a member of the Festival of Britain Society www.fobsociety.co.uk.
So, A is for....
Abercarn & Cwmcarn, a settlement of about 6,000 people in South Wales. It was one of over 2,000 cities, towns and villages in the United Kingdom that held their own Festival of Britain celebrations.
The souvenir programme for their 'Festival of Britain' week, wich ran from 20 - 25 August, is a realtively simple 12 page brochure of just less than A5 size. And by simple I mean clear, uncluttered and communicates what it needs to.
The programme lists a range of sporting activities, street parties, carnivals and music which you would expect. One surprise is a baseball match.
The programme notes that "On a previous occasion during the War we had the privilege of witnessing a game between American Army Units". Six years on from the end of the Second World War the small settlement of Abercarn was drawing on international inspirations for their local fetivities. It will be interesting to see if baseball featured in any of the other local Festival of Britain events across the country.
Locals and visitors were also encouraged to look out for the "Mystery Man". Quite how the mystery man was to be identified is not specified.
Looking back at the 1951 Festival of Britain brochures shows how culture and language changes over time. Today "Abercarn Goes Gay on Tuesday" would result in a totally different event than the the street parties and shows that actually took place.
Whether the local council today would also welcome confetti battles is another point. A spot fine for littering would now probably be in order.
The last day of the festival week (Saturday 25 August 1951), ended with the band and drums of the 2nd Monmouthshire Regiment (T.A,), followed by a "Gigantic Firework Display". I am assuming that this was a firework display that was gigantic, rather than a display of gigantic fireworks. Let's hope that the weather was good anyway.
A quick word on the brochure itself. It was printed by J.R. Davies Ltd, who had an advert on the back page.
I was interested to see if the company was still in existence. Sadly, a check on the Companies House website showed that the company was dissolved less than 2 years ago on 4 June 2024.
That was a quick look at the Festival of Britain held by a small settlement. Over the course of this A to Z we will cover cover villages, towns and cities which were all keen to play their own part in the national event.
One of the beauties of the Festival of Britain is that it highlighted all sorts of quirky things. So whilst A is for Abercarn & Cwncarn it is also for Aprons and Asbestos Cement!
"A Brief History of The Apron form the Fourteenth Century to the Festival of Britain" was produced by Marshall Fabrics Limited.
As expected, the small brochure has illustrations of aprons through the ages.
The star of the brochure, and the only illustration in colour, is the Festival apron, with the company "inspired by the Festival Year desire to escape from austerity to brighter and more vivacious feminine frills and fancies".A history of aprons may seem a bit niche, but a brochure on the use of asbestos cement is definitely something that you wouldn't see today.
This lovely document was produced by Turners Asbestos Cement Co Ltd. In its introduction it notes that "Asbestos-Cement is now so widely accepted and employed in most sections of modern buildings, its application so varied and its uses so diverse, that it is somewhat difficult to visualise an alternative". This was of course before the dangers of breathing in asbestos fibres was known, and the use of asbestos-cement has not been used in the UK since 1999.
However, as the wonderful pictures in the brochure show, the material was used in many of the structures in the South Bank Festival of Britain site and in the buildings at the Festival Pleasure Gardens in Battersea Park.
Next week, not surprisingly, will be Festival of Britain things beginning with "B". In the meantime you might like to do some investigation into whether your home town or village held its own 1951 events.
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