One of the best things about old photographs is that we don’t necessarily look at them with the same interpretation of what is happening as the person who took the photograph in the first place. And at sports events, the activities might seem a little boring but the spectators never are. The Reverend Stephens has left us here a good few glimpses of the School Sports Days of the past…and the people who watched them. Here are Messrs Madden, Neville and Foster in 1957:
On the same day, he snapped Messrs Chett, Symonds, Grauberg and Lush. But just look at the cars! Left to right, a Ford Prefect, a Hillman Minx, a Morris Minor 1000 and I really don’t have a clue, but it’s definitely old:
By 1960, things haven’t changed very much. The starter signals that he is ready and everybody else waits for the bang:
Mr Powell doesn’t look too happy as he goes off to see somebody at the other end of the track:
Things were very similar in 1961. One thing that I can’t understand in this picture is the leg in the same lane as the athlete finishing second:
But what’s attracting all the attention in 1957? A small crowd seems to have formed:
Why! It’s a baby!! And Mr AJ Walker just can’t resist!
And how could he resist a child who can lick a finger in a world class way?
Of all the photographs we have of Sports Day, these two are the most thrilling. Why did this not happen when I was working at the High School ? Let me point out too, as you gasp at the size of the queue, that ice cream was not rationed at this point. It’s just a wonderful thing to eat, the Food of the Gods:
Here it is again!:
I cannot explain why there is this sudden rush. I would like to say that the ice cream man’s buxom young daughter has had a wardrobe malfunction, but I really don’t know.
John Knifton 