10. Punch and Judy
16mm film Black & White Mute c.1956 12:22
Summary: Dagenham Cables Company Sports Day and Gala
Title number: 19464
LSA ID: LSA/25846
Description: The Union Telephone Cables company organized annual sports days for its employees and their families on the Cables Sports Field. Children watch a Punch & Judy show, and play on roundabouts and swings. A man drives a miniature train with children behind him. A woman in a long coat and hat helps her baby play on a see-saw and slide; more children play in sand-pit. A uniformed band plays; men blow up balloons with a large marquee in the background. Adults and children play ball-throwing games; a woman in a smart black dress-suit organizes ring-throwing. A man in a jacket and fedora plays 'Devil among the Tailors' (traditional game which involves swinging a weight around a pole to knock down skittles). Other games include 'Pin the Packet,' 'Coconut Shie' and bowls. Two dogs (a German shepherd and a poodle) compete by jumping through hoops and fetching items. The German shepherd then takes part in a show in which he wrestles with a man, then releases a woman who is tied up to a chair. We then see a jousting game in which a woman in a wheelbarrow is pushed by a man; she has to push her pole through a hole below a hanging bucket which spills water over either her or the man pushing her. Children then try to climb across a moving barrel over water (they fall). A group of women perform gymnastics for the crowd. A group of men in white overalls then rapidly assemble a car which is driven around the field and disassembled again. The car, dangerously, is left unmanned to drive in a circle around the men. Some men in suits are then awarded trophies by a woman in a floral coat with a hat and gloves (possibly Mrs. Lampett, wife of the company director). Horses perform show jumps, and Mrs. Lampett(?) gives prizes to the riders.
Further information: Some of the same games, and Mrs. Lampett(?) wearing the same outfit, can also be seen in film 19465 '11. Dagenham Cables Sports Club, Fete & Gala': however, this latter film was presumably made on a different day, since everyone is dressed for much hotter weather than in this film (also, Mr.s Lampett here does not wear a necklace that can be seen in the other film). She can also be seen in film 19454 '1. Woman in Garden.'
See also: http://www.barkinganddagenhampost.co.uk/news/heritage/post_memories_london_s_screen_archives_bring_borough_s_past_back_to_life_1_3885100
Keywords: Sports; Children; Horses; games; fairground; dog show; dancing; playgrounds
Locations: United Kingdom; England; London; Dagenham; Cables Sports Field
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