11. Dagenham Cables Sports Club, Fete & Gala
16mm film Colour Mute 1959 10:17
Summary: Dagenham Cables Sports Club Fete Day & Gala at the Telephone Cables Ltd sports field
Title number: 19465
LSA ID: LSA/25847
Description: Opening titles in stop motion read "Dagenham Sports Club" then "Fete and Gala Day." A marching band with drums marches across the Cables Sport Field; it appears to be a hot summer's day. An intertitle reads "kiddies korner;" families with small children dressed up in fancy dress: an elf, a Victorian flower girl, etc. More children play on swings and a see-saw, and watch Punch & Judy. Another intertitle: "fun and games." People attach notes to balloons that float away, then play various traditional ball games, an electric steady hand game, and roulette. Many of the women wear colourful floral sleeveless blouses or dresses with large A-line skirts, and slingback heels, typical of the late 1950's. 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 and an adult man play a game where they try to climb across a barrel over water. A sign outside a large marquee reads "Exhibition Tent - Arts & Crafts - Cookery - Horticulture - Photography." Men and women inside the tent admire the photos and flowers. Back outside, a man dressed as a cowboy rides a horse and performs stunts with a lasso and a gun. Another intertitle reads "gymnastics": men in white vests and trousers perform gymnastic stunts. Another intertitle reads "archery" and we see men and women shooting arrows at a target. One woman wears a white sleeveless blouse with a large floral A-line skirt. Another intertitle: "Presentation of trophies" and we see trophies being handed out by a woman wearing a patterned grey dress-suit with gloves and a hat (possibly Mrs. Lampett, wife of the company director). The final closing titles read "Filmed by SUTC Film Unit" and "the end."
Further information: Some of the same games, and Mrs. Lampett(?) wearing the same outfit, can also be seen in film 19464 '10. Punch and Judy': however, this latter film was presumably made on a different day, since everyone is dressed for much colder weather than in this film (also, Mrs Lampett here wears a necklace that does not appear 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; games; Fete; archery; marching band; cables; gymnastics; SUTC; TCL
Locations: United Kingdom; England; London; Dagenham; Cables Sports Field
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