Photographs I've gleaned from flea markets, junk shops and sometimes ebay. The cheaper the better. Anything with a story that can be extracted from hand written notes, location research, local histories, census records......anything. A small band of fellow enthusiasts worldwide have helped me with many of these. Of course there are always mysteries that defy research, but there's even a story inside these. All images can be viewed at super-size on Flickr.

Friday, 5 August 2011

Festival of Britain. 1951.

Festival of Britain, London. 1951.

I thought I'd get in early for this week's Sepia Saturday theme, which is expositions. This is the 1951 Festival of Britain, held in London on the South Bank of the Thames and still fondly remembered as the symbolic end of post-war economic austerity. The 'Dome of Discovery' on the left and the 'Skylon' tower, both demolished after the festival. Looking closer you can see a group of school boys watched over by a stern teacher and two policemen.

A bit of trivia: one of the consulting engineers on the Dome was Oleg Kerensky, son of former revolutionary Russian Prime Minister, Alexander Kerensky.

For another photo on the theme of expositions see this one I posted a while back.

Festival of Britain, London. 1951. (enlarged detail
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11 comments:

  1. Bob Scotney5 August 2011 at 07:35

    I went to the Festival of Britain but don't remember much about it. I can say that is not my school in the photograph.

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  2. dakotaboo5 August 2011 at 09:41

    These are great. I have a few vintage postcards of earlier festivals, e.g. the 1908 Franco-British exhibition, but oddly not any of this later one ... although pretty sure I have some stamps related to it somewhere.

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  3. Unknown5 August 2011 at 16:39

    @Bob ScotneyDid you go inside the Dome of Discovery?

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  4. Little Nell5 August 2011 at 21:07

    Just before my time, as they say, but fascinating nonetheless. It looked pretty crowded!!

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  5. Postcardy5 August 2011 at 23:27

    The skylon is impressive. I read the explanation of the principles but didn't really understand.

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  6. Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy6 August 2011 at 15:58

    Wow! Very interesting. Too bad that they tore the dome and tower down. That is neat that Bob was there also.

    Happy SS,

    Kathy M.

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  7. Anonymous6 August 2011 at 19:30

    Nice picture! I guess they like to have domes in London, isn't it.

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  8. Sheila @ A Postcard a Day6 August 2011 at 19:43

    The people are almost as interesting as the exhibition buildings, don't you think? They'd need more than one teacher for all those boys these days, I fear.

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  9. Kristin6 August 2011 at 19:56

    Looks like one boy behind the teacher may be planning to make a break for freedom.

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  10. Tattered and Lost6 August 2011 at 20:59

    For some reason it reminds me of Tomorrow Land in the original Disneyland.

    I wish I'd been to a World's Fair.

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  11. Unknown6 August 2011 at 22:20

    @Tattered and Lost The comparison with Tomorrow Land is quite apt. Disneyland was completed only four years after the Festival of Britain when the same 'futuristic' modernism was in vogue.

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