Archived Extracts

The great event of the day was the mammoth procession which embodied everything that makes a public spectacle a success. The jazz bands formed a big part of it, not only in varying colours and types of equipment, but in dignified and impressive bearing. There were scores of fancy dresses, worn by both children and adults, and the tableaux were beautifully got up....

A very popular item was the comparison made by Fisher's (cycle dealers) between "mounts" of 60 years ago and those of to-day. Two types of cycle more than 50 years old were shown. On one the rider would have a difficulty in keeping his seat, and the construction of the other made it almost impossible for him to fall off. In those times, flowing whiskers were more popular than cycles, and this characteristic was maintained in the exhibit, which threw into strong relief a group of happy cyclists in present day costumes on decorated easy running bikes.

The "mechanical man" was an instance of looking into the future and deserved every credit. It depicted a being made of metal capable of doing all the work required when regulated by a couple of ordinary humans, and without getting tired. The prospect of a new age dawning when all the hard work would be taken off their hands was greatly relished by the onlookers and the mechanical man came in for universal admiration.

Altogether, the procession was a wonderful sight, and it passed through nearly all the streets, led by the Prize Band, before a move was made to the field lent by Councillor Lowe for the judging. During the evening there were 16,000 people on the field, where several attractions were provided. The judges for costumes were .....

Awards were as follows:-
extracting only named Huthwaite residents
Tableaux : 2 Mrs. Lineker ; 3 Mrs. Dykes.
Maypoles : 1 and 2, Mrs. Lineker.
Adverts : 1 Mrs. Marsden ; 2 M. Pickaver ; 3 Miss Beresford

Original : 1 Violet Keeton (Fulwood) ; Jessie Brown ; 3 Evelyn Starr ; 4 Mary Phillips ; 5 Ronald Jones ; 6 Edith Bone ; 7 Marion Bone ; 8 Mrs Burrows ; 10 Ida Smith ; Ed Kilcline.

Ten bands entered for the Jazz Band contest, the first prize being a silver challenge cup, valued at twelve guineas, with £3 cash. The second and third prizes were £2 and £1 respectively. The adjudicators were two local organists of high repute, Messrs. S. Paling (Sutton) and N. Evans (Huthwaite). There appeared to be a sensitive ear for the beauties of jazz band music among many of the spectators, most of the bands gaining more or less applause, but in one or two instances the conductor provided more entertainment than the music did. At this period there wa a crowd of about 14,000 and the most had to be made of the occasion.
The results were: 1 Huthwaite Jubilee Serenaders ; 2 Shirebrook ; 3 Birchwood.....
The prizes were distributed by the Carnival Queen, Mr. and Mrs. Shacklock, and Mrs. R.P. Dalton.

A programme of sports for boys and veterans had been arranged, but were not held for two reasons. On such a day of rejoicing nobody would acknowledge themselves veterans, and the crows was so dense that it overran the course, and made racing impossible, so the events had to be deferred.

Tents on the field, which were of great assistance to the officials, were kindly lent by the Army Stores (Sutton).

After the outdoor programme had been completed, a dance was held in the Drill Hall, and this was quite as successful as any of the features of the day, over 700 paying for admission... The M.C.'s were Messrs. S. Stones and E. Spencer....

An outstanding example of shop front decoration was shown by Mr. J. Truswell, Hillside. His establishment was covered with many novelties of artificial flowers all made by himself and all wonderfully true to nature. There wer other pleasing designs on Sutton Road, in Lime Avenue and in New Street, but in most cases the intention was simply to add a little to the general atmosphere of festivity. In this everybody was eminently successful, and the Carnival of 1935 will long be rightly regarded as a complete triumph.

One of the outstanding features of the Carnival was the boxing contest for boys and the weight-lifting displays by local athletes. These events took place on Councillor E.H. Lowe's field, having been admirably organised by Mr. A. R. Rhodes. A proper boxing stage was provided and a considerable crowd took great interest in the boxing, some capital combats being witnessed.

The referee was Battling Parkin, of Warsop: the M.C. Mr. A. England, a well-known local exponent of physical culture: timekeeper, .... Prizes were in readiness for the winners, but most of the competitors chiefly sought the honour of overcoming a rival, and the fights were characterised by enthusiasm, hard knocks and good temper, and were enlivened by the applause of numerous partisans.... Results were as follow:-

Harry Hollingsworth beat Raymond Gregory. This pair of midgets boxed cleverly, but the winner was the more sturdy and held his own throughout.

Donald Hague beat John Flowers, although loser used his left with some skill.
Dennis Flowers beat Harold Keeling, this being a capital set to. Flowers displayed good form, but Keeling put up a plucky fight.
Joe Hardwick beat Stewart Bone. The loser shaped well against a taller opponent, and Hardwick was not the winner until the last round.
Tom Roberts beat Eric Scott but only after an extra round as a decider. These fought more cautiously, and therefore stood the pace better in a very even contest.
Harold Wilson beat Jim Cook. This was a hectic combat with plenty of excitement, and both showed excellent style.
Walter Pratt beat Jack Dye. The latter had more inches and his footwork was clever, but his guard was not so effective as that of his opponent, who landed some telling blows.
Arthur Connah beat John Bingham - two representatives of local boxing families who fought fiercely amid a storm of counsel and approbation. Marks were even at the end of the third round, and in the 'decider' a slight advantage by Connah's right glove gave him the victory, but it was a very narrow margin after a hurricane fight.

Sam Dawson beat Jim Cook. Great credit was due to Cook for taking the stage a second time, his opponent on this occasion having every advantage in height and reach.
Mr. England introduced Mr. W. Robinson (Huthwaite) as the official 10 stone weight lifting champion of the Midland Counties, and Mr. Robinson demonstrated some astound feats of strength which were warmly applauded...

As a fitting conclusion to an effort on behalf of the great cause of healing, a united religious service was held on Sunday on "The Park." Though it was very hot, there was a large attendance of all denominations.....