This year is the 70th anniversary of the Festival of Britain in 1951.

This was an enormous, nationwide celebration of all things British. Yes, very jingoistic but it was only six years after the end of WW2, times were hard and spirits needed lifting. Events across the whole social spectrum took place all over the land and there was a huge exhibition in London. Your Curator remembers going to the British Industries Fair (BIF) in Birmingham held in the enormous aircraft hangers where thousands of Spitfire aeroplanes were built during the war.

The events covered all aspects of society including sport and hockey played a small part. At THM we are only just discovering hockey’s involvement and so we are appealing to you for any memories or information that you may have about hockey during the Festival of Britain. We know that internationally we hosted a hockey event at Twickenham rugby ground for both men and women. At club level we know that the premier men’s festival in the Midlands was held at Leamington.

If you have any information about this significant national event please let us know via the website contact form.