Scotland - 1940s and 1950s
Part 3- Other machines
click here for Arks
and Waltzer
click here for Moonrockets,
Mont Blancs and Autodromes
Scottish fairgrounds have not been particularly well
documented outside of the notes in Worlds Fair. During the post-war years
there were regularly two Scottish reports in the newspaper, however the
reports were written in the traditional social tone and discussed family
events, illnesses, birthdays, etc. In all fairness this was the original
purpose of Worlds Fair - to provide a communicating vessel for the showland
community. For the enthusiast of the time, or the enthusiast historian
looking back, there is sparse information on machines and transport, with
photographs almost non-existent.
The most well-known Scottish enthusiast and photographer
was William Oswald, his photographs spanning his life in the shipping
industry, his interest in trains and steam transport, and his love of
fairs. However, Oswald's photographs remain in strict copyright with his
family. The images in these galleries come from a lesser known enthusiast
William Cross of Kelty, and surfaced as part of the Friendship Circle
of Showland Fans (FCSF) library donated to the archive in 2004. The albums
were compiled by members as a device for creating a library and sharing
images and information. Without a doubt the William Cross album is the
most intriguing and valuable. It gives a fairly thorough picture of the
Scottish scene in the post-war years - providing first time pictures of
many known machines as well crucial pictures of machines not documented.
The images are displayed with research generated within
the archive, since the original album came with no notes at all. We attempt
to give a flavour of the bustling Scottish scene dominated by families
such as the Codonas, Whites and Taylors, as well as many of the other
families that are still active in Scotland.
Many thanks to Kevin Scrivens and Stewart Thom in helping
me with some of the family tree details.
John Codona's Rotor, Aikey Brae, 19th July 1953.
Rotors were introduced around 1950, initially as an
imported machine, and then as a home-built machine with examples from
Orton and Spooner and Maxwells. This Rotor was imported by W.H. Marshall
and is recorded as passing to Scotland with Charles Irvin - so maybe it
was occupying a John Codona ground for this photograph? The machine passed
to Joe Leonard and then to the promiment Devon show family of Whitelegg
in 1959 - its ownership beyond this is not recorded. The ride had a distinctive
butterfly emblem on the right-hand side which is just visible in the picture.
The Rotor became popular again at the end of the 1970s, with smaller,
more portable, examples built by many showmen.
Chipperfield's Ghost Rocket, Aberdeen, 16th July 1949.
A mysterious ride, with information recently added courtesy
of showman Billy White. James Chipperfield had a share of Aberdeen Amusement
Park with John Crole, and presented this Ghost Rocket ride. The mechanism
was similar to a Rotor with comparments around the perimeter - the passengers
were stuck to the walls in the privacy of each compartment, and the ride
was commonly known as 'The Groper' for reasons best left alone. It was
advertised for sale in 1951, and was purchased at some point by Sailor
Joe White. Other owners included the McArdle family, and Stanley Codona,
who presumably scrapped the ride in the 1960s.
J. Graham's Steam Yachts, Dundee Riverside Park, 15th July 1944.
Kevin Scrivens has researched Steam Yachts with the
intent of publishing a book, and provided some narrative as to the 2 sets
presented with the J. J. Graham family. This set is the 'small' set travelled
by father James T. Graham and then son John James Graham. The larger set
was travelled by J. T. Graham's eldest son, J. J. Graham. The large set
has survived into preservation with Jack Schofield, the small set was
scrapped with Percy Waddington. Steam Yachts are said to be one of the
first true 'white-knuckle' rides with each boat given a meaningful name
- these boats are called Lion and Tiger.
J. J. Graham's Over The Tops, Alloa, 25th April 1942.
Over The Tops involved a great deal of physical effort
on behalf of the passengers to rock and swing the 'cage' through faster
and higher pendulums until you go 'over the top'. The set here is an original
5-bay wooden set, with many punters eager to impress their partners or
the watching crowd. The ride was reborn in the 1970s with a metal version
called 'Swinging Gym' - with machines built at Blackpool by Lusse and
in Sheffield by Sam Ward. Many of these metal sets survive, though none
of the wooden sets managed to exist long enough to meet their metal descendents.
Jack Hammond's Gallopers, Alva, 11th July 1959.
These Gallopers were owned less than a year by Jack
Hammond, a Tidman set sold in 1959 to the partnership of Cowie and Stokes.
The ride survives in splendid condition with John Crow, attending major
fairs such as Hull and Newcastle. The intriguing bus shown in the picture
is not identified, but is an example of how showmen put everyday vehicles
to good use.
Horne's Petrol Track, Leith Links, 14th August 1943.
A fine example of a Petrol Monte Carlo Track in the
'Brooklands' style (banked edges). Many of these tracks were open-topped
and presented a good thrill to the fairgoer. As stated previously, the
Horne family were an emerging name on the fairground, and are currently
one of the major families on the Scottish scene.
H. Morrison's Chairoplanes, Kennoway, 14th August 1943.
Chairoplanes were extremely prolific since their introduction
in 1921 - with sets imported and constructed at a rapid rate. Sizes ranged
from 16 to 24 sections, with machines normally 2-abreast per section (however
a 3-abreast 24 section machine did briefly exist!). The commonest size
was a 32 seater machine such as shown here. The falling price of these
machines during the 1930s meant that they offered many showmen a chance
of a first machine, and so Scotland began to see new names emerging as
ride-operators. It would appear that this set was later owned by the Wroot
family, and a photograph can be found at the top of this page.
Matt Taylor's Dive Bomber, Kitrkcaldy Links, 21st April 1956.
This is a truly significant ride for many reasons. Firstly
the Dive Bomber thrived in Scotland in the 1950s and 1960s with most of
the sets produced heading north of the border. Confusingly the first Dive
Bomber in Scotland wasn't actually a Dive Bomber - it was James Graham's
Loop-o-plane which travelled under the guise of Dive Bomber. Eyerly designed
Dive Bombers (proper name = Roll-o-plane) and Loopers (proper name = Loop-o-plane)
were both hits with the Scottish public and often reports of the fairs
confuse the two. Matt Taylor effectively branched out on his own with
this machine from his Cumrian base, and established the M. and D. Taylor
dynasty and reputation for innovation. His Dive Bomber was the first example
to be 'twinned' with Matt senior and sons Matt and Douglas going on to
invent the UK's first Lifting Paratrooper.
J. White's Dodgem, Leven, 1959.
After the war J. White and Sons found themselves with
three Dodgem sets - an original Lakin machine plus two brand new Supercar
tracks. The extent of their fairs and power within the section meant they
were able to maintain such a large collection of rides. This set would
appear to be a Supercar example, the company revolutionising Dodgem production
from the 1950s onwards with alloy tracks.
J. Wheatley's Cakewalk, Glasgow, 1944.
Very little about this showman or this machine is recorded.
It would appear that it was with the Wheatley family for just one season.
By the 1940s these machines had become outdated and relatively cumbersome,
making them cheap acquisitions. Research into their history is ongoing,
with a handful of examples now in preservation, though many have been
scrapped.
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