Circus Friends' Association
King Pole Golden Jubilee Issue, 1983/4
 The following extracts are taken from the Golden Jubilee issue of King Pole, the magazine of the Circus Friends Association (formerly the Circus Fans' Association). The organisation was founded in 1934 and to celebrate their 50th anniversary, the present day society published an issue celebrating the Golden Jubilee of the Circus Friends' Association.
The magazine King Pole is still published by the CFA
and the National Fairground Archive currently holds copies of this journal.
Further information on how to become a member of the CFA and details of
this organisation can be found by contacting:
The Membership Secretary,
Circus Friends' Association,
Mrs Sue Roylance,
The Kremlin,
172 Hebble Lane,
Halifax,
HX3 5JN
Website: http://www.circusfriends.co.uk
As last the wishes of so many true lovers of the circus has been realised - the Circus Fans' Association of Great Britain actually exists.
Thus wrote Edward Graves (under his nom de plume Albert Anthony, actually his second and third names) in the World's Fair (27-1-34) in reference to the inauguration day of the CFA the previous Saturday, 20 January 1934, at Olympia, London. That 'great day' commenced with a visit by the circus fans' party to a matinee performance of Bertram Mills' Circus after which artistes and enthusiasts met in the ring and, to quote Edward Graves, 'many an interesting pow-wow took place'. Then the stables were inspected with Major Arthur Sowler (Mills Master of the Horse), their chief trainer M. Mroczkowski and others.
At 7pm, dinner was served in the Pillar Hall. Presiding over this feast were M. A. C. McLachlan, said to enjoy the reputation of being 'the greatest circus fan in the world', and Lady Eleanor Smith. To quote Edward Graves:
Mr Mills left no doubt in the minds of those present that the circus world welcomed the formation of a circus fans association. It was obvious, he said, that the very constitution of the CFA proved them to be friends. They were working for others as true lovers of the circus. Regarding the formation of the CFA, he could only look upon as being one very big step forward which the circus was making, and that the present was the very best time for it to come into being. He hoped that all circuses - large and small - would prosper and that they would merit the fans' support.
Dinner consumed, the business of the meeting started with Mr McLachlan's introductory talk, setting forth the aims and objectives of the Association. Mr McLachlan suggested they could do no better than to invite Lady Eleanor Smith to become the first President. The following day, at the 6th Annual Circus Reunion, Albert Anthony reports, welcomes James Sanger in the chair, welcoming the newly formed group, the circus fans 'which would have a great bearing on the future of the circus.' Even The Times marked the birth of the CFA - with six lines at the bottom of page seven of the 22 January 1934 issue, which proclaimed the Association's role was to 'champion the cause of the circus in England, to right injustice, and to promote a good understanding between the circus and the public'.
The involvement and encouragement of Bertram Mills' Circus was considerable and readily acknowledged by Edward Grave:
In transforming a dream into a reality the organisers were greatly helped by Mr Bertram Mills and his sons Cyril and Bernard, who one might say, went out their way to make things easy and comfortable.
During 1934, the pattern for CFA activities was established, with the formation of the library, publication of The Sawdust Ring magazine and the first rallies, including ones to the Hippodrome Circus in Great Yarmouth and Blackpool Tower. The annual subscription at the time, incidentally, was one guinea for residents in a radius of 60 miles from London 'as defined by Automobile Association handbook', and half a guinea for those residing outside that area, in the provinces. 'For residents in the Colonies and foreign counties' the subscription was 7/6.
The first five years of the CFA saw the firm establishment of the Association and changes in President every year or two. The war curtailed much of its activity of course although it was kept going in stalwart fashion by Alfred 'Dickey' Bird. The post-war years have been marked by some difficulties and uncertainties but on the whole by a continuance of the aims and furtherance of the activities of the CFA. Indeed in recent years members have been treated to overseas trips (to the Soviet Union, to Switzerland, to East Germany and to Paris); to a growing range of circus merchandise, and to the enlargement of the Archives which more members will be able to see and enjoy this Golden Jubilee Year through the exhibitions planned.
The organised activities of the CFA are one thing. Equally important, some might say more important, are the individual roles played as circus fans. Lady Eleanor Smith wrote in her foreword to the first Sawdust Ring:
It is part of our own object to help the circus - an important matter this and one which no fan should forget for a moment.
In 1959, at the time of the Silver Jubilee, President Edward Graves wrote:
These words are as true now as they were 25 years ago. And as they will be in 25 years time when I hope a President of the Circus Fans' Association can write of fifty years of achievement. If he can - and I am confident that he will - it means that there will be a circus in 1984, and that's all that matters.
Circus today faces plenty of problems, but if it is to overcome its difficulties to look to a rosier future in Britain, it will only to do by all those who love the circus making the effort. That of course means those in the circus itself but also all members of the Circus Friends' Association - if we are to look forward to 2034 and a celebration of 100 years of CFA achievement.
The full version of this article can be found by consulting King Pole, 1984, no 61 and 62. Published by the Circus Friends' Association of Great Britain.
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