‘Looks like school championships’
THE photograph of an athletics track, found in the Loughborough and Shepshed Echo archives and featured in Looking Back, has prompted reader Peter Fryer to get in contact.
Peter said: “The picture must be the parade of athletes at the English Schools’ Athletic Championships.
This annual event is one of the biggest athletics meeting in the world with about 2,000 athletes taking part over two days .
“A tradition of the event is the march-past by the athletes in their county teams behind the county banner.
“The ESAA (English Schools’ Athletic Association) was founded in 1925 so this photo must have been from one of their earliest events.
The championships of 1939, the last before the war, were in fact held in Loughborough, though where exactly I do not know.
“I would think that the photo was almost certainly of these championships.”
Looking back regular Mike Jones also contact- ed us intrigued by the photo: “The parade of young people appears to be the university athletics track, long before the building of the new facilities.
“The spectators on the left appear to be sitting on the original concrete steps alongside the finishing line.
“The photograph was probably taken from the area in front of the old changing pavilion and seems be a parade of the teams prior to an athletic meeting - but what meeting?
“The Loughborough area Primary School Athletics Championships were originally held on the Brush Sports, Brown’s Lane Football Ground.
“I remember winning the long jump title there in 1953, but by the time our son David won the same title in 1976, the event was being held at the university athletics track.
“However, the dress of the athletes shown, suggests a much earlier occasion.
“I would be interested to hear more from your readers.”