Crowds for the circus

“I was brought up in a flat in Bellefield Avenue and have lots of happy memories,” emails Alison Kinnear (nee Kidd). “I was born in 1942 I stayed there until 1957. We were fortunate to stay beside Magdalen Green.

“The circus arrived every summer and the main three were Bertram Mills, Chipperfield’s and Billy Smart’s, who took it in turns to come. My dad David Kidd and his friend Tom Gorrie used to get up at 6am to watch the procession make their way along Riverside.

“Sometimes there was a proper parade and I remember the elephants with scantily dressed ladies on their backs. It was very glamorous and crowds lined Riverside Drive to welcome them. There were lots of children staying in Bellefield and we called ourselves the Belly Gang.

“We paid to get in the first night then went along every night and stood watching the animals going through the caged tunnels – lions, tigers, monkeys etc and we also loved watching the horses. We listened to the music and knew which act was on. It was our entertainment every night.

“As time went on the caravans got bigger and bigger and looked very luxurious especially if you were one of the bosses or a daring trapeze artist. I remember being very impressed when a trapeze artiste, blonde with a beautiful leopard skin bikini, was swaying on a sofa swing beside her caravan .This would be in the early 1950s.”