Pride at bountiful harvest on show

When it comes to presenting vegetables at shows, Yorkshire has certainly had some big winners down the years,

THESE DAYS when it comes to massive marrows or colossal cabbages, few can match those at the North of England Horticultural Society (NEHS) giant vegetable competition, held at the Harrogate autumn flower show.

The NEHS began life in Leeds in 1911 and celebrated its centenary in 2011 with the launch of its first outdoor spring show gardens and a new giant vegetable competition in the autumn.

As these photographs prove, though, the sense of pride at growing giant veg is nothing new.

During the Second World War, the government’s Dig for Victory campaign encouraged households to grow veg in their gardens, while businesses and public parks gave land to grow food. And it certainly proved popular.

PICTURES: GETTY IMAGES PICTURES: GETTY IMAGES GIANT CROP: From top, Jesse Brodie of Upper Heyford RAF Station, Oxford, holding some huge leeks at an RAF Horticultural Show in 1949; a pumpkin grown by Mr G Holbrook in Bentley, Essex in 1936 that weighs over 90lbs; London schoolboys evacuated to Paignton, Devon, have grown giant marrows and a pumpkin in 1942. BOLD AS BRASSICA: Reginald Clarke on his allotment at Eynsham, Oxfordshire in 1954, with his giant Primo cabbage, measuring over three feet across.

PICTURE: GETTY PLATEFUL: A messenger boy with three onions at the Royal Horticultural Society show in 1935.