BERWICK JOURNAL, 24TH MAY 1923
BERWICK FAIR- A SHOWMAN’S LIFE
Feature of Berwick fair always is the Shows on the Parade, where old and young have a great time. The Showmen’s Business is a great one, and the Show Proprietor generally difficult to recognise among his own workers. But his appearance never indicates his position. One man-owner of half a dozen roundabouts in different parts of the country- looks like a dustman but carries round with him an insurance policy insuring his stock for £60,000. He could afford to live in a Border Mansion if he liked. Instead, he lives in a caravan. His grandfather was 1st member of the family to tour the country fairs, and he was an Irishman. Most showmen are of Irish extraction. He fled from his Irish farm in 1846- when the potato famine left so many farming families starving-and came over to Liverpool. With him came his wife, 2 sons, and a 6-legged goat. That goat, exhibited to the public at ½d a look, founded the fortunes of the family. Money was saved, and other curiosities acquired, until the family owned a small menagerie. The present showman was born in a caravan on a village green in Wales, and until he was 12, he did not know what it was to sleep in a house with brick walls. At 15 he started on his own as a fully fledged showman. He bought a set of 6 swing boats, costing £50. He did not possess this money, but he had about £10, saved penny by penny. Within 6 months the balance had been paid off, and enough money had been saved to start buying a caravan and a very small roundabout. It was only for children and had to be worked by a handle in the middle. On Saturdays the youthful showman would start in on that handle at 12 o’clock, and – except with a short interval for tea – keep on turning it round and round until 11 at night. As his wife now says it made him expert with the mangle. Gradually money was saved. At 25 with his 2 brothers – who by that time had joined him he owned roundabouts, swings, and helter-skelters worth several thousand pounds. At the present time they own the largest roundabout in the land. It cost £15,000. In addition to pull this “heavy stuff” about the country; and 40 men are constantly employed all the year round.
The showman’s life is not an easy one. Things depend so much on the weather. Sometimes there is actual danger. On one occasion a young girl – larking about with some young fellows on the roundabout-was pushed between 2 of the cars while they were moving. One of the men made a dive for her and managed to pull her out. But in so doing he had his foot cut off. There was a romantic sequel to this accident, because the girl’s father insisted the man should go to his house to be nursed. The girl looked after him while he was convalescing, and they fell in love. Now that young fellow is her husband, and they are living in the same village and running a most successful grocery business. Whenever the caravans visit the district, the young wife brings her sturdy little son to the Fair ground and tells him the story of how his father saved her life.
There is a general idea that the men who work on Berwick Fairground are casual labourers, and men of no skill. As a matter of fact they have all to be specialists, and are hard to replace. The mechanic who can put together a roundabout in 8 hours, and guarantee that at the end of that time it will go, is a treasure beyond price. Many a showman, who has a really smart man, lives in terror that he will be wanting to leave to start on his own. No one, however, can, nowadays, become a showman unless he is the son of a showman. He has to be a member of Showman’s Guild- the most exclusive trade union in the world- and no one outside the profession can be admitted to it. But if a young man walks out with and marries a showman’s daughter, he can claim admission to the Guild. The showman’s daughter, therefore, is, indeed, the belle of the air. Her hand holds the key into the golden realm of showmanship!
All the little side-shows on Berwick Fair ground are run by showmen- even the coconut shy proprietor must belong to the Guild. The man who owns the “heavy stuff” may rent the ground and sub-let portions of it for smaller sums. In a country town like Berwick the big man may pay £30 a week in rent, and charge stall-holders 10s or 15s.
A woman now doing very well in the Show World, “on her own” was born without legs. She wears a mermaid’s tail, and people flock to see her. She is a smart business woman, and has just bought out of her savings a motor living-wagon costing over £1,000. She tours the country accompanied by a lady’s maid.
Success in the showman’s business is largely a matter of temperament. One man will make good where another will fail. There are now 2 brothers in the business who started with equal chances. One of them – the younger- owns an outfit worth more than £15,000. The other does not even own his living wagon. He is working for another showman and earning less than £3 a week. At Berwick Fair a 1st Class Roundabout can take as much as £60 in one hour, when in full swing.
BERWICK SINGER’S SUCCESS
MR JOHN SMITH
At the Border Musical Festival held at Hawick and Galashiels this week, Mr J. Smith, High Street, Berwick, was awarded 1st prize in the class for Baritone Solos.
Mr Smith, who is well known in Berwick and on the Borders as a singer of high repute, and has ben training under Mr Ballantyre, Berwick, gained 170 marks out of a possible 200. Mr J. Renwick, Hawick, who was 2nd, had 161 points, and Mr. W. Elliot, Galashiels, was 3rd with 159.
This is Mr Smith’s first appearance at the Border Festival, but he has already carried off honours at the Edinburgh Festival.
We reproduce the photo of Mr Smith has “Lord Mountararat,” the part he played in “Iolanthe” recently produced by Berwick Amateur Operatic Society. Mr Smith has frequently heard at concerts in Berwick and district.