THE   HISTORY   OF

1965                  

1974                 

1980                  

1991                 

1994                 

2004                  

   Carnival through the ages                       

The Fleet Carnival of today is very different from its early beginnings. Smaller one-day carnivals were first held in the early years of the twentieth century to raise much needed funds for the Fleet Cottage Hospital. The processions were much smaller than today's: they started at the railway station and went along Fleet Road to the Oatsheaf pub, down Reading Road South and on to the field at Court Moor House. The 1939 carnival was the last one of that era and the town had to wait for many years to see another.

In 1955 a meeting was held and the then Chamber of Trade put forward the idea of resurrecting a carnival for Fleet. The one-day carnivals had always been very popular and it was suggested that the new committee should try to raise sufficient local interest to start a carnival lasting a whole week.

The first of the modern-day carnivals was held in the summer of 1956 on the Firs Meadow in Crookham Road, where the police station now stands. The special guest was the world light heavyweight boxing champion, Freddie Mills, and the event was a great success, Community spirit was very strong and the whole town took part.

Over the years fashions change and each year the committee of the day works hard to organise events to suit current trends.

I hope you enjoy looking back to past carnivals with me - Allan Gibson

PAST CARNIVAL QUEENS

| top |

PAST CARNIVAL PRINCESSES

| top |

PAST CARNIVAL FLOWER GIRLS
2006 Miss Lydia Judkins

| top |

PAST CARNIVAL THEMES AND PROGRAMMES

We are still looking for years 1956 to 1964, 1971 and 1998 to 2000 CAN YOU HELP?

Click on programme covers for larger picture. Also press F11 on your keyboard. Click "back" to return.

1965	No Carnival Theme:
1966	No Carnival Theme:
1967	No Carnival Theme:
1968	No Carnival Theme:
1969	No Carnival Theme:
1970	No Carnival Theme:
1971	Carnival was first started in 1956 to raise money to build a new Civic Centre in Fleet. In 1971 Carnival gave £10,000 towards the new public halls - Chernocke Hall & Carnival Hall thus achieving its ambition. From 1972 onwards money raised will go towards local good causes.
1972	No Carnival Theme:
1973	No Carnival Theme: The Civic Centre housing the Carnival and Chernocke halls opened
1974	No Carnival Theme: The cover shows a carving by Mr Ted Roe named "The Jester" which is hung up in the Carnival Hall in the Harlington Centre. The Hall is so named because earlier Carnivals raised money to build the first Civic Centre.
1975	Youth: Money raised went to the benifit of youth in the District. The chairman commented on the urban youth problem. (nothing changes)   The art work for the cover was by Mr Vic Chairman
1976	No Carnival Theme: Carnival's 21st birthday. Money raised went towards a film projection room, projector and cinema screen for the Chernocke Hall.
1977	The Queens Silver Jubilee:
1978	R.A.F's 60th Anniversary:
1979	Cinema Time: This theme was chosen because Cinema Equipment  had been bought and installed by the Carnival Association in the Civic Centre.
1980	Silver Jubilee: The Members of the Executive Committee of the Carnival Association usually like to take a back seat at Carnival time, but after 25 years, a few of them deserve to take a bow for the longevity of their service to the community. To mention all Members over the 25 years would be an impossible task, so for old times' sake only the 'old stagers' shall be mentioned! ,A Member of the very first Carnival Committee of 1955/56 and the only person to have sat on all the Committees over 25 years is Mrs. Joan Vincent. Anyone acquainted with Joan knows that she is a hard-working and loyal person, and apart from being the Honorary Treasurer since 1958, she has applied her talents to many other aspects of Carnival work including the Baby Show and Ladies' night. Handling the finances of a Carnival as big as ours is today is almost a full-time job before and during the Carnival Week, and knowing that Joan is an active member of other local organisations, we can only admire her endless source of energy. Chairman of the inaugural Carnival Committee was the late Charles Woodman. In all, Charles was Chairman for ten years; he served on the Committee for another six years, and for the six years until his death in 1978 he was a Life Vice-President of the Carnival Association. His personality and selfless spirit were foundations on which-Carnival was built, and Charles will be remembered by both young and old for a long time. Honorary Secretary Gordon Campbell is next in line for a mention. He served for three years on the Carnival Committee before becoming Secretary, and he has now held that post for 17 years. The present Chairman is Derek Vincent, and he was on the General Committee for ten years before being voted in as Chairman - a post he has filled admirably now for seven years. Naturally, with Joan involved with Carnival from its outset, Derek was also active behind the scenes, even in the early days. When Len Leech died early in 1978 he had been on the Carnival Committee since 1960. He will be remembered as the 'Gate Man', but he gave a helping hand wherever it was needed, and his death was a great loss to the Association. Alan Gilbrook first joined the Carnival Committee in 1964; later he sat as Chairman for two years and for the past four years has been a Vice-President of the Association, It is his dulcet tones that can usually be heard over the public address system during Carnival. Alan's wife, Phyllis, has also been a Member for over five years. Jim Donoghue joined the Committee in 1965, and has an unbroken service record of 15 years, and Tony Eggar has an unbroken record of 11 years. Dick Stutley joined the Carnival Association in 1969 and his wife Sylvia joined in 1971; both have been in the Association ever since. Mistress of the Robes Pauline Vickery has been dressing the Carnival Royalty for ten years now. At the risk of omitting someone, I should like to mention some past members who all served for over ten years. Arthur Neville, Waiter Wilson and Eric Gilks all contributed greatly during their long years on past Carnival Committees. Roger Booth, Eric Heanes and Malcolm Lloyd joined the Association in 1974 but -had Carnival connections before that! The rest of the current Carnival Association are relative newcomers compared to what has gone before, but this in no way detracts from the hard work and time given by them. All Committee Members, past and present, perform their labours completely voluntarily and ask for nothing more than that YOU - the Public'- continue to support YOUR Carnival in every way possible, so that we may look forward to the year when we celebrate 50 years of Carnival!
1981	The World of Music:
1982	Maritime: Long serving Chairman Derek Vincent Dies.
1983	Fantasy - The Land of Makebelieve: Programme cover was designed by Suzanne Parry (15) from Fleet. She won £15 in a competition run by Aldershot News and the Carnival Association.
1984	Showbiz: Programme cover was designed by Sarah Newman (12) from Calthorpe Park School. She won £15 in a competition run by Aldershot News and the Carnival Association.
1985	Music Songs and Dance: Programme cover was designed by Stephen Cooper (15) of Crondall. He won £15 in a competition run by Aldershot News and the Carnival Association.
1986	Carnival Around the World:
1987	50 Years of Television:
1988	That's Entertainment: Programme cover designed by Duncan Bowyer who won a competition organised by the Aldershot News.
1989	Revue of the Eighties: Programme cover was designed by Ken WHITEHORN of Court Moor. He won the Mr Spares Challenge Trophy.
1990	Thirty Five Years of Music Song and Dance: Programme cover was designed by Belinda Pratt (14) of Farnborough. She won the Mr Spares Challenge Trophy in a competition run by the Aldershot News.
1991	Magical Moments:
1992	Taste of Europe:
1993	Comedy:
1994	Showtime:
1995	Its Party Time : Carnival's 40th Ruby Year. Chairman Chrys Goodburn retires after 20 years serving Carnival.
1996	100 Years of Cinema :
1997	Great British Events :
1998	Fairy Tales & Nursery Rhymes :	No Programme
1999	Highlights of the 20th Century:	No Programme
2000	Celebration of the Millennium:
2001	Animated Antics & Cartoon Capers: The Grand Procession was changed from Wednesday  to Saturday and the Children's procession from Saturday to Sunday.
2002	Kings & Queens – Real or Imaginary: The theme reflects the Queen's Golden Jubilee Year.
2003	Music Makes The World Go Round :
2004	Heroes & Heroines: Programme cover artwork by Oliver Chatt (8) of Velmead Junior School. He won a family ticket to Beale Park. The competition was sponsored by fleethants.com website and Ravenscroft Motor Group.
2005	Fifty Glorious Years: Programme cover artwork by Millie Hagart (8) of Church Crookham Junior School. She won a family ticket to Birdworld. The competition was sponsored by fleethants.com website, Ravenscroft Motors, Birdworld and Frames and Prints.
2006	Sports and Games: Programme cover artwork by Thomas Hodson (11) of Heatherside Junior School. He won a family ticket to Birdworld. Competition sponsored by leethants.com website, Ravenscroft Motors, Birdworld and Frames and Prints. The programme was reduced to only four A5 pages due to a shortage of committee members
2007	Different Cultures from around the World: Programme cover artwork by Chloe Marchant of Elvetham Heath Primary School (year 5). The competition was sponsored by Ravenscroft Motors, fleethants.com and Wellington Country Park.
2008	Travel and Transport: Programme cover artwork by Caitlin Griffith from Dogmersfield Primary School. The competition was sponsored by fleethants.com, Ravenscroft Motors, Just Ceramics and Birdworld.

| top | 

FLEET & DISTRICT CARNIVAL ASSOCIATION
Registered under Charities Act 264443