Coventry Carnivals / Godiva Processions

Just noticed this photo and post Yanster. 1970 was the year that a large contingent of Skinheads decided to join the Carnival!

Yes it was called the Hospital Saturday Fund because Coventry have long been paid wages on a Friday, thus allowing mother on a Saturday morning to sort out the money. Gave the kids a tanner to go and pay the fund at someone's house, who opened his front door to receive payments, marked a small book, took your money. This went on throughout my childhood and teen age until 1945 when NHS started. During the 1920/30s people dare not report illness unless really dangerous, most of us went through small illnesses without so much as a bottle of medicine. I think the fund had a limit to what it would pay a family at the beginning, just simply not affordable. Someone started that fund and the yearly carnivals that boosted its funds. Now my dad was a fanatic at carnivals, entered us everywhere, regardless, so we would be sent to Sunday School on a week night, listen to the story of some poor sod getting pelted to death with stones somewhere, then walk in the carnival on Saturday and get pelted with coins for hours - my sister did get cut on the cheek one time, very frightening for a small boy. And the money did come raining down from upstairs windows, over the heads of the crowds, all directions. But the idea never left me - steeped in tradition, I ran everywhere raising money for charity. Those early days of the carnivals, coloured rosettes to be won, hundreds of individual classes, not many lorry floats, mainly bikes and prams done up in fancy dress. A real day in the calendar, people knew how to make a real day off it. Post copied from topic Coventry & Warwickshire Hospital Saturday Fund on 3rd Jul 2020 12:34 pm

PS. The Memorial Park would get packed, stalls, coconut shies, bands drilling, clowns tumbling, small helter-skelters - a day of fun. The birds in the aviary put on two stones (wee bit of exageration), the clapping as judges handed out rosettes. You didn't need to go to bed at night, you could have slept on the clothes line.

Kaga, when I first read your post, I thought "that can't be right, in those days -never!" I thought you said "gave the kids a tenner". Must be my eyes getting older. I used to love the annual Coventry carnival when I was a kid. It would not be allowed now, with elf 'n safety. Chucking the old pennies at the floats. And let's face it, little kids can be right little b... devils. And the not so little ones. Many of those huge copper coins were not gently tossed to land safely on the floor of the lorry, but were deliberately hurled at the people with as much force as possible. Could have blinded someone, it could have. And the ones that missed the lorry - a mad scramble by all the kids as we ran into the road to pick them up. Imagine that happening today. No barriers in the old days. It was assumed everyone had common sense, working on the principle that if you don't want to get killed, you don't run under the wheels of a lorry. As a little girl, my mum used to earn the odd copper by doing "errands" for neighbours. One was taking an item to "uncle's", aka the pawnbroker. The other one was taking a piece of paper or envelope with a note and some money, i.e. a bet, to someone's house.

Anne do you know the 1927 Carnival Route? Just wondering where this might be?

Here you are Neil, took some finding, it was only in the paper the day before, the Carnival was held on 25th June 1927. It was a 3 miler route so get walking !

Brill yet again Anne - Broomfield Road in to Melbourne Road it is then! I did think it was Broomfield but couldn't work out the sharp turn near to camera as was not representative of the bottom at Albany Road.

You're a marvel Anne Well done Neil. I have to say that I like the idea of a parade that covers a decent distance. It makes the most of the show.

You do wonder initially why the turn into Melbourne Road but following the map it's easy to forget the need to get to Spon Street as the main route in to the city from the west at that time.

I had a quick look and thought it might be Broomfield Road into Melbourne Road. The houses look the same on the right and the shop on the corner. I liked to think of my 11 year old dad and his sister watching from their house in Melbourne Road!

I don't know the date of this parade - the picture is of Far Gosford Street Note Garlicks in the background (Image enhanced from faded card thanks to Robin)

I just found this topic today and had a wonderful time reading all the posts. I haven't lived in Cov. for a long time so I assumed the carnival was still an annual event. I live in the US where the 4th of July is always a big day and parade vary from the full monty to one I used to love in a small town which mostly consisted of a few dignitaries in vintage cars, 6 librarians pushing books carts and all of the neighbourhood kids on their gussied up bikes. When I was about 8 or 9 I was coming home from a Saturday purgatorial session at Hazel Hathaway's dance studio, still dressed in some Italian style get up I was to wear in the annual Hippodrome show, when I came upon the carnival in full swing. Looked good to me so I just joined in and my parents, who were watching from the sidelines a few streets later, were very surprised to see me marching along. I gave them a jaunty wave and kept on walking and they let me!! I really miss free-range parenting. No questions asked when I got home and everyone had a good day.

Just added Coventry Carnival images from Richard Sadler to Cov Dig. Some lovely ones from the late 1940s, like this. Don't they look delighted!

Here's a list of Godivas from before the war. Have I missed any? 1902 Vera Guedes 1907 La Milo - Pansy Montague 1911 Viola Hamilton 1919 Gladys Mann 1929 Muriel Mellerup 1936 Frances Burchell

I've found a few more. I'm building up a collection of images. 1848 Madame Eliza Warton (first named) 1851 Madame Cassanette 1862 Madame Letitia 1866 Miss Annie Panton 1870 Miss Rose Williams 1877 Miss Edgerton