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This article from
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Battling on through the years
A MAGNIFICENT coup d'oeil was the Evening Post's verdict on the very first Battle of Flowers 101 years ago.
It would be hard now to imagine a Jersey summer without the Battle, which has become a mainstay of the Island's tourist economy, even though there is no longer a physical battle with flowers ripped from the floats.
But what if that first parade had been a disaster? Fortunately the fete turned out to be the highlight of a day of celebrations on 9 August 1902 to mark the first coronation in 60 years - that of Edward VII and Queen Alexandra - which must have been a huge relief to the organisers.
'It is no secret that fears had been entertained as to the success of this particular portion of the fetes,' the Evening Post reminded readers.
'It had been thought that there would be very few entries, and that in view of the fact that this is the first battle of flowers held here, the arrangements would not be all that could be desired. However such a success was achieved as even the most sanguine of those responsible for the arrangements could scarcely have hoped for.'
Apart from a Frenchman arrested for pick-pocketing, a fight between some soldiers and a balloon bursting into flames, the whole day had gone extremely smoothly, ensuring that the event would be repeated. But it was far from being the firm annual fixture in Jersey's calendar that it is today.
The following year, the General Committee had difficulty in finding a free day for the event, eventually settling on a Wednesday, which did not please the principal tradesmen. Money for the event was raised by public donation collected door-to-door by volunteers, not all of whom met with success. 'Battle of Flowers be d÷; mine is the Battle of Life,' one unfortunate fund-raiser was told.
But a decade later the event had come along way, attracting up to 30,000 spectators and 57 people sat on the General Committee.
A year later it was a different story. In June 1914 with the programme already printed, the committee reluctantly decided to suspend the Battle as the world was preparing for war.
It would be another eight years before the event would re-emerge and that was only down to some enterprising First Tower residents who decided to include a Battle of Flowers in their 1922 village fete. But it was always a very local affair and it took a further five years for the Jersey Chamber of Commerce to step in to resurrect the event on an Islandwide basis.
The 1928 Battle of Flowers was to be held at Springfield - no one was sure that the event would attract the huge pre-war crowds and the Avenue was now full of traffic. Their hard work paid off; although it was damp, 10,000 people turned up and set the pattern for a decade of Battles at the stadium.
By 1939 the event was even more popular - the stands were full and the exhibits were becoming so large that some had trouble turning and at least two were so tall they tangled with the lighting wires. While the afternoon was a success, the evening entertainment was marred by Tony Deering and his Motoring Maniacs who lived up to their name and crashed into one of the lighting poles which 'snapped like a carrot and fell into the arena'.
It was clear the event was outgrowing Springfield, but that was to be the least of the Battles worries. A new world war was on the horizon which would bring an end to the event for over a decade.
The Island would have to wait until 1951 for the parade to be resurrected, when it was returned to Victoria Avenue for the first time since 1913. Since then the Battle has survived hooliganism, apathy and straying sacks of petals to enjoy an unbroken 52-year run and today is entering its second century. Who in 1902 would have envisaged that?
author - Jane Delmer
This article updated: August 2003
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| ......Daily Ditons...... |
Ecoute-pathai janmais n'ouït drait.
Eavesdroppers garble what they hear.
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