Page 531 - Reading Mercury

The financial result broke all previous records, the profit being over £135.

th
Sat 14 Sept
ALL-DAY REVELS AT WOKINGHAM CARNIVAL
Huge Crowds Make Merry On Wednesday
MAYOR BUMPED AT BEATING OF THE BOUNDS
The spirit of carnival was held captive for just eighteen hours at Wokingham on
Wednesday, when one of the greatest carnivals in the history of the borough was held
in aid of a number of local charities.
Everyone for the mayor (Councillor E.S. Whaley) down to the humblest citizen had
worked hard, under the direction of that wonderful organiser, Councillor F.S. Perkins,
to whom everyone accords praise for the remarkable work he did in making all the
arrangements. Everything proceeded smoothly, and there was not a hitch at any time.

Years have passed since Wokingham presented such scenes of gaiety. Everyone and
everything seemed decorated. The first to appear were collectors in a variety of fancy
dresses, who from, the early hours worked with the usual persistency of their kind and
continually extracted money from not only the people in Wokingham, but also all who
passé through..
As the day wore on the merriment increased. The more serious business of beating the
bounds having been done, the town let itself go. Streets were thronged with people
intent on extracting the maximum fun from the carnival.
Many wore fancy dress, and, disguised as Zulus, a trio of young men with
blackened bodies and only a loin cloth for clothing, held up an astonished and rather
embarrassed policeman, while a prehistoric golfer wrapped in furs and with bare legs
and spats trudged through the streets with his solitary club on his shoulder.
It was in the evening, however, when the revels reached their highest peak. After a
wonderful procession of decorated cars and fancy dresses, nearly two miles long had
passed, and darkness had fallen, the whole town was illuminated. A jolly, carefree
crowd thronged the streets, through which impromptu bands marched playing popular
airs. At Langborough a fair attracted hundreds of people, who stayed until midnight
patronising the roundabouts and other amusements. The dances and concerts were
highly popular.
Beating the Bounds
As eight o’clock struck in the old tower of the Wokingham Town Hall a bugle call
was heard. It was the signal for the day’s revels to start. Collectors from all parts
arrived and set out to find their prey. Along the main and side roads they ranged,
holding up all who passed along the way. Thus the day started in wonderful weather.
The beating of the bounds of the enlarged borough was carried out for the first time.
No one can remember when the bounds of Wokingham were beaten before, and it was
a large crowd that gathered at the Town Hall to hear the town crier announce that the
bounds were to be “well and truly” beaten, and that it should be well impressed on the
minds of the younger generation.
Birching and Bumping
A start was made at Toutley Cottages, where two boys were birched by Dr. E.
Ward. They bent over the boundary mark while the chastisement was in progress, but
an examination afterwards disclosed that they had placed cardboard under their coats.
As the strokes were administered the people shouted the words, “This-is-the-borough-
boundary.”

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