Fond memories of county show held in Aswarby

Resident Sarah Mitchell is making the appeal and hoping to add to the archives for Aswarby and Swaby churches.

The Lincolnshire Show was held in Aswarby back in 1956 - at this time it was a touring show and didn’t settle on its regular base at Lincolnshire Showground until 1959.

“Newspaper articles tell of record numbers of around 42,817 people attending the show and how the traffic was so heavy that it took two hours to drive the six miles from the nearby town of Sleaford,” said Sarah.

“It was described as a lovely setting for a county event. There were record entries of animals for the different prize categories, including Lincolnshire Curly Coated pigs and Lincoln Red Shorthorn cattle. There were trade stands showing the latest trends of automation, which had the whole-hearted backing of agricultural workers as a way to minimise the human effort needed at seed-time and harvest. Long service awards were given to farmworkers. Girls were given special mention for their successes in pig judging.

“The show also hosted demonstrations of rural crafts, show jumping and displays by the military services – and there was a stand to help the war disabled.”

Last year Sarah and her husband Alex Kirwan visited the archives of the Lincolnshire Agricultural Society which allowed them to view scrapbooks of newspaper articles when the show was at Aswarby. Copies of these articles have been displayed at both Aswarby and Swarby churches.

Sarah added: “I’ve always had a photograph of my father, Vincent Mitchell, as he was a steward at the show. It has raised the issue that it would be great to collect people’s memories of when they or a member of their family attended the show back in 1956.

“If you have any tales to share, please send them to me and I’ll type them up for placing in a folder for both Aswarby and Swarby churches so visitors can read of that great event.”

l If you have any memories of photos from the event to share, email Sarah via as
[email protected]