Pictures of the Jersey Battle of Flowers 1921-1939

Jersey Battle of Flowers 1921-1959

Hidden album

The first set of pictures below are from a family album found in an attic and sent to Jerripedia in summer 2018. They show views of the Battle of Flowers when it was held at Springfield Stadium. Those for which dates are known were taken in 1932 or 1933, and we suspect that the remaining pictures were taken in those years, or soon after. Some, however, appear to date from 1938.

A very good friend of Jerripedia, who sent us several albums of photographs from that era, containing photographs of a large variety of subjects, all taken in Jersey, told us that the albums were assembled either by her grandfather or great-grandfather, both of whom, she says, were actively involved in the Battle in the years between the two World Wars, either as participants or in administrative roles.

Although some of the pictures in the albums were clearly the work of amateur photographers, others appear to have been taken by professionals, and we immediately suspected that the prolific commercial photographer Albert Smith, or one of his employees, was responsible for some of those below. This was confirmed by comparison of some images with others already on this page. Then the supplier of the pictures decided to delve further into the attic and came upon several boxes of photographs, some in excellent condition, some sadly not, together with documents which showed that her great-grandfather worked for Albert Smith for a time in the 1920s, presumably as a photographer.

We are now working our way through the albums and the other photographs and many more of them will find their way on to our pages in due course. We hope, too, that a close examination of the documents will provide further valuable information about what was undoubtedly Jersey's most important and prolific commercial photography business for many years.

Gallery of images from a family photograph album

The large picture below was printed on a plain postcard back, but we do not think it was published by Albert Smith, or any other postcard publisher. It is more likely that, as many commercial photographs of the time were, it was printed on a postcard back so that it could be sold ready for posting by the purchasers.

This view of a Battle of Flowers float at Robin Hood was printed as a postcard. It was almost certainly taken in the 1930s, at much the same time as the images below, when the Battle was held at Springfield

1920s

1924

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1928, and white is still the fashion for these young ladies, who appear less than happy to be parading in the heat of a summer's day

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  1928
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  1928
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  1928
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  1928
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  1928
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  1928
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  1928
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  1928

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  Horton and Norman float in 1923
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  1920s
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  1920s
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  1920s
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  1929
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  1929
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  1929
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  1929
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  1929
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  1929
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  1929
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  A 1930s Battle at Springfield
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  A photograph of a Springfield Battle of Flowers, probably in 1930
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  St Cyres Hotel float in 1928
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  St Cyres Hotel float in 1928
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  1920s
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  1930
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  1930
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  A section of the crowd in 1930
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  The 'battle' ends in a 'battle' in 1930

1930s

1931-1939

Ladies outfits were much less formal by the time the Battle moved to Springfield in the 1930s

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  Springfield in 1931
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  Springfield in the 1930s
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  Springfield in the 1930s
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  Springfield in the 1930s
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  Springfield in the 1930s
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  Springfield in the 1930s
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  News of the Battle travelled far and wide. This photograph of a 1932 winner was published in a New Zealand newspaper
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  1932
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  1932
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  1932
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  1932
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  1932
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  1932
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  This picture sent to us by a member of our Facebook group is said to have been taken in 1936, but the larger picture below, clearly showing the same float, is dated 1932

Bathing belles in 1932

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  A Jersey Swimming Club entry in 1932
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  1932
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  1932
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  1932
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  1932
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  1932
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  1933
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  1933
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  1933
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  1933
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  1933
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  1933
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  1933
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  Believed to be 1930s
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  1933
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  1934
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  A decorated pram
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  A hand-drawn small float
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  1936
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  1937
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  1937
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  The then traditional battle at the end of the event

A page of pictures of the 1935 Battle from the Jersey Leader

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  1937
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  1938
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  A float depicting HMS Jersey which won first prize in the 1938 Battle at Springfield
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  1938
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  Photographers at Springfield in 1939
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  Agnes Pallot, a regular exhibitor in the 1930s
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  Springfield, 1930
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  1939
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  A float heads for Springfield in the 1930s
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  A float in the 1930s
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  1936
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  1936
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  1938
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  1938
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  1938

1936-37

These are Evening Post photographs from 1936 and 1937

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1937

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1939

A selection of photographs of the 1939 Battle, the last before the Occupation

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• Jersey Battle of Flowers
• Jersey Battle of Flowers picture gallery