History of Bonfire Night in Littlehampton
First, let’s take a look on how Bonfire Night became a popular celebration. Its history begins with the events of the 5th of November 1605, when Guy Fawkes (a member of the Gunpowder Plot) was arrested while guarding explosives that the plotters had placed beneath the House of Lords. The Catholic plotters had intended to assassinate Protestant King James I and his parliament.
1952 & 1953
The inaugural meeting of the present Littlehampton Bonfire Society was held at the United Services Club on Thursday 11th December 1952. Those present included the founding members of the Society – Frank Hickmore, Bill Hockham, Lester Kinsly and Aurther Leggett – an meeting was chaired by Arthur Wingfield. Also present was the Littlehampton Gazette reporter Brian Shewry.
On Saturday 15th August 1953, the Society organised two torchlight processions as part of Littlehampton’s Coronation Year Carnival. The first procession started at the United Services Club and was supported by Bonfire Society’s from Lewes, Shoreham-By-Sea and East Hoathly, together with the Littlehampton Town Band, Littlehampton Sea Cadet Band and the Volunteer Band, RNAS Ford. There followed a bonfire on the Green and a fireworks display by Brock’s Crystal Palace Fireworks.
The second procession returned along South Terrace and St Catherine’s Road to the United Services Club for Auld Lang Syne and God Save the Queen. Membership of the newly formed Society was reported to have reached about 120.
The Society’s first Bonfire Celebrations were held on Saturday 14th November 1953. The celebration cost nearly £170 to stage and receipts were nearly £50 below expenditure. Nevertheless, the Society made some small donations to good causes.
1954 to 1962
The Bonfire Celebrations were televised for the first time in 1955. The first Juvenile Procession (Children’s Procession) was held in 1956, taking the route of Maltravers Road, New Road, Surry Street, High Street, Beach Road, and returning to the headquarters at the Untied Services Club.
In 1959, the Bonfire Celebrations were filmed again by the BBC and ITV for inclusion in a children’s hour programme and regional news bulletins. The crowd estimated that year was at 20,000. In contrast, in 1960 only an estimated 5,000 lined the streets. Bad weather during the day and rain led to the Juvenile Procession being cancelled. In rain, the second procession from Wickbourne House took place to the United Services Club, but fortunately the rain stopped for the Grand Torchlight Procession.
The Society gained some unexpected publicity in 1962 when it was offered one of the last Bournemouth trams to burn. The tream, which had been used as a store by local garage Newland and Davies Ltd of Norfolk Road for the previous 12 years, was to form the base of the Mammouth Bonfire.