Description:Watched by some of the 80 children who attended, Miss Wynne Porter is pictured as she cuts the large iced cake at a party for her pupils, held at the Oddfellows Hall in Stafford on Friday 24 October to celebrate their successes in the 1952 Pageant. Please contact us if you recognise anyone else in the photograph.
They were all pupils whose ages ranged from 2 to 14 years, of Miss Wynne Porter’s Academy of Dance, who gained successes including two cups in the 1952 Pageant. One of the tableaux entered in the pageant by Miss Porter was “The Rainbow Queen”; it was one of the most spectacular entries and won the first prize in the senior section of the class for the most artistic tableaux. In the junior section of the same class, Miss Porter’s entry “The Wedding of Little Bo-Peep”, also gained a first prize. Nearly 20 pupils of the academy rode on a float, “The Fleets in Port Again”, which gained second place to “The Wedding of Little Bo-Peep”. They were all youngsters who had taken part in the English Electric Company’s pantomime, “Dick Whittington”, last Christmas.
On arrival at the party, the youngsters sat down to a celebration tea, prepared by about 50 of the pupil’s mothers. Then a programme of games and dances began, which included popular favourites such as musical chairs, oranges and lemons and passing the parcel, until about 10 pm. During a break in the revelry a bouquet and a decorated jug was presented by Miss Porter to Mrs S Simms of Hopton Street, Stafford. Mrs Simms had been dressmaker to the academy since it started 3 years before. She made all the dresses of the pupils who took part in the pageant, and those who were in the English Electric pantomime. She was also making costumes for the girls taking part in the next English Electric pantomime “Aladdin”, at Christmas, in which Miss Porter would be the leading lady. Before the young people left for home, each received a gift parcel containing sweets, chocolate and fruit, bought with the pageant prize money. Music for dancing and games was played by Miss Gladys Lewis, pianist to the English Electric pantomime orchestra, Miss Valerie Southern and Miss Porter.
This photograph was published in the Staffordshire Newsletter on Saturday1 November 1952. Reproduced by kind permission of the Staffordshire Newsletter who retain copyright.