Delve into the agricultural achievements of the past and discover innovations in farming as you explore a rural corner of the Daily Herald Archive, filled with beautiful and intriguing photographs.
The Daily Herald Archive is a treasure trove of 20th-century photojournalism, and a fascinating record of both major events and daily life in decades past.
Here, our curators have delved into the section that deals with farming: the images show all aspects of farm life and work, with lots of surprises too! Some of our favourites were taken at agricultural shows. From beautiful bulls to charming chickens—down at the agricultural show, there’s plenty to see.
© TopFoto/SMG Images
What is the Daily Herald Archive?
The Daily Herald was a British national newspaper published between 1912 and 1964. At one point, it was the top-selling newspaper in the world, with a monthly circulation of more than 2 million.
Every photograph and negative taken for the newspaper was stored in a picture library, categorised and filed for easy access should they ever be needed again. This amazing collection—comprising 3.5 million photographs, contact sheets and glass negatives—is the Daily Herald Archive, which we now care for at the National Science and Media Museum here in Bradford.
This story is based on a selection of images from the archive.
The greatest show
The agricultural show has long been a key date in the country calendar. The earliest show, staged by the Salford Agricultural Society, was recorded in 1768. Today, agricultural, horticultural and country shows are held throughout the UK, drawing spectators in their thousands.
In both the past and the present, shows have brought rural communities together, providing what can be a rare opportunity for farmers to socialise and celebrate their achievements. Shows are a chance to swap news and ideas and see the latest technical and scientific innovations. Even city-dwellers can join the fun—country shows are the perfect place to learn more about rural life and food production.
The greatest show - gallery
Lovely Lass the Jersey cow waits with Janet Percy for their chance to enter the ring at the 1962 Bath and West Show
© Mirrorpix/SMG Images
Jeff the dog and another canine friend wait with 8-year-old Lyn Davies before competing in the 1955 sheepdog trial at the Royal Welsh Show
© Mirrorpix/SMG Images
Digger the Old English Sheepdog watches cows on parade during the 1947 Sussex County Show, accompanied by two of his ‘Land Girl’ friends
© Mirrorpix/SMG ImagesArriving in style
The Daily Herald’s photographers didn’t just capture images of the goings-on at country shows—the archive also contains some surprising images showing how attendees, both human and animal, made their way there!
London public transport can be daunting, but ‘Fairy Bell’—a prizewinning Jersey cow—takes it in her stride as she boards a bus, accompanied by ‘Dairy Queen’ Joan Hatland, to promote the 1969 National Dairy Festival
© Mirrorpix/SMG Images
Jersey cow ‘Winnie Wilts’, the 1959 mascot and ‘leading lady’ of Wilts United Diaries Ltd., travelled to London from the West Country in a special ‘Dairy Show Train’, accompanied by Mary Candy. Sporting a daisy headdress, he was met at Paddington Station by the Council of The British Dairy Farmers Association, including the Dukes of Norfolk and Beaufort
Planet News, 1959 © TopFoto/SMG Images
‘Fordson Beauty’ had a less glamorous journey when he arrived at the Fordson Estate Co-Operative farm at Boreham, Essex, in 1942: the young calf travelled in the luggage box of the Livestock Manager’s car
Calcraft, Illustrated, 1942 © TopFoto/SMG Images
These pit ponies are having a well-earned break from working in the coal mines. Brought together by the National Coal Board, they travelled down to Southampton from Northumberland, Durham, Yorkshire, the Midlands and Wales for the 1952 Royal Show, where they met the Queen
F Greaves, Daily Herald, 1952 © Mirrorpix/SMG ImagesIn it to win it
Competition has always been a major feature of any agricultural show. From ‘best ploughing’ to ‘heaviest cabbage’, winning that coveted rosette means an incredible amount for the winner, as well as their friends, family and wider community.
The competitions are wide-ranging, with categories open to children and amateur enthusiasts as well as the seasoned professional. You’re sure to see homemade goods such as jam, cheese and even quilts.
In it to win it - gallery
Mr. Fred assessing lettuces at the Surrey Horticultural Show
Bishop Marshall, Daily Herald, 1951 © Mirrorpix/SMG Images
Miss M. Benyon and Arthur Emberton test the aroma while judging farmhouse cheese at the 70th Annual Dairy Show, Olympia, in October 1956
Gerry Warner, Daily Herald, 1949 © Mirrorpix/SMG Images
Major Horace Leonard Carter of Worthing won first prize in Table Decoration at the Sweet Pea Society Show at the Royal Horticultural Hall, Westminster, with this ‘unique display fanshape utilising large strainers’
Bishop Marshall, Daily Herald, 1954 © Mirrorpix/SMG ImagesHowever, it’s the prized and beloved animals that take star billing. The country show is where the best pigs, horses and cows, along with their proud owners, really get to strut their stuff.
© TopFoto/SMG Images
Finishing touches
Raising a champion sow or steer takes years of hard work and expertise. Winning ‘best in show’ can be financially rewarding, with the finest livestock fetching high prices. However, even those born to near perfection require those final flourishes...
A bull named ‘Escott Topper’ gets a final brush before entering the ring at the 1948 Tavistock Show
© Mirrorpix/SMG Images
Dr William Blount fits ‘Betty’, a white leghorn hybrid hen, with a set of rose-tinted contact lenses to help keep her calm, 1963
© PA Media
A woman gives a chicken a bubble bath at the 1954 Poultry Show at Olympia, London
© Mirrorpix/SMG Images
A happy pig gets a last-minute bath for the Tavistock Show, 1948
© Mirrorpix/SMG Images
Herdsman Jack Scott rinses his Ayrshire cow, ‘Kersland Miss Donald’, at the 67th annual Olympia Dairy Show, London, in 1953
© Mirrorpix/SMG ImagesWe are the champions!
During the lifespan of the Daily Herald, prizewinning animals would often be immortalised in photographs and news reports; the Daily Herald Archive contains plenty of examples. Some winners were pictured with their owners, while celebrities posed alongside others. Reports often concentrated on animals with a particularly remarkable achievement or unusual trait.
We are the champions - gallery
‘Miranee’s Lynette’ was named Champion Jersey cow at the Royal Welsh Show in July 1951; the Herald’s photographer described her as ‘the lady with the turned-up nose and curling eyelashes’
© Mirrorpix/SMG Images
What a team! This handsome pair, ‘Jimmy’ and ‘Jock’, won second prize in the Cart Horse Section at the 1951 Royal Counties Show, Southampton
© Mirrorpix/SMG Images
‘First Night’, pictured with his mother ‘Nightshade’, was just three weeks old when he won his first prize in 1961
© Mirrorpix/SMG Images
Shepherd Harold Rush keeps a firm hold of his Suffolk Ram, one of his six prize winners at the 1951 Royal Show, Cambridge
© Mirrorpix/SMG Images
‘Balscalloch Mainspring’ the Ayreshire bull does a circuit of the ring after winning first prize at the Great Yorkshire Show in 1951; for the safety of adoring fans, the bull’s horns were fitted with stoppers
© Mirrorpix/SMG Images
Mrs Whalley Hubbard secured her ‘first 1st’ with ‘Berkswell Sharon Lord’ at the Royal Show at Windsor, 1954
© Mirrorpix/SMG Images
Highland steer ‘Whisky of Strathallen’ was diagnosed with pneumonia at the Smithfield Show in 1963—fortunately, he not only recovered but also won first prize!
© Mirrorpix/SMG Images
These Devon steers won first prizes at the Smithfield Show in 1957. They each earned £25 for the young Prince Charles, who was just nine years old at the time
© Mirrorpix/SMG Images
This beautiful hen won first prize at the 16th National Poultry Show in 1961
© Mirrorpix/SMG Images
At the 1962 International Poultry Show, Stephanie Hill was outshone by this incredibly handsome Barbu d’Uccle, a Belgian breed of bantam chicken first produced in 1905
© TopFoto/SMG ImagesIt’s the taking part that counts
The Herald’s photographers didn’t just capture winners. The image below shows 10-year-old Ashley Paine with his much-loved pet, ‘Phantom of Prinkwash’. Unfortunately, the pair didn’t win any prizes at the 1948 Three Counties Show, Gloucester—but at just six months old, the imaginatively-named pooch would have plenty of time to try again.
© Mirrorpix/SMG Images
Science on show
As well as homemade produce and exceptional examples of livestock, country shows are also places where farmers can see and try out new scientific and technological developments designed to make agricultural processes easier.
When the Daily Herald reported on the 1963 Smithfield Show, the headline ran: ‘Science and Fluffy steal the show’. ‘Fluffy’, whose official name was ‘Everest Perthshire Queen’, was the Shorthorn heifer to win the accolade of ‘prettiest beef’. Alongside Fluffy, the latest farming innovations were on display.
The technological wonders included a tractor with a coupe hood and a machine that simultaneously picked and topped carrots. There was also a ‘mechanical sow’ to feed piglets, allowing the mother to breed again as soon as possible. These new inventions heralded a time of further mechanisation to meet changing demands on food production.
Image © Reach PLC. Image created courtesy of the British Library Board
The factory, the university and the stock exchange have taken over... Judging rings where white-coated stockmen and carefully brushed cattle kicked up the sawdust were forsaken for the wonders of the trade stands.
Daily Herald (23 December 1963)
© Mirrorpix/SMG Images
The annual Dairy Show was established by the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers (RADBF) in 1876 and was held at Olympia until 1974. Today the RADBF continues to support and promote the dairy industry through a number of events held throughout the year—including ‘Dairy-Tech’, which focuses on scientific innovations.
Beyond the country show
The images on this page are taken from the ‘Industry’ section of the Daily Herald Archive, which includes other subtopics like farming and agriculture. Country shows—huge events with many potentially newsworthy stories to be told—were naturally well-represented. However, the archive includes many other types of farming photography, representing areas including country life, animals at work and lesser-seen aspects of farming.
Herding pigs through Islington, 1937
© Science Museum Group Collection
Kim the Golden Retriever (with keepers J. Hunby and G. Smith and forester F. J. Green) looking out for Christmas tree thieves in the New Forest, 1956
© TopFoto/SMG Images
Consultant veterinary surgeon Pat Hopkins watches over a basket of day-old chicks at Sisservernes Farm, Hertfordshire, March 1952
© Mirrorpix/SMG Images
Pub scene with pig, 1951
© Mirrorpix/SMG Images
Miss Joan Muir of Surrey milks ‘Keynsham Rosedale’, watched by five-year-old Barry Gore
© Mirrorpix/SMG Images
The agricultural show must go on
Through the amazing photographs in the Daily Herald Archive we can appreciate the agricultural achievements of the past—but country shows continue to be extremely important. Bringing rural and urban communities together, they are an opportunity to learn about an industry that affects us all.
Food production, both animal- and plant-based, is a feature of our daily lives; how it is produced and where it comes from is more important today than ever. As we try to lead greener, healthier lives, the agricultural show is perhaps an event to add to all our diaries.
© TopFoto/SMG Images
Further reading
Online
- Agricultural shows in the picture, The Museum of English Rural Life
