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It was a warm summers day, either a half term or during the long summer holiday. An aunt and uncle who lived in London met us. My overriding memory is of excitement, wonder and crowds of people. All the adults seemed to be exclaiming. Now I can appreciate that this must have been the start of the return to pre war normality. (contributor Judith Colegate, aged 10 in 1951) Why not contribute your memories?

Festival-goers were invited to enjoy themselves: with the war over everyone deserved a little relaxation. Visitors were invited to unwind in a nostalgic past as well as to wonder at the future.

revisiting the Victorians

As I was only 3 I only have a vivid recollection of an artist's work R. Emett with a funny railway and models. (contributor David Severn, aged 3 in 1951) Why not contribute your memories?

If the Festival was about having a good time, a recreated Victorian era was the place in which to have it. As the Festival marked the 100th anniversary of the Great Exhibition, the Victorian period became the inspiration for many Festival events and activities. The Festival Pleasure Gardens in Battersea is the most obvious and striking example. Modelled on London's nineteenth century Pleasure Gardens, its architecture and entertainments were pure Victorian fantasy. Theatre, dance and musical hall were provided for the visitor in huge tented Pavilions. Highly ornamental pagodas and arcades housed cafes and shops. And the visitor could be amused and entertained by a huge range of attractions - Punch and Judy Shows, acrobats, Rowland Emett's eccentric steam railway and the fanciful Guinness Clock.

As well as reviving old Victorian pastimes, the period's history was featured in the Festival countrywide. For example in Rochester, the birthplace of Charles Dickens, a spectacular 'Dicken's Pageant' was enacted with author and characters parading through the town's streets.

As well as fine exhibits, I seem to remember the Guinness Clock - an Emett creation, I believe, of whirring cogs and wheels which sprang to life every quarter of an hour - well worth the wait! (contributor Michael Hunt, aged 12 in 1951) Why not contribute your memories?

gay abandon

My memories are mainly of the funfair at Battersea... interspersed with snatches of recollections - the taste of fish and chips and eating out late, the lights and the dancing, the small reproduction of the Crystal Palace especially at night when it was lit up, the water sculpture and particularly the shot tower (contributor Nicky Hessenger, aged 8 in 1951) Why not contribute your memories?

Although the organisers lost out to more conservative forces in the battle to open Battersea's funfair on Sundays, their spirit and youth could be felt throughout the Festival. Entertainments were not simply good shows, they wholeheartedly embraced pleasure seeking, they delighted in the sensual and the pure joy of experiencing new things. And in doing so they gave a glimpse of more liberal times and attitudes to come.

The South Bank Exhibition literally added a great deal more colour into visitors' lives. Pavilions, displays and signage introduced and popularised a new palette. And in cities across the country night skies were once more lit up. Battersea Park held regular firework displays, local authorities floodlit civic buildings and on the South Bank the slender, internally lit, Skylon acted as a beacon attracting people from across London. The Festival gloried in reawakening cities with light and sound, and in doing so embraced all that was exciting about urban life.

I was a member of the Red Cross in Smethwick near Birmingham and members were invited to send four members for a week's duty in the surgery... at the South Bank. I did ... the second week in June 51 ... and met my future wife who was employed at the South Bank, Margaret Carmichael, from the Isle of Lewis. We got engaged on the 12th of July. (contributor Geoff Gough, aged 22 in 1951) Why not contribute your memories?

We weren't allowed to go to the Festival Funfair at Battersea - the headmaster considered it far too decadent! (contributor Michael Hunt, aged 12 in 1951) Why not contribute your memories?