One of the biggest events on the social calendar was the annual show -

– sometimes referred to as the Eastington Horse Show, and at other times, the Eastington and Frocester Show.

It’s not clear precisely when this started, but it had become well established by the 1920s. All the great and the good of local society were involved in some way with the show’s organisation, regularly presided over by the-now Captain and later, Major Claude de Lisle Bush. Not only did the show cater for horse owners, it also included sections for vegetables and flowers, along with a range of entertainments, music and athletic events. As part of this, ‘Eastington Park Basset Hounds’ sponsored a section for dogs that apparently attracted entries from far and wide.

It’s hard to visualise what an important event the annual show was for the village, and the number of people that regularly attended. For instance, in its coverage of the show in August 1935, the Gloucestershire Echo estimated that attendees had amounted to at least 5000!

With Major Claude de Lisle Bush as the show’s president, the show was systematically built up so that increasingly, it also came to include both horticultural and industrial exhibitions, with many local enterprises using the occasion to showcase their skills and products.

At least some of this success can be attributed to the Major’s generous financial backing, a move that encouraged others to do likewise. The Basset hound trophy remained a regular feature of the show until the Major’s untimely death in 1941.   

A rather grainy photograph  and extract from the

Gloucester Journal of 25th August 1928.

A large number of entries were attracted by the

                             Eastington and Frocester Annual Horse and Horticultural Show and Sports.

Photographs of some of the events:-

(1) Miss M. A. Bullows on " Shanghai,"and

(2) Mr. T. Glencross on "Cigarette " (prizewinners in the open jumping class).  

(3) Mr. E. E. Hill's " Jim," taking the water jump in the Farmers' jumping class.   

(4) Dr. J. G. McLannahan and Capt. Claude de Lisle Bush.   

(5) L. Carpenter, of Bristol, on "Peggy" (winner of the Eastington and Frocester stakes).    

(6) Mr. E. Davis on " Pongo" (winner of the one-mile pony race).   

(7) Mr. V. H. Lewis (winner of the one-imile flat race, open).    

(8) Finish of ladies' walking race, won by Miss Sylvia Hulbert.    

(9) 100 yards scratch, open—T. Raighton wins in a close finish.    

(10) Mr. E. E. Hill and Mr. D. Merrett (prizewinners in the Farmers' jumping class).

(11 ) Mr. J. H. Cullimore's " Jack " taking the water jump.   

(12) Some of the spectators.

Steve Mills

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