This film is part of Free

Aberystwyth County School Gymnastic Display

Exercises to stimulate the healthy development of the growing child: vaulting, somersaulting, hurdling, jumping, leap-frogging, dancing – and violin playing.

Non-Fiction 1924 6 mins Silent

From the collection of:

Logo for National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales

Overview

Rain stopped the gymnastics on Tuesday 27th May 1924 and the event was re-scheduled for Thursday 29th, which dawned dry enough, although breezy, for this open-air gymnastic display at the Vicarage Field, Llanbadarn Road, Aberystwyth. The girls dance and the boys vault over a horse, do the high jump and hurdles, leap frog and relay-race and play the violin. Both do “free gymnastics”. All would have flocked to the Palladium to see themselves on screen in this local newsreel.

Shot by Gustavus [Gus] A Cheetham, son of entrepreneurial film-maker and cinema proprietor Arthur Cheetham this film would have been shown in the Cheetham cinemas, particularly the Palladium in Market Street, Aberystwyth. It shows the laurel wreath of victory being accepted by William Gardener on behalf of the winning team comprising pupils from ‘Gwynedd', one of the four school ‘houses' (the others were ‘Ceredigion', ‘Powys' and ‘Arfon' and children can be seen with the various initial letters on their shirts). Cheetham also owned cinemas in Rhyl, Colwyn Bay and Manchester area.