Ladywell Arena running track, near to Lewisham Hospital, is the home of Kent Athletic Club whose runners can be seen charging around it at various speeds on Tuesday and Thursday nights. These photos (from Lewisham Council's photo site) are of an event at the track back in 1950 , held to mark the 50th anniversary of the Metropolitan Borough of Lewisham (the Council was established in 1900).
 |
| 'Ladywell Fields Start Of The 80 Yards Flat, Ladies 14-16 Race At Ladywell Track Jubilee Celebrations 23 Sep 1950'. That corner of the track is still used for sprints, though it now has a high fence around the arena. According to a commenter to this post, the starter here is Fred Lane, who was Kent AC president in the 1950s. |
 |
'Ladywell Fields The Pavilion & Spectators at The Ladywell Track Jubilee Celebrations 23 Sep 1950'. The building's still there, now housing a gym as well as changing rooms (see Ladywell Arena for more details)
|
 |
| The 16-18 men's mile race |
 |
| 'The mayor Alderman. S W Moys JP presenting prizes to a member of the Kent AC' |
Lewisham Council Minutes 28 June 1950 report plans for the Jubilee Celebrations, which included the sports meeting at Ladywell Recreation Ground organised by the Borough of Lewisham Sports Association, and a swimming gala at Downham Baths:
(post updated with additional information March 2018)
See previous posts on Kent AC and its history:
Previously in Friday photo series:
Anita Neil - Britain's first female Black Olympian?
With reference to your photo of Lady running track c 1950 the starter in the ladies 80 yard race is Fred Lane, the Kent A.C. starter for many years The Kent A.C. jubilee (founded 1998) the golden jubilee was 1948. to celebrate this, the club held a jubilee match for many years, as was the custom at the time. This was a Jubilee match to celebrate the golden Jubilee, so you can only date this photo as after 1948 Robert Sear Kent A.C
ReplyDeleteHi Robert, just updated this after further research. Thanks for the info on Fred Lane. Having looked in the archives it is clear that this particular event was not for Kent AC's jubilee, but for the jubilee (50th anniversary) of Lewisham Council.
ReplyDelete