It's A Knockout 1968
British Domestic Series

Presenters:
Katie Boyle (Heats 1,2,5 and Additional)
Maggie Clews (Heats 3 and 4 only)
David Vine

Referee:
Eddie Waring

Scoregirls:
Rita Morris
Pat Taylor

Production Credits:

Producer: Barney Colehan; Director: Philip S. Gilbert

A BBC Manchester Production

Key: ● = Qualified for International Series / ● = Heat Winner  ▲ = Promoted to Position / ▼ = Demoted to Position

GB

It's A Knockout 1968

Heat 1

Event Staged: Sunday 12th May 1968
Venue: Pittville Gardens, Cheltenham Spa, Gloucestershire, England

Transmission:
BBC1 (GB): Sunday 12th May 1968, 4.40-5.25pm (Live)

Weather Conditions: Sunny with Rain Showers

Teams: Cheltenham Spa v. Worthing

Team Members included:
Cheltenham Spa - Alderman Aimbury Dodwell (Team Manager / Team Captain), Bill Spragg (Team Coach), Susan Amos, Susan Arkell, Pam Bocquet, Lynn Davies, Jackie Grace, Robert Herbert, Paul Millman, Catherine Phillips, Ian Rodger, Sue Rogers, Michael Sutton, Ron Tapsell, John Taylor, John Truss, Peter Wootton;
Worthing - Michael Coates, John Monger and John Press.

Games (Official Titles): Fireball, Swinging Words, Daisy Daisy, Wall Game, Self Service, Flower-Pot Tennis;
Marathon: Checkmate.

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

1st
2nd

 W • Worthing ● ●
 C • Cheltenham Spa

10
8

Worthing qualified for Jeux Sans Frontières at Épinal, France,
scheduled to be staged on Wednesday 19th June 1968.

By the time of this It's A Knockout heat, student riots in Paris had already caused the French international heat to be relocated from its original venue in Paris to Épinal, some 374km (232 miles) south-east of the capital. With the rioting continuing and gradually spreading across France, the heat was subsequently cancelled.

Worthing ultimately participated in Schwäbisch-Hall, West Germany:
staged on Wednesday 4th September 1968.

The Host Town

Cheltenham Spa, Gloucestershire

Cheltenham Spa (more commonly known as Cheltenham) is a large spa town with a population of around 115,000 inhabitants in the county of Gloucestershire. It is located on the edge of the the Cotswold Hills, 41 miles (66km) south of Birmingham, 56 miles (90km) north-east of Cardiff, 71 miles (114km) west of Luton and 74 miles (119km) north-west of Southampton. The town is famous for its Regency architecture and is said to be ‘the most complete Regency town in England’. Many of the buildings are listed, including the Cheltenham Synagogue, judged to be one of the best architecturally non-Anglican ecclesiastical buildings in Britain.

Cheltenham stands on the small River Chelt, which rises at nearby Dowdeswell and runs through the town on its way to the Severn. It was first recorded in 803 AD, as ‘Celtan hom’ which is believed to derive from a pre-British noun 'cilta' (steep hill), referring to the Cotswold scarp, and hom (settlement or water-meadow). As a royal manor, it features in the earliest pages of the Gloucestershire section of Domesday Book where it is named Chintenha. The town was awarded a market charter in 1226.

Though little remains of its pre-spa history, Cheltenham has been a health and holiday spa town resort since the discovery of mineral springs there in 1716. Captain Henry Skillicorne (1678-1763) is credited with being the first entrepreneur to recognise the opportunity to exploit the mineral springs. The retired master mariner became co-owner of the property containing Cheltenham's first mineral spring upon his marriage to Elizabeth Mason in 1732. Her father, William Mason, had done little in his lifetime to promote the healing properties of the water apart from limited advertising and building a small enclosure over the spring. Skillicorne's wide travels as a merchant had prepared him to see the potential lying dormant on this inherited property. After moving to Cheltenham in 1738, he immediately began improvements intended to attract visitors to his spa. He built a pump to regulate the flow of water and erected an elaborate well-house complete with a ballroom and upstairs billiard room to entertain customers.

The beginnings of Cheltenham's famous tree-lined promenades and gardens surrounding its spas were first designed by Captain Skillicorne with the help of ‘wealthy and travelled’ friends who understood the value of relaxing avenues. The beautiful walks and gardens were naturally adorned with sweeping vistas of the countryside. Soon the gentry and nobility from across the county were enticed to come and investigate the beneficial waters of Cheltenham's market town spa. The visit of King George III (1738-1820) with Queen Charlotte (1761-1818) in 1788 set a stamp of fashion on the spa. The spa waters can still be sampled at the Pittville Pump Room (see ‘The Venue’ section below). Cheltenham's success as a spa town is reflected in the railway station, which is still called Cheltenham Spa, and spa facilities in other towns that were inspired by or named after it.

Author Lewis Carroll (1832-1898) and Alice Liddell (1852-1934), the inspiration for his Alice in Wonderland stories, were regular visitors to a house in Cudnall Street, Charlton Kings - a suburb of Cheltenham. This house was owned by Alice Liddell's grandparents, and still contains the mirror, or looking glass, that was purportedly the inspiration for Carroll's novel Through the Looking-Glass, published in 1871.

The town is home to the flagship of British steeplechase (National Hunt) horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival which has been staged each year in March since 1902. Although racing began in Cheltenham in 1815, it became a major national attraction after the establishment of the Festival. Whilst the volume of tourists visiting the spa has declined, the racecourse attracts tens of thousands of visitors to each day of the festival each year, with such large numbers of visitors having a significant impact on the town. Also in the town is the head office of the British Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). It is affectionately known locally as 'The Doughnut', due to its appearance when viewed from above.

As with many other large towns in Great Britain, Cheltenham has played host to and featured in a number of film and TV series and in particular those featured on the BBC. The situation comedy series Butterflies (1978-1983) starring Wendy Craig and Geoffrey Palmer was predominantly filmed in Cheltenham at Hatherley Park, Montpellier and a house in Bournside Road. The House of Eliott (1991-1994) which starred Stella Gonet and Louise Lombard was partly filmed in Cheltenham as was its 1998 serialised adaptation of Vanity Fair written by William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863) in 1848.

The Visiting Town

Worthing is a town and seaside resort with a population of around 110,000 inhabitants in the county of West Sussex and is located on the English Channel coast, 105 miles (169km) south-west of Cheltenham Spa.

The Venue

Pittville Gardens

The games were played in Pittville Gardens, located in the small suburb of Pittville in the north-east corner of the town. Joseph Pitt (1759-1842), the developer of Pittville, wanted to create a 100-acre (0.40km²) estate, with its own Pump Room, with imposing houses for the rich and famous who came to live in Cheltenham. The estate would also include beautiful landscaped gardens and various walks and rides. He envisaged Pittville as a new spa town, one which would rival Cheltenham. Development began in 1824 with the first stone being laid by Pitt on 4th May 1825.

Pitt employed local architect John Forbes, who not only designed the basic layout of the estate but was also the creator of the magnificent Pump Room situated at the northern end of the park, which opened on 20th July 1830, at a cost of over £40,000. Pittville's spa water was recommended for treating skin complaints and patients would take the waters then promenade around the pleasure gardens.

The Gardens were formally opened to the public four years after Cheltenham Borough Council had bought the Pittville Estate on 25th April 1894. In 1924, the Gardens were renamed Pittville Park, although locals refuse to recognise this and today still refer to them as Pittville Gardens. The park now provides 33 hectares of parkland, including an ornamental lake with elegant bridges dating from 1827 and a boating lake, formerly known as Capper's Fish Pond. It was named after Robert Capper (1768-1851), owner of Marle Hill House, the grounds of which now constitute the western part of the Pittville Park.

The lakes were created by damming a stream known as Wyman's Brook. Like most of Cheltenham's historic parks and gardens, Pittville Park was originally enclosed by railings and was private to the residents and subscribers to the spa. A refreshment kiosk, dating from 1903, with unusual terracotta dragons on its roof, is open in the summer months in the Long Garden, a stretch of parkland to the south of Pittville Park facing Pittville Lawn. On its place originally stood a small spa called Essex Lodge, erected in the 1820s.

The Games in Detail

Game 1 - Fireball

The first game - ‘Fireball’ - featured five competitors from each team (one male and four female). It involved the male competitor using a stirrup pump and the four female team mates holding together sections of hosepipe with their hands. The female holding the nozzle had to play the jet of water on a beach ball which had to be manoeuvred through a maze. The team completing the course in the fastest time after any penalties had been applied would be declared the winner.

Marathon, Round 1  - Checkmate

The next game - ‘Checkmate’ - was the Marathon which was played in unison on five occasions throughout the programme.

The game involved a very large chessboard which measured 20ft² (6.1m) which had to be covered with squares of wallpaper. The wallpaper and paste had to be collected from a spinning turntable some distance from the chessboard. The team covering the greater number of squares over the course of the five rounds would be declared the winner.

The competitor on this game for Cheltenham Spa was Lynn Davies.

Game 2 - Swinging Words

The second game - ‘Swinging Words’ - featured two male competitors from each team. The first male was sat on a swing and had to be pushed by the second, the idea of the game being to swing out and up towards a rack containing a series of individual letters, and these had to be collected, one at a time, and then carried across to another rack where they had to be put in the right order so as to spell out the word 'CONSTABLE'. The team completing the game correctly in the fastest time would be declared the winner.

The competitors on this game for Cheltenham Spa were Ron Tapsell (pushing) and Peter Wootton (on the swing) and they finished the game victorious.

Comments: This game was noted in the Cheltenham local press as being "the most dangerous game in the series".

Marathon, Round 2  - Checkmate

The second round of the Marathon saw both teams trying to improve on their scores or adding to their totals achieved in the previous round.

Game 3 - Daisy Daisy

The third game - ‘Daisy Daisy’ - featured two competitors from each team, one male and one female, who had to each ride a bicycle. The two bicycles from each team were joined together by two metal bars of 4 ft (1.2m) length, one at the front and one at the rear. Although the bicycles were level with each other, this made their operation awkward. The cyclists had to match each other's pace as they negotiated an obstacle course. The team completing the course in the fastest time after any penalties had been applied would be declared the winner.

Marathon, Round 3  - Checkmate

The third round of the Marathon saw both teams continuing to try and improve on their scores or adding to their totals achieved over the previous two rounds.

Game 4 - Wall Game

The fourth game - ‘Wall Game’ - featured two male competitors from each team, positioned either side of and tethered by elastic cords to a 12ft (3.6m) high wall. The first team member had to collect bags of flour from a pickup point and then throw them over the wall, where the second team member had to catch them without dropping them and then carry them to a table. This, however, was not straightforward as both the pickup point and table were positioned at a distance from the wall that made the competitors struggle against their tethers to reach it. The team collecting the greater number of flour bags within limit time would be declared the winner.

Marathon, Round 4  - Checkmate

The fourth and penultimate round of the Marathon saw both teams continuing to try and improve on their scores or adding to their totals achieved over the previous three rounds.

Game 5 - Self Service

The fifth and penultimate game - ‘Self Service’ - featured one male competitor from each team and involved each of them being tethered by an elastic cord and having to reach a revolving turntable on which were placed plates of food. The team collecting the greater number of plates of food within limit time would be declared the winner.

Marathon, Round 5 - Checkmate

The fifth and final round of the Marathon saw both teams making one last effort to improve on their scores or adding to their totals achieved over the previous four rounds.

Game 6 - Flower-Pot Tennis

The sixth and final game - ‘Flower-Pot Tennis’ - featured two competitors from each team, one male and one female, who were each equipped with a Jokari paddleball bat, with which they had to hit a ball on an elasticated line. They had to direct the ball towards a number of vases on shelves. In front of them were a series of shelves on which stood a number of vases of different colours. The idea of the game was for the competitors to knock off vases only of a specific colour. The team that hit the greater number of vases of their nominated colour would be declared the winner.

The competitors on this game for Cheltenham Spa were Pam Bocquet and Paul Millman.

Past and Future Competitors

Cheltenham Spa team member Ian Rodger returned to participate in the programme again in 1971 as a member of the Tewkesbury team, and also in 1973 as a member of the Ely team - the most successful British team in the programme's history.

Looks Familiar?

Two of the games at this heat - ‘Fireball’ and ‘Swinging Words’ - would be utilised again at the British International Heat of Jeux Sans Frontières staged at Harrogate later in the year, with the first being re-titled ‘Water on the Brain’.

Additional Information

This heat was affected by mixed weather conditions which made the competition difficult. Directly prior to transmission, the arena was hit with a violent hailstorm.

The venue for this heat had been used for the final heat of It’s A Knockout 1967 when Cheltenham Spa had participated and won the heat. But it was not second time lucky for the team, losing out to Worthing in the domestic series this year. However, the team was involved in the ‘highest scoring loser’ match later in the series, at which they were victorious. Ironically, the Worthing team had also participated in 1967 and was successful on that occasion, too.

Made in B/W • This programme exists in the BBC Archives as a film recording

GB

It's A Knockout 1968

Heat 2

Event Staged: Sunday 19th May 1968
Venue: Open Air Swimming Pool, New Brighton, Cheshire, England

Transmission:
BBC1 (GB): Sunday 19th May 1968, 4.40-5.25pm (Live)

Weather Conditions: Warm and Sunny

Teams: Blackpool v. New Brighton

Team Members included:
New Brighton - Ernest Warrington (Team Manager), Carl Gee (Team Coach), Margaret Ashcroft, Joan Bate, Edward Budworth, Paul Clarke, Judith Clarkson, Brian Cole, Anne Connor, Pamela Davies, Robert Davies, Susan Elliott, Wendy Elliott, Paul Gee, Stewart Hansen, Allan Healey, Catherine Henry, Ian Hughes, Eric Jones, Dennis Langton, Tony Noble, Joe Pringle, Peta Ranson, Ian Smith, Alan Williams.

Games included: The Triplets.

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

1st
2nd

 NB • New Brighton ● ●
 B • Blackpool

11
5

New Brighton qualified for Jeux Sans Frontières at Zofingen, Switzerland:
staged on Wednesday 3rd July 1968

The Host Town

New Brighton, Cheshire

New Brighton is a seaside resort with a population of around 15,000 inhabitants in the county of Merseyside. It is located at the northern tip of the Wirral peninsula, 3 miles (5km) west of Liverpool, 26 miles (42km) south of Blackpool, 27 miles (44km) north of Wrexham and 33 miles (53km) east of Llandudno. It is home to the UK's longest promenade at slightly over 2 miles (3.2 km).

Up to the 19th century, the area had a reputation for smuggling and wrecking, and secret underground cellars and tunnels are still rumoured to exist. It also had a strategic position at the entrance to the Mersey estuary. The Perch Rock battery was completed in 1829. It mounted 18 guns, mostly 32 pounder (denoting a gun which fired a projectile of approximately that weight), with three 6-inch guns installed in 1899. Originally cut off at high tide, coastal reclamation has since made it fully accessible.

In 1832, a Liverpool merchant, James Atherton (1770-1838), purchased much of the land (170 acres) at Rock Point, which enjoyed views out to sea and across the Mersey and had a good beach. His aim was to develop it as a desirable residential and watering place for the gentry, in a similar way to Brighton, one of the most elegant seaside resorts of that Regency period from which it took its name. Substantial development began soon afterwards, and housing began to spread up the hillside overlooking the estuary.

During the latter half of the 19th century, New Brighton developed as a very popular seaside resort serving Liverpool and the Lancashire industrial towns, with many of the large houses being converted to inexpensive hotels. A pier owned by The New Brighton Pier Company was opened in the 1860s (eventually bought by the local council in 1928), which ran adjacent and parallel to the public ferry pier which took passengers across the Mersey by steam paddle boats. The promenade from Seacombe to New Brighton was built in the 1890s and served as a recreational amenity in its own right and to link up the developments along the estuary. It was later extended westwards towards Leasowe.

In July 1896, a new group, the New Brighton Tower and Recreation Company, with a share capital of £300,000, purchased the estate of the demolished Rock Point House. Their ambition was to create an observation tower in the grounds, designed to rival the Blackpool Tower, while using the remaining grounds to create a more ‘elegant’ atmosphere. The company had more than 20 acres (80,937m²) of land available to construct the tower, which enabled them to include more attractions than at Blackpool Tower. Designed by James Maxwell and Charles Tuke, construction of the 1000-ton (1,016,047kg) low-carbon steel lattice observation tower began in 1898, and was finally completed in 1900, six years after Blackpool’s tower.

In The tower stood 567ft (172.82m) high, compared to its 518ft 9ins (158.11m) neighbour, and had four elevators, each capable of reaching the top in 90 seconds, and it was the tallest building in Britain when it opened. The tower was set in large grounds, which included a boating lake, a funfair, gardens and a sports stadium. A single entrance fee of 1/- (5p) or a season ticket for 10s 6d (52½p) was charged for entrance into the grounds of the tower, which included the gardens, the athletic grounds, the ballroom and the theatre. An additional charge of 6d (2½p) was levied on those who wished to go to the top of the tower. However, the tower was sadly neglected during the First World War (1914-1918) and required renovation which the owners could not afford. Dismantling of the tower began in 1919 and was completed in 1921, with all the metal being sold for scrap. The building at its base, housing the Tower Ballroom, continued in use until damaged by a fire in 1969. British rock group, The Beatles, played at the Tower Ballroom 27 times, more than at any other venue in the United Kingdom except the Cavern Club in nearby Liverpool.

The owners decided that there was a need to provide winter entertainment, and had also built a stadium - the Tower Athletics Ground - with a capacity of 80,000, adjacent to the tower. This was opened in 1896 and comprised a football pitch, an athletics track and a motorcycle speedway track. They also formed a new football team, New Brighton Tower F.C., and applied for membership of the Lancashire League. The team joined at the start of the 1897-98 season and promptly won the league. The club then applied for election to the Football League. Although they were initially rejected, the league later decided to expand Division Two by four clubs and New Brighton Tower were accepted. They carried on playing until 1901 but were very poorly supported, often averaging gates of just 1,000, and after just four seasons, the company disbanded the team as it was no longer considered financially viable. In 1923, New Brighton A.F.C. was formed using the Tower Athletics Grounds stadium and played in league football until 1951.

At the time of transmission, New Brighton was a standalone town but today it forms part of the town of Wallasey. It was also in the county of Cheshire. However, following the complete redistribution of county boundaries under the Local Government Act 1972 (which took effect on 1st April 1974), it became part of the newly-formed county of Merseyside.

The Visiting Town

Blackpool is a town and seaside resort with a population of around 144,000 inhabitants in the county of Lancashire and is located on the Irish Sea coast, 26 miles (42km) north of New Brighton.

The Venue

Open Air Swimming Pool

The games were played at the New Brighton Bathing Pool which at the time was the largest aquatic stadium in the world. It was opened on 13th June 1934 by Lord Leverhulme (1888-1945) with over 12,000 people attended the opening ceremony. The pool, which cost £103,240 to construct, was built on sand, covering an area of approximately 4.5 acres and was constructed of mass concrete, with the floor being reinforced with steel mesh. It was covered with a rendering of white Portland cement with a skirting of black tiles.

The pool was designed to gain as much sunshine as possible, and was therefore built facing south which also allowed it to be sheltered from the north winds. The exterior walls were coated with Snowcrete, with special fine sand from Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire. Lights which lit up under water were at the deep end for night bathing. It was also designed to allow for Championship swimming events, with the southern end (the deep end) being 165ft by 60ft (50.3m x 18.28m). The central part was for general swimming and was 330ft by 60ft (100.58m x 18.28m) and the northern end (the shallow end) was 330ft by 105ft (100.58m x 32m). The pool could hold 4,000 bathers and up to 20,000 spectators. The depth was of an average of 5ft, but at the diving end it was 15ft. With a maximum capacity of 1,376,000 gallons (6,255,422 litres) of pure sea water, the pool could be filled or emptied in just eight hours. Utilising the ornament cascade to fill the pool, the water was constantly changed and purified, filtered and chemically treated, at a rate of 172,000 gallons (728,927 litres) per hour. The plant included chemical tanks, aerator, ammoniator, chlorinator, air compressor, and electric motors for the pumps, etc. A regular supply of water was obtained from the adjoining Marine Lake, which acted as a huge storage and settlement tank.

The admission fees were 6d (2½p) for adults in the week and 1/- (5p) on Sundays and Bank Holidays, with children paying 4d and 6d (2p and 2½p), respectively. Non-bathers were also welcomed and were charged just 2d (1p). At the end of the opening week, over 100,000 people had paid to go in and on the Saturday, a record was set when some 35,000 people went through the turnstiles. During the first four weeks, 350,000 people had attended, of whom only 87,400 were bathers. The Miss New Brighton Bathing Girl Contest started in the pool’s surrounds in 1949, but the first heat attracted only nine entrants. The following year this had increased to 23 entrants. In front of a 15,000 audience, the first contest was won by Miss Edna McFarlane and, as the rain teamed down, she collected her cup and a cheque for £75 (worth an estimated £1,853 today).

However, on the night of the 27th February 1990, and after 55 years of loyal service, the pool’s fate was sealed when storms in the Irish Sea battered the North Wales and England’s north-east coastline. With hurricane force winds of almost 100mph (161kph) severe damage was sustained to the pool, when the wild seas forced a hole into the foundations of the north-west corner of the complex causing the upper structure to cave in. With a costing of about £4 million (£6.25 million today) to repair the damage, it was decided by the authorities to demolish the building, and in the summer of 1990, the Merseyside Development Corporation bulldozers moved in and levelled the site.

Today the site is just a barren wasteland and aerial views of the area clearly show its unique shape, located to the west of the Marine Lake and surrounded by King’s Parade.

Additional Information

During the game - ‘The Triplets’ - BBC stagehands were seen crouched down in front of the game with a double-size mattress. As the competitors moved along the game, it was to be used should any of them have been unfortunate and fallen from the equipment.

Local newspaper The Wallasey News reported that "the occasion was marred by the unsporting attitude of the crowd, mainly New Brighton supporters, who booed almost throughout the 45-minute programme, even when the mayors of New Brighton and Blackpool were introduced. Exuberant team members and fans gave both sets of cheer leaders, mainly young girls in neat, colourful costumes, a ducking in the pool. Huge coloured balls were also burst by hooligans." New Brighton team member Ian Hughes finds this report of booing and hooliganism strange: "It... is hard to comprehend and I definitely didn't witness anything of that nature."

Made in B/W • This programme exists in the BBC Archives as a film recording

GB

It's A Knockout 1968

Heat 3

Event Staged: Sunday 26th May 1968
Venue: The Hoe, Plymouth, Devon, England

Transmission:
BBC1 (GB): Sunday 26th May 1968, 4.40-5.25pm (Live)

Weather Conditions: Raining and Overcast

Teams: Plymouth v. Torbay

Team Members included:
Plymouth - Lesley Copp, Frederick Gill.

Games included: Beach Ball Handicap, Motorcycle Barrels and Bin Basketball.

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

1st
2nd

 P • Plymouth ● ●
 T • Torbay

10
8

Plymouth qualified for Jeux Sans Frontières at Verviers, Belgium:
staged on Wednesday 17th July 1968

The Host Town

Plymouth, Devon

Plymouth is a city of around 250,000 inhabitants, located on the south coast of the county of Devon, about 190 miles (310km) south-west of London. It lies between the mouths of two rivers, the Plym (to the east) and the Tamar (to the west), where they both join the Plymouth Sound.

During the 16th century locally produced wool was the major export commodity. Plymouth was the home port for successful maritime traders, among them was shipbuilder, merchant and naval commander, Sir John Hawkins (1532-1595), who led England's first foray into the Atlantic slave trade, as well as Sir Francis Drake (c.1540-1596). In 1620, the Pilgrim Fathers set sail for the New World from Plymouth in The Mayflower, establishing Plymouth Colony - the second English colony in what is now the United States of America.

Throughout the 17th century, Plymouth had gradually lost its pre-eminence as a trading port and by the middle of the century, commodities manufactured elsewhere in England cost too much to transport to Plymouth and the city had no means of processing sugar or tobacco imports. In nearby Stoke Damerel (which became the town of Devonport) the first dockyard, HMNB Devonport, opened on the banks of the River Tamar in 1690. Further docks were built in 1727, 1762 and 1793. In the 18th century new houses were built near the dock, called Plymouth Dock at the time, and a new town grew up. In 1712, there were 318 men employed there and by 1733 it had grown to a population of 3,000 people.

Prior to the latter half of the 18th century grain, timber and then coal were Plymouth's main imports. During this time the real source of wealth was from the neighbouring town of Devonport - with the dockyard being the major employer in the entire region. Throughout the Industrial Revolution (1760-c.1840), Plymouth grew as a commercial shipping port handling imports and passengers from the Americas, whilst the neighbouring town of Devonport grew as an important Royal Navy shipbuilding and dockyard.

The Three Towns conurbation of Devonport, Plymouth and Stonehouse enjoyed some prosperity during the late 18th and early 19th century and were enriched by a series of urban developments designed by London architect, John Foulston (1772-1841). In 1914, the boroughs of Devonport and Plymouth and the urban district of East Stonehouse were merged to create a single county borough. The new town took the name of Plymouth, which in 1928 achieved city status.

During World War II, the dockyard and city were targeted by German warfare and partially demolished, an act which became known as the Plymouth Blitz. After the war, the city centre was completely rebuilt following Sir Patrick Abercrombie’s Plan for Plymouth was published in April 1944. In it, town planner and architect, Leslie Patrick Abercrombie (1879-1957), called for the demolition of the few remaining pre-War buildings in the city centre and replacing them with wide, modern boulevards aligned from east to west. These would linked by a north to south avenue (known today as Armada Way) connecting the railway station and Plymouth Hoe. Prefabs, specialist dwellings manufactured off-site in advance, had started to be built by 1946, and over 1,000 permanent council houses were built each year from 1951-57. By 1964, over 20,000 new homes had been built, more than 13,500 of them permanent council homes and 853 built by the Admiralty.

A regular international ferry service is provided by Brittany Ferries which operates from Millbay taking cars and foot passengers directly to Roscoff in France and Santander in Spain. There is also a passenger ferry between Stonehouse and the Cornish hamlet of Cremyll, which is believed to have operated continuously since 1204. As an alternative to using the Tamar Bridge to cross the river, a pedestrian ferry operates between the Mayflower Steps and Mount Batten.

The Visiting Town

Torbay is a borough, comprising the seaside resorts of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham, with a population of around 135,000 inhabitants in the county of Devon and is located on the English Channel coast, 26 miles (42km) east of Plymouth.

The Venue

The Hoe

The games were played on Plymouth Hoe, a sloping ridge shaped like an inverted foot and heel. Taking its name from the Anglo-Saxon word Hoe, it is the natural heart of Plymouth with breathtaking views across Plymouth Sound, one of the most perfect natural harbours in the world.

The Hoe is perhaps best known for the probably apocryphal story that Sir Francis Drake (1540-1596) played his famous game of bowls there in 1588, whilst waiting for the tide to change before sailing out with the English fleet to engage combat with the Spanish Armada. From 1880, there was a popular bandstand on the Hoe. It was removed for scrap metal during the Second World War (1939-1945) and never rebuilt. However, a three-tier belvedere built in 1891 survives. This was built on the site of a camera obscura, probably built in the 1830s, which showed views of the harbour. Below this site was the Bull Ring (now a memorial garden), and a grand pleasure pier, started in 1880, which provided a dance hall, refreshment, promenading and a landing place for boat trips. The pier was destroyed by bombing during World War II.

The most prominent landmark on the Hoe is Smeaton’s Tower. This is the upper portion of John Smeaton’s 59ft (18m) high Eddystone Lighthouse, which was originally built in 1759, on the Eddystone Rocks, 14 miles (22.5km) south of the city in the English Channel. It was dismantled in 1877 and moved, stone by stone, to the Hoe where it was re-erected by the people of Plymouth, in memory of John Smeaton (1724-1792), and for the number of lives that the lighthouse had saved in its 118-year history.

Presenters, Officials and Production Team

Due to illness, regular presenter Katie Boyle was unable to attend this heat or the subsequent event held at Wimbledon. Her role in both programmes was covered by television personality Maggie Clews, who had appeared as a panellist on the popular Juke Box Jury and also presented Scene South East, a regional news programme made by Southern Television. She had embarked upon her career as a journalist on the Northampton Chronicle and Echo before relocating to London where she found work as a fashion and photographic model. This led to acting work, which included roles in feature films such as The Captain's Table and The Naked Touch, as well as a 1958 turn in the television situation comedy Life with the Lyons as Richard Lyon’s girlfriend. Her career has moved into voice work, beginning in radio, on which she was to be the last female presenter of Two Way Family Favourites, a BBC World Service radio programme with a global listenership. Maggie has lived in Great Britain, the United States of America and Argentina, and today she is a much sought after voice artiste, with many audio books, commercials and corporate voiceovers to her name.

Looks Familiar?

A game similar to ‘Bin Basketball’, but with competitors wearing long wooden shoes, featured in the West German Domestic series Spiel Ohne Grenzen during the 1967 series. The game on that occasion was entitled ‘The Keep Nets’ (Die Setzkecher) and was played when the programme visited Villingen in Heat 3.

Made in B/W • This programme exists in the BBC Archives as a film recording

GB

It's A Knockout 1968

Heat 4

Event Staged: Sunday 2nd June 1968
Venue: Wimbledon Park, Wimbledon, Greater London, England

Transmission:
BBC1 (GB): Sunday 2nd June 1968, 4.40-5.25pm (Live)

Teams: Merton v. Richmond-upon-Thames

Team Members included:
Merton - Tom Baptie (Team Manager), Peter Allan, Jean Bleakley, Gary Collins, Peter Dunckley, Robert Dunckley, Terence Dunseath, Clive Goldsmith, John Hayward, Janet Hillyer, Gillian Hornby, Robin Howard, Carol Jordan, David Malkin, Daniel O’Connor, Rodney Perry, Susan Poulter, Kenneth Roberts, Anita Roll, David Roll, Susan Roll, Tony Roll, Susan Taylor, Roberta Trotman, David Watts and Kathie Williams.

Games: Trampoline Netball, Seesaw Rowing, Crocodile Jaws, Rubber Dinghy Bounce, Three Men in the Boat and Celtic Chivalry;
Marathon: Carpet Rolling Relay.

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

1st
2nd

 M • Merton ● ●
 R • Richmond-upon-Thames

9
6

Merton qualified for Jeux Sans Frontières at Vigevano, Italy:
staged on Wednesday 31st July 1968

The Host Town

Wimbledon, Greater London

Wimbledon is district of south-west London with a population of around 57,000 inhabitants in the borough of Merton. Locked between the Boroughs of Wandsworth to the north, Kingston-upon-Thames to the west, Lambeth and Croydon to the east and Sutton to the south, the area is most notably known worldwide for the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, which have been staged at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club since 1877. The residential area is split into two distinct sections known as the ‘village’ and the ‘town’, with the High Street being part of the original medieval village, and the ‘town’ being part of the modern development since the building of the railway in 1838.

The area has been inhabited since the Iron Age, and is mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1087 when the area was part of the manor of Mortlake and owned by wealthy families. The village developed with a stable rural population co-existing alongside nobility and wealthy merchants from the city. In the 18th century, The Dog and Fox public house became a stop on the stagecoach run from London to Portsmouth. The stagecoach horses would be stabled at the rear of the pub in the now named 'Wimbledon Village Stables’. In 1838, the London and South Western Railway (L&SWR) opened a station to the south-east of the village at the bottom of Wimbledon Hill and its location shifted the focus of the town's subsequent growth away from the original village centre.

The Electric trams in London operated in London between 1860 and 1952, after which they were abolished completely. Shortages of steel and electrical machinery and the unviable cost of running the services were cited as the main reasons for their demise and this was coupled with the tram system being considered inflexible and out-dated. Around 1935, the phasing-out began in earnest with their replacement by diesel powered buses and trolleybuses, after a large proportion of the carriages and tracks were nearing the end of their useful life. The last electric trams received a rousing reception when they ‘ran in’ on the morning of Sunday 6th July 1952 at New Cross Depot. In 1990, Croydon Council with London Regional Transport put a project to Parliament to re-introduce trams to London. This was passed as The Croydon Tramlink Act, 1994 and on Monday 2nd June 1997, the West Croydon to Wimbledon Line was closed for conversion to operation as part of the new Tramlink tram operations. Part of platform 10 was utilised for the single track terminus of Route 3 and rail tracks and infrastructure were replaced with those for the tram system. The new service opened on Tuesday 30th May 2000.

Wimbledon Station was also the haunt of a 'Railway Collection Dog'. Airedale Terrier ‘Laddie’ was born in September 1948 and started work on Wimbledon Station in 1949, collecting donations on behalf of the Southern Railwaymen's Homes at Woking, via a box strapped to his back. He retired in 1956 having collected over £5,000 and spent the rest of his days with the residents at the Home. On his death in 1960, he was stuffed and returned to Wimbledon Station. He continued to collect for the Homes, in a glass case situated on Platform 5, until 1990 when he retired once more and became part of the National Railway collection.

The Visiting Town

Richmond-upon-Thames is a town and borough with a population of around 200,000 inhabitants in the county of Greater London. It is located 6 miles (9km) to the north and east of Merton, locked between the borough of Wandsworth to the east, Hounslow to the west, and Kingston-upon-Thames to the south. It also has a border with the county of Surrey to the south-east and the River Thames creates a natural boundary between the Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in the north-west.

The Venue

Wimbledon Park

The games were played in Wimbledon Park, the second largest public open-space in the London Borough of Merton, measuring 67 acres (0.27km²) in total area. However, although the park is listed as being in Merton, its northern section is actually located in the London Borough of Wandsworth! The park is located immediately to the east of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, home to the Wimbledon Championships each June, and its lake is one of the largest in south London. Wimbledon Park is often confused with the much larger and better known Wimbledon Common, further to the west up the hill.

The original park comprised the grounds of Wimbledon Park House, the seat manor of Wimbledon, situated on the hill to the south, near to St. Mary’s Church, the old parish church of Wimbledon. A series of owners enlarged the park northwards and eastwards. By the 19th century it was at its largest extent, and one of the homes of the Earls Spencer. The park was landscaped in the 18th century by Capability Brown when the lake was formed by constructing a dam across a brook that flows from the springline near Wimbledon Common down to the River Wandle in Earlsfield.

The modern park was purchased by the Borough of Wimbledon (to be incorporated into the larger borough of Merton in 1965) just before World War I (1914-1918) and is, with its ornamental lake, the grounds of the Wimbledon Club and Wimbledon Golf Course, the only remnant of the former, larger park. Late in the 20th century, the London Borough of Merton sold on the Golf Course to the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, leaving just the public park and the lake in its ownership. This beautiful valley was transformed in the 18th century by the most famous of all English landscape architects, Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown (1715-1783), when the lake was formed as a focal point for the house located to the south of the present park.

The Games in Detail

Game 1 - Trampoline Netball

The first game - ‘Trampoline Netball’ - was won by Merton, who drew first blood in the contest.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Merton (2pts awarded / 2pts total) 2nd Richmond-upon-Thames (0pts / 0pts)

Marathon, Round 1  - Carpet Rolling Relay

The next game - ‘Carpet Rolling Relay’ - was the Marathon which was played in unison on five occasions throughout the programme.

Running Marathon Standings: --- Merton (---) --- Richmond-upon-Thames (---)

Game 2 - Seesaw Rowing

The second game - ‘seesaw Rowing’ - ended in a draw, meaning that the Merton team had maintained their 2pts advantage from the first game.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Merton (1pt awarded / 3pts total) 2nd Richmond-upon-Thames (1pt / 1pt)

Marathon, Round 2  - Carpet Rolling Relay

The second round of the Marathon saw both teams trying to improve on their scores or adding to their totals achieved in the previous round.

Running Marathon Standings: --- Merton (---) --- Richmond-upon-Thames (---)

Game 3 - Crocodile Jaws

The third game - ‘Crocodile Jaws’ - witnessed Merton presenting their Joker for play. The game was won by Richmond-upon-Thames, meaning that not only had the team nullified Merton's Joker (0pts awarded), they had also drawn level on points with their opponents.

Running Scores and Positions: =1st Merton (0pts awarded / Joker / 3pts total) =1st Richmond-upon-Thames (2pts / 3pts) ▲

Marathon, Round 3  - Carpet Rolling Relay

The third round of the Marathon saw both teams continuing to try and improve on their scores or adding to their totals achieved over the previous two rounds.

Running Marathon Standings: --- Merton (---) --- Richmond-upon-Thames (---)

Game 4 - Rubber Dinghy Bounce

The fourth game - ‘Rubber Dinghy Bounce’ - was won by Merton, bouncing back from their unsuccessful Joker game and restoring their 2pts lead over Richmond-upon-Thames.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Merton (2pts awarded / 5pts total) 2nd Richmond-upon-Thames (0pts / 3pts) ▼

Marathon, Round 4  - Carpet Rolling Relay

The fourth and penultimate round of the Marathon saw both teams continuing to try and improve on their scores or adding to their totals achieved over the previous three rounds.

Running Marathon Standings: --- Merton (---) --- Richmond-upon-Thames (---)

Game 5 - Three Men in a Boat

The fifth and penultimate game - ‘Three Men in the Boat’ - witnessed Richmond-upon-Thames presenting their Joker for play. The game ended in a draw and Richmond-upon-Thames, having played the Joker, were awarded 2pts whilst Merton were awarded 1pt.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Merton (1pt awarded / 6pts total) 2nd Richmond-upon-Thames (2pts / Joker / 5pts)

Marathon, Round 5 - Carpet Rolling Relay

The fifth and final round of the Marathon saw both teams making one last effort to improve on their scores or adding to their totals achieved over the previous four rounds.

At the end of this round, both teams had achieved the same score or total and the game ended in a draw. With both teams being awarded 2pts each, this tight competition would go right to the wire!

Final Marathon Standings: =1st Merton (---) =1st Richmond-upon-Thames (---)

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Merton (1pt awarded / 7pts total) 2nd Richmond-upon-Thames (1pt / 6pts)

Game 6 - Celtic Chivalry

The sixth and final game - ‘Celtic Chivalry’ - featured a male competitor from each team dressed as a knight on horseback. On the whistle, four male team-mates had to break down a drawbridge with a large battering ram to permit him to enter the castle. He then had to tether his horse and, with the aid of a ladder, climb to the ramparts where a female team-mate dressed as a damsel was waiting. He then had to carry her down the ladder and both of them had to mount the horse and race back to the start. Once achieved, the female had to dismount and the competitor then had to ride back into the castle to plant a flag to end the game. The team completing the game in the faster time would be declared the winners.

From the outset, it appeared that Richmond-upon-Thames would easily win the game after the Merton horse refused to go through the drawbridge arch no matter what their competitor did to encourage it. After receiving a large slap on its hind-quarters by one of the Merton team-mates, the horse decided to move. Richmond-upon-Thames were well ahead at this point and it appeared that the Merton horse had blown the team’s chances of victory. However, the Richmond-upon-Thames competitor suffered a setback whilst climbing the ladder to rescue his quarry and this permitted Merton competitor Robert Dunckley to catch up and overtake him. After descending the ladder, he mounted the horse with the female for the return leg. After dropping her off, he turned the horse around and proceeded to go back into the castle. However, the same fate befell him as before with the horse refusing to go through the arch again. With Richmond-upon-Thames now hot on his tail, Robert took things into his own hands and turned round, leaned right back and slapped the rear of the horse himself which again did the trick. He finished the game just ahead of his opponent to a roar of cheers and applause (and few stopped hearts for his team-mates).

Final Scores and Positions: 1st Merton (2pts awarded / 9pts total) 2nd Richmond-upon-Thames (0pts / 6pts)

Comments: This game was an exact copy of a game with the same title from It's A Knockout Domestic Heat 3 in 1967. On that occasion, one of the ‘knights’ had inadvertently forgotten to tether his horse securely and it broke loose and ended up at the opposite end of the course. Although the same did not occur at this heat, it was hardly straightforward, as seen above.

Additional Information

This heat attracted a crowd of some 4,500 people, which in itself created some problems for the organisers. The match between Merton and Richmond-upon-Thames had generated so much excitement between the neighbouring boroughs that police had to be called in to control spectators who had broken through the boundary ropes to get closer to the action. Ten minutes before the programme was due to be transmitted live, a "You may be hurt" warning was put out over the loudspeaker tannoy system telling the crowd to stay back. But the police presence and warnings did not prevent scores of youngsters from climbing the park pavilion to get a rooftop view of the show.

Made in B/W • This programme does not exist in the BBC Archives

GB

It's A Knockout 1968

Heat 5

Event Staged: Sunday 9th June 1968
Venue: North Inch, Perth, Perthshire, Scotland

Transmission:
BBC1 (GB): Sunday 9th June 1968, 4.40-5.25pm (Live)

Teams: Perth v. Dundee

Team Members included:
Dundee - Stewart Allen, Joseph Brady, Joyce Carberry, Ross Elder, Angus Hartley, Muriel Hutchinson, Evelyn Keyes, Hazel Mason, Alistair Nicholl, Derek Tomlinson.

Games included: Bicycle Obstacle Course.

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

1st
2nd

 D • Dundee ● ●
 P • Perth

11
3

Dundee qualified for Jeux Sans Frontières at Harrogate, Great Britain:
staged on Wednesday 14th August 1968

The Host Town

Perth, Perthshire

Perth is a city with a population of around 50,000 inhabitants in the council area of Perth and Kinross. It is located on the banks of the River Tay, 32 miles (51km) north of Edinburgh, 49 miles (79km) north-east of Glasgow, 57 miles (92km) south of Inverness and 73 miles (117km) south-west of Aberdeen.

The name 'Perth' comes from a Pictish word for wood or copse. There has been a settlement at Perth since prehistoric times, on a natural mound raised slightly above the flood plain of the Tay, where the river could be crossed at low tide. Due to its location, the city is often referred to as the 'Gateway to the Highlands’. The presence of Scone Abbey, home of the Stone of Destiny where the King of Scotland was crowned, enhanced the early importance of the town. Perth became known as a 'capital' of Scotland, due to the frequent residence of the royal court.

The classic definition of Perth has been as a city, and traditional documentation confirms that this has been true since time immemorial. In the late 1990s, the British Government re-examined the definition of a city and produced a list of approved cities, from which Perth was omitted. It was therefore considered to be a ‘former city’, like Brechin and Elgin. Despite this, road-signs around the borders used the term ‘The City of Perth’, and directional signs within indicated ‘City Centre’.

Perth was one of the 26 bidders for city status to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022) in 2012. On 14th March 2012, its city status was successfully reinstated and it became Scotland's seventh city. The Queen visited Perth on 6th July, for what was the culmination of the Scottish leg of her Jubilee tour. Today, Perth serves as a retail centre for the surrounding area. Following the decline of the whisky industry locally, the city's economy has now diversified to include insurance and banking.

It has been known as The Fair City since the publication of The Fair Maid of Perth, a novel inspired by the Battle of the North Inch and penned by Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) in 1828. During the later medieval period, the town was also called St John's Toun or Saint Johnstoun by its inhabitants in reference to the main church dedicated to St. John the Baptist. This name is preserved by the town's football team, St. Johnstone F.C., which coincidentally is the only one in the Scottish and English Football leagues with a letter ‘J’ in its name!

At the time of transmission, Perth was located in the county of Perthshire. However, following the complete redistribution of county boundaries under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, the city became part of the newly-formed region of Tayside on 16th May 1975. Further changes followed and under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act of 1994, the regions were abolished and were replaced with 32 unitary authorities on 1st April 1995 and Perth became part of the newly-formed council area of Perth and Kinross!

The Visiting Town

Dundee is a city with a population of around 150,000 inhabitants in the council area of Dundee City and is located on the River Tay, 18 miles (29km) north-east of Perth.

The Venue

North Inch

The games were played on North Inch, a 133 acre (0.54km²) area of parkland to the north of Perth city centre. Situated on the west bank of the River Tay, the area has always been prone to flooding. However since 1999, flood prevention measures have been put in place, with the construction of defensive bunds or embankments along the riverside.

The park is most famous as the scene of the Battle of the North Inch in 1396, when thirty representatives of the Clan Chattan and thirty from the Clan Kay fought in an attempt to settle a feud. The Chattans killed all but one of their opponents at a cost of 19 deaths on their own side, and were awarded the victory. This was one of the last judicial combats, or trials by combat, to be fought in Scotland.

Made in B/W • This programme exists in the BBC Archives as a film recording

GB

It's A Knockout 1968

Additional Heat

Event Staged: Sunday 16th June 1968
Venue: Wimbledon Park, Wimbledon, Greater London, England

Transmission:
BBC1 (GB): Friday 21st June 1968, 8.20-8.50pm

Teams: Cheltenham Spa v. Torbay
(the two highest-scoring losing teams from the 1968 series)

Team Members included:
Cheltenham Spa - Bill Spragg (Team Manager), Susan Amos, Susan Arkell, Pam Bocquet, Lynn Davies, Jackie Grace, Robert Herbert, Paul Millman, Catherine Phillips, Ian Rodger, Sue Rogers, Michael Sutton, Ron Tapsell, John Taylor, John Truss, Peter Wootton.

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

1st
2nd

 C • Cheltenham Spa ● ●
 T • Torbay

8
6

Cheltenham Spa qualified for Jeux Sans Frontières at Siegen, West Germany:
staged on Wednesday 28th August 1968

The Host Town

Wimbledon, Greater London

Previously visited in Heat 4.

The Visiting Towns

Cheltenham Spa is located 86 miles (139km) north-west of Wimbledon.

Torbay is located 160 miles (257km) south-west of Wimbledon.

The Venue

Wimbledon Park

Previously visited in Heat 4.

Additional Information

This heat had to be hastily arranged as both Cheltenham Spa and Torbay had scored 8pts in their respective heats and they were both joint highest-scoring losing teams. Since this was unexpected, no ‘slot’ was available for the transmission the programme after its recording on Sunday 16th June. However, when student riots in Paris led to the cancellation of the French International Heat of Jeux Sans Frontières, which was due to have been transmitted on Friday 21st June, the BBC chose to show this Additional Heat in its place. Other Jeux Sans Frontières-related tie-breakers generally took the form of a single head-to-head game or even in extreme cases the toss of a coin, so this idea to stage a mini-It's A Knockout does indeed seem to be an extraordinarily equitable arrangement. A similar hastily-organised tie-break competition would be staged in similar circumstances by the NCRV in the Netherlands during the 1971-1972 season of Zeskamp.

As this heat was a late addition to the recording schedule, the production team had to quickly find somewhere to stage it, where an audience could be attracted without advance publicity. Wimbledon Park (previously visited in Heat 4) was chosen as the venue because the Wimbledon Championships, staged adjacent to the park, would start the following day. As crowds would typically flock to the area for 'Wimbledon Fortnight' to get autographs and early places in the queue for the next day (tennis matches were never played on Sundays until the 1980s), it was considered a straightforward matter to attract an audience to what was a free event.

Made in B/W • This programme does not exist in the BBC Archives

JSFnetGB Series Guide pages researched by
Alan Hayes, David Hamilton, Neil Storer, Christos Moustakas, Philippe Minet,
Sébastien Dias, Ischa Bijl, Paul Leaver and JSFnet Websites