It's A Knockout 1974
British Domestic Series

Presenters:
Stuart Hall
Eddie Waring

Referee:
Arthur Ellis

Production Credits:

Designer and Games Deviser: Stuart Furber; Production Team: Geoff Wilson, Alan Wright; Producer: Barney Colehan; Director: Bill Taylor

A BBC Manchester Production

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

GB

It's A Knockout 1974

Heat 1

Event Staged: Sunday 14th April 1974 (Easter Sunday) at 3.30pm
Venue: Princes Park, Southport, Merseyside, England

Transmission:
BBC1 (GB): Friday 3rd May 1974, 8.15-9.00pm

Weather Conditions: Warm and Sunny

Nationwide / Radio Times 'Miss Knockout': Pauline Davies from Warrington, Cheshire

Teams: Southport v. Wyre (Fleetwood)

Team Members included:
Southport - Harry Boyle (Team Manager / Co-Team Coach), Bill Doherty (Co-Team Coach), Verdi Godwin (Co-Team Coach), Charles Buxton (Team Captain), Sheila Brookfield, Mike Dolman, Gina Forrigno, Helen Jenkins, Ian Jenkins, Shirley Rodwell, Kevin Stringfellow, Chris Whittle;
Wyre - Ken Morris (Team Coach), Ray Coulthurst (Team Captain), Janet Curwen, Mike Donnelly, Christine Edwards, Peter Evans, Maureen McChrystal, Susan Naylor, Howard Rawnsley, Graham Turner, Gail Wilson.

Games (Official Titles): Bike Relay, Flour Bag Slide, Carpet Shuffle, Skittle Race, Derby Netball, Punch Bag Challenge, Water Carriers;
Marathon: Slide and Catch.

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

Final Scoreboard
(see Additional Information)

1st
2nd

 S • Southport ● ● ●
 W • Wyre (Fleetwood)

18
2

Southport qualified for Jeux Sans Frontières at Bouillon, Belgium:
staged on Tuesday 28th May 1974.
This result secured Southport the Radio Times Trophy for 1974
for the highest scoring team in the British heats.

The Host Town

Southport, Merseyside

Southport is a seaside town with a population of around 95,000 inhabitants in the county of Merseyside. It is located on the Irish Sea coast, 12 miles (19km) south of Blackpool, 17 miles (27km) north of Liverpool, 62 miles (100km) west of Wakefield and 69 miles (111km) south-east of Douglas on the Isle of Man.

The first real evidence of an early settlement here is in the Domesday Book, in which the area is called Otergimele. The name is derived from Oddrgrimir meaning ‘the son of Grimm’ and is linked to the Old Norse word 'melr', meaning ‘sandbank’. The population was scattered thinly across the region and it was at the north-east end of Otergimele (present-day Crossens), where blown sand gave way to alluvial deposits from the River Ribble estuary, that a small concentration of people arose. The alluvium provided fertile agricultural land and boosted the river’s stocks of fish. It was here, that a primitive church was built, which gave the emerging village its name of Churchtown, the parish being North Meols. With a booming fishing industry the area grew slowly and hamlets such as South Hawes, Haweside, Little London and Higher Blowick all became part of the parish of North Meols.

During the late 18th century, it had become fashionable for the well-to-do to relinquish inland spa towns and visit the seaside to bathe in the salt sea waters. At that time doctors recommended bathing in the sea to help cure aches and pains. In 1792, William Sutton, the landlord of the Black Bull Inn in Churchtown (now The Hesketh Arms) and known to locals as ‘The Old Duke’, realised the importance of the newly-created canal systems across the UK. He set up a bathing house in the virtually uninhabited dunes at South Hawes by the seaside, just 3¾ miles (6km) away from the newly-constructed Leeds and Liverpool Canal and 2 miles (3.2km) south-west of Churchtown.

Southport grew quickly in the 19th century as it gained a reputation for being a more refined seaside resort than its neighbour-up-the-coast, Blackpool. Southport Pier is referred to as the first true ‘pleasure pier’, being one of the earliest pier structures to be erected using iron. A design from Scottish engineer James Brunlees (1816-1892) was approved at a cost of £8,700 and on 4th August 1859, a large crowd witnessed the driving home of the first support pile. The 1,100m (3,650ft) long pier was officially opened on 2nd August 1860.

The town went into decline when cheap air travel arrived in the 1960s and people chose to holiday abroad due to competitive prices and more reliable weather. However, the town kept afloat with people coming to spend the day by the seaside on bank holidays and weekends. Whilst Southport has a dependence on tourism, the town is also home to many businesses both in the private and public sector. Although manufacturing has diminished in the last few decades, there are a few sites still in production in the town today. The most famous ‘export’ of Southport was Chewits (a soft, chewy, cuboid sweet), manufactured in the town between 1965 and 2006, after which the facility closed and production moved to Slovakia.

Lord Street is the main shopping street of the town and is one of the great shopping streets of Northern England. It is said to be the inspiration for the tree-lined boulevards of Paris. Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte (1808-1873), nephew of his more famous relative, lived in exile on Lord Street between 1846 and 1848, before returning to France to become President and subsequently, Emperor of the French Second Republic. During his reign, he caused much of the medieval centre of Paris to be replaced with broad tree-lined boulevards, covered walkways and arcades, akin to Lord Street.

The local team of Southport F.C., who play at Haig Avenue, entered The Football League in 1921 and became a founder member of the Third Division North. In 1978, the club were voted out of the Football League, following three consecutive 23rd (out of 24) place finishes, and replaced by Wigan Athletic. The voting could not have been tighter, as the clubs were tied on the first ballot (when many had expected Rochdale to be voted out), but Wigan's superior canvassing ensured that they won the second ballot. Southport F.C. hold the unwanted record of being the last-ever club to leave the Football League through the re-election process. Automatic relegation from the Fourth Division was introduced in the 1986-87 season. Following mixed fortunes during the intermittent years, further relegation followed at the end of the 2018-2019 season, and the club today play their games in the National League North, the sixth tier of English football.

Notable figures from the world of British entertainment have stemmed from the town. Actors Robin Askwith, Dora Bryan (1923-2014), Miranda Richardson and Anthony Quayle (1913-1989), comedian Lee Mack and horse trainer Donald 'Ginger' McCain (1930-2011) were all born in Southport. McCain was the trainer of Red Rum (1965-1995), who was regularly trained on Southport’s sands and the only racehorse in history to win the Aintree Grand National on three occasions (1973, 1974 and 1977) and to have its ashes scattered on the hallowed ground. But by far the most recognised inhabitant of the town was actor Jean Alexander (1926-2016) who played Hilda Ogden in Granada TV’s Coronation Street from 1964 until 1987. After leaving the cobbled streets, she set up home in the town and remained there until her death, three days after celebrating her 90th birthday, in 2016.

Southport became the first town to host (and participate in) It’s A Knockout which was located in one of the counties newly-formed under the Local Government Act 1972. Having taken effect just 13 days earlier on 1st April 1974, the new county had been created from areas of its original county of Lancashire along with some from Cheshire.

The Visiting Town

Wyre is a local government borough with a population of around 110,000 inhabitants in the county of Lancashire. It comprises the main towns of Fleetwood, Garston and Poulton-le-Fylde and at its nearest point is located 13 miles (22km) north of Southport.

Wyre became the first team to participate in It’s A Knockout which had taken its name from its local government borough. This followed the complete redistribution of county boundaries under the Local Government Act 1972 and which had taken effect on 1st April 1974, just 13 days before this programme was recorded.

The Venue

Princes Park

The games were played in Princes Park, one of the town's three public open spaces.

Very little information about the venue is available for research at present, but what is known is that the park plays host to many events throughout the year and, with Marine Lake on its doorstep, is a popular destination with boaters, rowers and owners of sailing craft.

Team Personnel

When Southport's involvement in the 1974 Domestic Series had been confirmed, Paul Gregg, Director of Southport Publicity and Attractions, contacted Harry Boyle to coach and organise a team to represent the town in the programme. He agreed and, with two Senior Lifeguards, Verdi Godwin and Bill Doherty, set out training possible competitors from the town. Boyle (1924-2012) had played for Southport FC - as well as Bangor City and Rochdale football clubs - in the 1940s and 1950s and had taken his first steps into coaching in 1953, when he passed the preliminary coaching award and began taking training sessions in schools. He became a full-time professional coach for the first time in 1960 as player/coach with Skelmersdale United, and in 1966 gained his Football Association Senior Coaching Badge and was also appointed Chairman of the Southport Coaching Association. Later, he accepted the Chief Coach position for Lancashire FA, a role that Harry held successfully for 21 years until he took voluntary retirement, on which occasion he was awarded the LFA Order of Merit. He was also honoured by the Football Association in his later years, who appointed him as Complimentary Member in return for work done in the past on their behalf.

Returning Teams and Competitors

The Southport team returned to demonstrate the games at the British International Heat in 1975, when the programme was held in the town’s open-air bathing pool.

Additional Information

As the points for the Marathon were allocated, Southport were awarded 4pts for winning the game. However, the scoregirl inadvertently added only 3pts to the total and the score was showing as 15-2. This error went unnoticed for the remainder of the programme, with Southport winning the last game bringing the score to 17-2. Even after the programme ended, the mistake had not been picked up on, and it was only once the editing room staff ran through the programme with the production team the following week, that the blatant error was realised. To ensure fair play and with the possibility at the time, that the score could be beaten by another team later in the series, the BBC had to make a decision to overcome the error. Firstly, they could change the rules so that the winning score for the Marathon was 3pts for each of the programmes or admit the error. The first option had now passed because the second heat in the series had been recorded two days before the error was realised. As a consequence of this, presenter Stuart Hall corrected the mistake at the third heat at Ripon Racecourse, by explaining the reason and that the score for Southport had been corrected to 18pts.

The photographs of the 'Tyred Out' and 'Cycle Humps' games were featured on pages 41 and 61 respectively of the It’s A Knockout Annual 1977 published by World Distributors (Manchester) Limited in the autumn of 1976.

Pauline Davies, who was Miss Knockout in this heat, went on to become Miss England in 1976 as well as a contestant in the Miss Europe competition later the same year!

Made in Colour • This programme does not exist in the BBC Archives, but short excerpts exist in the BBC compilation, Best of Knockout 1974. Details in Knockout TV.

GB

It's A Knockout 1974

Heat 2

Event Staged: Sunday 21st April 1974
Venue: The Courtyard, Warwick Castle, Warwick, Warwickshire, England

Transmission:
BBC1 (GB): Friday 10th May 1974, 8.15-9.00pm

Weather Conditions: Warm and Sunny

Nationwide / Radio Times 'Miss Knockout': Karen Apted from Birmingham, West Midlands

Teams: Warwick v. Rugby

Team Members included:
Rugby - Derek Dolphin (Team Manager), Bob Trenholme (Team Coach), Chris Aldous, Kristine Ash, Margaret Baker, Ashley Bartlett, Jean Beards, Barry Booth, Dawn Branston, Dawn Brown, George Buss, Linda Carter, David Cooke, Mandy Davis, Simon Davis, Ann Denny, Rajenda Desai, Richard Ellis, Keith Foster, Mary Gibbon, Sharon Hobbs, Victoria Jones, Patricia Kidd, Carol Lake, Rosamund Lane, Naheed Malik, Geoff Marlow, Graham Paterson, Kathy Paterson, Roy Pebody, David Pope, Bill Robertson, Tony Russell, David Thompson, James Turner, Murray Walker, Jackie Watts, Maurice West;
Warwick - Arthur Harrison (Team Coach), Steven Amos, Leslie Barnett, Michael Day, Bryan Fraser, Robert Gibbs, Linda Robinson, Linda Shaw, Pat Stevens, Bill Stone, Paul Tallis, Susan Whyford.

Games: Drum Roll, The Greasy Ball, Water Lasso, Up ‘n’ Over the Pole, Bounce and Score, The Covent Garden Stallholders’ Nightmare and Elastic Skaters;
Marathon: Netball Slide.

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

1st
2nd

 W • Warwick ● ●
 R • Rugby ●

12
10

Warwick qualified for Jeux Sans Frontières at Zandvoort, Netherlands:
staged on Wednesday 12th June 1974

Rugby qualified as the highest scoring losing team for
Jeux Sans Frontières at Northampton, Great Britain:
staged on Wednesday 21st August 1974

The Host Town

Warwick, Warwickshire

Warwick Castle on the River Avon dates back to the 12th century Image © Alys Hayes, 2023

Warwick is a market town with a population of around 33,000 inhabitants in the county of Warwickshire. It is located in the heart of England, 50 miles (80km) south-west of Nottingham, 71 miles (115km) north-east of Bristol, 82 miles (132km) north-west of London and 97 miles (156km) south-east of Liverpool.

From the 6th century onwards, Warwick, whose name literally means ‘dwellings by the weir’, has been continuously inhabited. In AD 914, Anglo-Saxon Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians, daughter of King Alfred the Great (AD 847-AD 899) and sister of King Edward the Elder of Wessex, built a fortified dwelling here, as one of ten built to defend the Mercia from the Danes. Warwick was chosen as a site for one because of its proximity to the transport routes of the Fosse Way and the Avon.

Medieval Warwick remained under the control of various Earls of Warwick, mostly of the Beauchamp family, becoming a walled town. Today, the only remains of the town walls are the east and west gatehouses, the former now being a holiday home.

During the English Civil War (1642-1651), the town and castle were garrisoned for Parliament. Under Sir Edward Peyto, it withstood a two-week siege by the Royalists. Later musters (the process of accounting for members of a military unit) from 1644 to 1646, record a garrison of up to 350 men under the command of Colonel William Purefoy (1580-1659) and Major John Bridges.

Much of the medieval town was destroyed in the Great Fire of Warwick which occurred between the hours of 2.00am and 8.00am on 5th September 1694. Started by a spark from a torch that was being carried up the High Street, the close-packed nature of the housing and the amount of combustible building material both assisted the fire to spread, and thus the reason that the majority of the buildings in the town centre are of late 17th and early 18th century origin.

The fire burnt down much of the medieval Collegiate Church of St Mary with only the chancel and the Beauchamp Chapel surviving. The latter had been built between 1443 and 1464 according to the wishes of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick (1382-1439), who had died in Rouen, France. A full-size reclining copper-gilt effigy of him, cast in 1459, lies upon his Purbeck marble tomb.

In more recent times, population growth has led to Warwick adjoining its larger neighbouring town, Royal Leamington Spa, to form a conurbation of some 95,000 inhabitants.

Warwick Racecourse, near the west gate of the medieval town, not only hosts several televised horse racing meetings a year, but also encircles a small golf course!

The Grand Union Canal and the River Avon also pass through the town. The restored Saltisford Canal Arm is close to the town centre and is a short branch of the Grand Union Canal. Dating back to 1799, the arm is the remnants of the original terminus of the Warwick and Birmingham Canal.

The Visiting Town

Rugby is a market town with a population of around 75,000 inhabitants in the county of Warwickshire and is located 15 miles (24km) north-east of Warwick.

The Venue

Warwick Castle

The games were played in the courtyard of Warwick Castle, a medieval castle developed from a wooden fort, originally built by William the Conqueror (1028-1087) during 1068. The original wooden motte-and-bailey castle was rebuilt in stone during the 12th century.

The castle is situated on a sandstone bluff at a bend of the River Avon. The river, which runs below the castle on the east side, has eroded the rock the castle stands on, forming a cliff. The river and cliff form natural defences. When construction began in 1068, four houses belonging to the Abbot of Coventry were demolished to provide space. The castle's position made it strategically important in safeguarding the Midlands against rebellion. During the 12th century, King Henry I (1068-1139) was suspicious of Roger de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Warwick (1102-1153). To counter the Earl's influence, Henry bestowed Geoffrey de Clinton with a position of power rivalling that of the Earl.

During the reign of King Henry II (1133-1189), the motte-and-bailey was replaced with a stone keep castle. This new phase took the form of a shell keep with all the buildings constructed against the curtain wall (a defensive wall between two towers). During the Barons' Rebellion (1173-1174), the Earl of Warwick remained loyal to King Henry II, and the castle was used to store provisions. The castle and the lands associated with the earldom passed down to the Beaumont family until 1242.

During the Second Barons' War (1264-1267), William Maudit, 8th Earl of Warwick (1221-1268), was a supporter of King Henry III (1207-1272). The castle was taken in a surprise attack by the forces of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester (1208-1265) in 1264.

The castle was used as a stronghold until the early 17th century, when it was granted to Sir Fulke Greville (1154-1628) by James I (1566-1625) in 1604. Greville converted it to a country house and whilst it was undergoing repairs, the castle was peripherally involved in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. The conspirators involved awaited news at Dunchurch in Warwickshire. When they discovered the plot had failed, they stole cavalry horses from the stables at Warwick Castle to help in their escape. When the title of Earl of Warwick was created for the third time in 1618, the Greville family were still in possession of Warwick Castle. Fulke Greville spent over £20,000 (£4 million as of 2019) renovating the castle.

The castle remained in the hands of the Greville family, who became Earls of Warwick in 1759, until 1978 when it was bought by the Tussauds Group and opened as a tourist attraction. Tussauds performed extensive restorations to the castle and grounds. In twelve of the apartments open to tourists, a number of wax figures of historic individuals are presented. The persons depicted were guests at the 1898 weekend party hosted by Frances Countess of Warwick with the principal guest being the Prince of Wales, later to become Edward VII (1841-1910).

In 2007, the Tussauds Group was purchased by The Blackstone Group which merged it with Merlin Entertainments, owners of Alton Towers, Thorpe Park and Chessington World of Adventures theme parks. Warwick Castle was then sold to investment firm Prestbury Group under a sale and leaseback agreement. Merlin continues to operate the site under a renewable 35-year lease.

The Games in Detail

Game 1 - Drum Roll

The first game - 'Drum Roll' - witnessed Rugby presenting their Joker for play. Their decision was quickly vindicated as they met with victory on the game and strode into the lead of the contest.

Marathon, Round 1 - Netball Slide

The next game - 'Netball Slide' - was the Marathon which was played alternately by each team on three occasions. It featured a large humped slide which had two large nets attached to it on one side. The competitors had to descend the slide and throw balls into the nets, scoring one or two points dependent on which net they aimed for. The team scoring the greater number of points would be declared the winners.

The first round saw the participation of Rugby and they got off to a blistering start and set a high target for their rivals to emulate.

Game 2 - The Greasy Ball

The second game - 'The Greasy Ball' - witnessed Warwick presenting their Joker for play and hoping to fight back immediately. They were succcessful on the game and, with the double points for the Joker, had restored parity with their opponents.

Marathon, Round 2 - Netball Slide

The second round of the Marathon featured Warwick trying to emulate the target that had been set by their rivals. At the end of the round, Warwick had taken an early lead over Rugby.

Game 3 - Water Lasso

The third game - 'Water Lasso' - was where the pendulum began to swing in favour of Rugby, who won the game and regained the lead.

Marathon, Round 3 - Netball Slide

The third round of the Marathon featured Rugby participating for the second and penultimate time and they regained the lead over rivals Warwick.

Game 4 - Up 'n' Over the Pole

The fourth game - 'Up 'n' Over the Pole' - was another difficult one for Warwick as they were beaten for the second game in succession by Rugby.

Marathon, Round 4 - Netball Slide

The fourth round of the Marathon featured Warwick participating for the second and penultimate time and they improved their score to 39pts. This improved total once again put them in the lead over Rugby.

Game 5 - Bounce and Score

The fifth game - 'Bounce and Score' - saw Rugby record a third successive victory. With their team 6pts behind, faces amongst the home crowd were looking somewhat despondent, but the tide was about to turn.

Marathon, Round 5 - Netball Slide

The fifth and penultimate round of the Marathon featured Rugby participating for the third and final time and they were again able to emulate their rivals’ total and finished the game with a total of 54pts.

Game 6 - The Covent Garden Stallholders' Nightmare

The sixth and penultimate game - somewhat obscurely entitled ‘The Covent Garden Stallholders’ Nightmare’ - was played in unison and featured a male competitor from each team equipped with 40 milk crates and being assisted by two male team-mates. On the whistle, one of the male team-mates had to throw a milk crate to the competitor who then had to place it upside-down on the ground and stand on top of it. The game then had to be repeated with the competitor using the handle slots at the sides of the crates as footholds whilst placing each crate on top of each other and then standing on top of before the next crate could be thrown to him. The second team-mate would be available to sturdy the stack at the bottom. The team with the higher stack at the final whistle would be declared the winners.

This would prove to be a very exciting and nail-biting game and witnessed the two stacks growing higher and higher to almost incredulous heights. As the game progressed, Rugby began to take a narrow lead and had successfully lifted 31 crates in a stack whilst Warwick were lagging behind with only 29 crates. The crowd knew that if the team lost this game then it would have been impossible to close the gap on Rugby and the overall contest would be lost.

Rugby decided to chance their luck and tried to add the 32nd crate underneath, but the pile at the top began to wobble. The home crowd noticed this and began to jeer and whistle to unsettle the competitor’s nerves. Despite all his efforts to contain the stack, the pile tumbled to the ground and the game was up for Rugby. The Warwick competitor then stood absolutely still on seeing this and waited for the whistle some 15 seconds later from referee Arthur Ellis. The two points scored in this game closed the deficit to 4pts and Warwick now had a chance. It all depended on their final performance on the Marathon.

Marathon, Round 6 - Netball Slide

The sixth and final round of the Marathon featured Warwick participating for the third time. Trailing their rivals by 15pts at this point, they needed to emulate this score in order to beat Rugby. Anything less and once again the contest would have been over for the home team. As permitted time approached, Warwick had scored 13pts, but on their final three descents, the team managed to score an additional 4pts to bring their total to 17pts on this round. The team had fought back from the brink of disaster to set up an exciting finish in the final game.

Game 7 - Elastic Skaters

The seventh and final game - 'Elastic Skaters' - was played in unison and was a straight water collecting race up a course, with the water being delivered by roller-skating players with large elastic ropes attached to their midriffs. The team collecting the greater volume of water would be declared the winners.

From the outset, Warwick seemed to have caught a second wind and were now determined that with all their efforts on the previous two games, they were not prepared to throw in the towel. The final score of the game saw Rugby lose to Warwick by just two marks on Arthur Ellis’ dipstick, and the Warwick crowd went absolutely crazy. The team had done the impossible and made a miraculous comeback. After trailing by 6pts after Game 5, they had won the contest by 2pts and with it booked their trip to the Netherlands!

Media Attention

An article published in local newspaper The Rugby Advertiser on Friday 31st May 1974 entitled ‘Knockout’ Dilemma for Rugby, concerned the cancellation of the Portsmouth and Southsea v. Swanage programme the previous Sunday. The article stated the following: "A big surprise for Rugby’s It’s A Knockout team came this week when the BBC invited them to go to Bayreuth in West Germany on September 4th. On Sunday, Portsmouth and Southsea were due to have met Swanage, but the contest had to be cancelled at the last minute due to a strike by BBC technicians. The winning team would have gone forward to play in Bayreuth. Rugby were narrowly beaten by Warwick in April and had been firmly tipped to go to Northampton (even if the contest in Southsea had gone ahead) on August 21st as losers with the highest number of points. But now the Rugby team have been given a choice of the two. Councillor Gerald Calver, who is on the Knockout committee said this week that a decision would be made today, and it could well be that Rugby say no to the Bayreuth challenge and opt for Northampton.”

An article in the same newspaper the following Friday was entitled Rugby Stays at Home and stated the following: "Rugby has decided not to accept the BBC’s invitation to go to West Germany instead of Northampton for the next round of It’s A Knockout. At a meeting of the It’s A Knockout sub-committee last Friday, it was decided by seven votes to three to go to Northampton as originally planned on August 21st for the best losers’ heat. The best losing teams from six countries will be Rugby’s competition at Northampton [a statement that was incorrect] and team members will not be allowed into the old race course site where the contest is being fought, unless they can show their passports. It must be the first time that people from Rugby have had to show their passports to get into Northampton!”

Additional Information

After the contest, High Street travel agents Lunn Poly were offering a choice of ‘package tours’ to Netherlands to see the Warwick team compete in Jeux Sans Frontières. One package offered a three-day holiday with coach transport for £25.50, whilst another offered a five-day visit with air transport for £46. Both tours were inclusive of hotel accommodation in Amsterdam! These amounts may seem minute by today’s standards, but the average wage in Great Britain in 1974 was around £58 per week (£422 in 2020) or £3,025 per annum (£22,042 in 2020)!

Made in Colour • This programme does not exist in the BBC Archives, but a short excerpt of the opening sequence from this edition exist in the BBC compilation, Best of Knockout 1974. Details in Knockout TV.

GB

It's A Knockout 1974

Heat 3

Event Staged: Sunday 5th May 1974
Venue: Ripon Racecourse, Ripon, North Yorkshire, England from 5.00-6.00pm

Transmission:
BBC1 (GB): Friday 17th May 1974, 8.15-9.00pm

Weather Conditions: Cold and Overcast

Nationwide / Radio Times 'Miss Knockout': Cherry Parrish from Marston, Bedfordshire

Teams: Ripon v. Rotherham

Team Members (Full Squads):
Ripon - Mike Falkingham (Team Manager), Peter Squires (Team Coach), Mike Hart (Men’s Team Captain), Valerie Briscombe (Women's Team Captain), Peter Appleton, Carol Bainbridge, Michael Barry, Helen Brocklebank, Judy Carling, Margaret Clough, David Colbert, David Day, Peter Ellis, John Falkingham, Mick Forsyth, Michael Gray, Arthur Gyte, Thelma Harrison, David Hirst, David Holmes, Susan Hurst, Andy Jackson, Sue Lever, Alan Marshall, Frank Marshall, Alistair McBain, John Newbould, Jean Ogden, Rod Pickles, Des Quinn, Lana Simpson, Eric Southern, Penny Stanhope, Margaret Storey, Jill Thornton, Caroline Varley, John Williamson, Roland Wood;
Rotherham - John Bideford (Men’s Team Captain), Susanne Jones (Women's Team Captain), Eileen Baker, Sandra Beasley, Keith Brown, Marion Brownett, Vivienne Burns, Peter Coulton, David Crutchley, Lynne Dalton, Malcolm Daltry, Pamela Elliott, H. Evans, Len Evans, Ian Ferguson, Anne Fitzgerald, Carole Fletcher, Bill Green, Christine Green, Brian Harney, Kathryn Harrison, Susan Hibbert, Peter Hunt, Susan Hunt, Lynne Hutton, John Jones, Karen Maplebeck, David O'Hara, Brian Pearson, Mary Pearson, Glen Pine, Lyn Sergeant, Richard Shaw, Alan Simpson, Gerard Tyler, Victor Tyler, Stephen Webb, Granville Wild, J. Winchcombe, Joy Wooller.

Games (Official Titles): Drum Balance, Elastic Slide, Pecking Hen, Cycle Race, Water Jump, Target Football, Ball Slide;
Marathon: Basketball Slide.

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

1st
2nd

 RH • Rotherham ● ●
 RP • Ripon

13
9

Rotherham qualified for Jeux Sans Frontières at Barga, Italy:
staged on Wednesday 10th July 1974

Due to the cancellation of Heat 6, Ripon qualified as the second highest scoring losing team
for Jeux Sans Frontières at Bayreuth, West Germany:
staged on Wednesday 4th September 1974

The Host Town

Ripon, North Yorkshire

Ripon is a cathedral city with a population of around 17,000 inhabitants in the county of North Yorkshire. It is located on the River Ure, 24 miles (37km) north of Leeds, 45 miles (72km) south of Durham, 46 miles (74km) west of Scarborough and 52 miles (84km) east of Lancaster. It is the sixth-smallest city in the United Kingdom and the third-smallest in England after the City of London and Wells in Somerset.

The city was originally known as Inhrypum and was founded by Saint Wilfrid (AD 633-AD 709) during the time of the Anglian kingdom of Northumbria, a period during which it enjoyed prominence in religious importance in Great Britain. The earliest settlers were stonemasons, glaziers and plasterers that Wilfrid brought over from Lyon in and Rome to help construct the Ripon monastery.

After the Norman Conquest, much of the north rebelled in 1069, even trying to bring back Danish rule. The suppression that followed was the Harrying of the North (a number of campaigns waged by William the Conqueror (1028-1087) during the late winter of 1069), which resulted in the death of approximately one-third of the population of the North of England. Ripon is thought to have shrunk to a small community around the church following the suppression.

It was during this time that a grand church was built on top of the ruins of Wilfrid's monastery. Eventually developed in the Gothic style, the project owed much to the work of Roger de Pont L'Evêque (1115-1181) and Walter de Gray (1180-1255), two Archbishops of York during the Plantagenet era. During the 12th century, Ripon built up a booming wool trade, attracting Italian trade merchants, especially Florentines, who bought and exported large quantities. After English people were forbidden from wearing foreign cloth in 1326, Ripon developed a cloth industry of its own which was third in size in Yorkshire after York and Halifax.

Ripon, which relied heavily on its religious institutions, was badly affected by the English Reformation under Henry VIII (1491-1547). The Abbot of Fountains, William Thirske, was expelled by Henry and replaced. The people of Northern England were quite traditional in their beliefs and were unhappy about Henry's intention to break with Rome and began an uprising. However, the revolt failed and Henry followed through with the break from Rome and the Dissolution of the Monasteries, which included Fountains Abbey.

Ripon replaced its old textiles industry with one for the manufacture of spurs during the 16th century. At the time, spurs did not just serve as functional riding accessories, they were also fashionable. An expensive pair was made for James I (1566-1625) when he stayed at Ripon in 1617. It was James who granted Ripon a Royal Charter in 1604 and created its first mayor.

Although Ripon was not in the main line of fighting which was to the east, it remained loyal and royalist during the English Civil War (1642-1651). The royalists were eventually defeated and Charles I (1600-1649) spent two nights as a prisoner in Ripon.

During the First World War (1914-1918), a large military training camp was built in Ripon, the local community offering hospitality not only to soldiers' wives but also to the Flemish refugees who became part of Ripon's community. The racecourse south-east of the city was used as a demobilisation centre for troops returning from France well into 1919. The city had a similar though smaller role during the Second World War (1939-1945) and, in recognition of this, the Royal Engineers were presented with the Freedom of the City in 1947.

Since then, Ripon has gone through some remodelling and has grown in size. It attracts thousands of tourists each year who come to see its famous buildings with their long Christian heritage and the nearby World Heritage Site of Studley Park which includes the ruins of Fountains Abbey and, in more recent times, the Lightwater Valley theme park.

In celebration of the city's founder, the Wilfrid Procession is held every year. It originated in the year 1108 when Henry I (1086-1135) granted the privilege of holding a fair for him. In the procession, there are various decorated floats which make their way through the city with locals in costume. Part of the tradition represents the return of Wilfrid to Ripon, where a decorated dummy (sometimes a man in costume instead) dressed as Wilfrid is sat on a horse and accompanied by two musicians with another man carrying Wilfrid's hat around.

Another tradition is that of the Ripon Hornblower which has endured since the year 886 and continues on to this day. It originated with the wakeman of Ripon, whose job in the Middle Ages was similar to that of a mayor, although he had more responsibilities in the keeping of law and order. Every day at 9.00pm, the horn is blown at the four corners of the obelisk in Ripon Market.

Ripon became the second town to host (and participate in) It’s A Knockout which was located in one of the counties newly-formed under the Local Government Act 1972. Having taken effect on 1st April 1974, the new county of North Yorkshire had been created from some areas of its original home of the West Riding of Yorkshire along with some from the East Riding and the majority of the North Riding.

The Visiting Town

Rotherham is a town with a population of around 115,000 inhabitants in the county of South Yorkshire and is located 50 miles (80km) south of Ripon.

At the beginning of 1974, Rotherham was located in the West Riding of Yorkshire. However, following reforms under the Local Government Act 1972 which had taken effect on 1st April 1974, Rotherham became part of the newly-formed county of South Yorkshire.

The Venue

Ripon Racecourse

The games were played on Ripon Racecourse, nicknamed the Garden Racecourse, which had the honour of being voted the 'Best Small Racecourse in the North' by the Racegoers' Club in 2003.

Racing on the present site on Boroughbridge Road began on 6th August 1900, but records show that racing had taken place at a number of locations in the city from as far back as 1664 when it hosted its first meeting on Bondgate Green. An Ordnance Survey map dating to 1856, shows a racecourse on the north side of the Ure beside the road to Thirsk and adjacent to the railway station.

Racing in the town first gained national attention in 1723 when the city hosted Britain's first horse race for female jockeys. Between 1916 and 1919, the southern half of the racecourse was used as a base for No. 76 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps (later the Royal Air Force) as RFC/RAF Ripon. The ground was also used sporadically for civilian aircraft into the 1920s.

The course has three enclosures - the Club Stand, Paddock Enclosure and Course Enclosure in the centre of the track - and is a flat, right-handed oval of 1 mile 5 furlongs (2.6km) in length with a sharp bend preceding the 5 furlong (1km) run-in. There is a chute which creates a six-furlong straight course. The cramped bends and undulations in the straight make the course very sharp. The track also encircles a large lake.

The annual race season at Ripon now includes Ripon’s ‘Big Night Out’ and Family Day in May, Ladies Day in June and the opening day of the Go Racing in Yorkshire in July. There are other fixtures throughout the year including Children's Day, Great St. Wilfrid Day and the Ripon Champion Two-Year-Old Trophy, all of which take place in August.

The Games in Detail

Game 1 - Drum Balance

The first game - ‘Drum Balance’ - was played in unison and featured three competitors (two males and one female) from each team equipped with narrow drum. On the whistle, the first male had to revolve the drum along the course with his feet whilst holding a zip wire above his head. If the drum fell to the ground, the female had to retrieve it and reposition it whilst the second male took over from the first. The team completing the course in the shortest time would be declared the winner.

Marathon, Round 1 - Basketball Slide

The next game - 'Basketball Slide' - was the Marathon which was played alternately by each team on three occasions. It featured three male competitors from each team and a large humped slide with three netball baskets set along its descent. On the whistle, each competitor equipped with a ball had to take it in turn to descend the slide and throw the ball into one of the baskets. The game then had to be repeated throughout. The first netball basket closest to the top of the slide would be removed after the first two runs of the Marathon, and the second (middle basket) after the second two runs. This would leave the third netball basket - the most difficult (due to the speed of the competitors) - as the solitary target for the final two Marathon runs. The team placing the greater aggregate number of balls into the nets after the final Marathon runs would be declared the winners.

Game 2 - Elastic Slide

The second game - ‘Elastic Slide’ - was played individually and featured two male competitors from each team, one at either end of the course, both anchored by elasticated ropes. On the whistle, one of the competitors had to run to the end of his side of the course to collect a ball and, whilst being pulled back by the rope, had to throw the ball through a hoop located midway up the course. Contemporaneously, the second male had to run up the course and catch the ball as it exited the hoop and then run forward and place the ball into a pen at the end of his side of the course. The game then had to be repeated throughout. Only balls collected cleanly would be counted. The team collecting the greater number of balls within the permitted time would be declared the winner.

Marathon, Round 2 - Basketball Slide

The second round of the Marathon saw the team that had not participated in the first round trying to emulate the target set by their rivals.

Game 3 - Pecking Hen

The third game - ‘Pecking Hen’ - was played individually and featured a male competitor from each team and a large rocking bird surrounding by a circle of balloons. On the whistle, the competitor had to rock the bird backwards and forwards in order for its beak to burst a balloon. Once executed, he then had to use his strength to twist the bird on the backward rock in order to line the beak up for the next balloon. The game then had to be repeated throughout. The team bursting the greater number of balloons would be declared the winners.

Marathon, Round 3 - Basketball Slide

The third round of the Marathon saw the team that had participated in the first round trying to improve on their total achieved earlier.

Game 4 - Cycle Race

The fourth game - ‘Cycle Race’ - was played in unison and featured four competitors (one male and three females) from each team. On the whistle, the male, sitting on a bicycle with a high net attached to the rear axle, had to cycle around the course and, at a given area, each of the females had to throw a ball into the net. The male then had to continue around the course to the start and then repeat the game throughout. The bicycle had to remain in motion at all times. The team collecting the greater number of balls within the permitted time would be declared the winners.

Marathon, Round 4 - Basketball Slide

The fourth round of the Marathon saw the team that had participated in the second round trying to improve on their total achieved earlier.

Game 5 - Water Jump

The fifth game - ‘Water Jump’ - was played individually and featured five competitors (three males and two females) from each team and a large pool with an island podium at its centre and a large hoop attached to its perimeter. On the whistle, the first female, standing outside the pool, had to throw a ball through the hoop in order for the male to catch. He in turn then had to throw the caught ball to the second female who was standing on a podium at the side of the pool. The hoop through which the ball had to pass was so positioned that the male had to dive from the podium to reach the ball. The team passing the greater number of balls would be declared the winner.

Marathon, Round 5 - Basketball Slide

The fifth and penultimate round of the Marathon saw the team that had participated in the first and third rounds making one last effort to improve on their total.

Game 6 - Target Football

The sixth and penultimate game - ‘Target Football’ - was played individually and featured three male competitors standing on podia along the course. In front of them was a large goal on wheels and a male opposition standing on either side and another standing in front of it acting as goalkeeper. On the whistle, the goal had to be pushed back and forth along the course whilst the three competitors had to kick balls that were being supplied to them by the females, towards the goal as it passed by. In order to ensure that there were no tactics employed by either team, the goal had to be pushed up and down the course a specific number of times within the permitted time. The team scoring the greater number of goals would be declared the winners.

Marathon, Round 6 - Basketball Slide

The sixth and final round of the Marathon saw the team that had participated in the second and fourth rounds making one last effort to improve on their total.

Game 7 - Ball Slide

The seventh and final game - ‘Ball Slide’ - was played in unison and featured three male competitors from each team and a greased descending ramp above which were hanging a number of footballs. On the whistle, each competitor had to take it in turn and descend the slide in order to grab a ball. Once executed, the competitor then had to run back to the start and the game then had to be repeated throughout. Only one ball could be collected on each descent. The team collecting the greater number of balls within the permitted time would be declared the winners.

Additional Information

When the winning team’s name of Rotherham was placed on the scoreboard with the others, the original venue for the Italian International Heat was shown as the city of Viareggio on Italy’s west coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea. By the time the Domestic Series had come to an end this was still thought to be the venue for the Italian International Heat. It was not until 1st June 1974 - four days after the first International Heat had been held in Bouillon, Belgium - that the BBC were informed by RAI Television that the venue had been changed to Barga in central Italy.

Made in Colour • This programme does not exist in the BBC Archives

GB

It's A Knockout 1974

Heat 4

Event Staged: Sunday 12th May 1974 at 5.00pm
Venue: Farnham Park, Farnham, Surrey, England

Transmission:
BBC1 (GB): Friday 24th May 1974, 8.15-9.00pm

Weather Conditions: Warm and Sunny

Nationwide / Radio Times 'Miss Knockout': Ann Rutherford from Tottenham, Greater London

Teams: Farnham v. Thamesdown

Team Members (Full Squads):
Farnham - James Wilson (Team Manager), Robert Bradley (Team Coach), William Allen, Yvonne Andrews, Gareth Angel, Christopher Bonner, Judy Comber, Ian Carter, Andrew Christmas, Geoffrey Clark, David ‘Scotty’ Colston, Helen Cooper, Valerie Cooper, Richard Curtis, Barrie Dinsdale, John Dinsdale, Janice Farry, Nicholas De Meric, Barbara Freeman, Pamela Gale, Jefferson Green, Peter Grenham, Lynne Hammett, Sara Hatcher, Felicity Hayes, Ian Hiscock, Glynis Hughes, Jean McLeod, Andrew McSherry, Keith Maisey, Keith Morris, Keith Mortimer, Hugh Osborne, Robert Osbourne, Gillian Parry, Sandra Parsons, Ian Powell, Jeanette Quay, Brian Roberts, Jill Simpson, Kenneth Smith, Margaret Smith, Dino Timms, Susan Tunnicliffe, Andrew Tutt, Michael Vernon, Ronald Wallis, Barry Welch, Susan Wheeler, Sarah Wickins, Martin Wilkes, Ray Woodstock and Robert Young;
Thamesdown - Dougie Savill (Team Coach/ Manager), Pat Harris (Women’s Team Captain), Philip Bollom (Men’s Team Captain), Bill Allen, Wendy Callister, Jean Cooper, Bob Francome, Lesley Freebury, Brenda Gill, Mike Goddard, Stan Harbron, Kenwyn Hazell, Gary Hollingshead, Hugh Irwin, Margaret Kelly, Peter Kempshall, Helen Lovelady, Toni Marchant, Janice Morris, Steve Ottaway, Lynne Perry, Sue Perkins, Linda Phillips, Ian Ribbens, Brian Roberts, Nigel Roberts, Angela Robertson, Bryan Saunders, Steve Savill, Sam Smyth, Allen Webb and Dave Wood.

Games (Official Titles): Fireman’s Throw, Ballista and Flour Bags, Motor Bike Relay, Canvas Run, Wheelbarrow Race, Water Trapeze and Push and Slide;
Marathon: Ball Race.

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

1st
2nd

 F • Farnham ● ●
 T • Thamesdown

14
6

Farnham qualified for Jeux Sans Frontières at Avenches, Switzerland:
staged on Wednesday 24th July 1974

The Host Town

Farnham, Surrey

Farnham is a town with a population of around 40,000 inhabitants in the extreme west of the county of Surrey. Lying adjacent to the border with Hampshire, it is located 18 miles (29km) south-east of Reading, 25 miles (40km) north-east of Winchester, 30 miles (48km) north of Bognor Regis and 35 miles (56km) south-west of London.

The town lies in the fertile valley of the Wey and its rich soil proved particularly suited to growing hops which, until World War I (1914-1918), were grown on every available plot of ground in the neighbourhood. Only a few hop grounds now remain, but in the last century there were more than 40 hop kilns at work in the town and 53 public houses!

The town takes its name from the Anglo-Saxons with Farnham listed as Fearnhamme in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Fearn refers to the fern and bracken of the land and Hamme to the water meadows. In AD 688, King Caedwalla of Wessex (AD 659-689) gave Farnham to the Church and it remained in the hands of the Bishop of Winchester for over 1,000 years. The Norman castle, which is a symbol of the town, was used as a convenient stopping place by most of the early sovereigns on the road from London to Winchester, the old capital of England, to the continental port of Southampton. King John (1166-1216) enjoyed hunting in the Bishop’s woods and stayed at the castle no less than eighteen times with his faithful Bishop Peter des Roches. Henry VIII (1491-1547) and Emperor Charles V (1500-1558) also hunted here.

Under King John, Farnham became a borough and it received charters from the Bishop in 1248 and 1566. It grew in prosperity and during the 17th Century became the largest wheat market in the south of England, sending great quantities of corn to London. At one time, up to 1,100 wagons would draw into the town on market day, and today the many long yards still to be seen behind the shops in the borough and West Street bear witness to this fact.

The Castle came under attack during the English Civil War (1642-1651) and for three years was the headquarters of the Parliamentary army. Thousands of soldiers were quartered in and around the town and drilled in the park. After hostilities ceased, the Keep was ‘slighted’ to make it indefensible and its stones were used to pave the Farnham streets.

During the 18th Century, the cultivation of the hop brought even greater prosperity and at this period the splendid Georgian houses in Castle Street - generally considered the finest in Surrey - were built by rich hop growers. The town’s most famous son, William Cobbett (1763-1835), was an English pamphleteer, farmer and journalist. He believed that reforming Parliament and abolishing the rotten boroughs would help to end the poverty of farm labourers, and he attacked the borough-mongers, sinecurists (persons in office that requires or involves little or no responsibility) and "tax-eaters" relentlessly. He was also against the Corn Laws, a tax on imported grain. Early in his career, he was a loyalist supporter of King and Country, but later he joined and successfully publicised the radical movement, which led to the Reform Bill of 1832, and to his winning the parliamentary seat of Oldham. His birthplace is at the public house now named after him in Bridge Square and his tomb is in the parish churchyard near the north door of the church. At his funeral in 1835, the London coaches stopped for a quarter of an hour to enable the passengers to attend the ceremony.

A few steps from Cobbett’s birthplace is the Maltings, a fine 19th-century industrial building, which the people of Farnham bought in 1968 when they raised £28,000 by public subscription in six weeks to save it from demolition. The Maltings Association were sponsors of this It’s A Knockout event and have converted the building into a first-rate Community Centre and large hall to provide accommodation for the 200 or more voluntary organisations that flourish in the town.

The Visiting Town

Thamesdown was a local government borough with a population of around 125,000 inhabitants in the county of Wiltshire. It comprised almost solely of the town of Swindon and at its nearest point was located 40 miles (65km) north-west of Farnham.

Thamesdown became the second team to participate in It’s A Knockout which had taken its name from its local government borough. This followed the complete redistribution of county boundaries under the Local Government Act 1972 and which had taken effect on 1st April 1974. However, following further reforms in 1997, the borough was abolished and replaced with the unitary borough of Swindon.

The Venue

Farnham Park

The games were played in Farnham Park which was once the deer park of Farnham Castle, built by Bishop Henry de Blois (1096-1171), grandson of William the Conqueror (1028-1087), just before civil war broke out between his brother Stephen (1092-1154) and Matilda (1102-1167), fighting for the crown of England. In 1928, when the incumbent Bishop left the Castle, the park sold to the town of Farnham to remain an open space for all time.

The park has a landscape of rolling grassland and veteran trees and a boundary that has remained unchanged for over 600 years. Its 320 acres (130 hectares) has retained much of its 17th century parkland character and has the feel of open countryside. It offers avenues, hidden dells, hills, valleys, ponds and streams. Its elevated position provides panoramic views of Farnham and the surrounding countryside. It is managed using traditional methods such as coppicing and thinning in the woodland and hay making and grazing the grassland to maintain an open landscape.

The Rehearsals

When the two teams locked horns in the early afternoon rehearsal, the result ended up at 14-6 to Farnham. Though clearly the stronger of the two sides, it is surprising that Farnham trounced Thamesdown twice on the same day by exactly the same score!

The Games in Detail

Game 1 - Fireman's Throw

The first game - 'Fireman's Throw' - was played in unison and featured four male competitors from each team equipped with a large canvas sheet on which there was a large ball. On the whistle, the competitors had to negotiate an obstacle course comprised of hurdles. As they approached each obstacle, they had to use the sheet to hurl the ball into the air and over the hurdle. They then had to run underneath the hurdle and catch the ball in the sheet as it descended. For the hurdle to be successfully negotiated, the ball had to be caught cleanly in the canvas sheet. Any ball dropping to the ground would not be counted and the hurdle renegotiated. The team completing the game in the faster time would be declared the winners.

The home crowd in Farnham Park were delighted to witness a victory for Farnham on this opening game.

Marathon, Round 1 - Ball Race

The next game - 'Ball Race' - was the Marathon which was played over one minute duration and alternately by each team on three occasions. It featured four competitors (three males and one female) from each team and a large slide with a chute located along one side of its descent. On the whistle, each of the competitors had to take it in turn to place a ball into the chute and then, having slid down the slope, catch the ball before it hit the ground. Any ball that touched the ground before being caught would not be counted. The game then had to be repeated throughout. The team collecting the greater number of balls would be declared the winners.

The first round of the Marathon saw the participation of Farnham setting a high target for the rivals’ to emulate.

Game 2 - Ballista and Flour Bags

The second game - 'Ballista and Flour Bags' - was played individually and witnessed Farnham presenting their Joker for play. The game featured a high wall and four competitors (two males and two females) from each team equipped with a ballista and a canvas hoop. On the whistle, one of the males had to use the ballista to propel flour bags, supplied by a team-mate, over the wall for them to be caught in the hoop by two of the other competitors. The team catching the greater number of flour bags would be declared the winners.

An outstanding performance by Farnham vindicated their decision to play their Joker after they won the game and took double points to increase their lead over Thamesdown.

Marathon, Round 2 - Ball Race

The second round of the Marathon featured Thamesdown and, although they scored a total of 9, they were already trailing their rivals at this early stage.

Game 3 - Motor Bike Relay

The third game - 'Motor Bike Relay' - was played in unison and featured three competitors (two males and one female) from each team equipped with a motorcycle. On the whistle, one of the males, carrying a number of balloons in his mouth, had to drive the motorcycle around a course consisting of a number of obstacles, all of which had to be negotiated. At the far end of the course, the female competitor had to collect the balloons from her male team-mate. Having returned to the start, he then had to dismount and hand the motorcycle over to the second male who then had to repeat the game. This process then had to continue until permitted time was exhausted. The team collecting the greater number of balloons would be declared the winners.

Clearly enjoying their Sunday afternoon ride in the park, Farnham proved themselves as adept on two wheels as they were on foot, winning the game and increasing their lead to 8pts after just three games.

Marathon, Round 3 - Ball Race

The third round of the Marathon featured Farnham participating for the second and penultimate time and improving on their score achieved in the previous round. At the end of permitted time, they had improved their total to 16.

Game 4 - Canvas Run

The fourth game - 'Canvas Run' - was played individually and featured six competitors (four males and two females) from each team and a large canvas sheet and a number of hurdles. On the whistle, the sheet had to be pulled back and forth by the male opposition whilst the two females, each carrying a large jelly, had to take it in turn to run along the sheet and negotiate the hurdles. Only hurdles negotiated whilst the females were carrying a jelly would be counted. The team negotiating the greater number of hurdles within the permitted time would be declared the winners.

After the fourth game, the visiting fans of the Thamesdown team were still waiting for their heroes to win or even draw a game. For the fourth successive game, Farnham came away with the win and were now within a whisker of securing overall victory.

Marathon, Round 4 - Ball Race

The fourth round of the Marathon featured Thamesdown participating for the second and penultimate time and trying to improve on their score. At the end of permitted time, they had improved their total to 13, but were still trailing their rivals at this point.

Game 5 - Wheelbarrow Race

The fifth game - 'Wheelbarrow Race' - was played in unison and witnessed Thamesdown presenting their Joker for play. The game featured four competitors (two males and two females) from each team equipped with a large wheel and axle. On the whistle, the two females had to lie facedown and hold each end of the axle whilst the two males raised their feet around their waists into the classic (double) wheelbarrow position. They then had to work together and negotiate a course along which a number of balloons had to be burst. The team completing the course in the faster time would be declared the winners.

Any thoughts of a miraculous comeback by Thamesdown were quickly dispelled when Farnham triumphed yet again (their fifth win in a row, without reply). With Farnham also looking very strong on the Marathon at this point, they were now looking to emulate the score of 18pts achieved by Southport earlier in the series.

Marathon, Round 5 - Ball Race

The fifth and penultimate round of the Marathon saw Farnham participating for the third time and at the end of permitted time, they had increased their score to a total of 27.

Game 6 - Water Trapeze

The sixth and penultimate game - 'Water Trapeze' - was played individually and featured three male competitors from each team and a large pool with a number of balloons floating on the surface. On the whistle, the competitors had to take it in turn and work their way along a rope which was hanging above the pool in order to burst the balloons with their feet. Only balloons burst whilst the competitors were holding onto the rope would be counted. The team bursting the greater number of balloons within the permitted time would be declared the winners.

Despite being despondent about the now-inevitable outcome, Thamesdown were not going to lie down and surprised everybody by narrowly beating Farnham on the game. It was a case of too little, too late, of course, but at least they had broken their duck!

Marathon, Round 6 - Ball Race

The sixth and final round of the Marathon saw Thamesdown participating for the third time and continuing their overall revival. Thamesdown caught 16 balls (the highest total achieved in any of the six rounds) to win the Marathon, and in doing so, had won their second game in succession.

Game 7 - Push and Slide

The seventh and final game - 'Push and Slide' - was played in unison and featured four competitors (two males and two females) from each team equipped with a giant inflatable ball. On the whistle, the competitors had to work together to push the ball up a greased slope and down the other side. Once achieved, the game had to be repeated throughout. The team achieving the greater number of climbs would be declared the winners.

Following defeats in the previous regular game and over the course of the Marathon, Farnham rounded off the contest by reasserting their authority with a win on this final game. This had been a one-sided competition, with Farnham leading from start to finish, but at least with their wins on Game 6 and the Marathon, the visitors from Thamesdown had at least salvaged some honour.

Returning Teams and Competitors

After this time, a team from Swindon participated again in 1999 when the town participated under its unitary borough’s name which was created after the abolition of Thamesdown in 1997.

Additional Information

Spectator entrance fees for this event ranged from 10p per person for general admission to the standing enclosures, 30p for seating in the open, to £1.50 (£11 in 2020) for a seat in the covered grandstand. In addition to the It's A Knockout events, attractions were on offer in a second arena and these comprised displays by the members of HMS Mercury, the Swindon Brass Band and Swindon Town Girls. A children's fair, stalls, slideshows and exhibitions were also to be enjoyed in this area, where the public could also avail themselves of refreshments in the lunch and tea tent and the fully licensed bar. The grounds opened at 10.00am, with entrance to the IAK arena at 3.30pm. Recording was scheduled to commence at 5.00pm.

The Thamesdown mascot was a railway engine with a swan’s head made from gabardine twill and stuffed with foam rubber. It measured 3ft in length by 2ft wide and it was amusingly called 'Clacketty Quack'.

After the contest, travel agents in Farnham were offering all-in trips to Avenches to support the team from just £79 (£576 in 2020), which amounted to almost a week and a half’s wage in the UK at the time!

Made in Colour • This programme does not exist in the BBC Archives, but short excerpts from this edition exist in the BBC compilation, Best of Knockout 1974. Details in Knockout TV.

GB

It's A Knockout 1974

Heat 5

Event Staged: Sunday 19th May 1974, 3.30pm
Venue: Skegness Swimming Pool, Skegness, Lincolnshire, England

Transmission:
BBC1 (GB): Friday 31st May 1974, 8.15-9.00pm

Weather Conditions: Warm and Sunny

Nationwide / Radio Times 'Miss Knockout': Penny Hilditch from Nottingham, Nottinghamshire

Teams: Skegness v. Mablethorpe and Sutton-on-Sea

Team Members (Full Squads):
Skegness - Rick Swift (Team Manager), Brian Marshall (Team Coach), Betty Grave (Assistant Coach), Mick Devey, Angeline Evison, John Epton, Dorothy Epton, Kathleen Elliott, Bryn Foxon, Stanley Fountain, Barry Fletcher, Kenny Graham, Bryan Johnston, Kathryn Jenkins, Ian Jenkins, Doug Knowles, Steven Ladds, Peter Linton, Lynne Muggeson, Walter Maddison, Alan Mitch, Wendy Pilcher, Jean Marshall, Alison Pollock, Jean Paton, Philip Mason, Christopher Peacock, David Palethorpe, Lynette Sellers, Norman Stanley, David Smith, Evelyn Smith, Paul Strzelecki, Philip Vere and John Willoughby;
Mablethorpe and Sutton-on-Sea - Bill Stoney (Team Manager), Mel French (Co-Team Coach), Pete Lindop (Co-Team Coach), Leonard Ball, Don Barton, Percy Bosworth, Steve Cocker, Andy Cone, Vanessa Cox, Paul Davenport, Elaine Douse, Elizabeth Hanson, Robert Indge, Richard Jebbett, Geoff Lindop, Andy Mayfield, John Mayfield, Dick Riggall, Pauline Robinson, Gareth Rogers, Trevor Shave, Elizabeth Stoney, Linda Tyler, Sue Wileyman, Hilary Williams, Sue Wright.

Games: Canoe Race, Water Netball, Pyjama Race, Island Crossing, Boat Sinking, Netting the Ball and Raft Pyramid;
Marathon: Target Slide.

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

1st
2nd

 S • Skegness ● ●
 M+S • Mablethorpe and Sutton-on-Sea

17
4

Skegness qualified for Jeux Sans Frontières at Aix-les-Bains, France:
staged on Wednesday 7th August 1974

The Host Town

Skegness, Lincolnshire

Skegness is a seaside town with a population of around 20,000 inhabitants in the county of Lincolnshire. It is located on the North Sea coast, 37 miles (60km) east of Lincoln, 49 miles (79km) south-east of Kingston-upon-Hull, 69 miles (111km) north-west of Great Yarmouth and 116 miles (187km) north of London.

The name of the town means either ‘Skeggi's headland’ or ‘beard-shaped headland’ (possibly referring to the banks at an angle to the coast). Skeggi (meaning ‘bearded one’) may have been one of the Vikings who established the original settlement to the east of the current town which was washed away by the sea in the early 16th century or the Old East Norse word skegg meaning ‘beard’.

Skegness was primarily a fishing village and small port, and significant numbers of visitors were not seen before the arrival of the railway in 1875. In 1908, the Great Northern Railway commissioned a poster to advertise excursions to the resort with the first such excursion being at 11.30am from King's Cross, London on Good Friday, 17th April 1908. The poster which features the town’s mascot - the Jolly Fisherman - and the now-famous slogan 'Skegness is so Bracing' - a reference to the chilly prevailing north-easterly winds that can and frequently do blow off the North Sea - helped to put the town on the map. The poster, derived from an oil painting by John Hassall (1868-1948), was purchased by the railway company for 12 guineas (£12.60 (equivalent to £1,060 in 2019)). However, Hassall did not visit the resort until 1936 and is said to have died penniless. The last of the excursions ran in 1913.

Much of the land in the modern centre of Skegness formed part of the estate of Aldred Lumley, 10th Earl of Scarbrough (1857-1945). He realised that the extensive sandy beach could be made attractive to holidaymakers from the industrial towns of the Midlands, a clientele already developed by Thomas Cook (1808-1892). He planned the town as a resort, and from 1878 worked with the Lincoln architect James Whitton (1819-1903) on the design and layout of the new resort. Skegness expanded rapidly, but along with many other UK resorts, especially those on the cold North Sea, it lost out to the cheap package holiday boom which opened up Spain (in particular) to the average holidaymaker. This situation worsened still further when currency restrictions were lifted in the 1970s and travellers could leave the UK with more than 65 pounds.

At the end of Lumley Road is the town's clock tower, built between 1898 and 1899 to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria (1819-1901) in 1897, and funded through public subscription. Along with the ‘Jolly Fisherman’ mascot, it is the most recognised symbol of Skegness. The Diamond Jubilee Clock Tower became the subject of a hoax in an article published in the Skegness Standard on 1st April 2009, when the newspaper claimed that it was about to be dismantled and moved to a museum.

With an estimated cost of around £19,000 (equivalent to £1.65 million in 2019), the foundations of Skegness pier were laid with a planned T-shape design, including a concert hall at the head. It was officially opened on Monday 4th June 1881 by the Duke of Edinburgh Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1844-1900) and was at the time the fourth-longest in England, at 1,842ft (561m) long. Almost a century later, a severe gale and storm surge in January 1978 caused irreparable damage to Skegness Pier, with just 381ft (116m) of pier deck walkway from the main entrance remaining. Today, although lengthened, the pier is still only 387ft (118m) long and no evidence remains of the old pier-head and shelters.

Ingoldmells, located 3 miles (5km) north of Skegness, was the site of the United Kingdom’s first holiday camp, designed and started by Billy Butlin (1899-1980) on 11th April 1936. It was officially opened by aviator Amy Johnson (1903-1941), the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia. An advertisement that was placed in the Daily Express announced the opening of the camp, inviting the public to book for a week's holiday. The advertisement offered holidays with three meals a day and free entertainment with a week's full board cost anything from £1.75 (equivalent to £86.47 in 2019) to £3 (£148.25), according to the time of year. During the Second World War, the camp was occupied by the Royal Navy, who called it HMS Royal Arthur and used it for training seamen. There were up to 4,500 naval personnel there at one time. In 1942, a German air attack on the camp destroyed many of the chalets and killed four men.

The Visiting Town

Mablethorpe and Sutton-on-Sea are two individual seaside towns in the county of Lincolnshire that are promoted as one resort. They have a combined population of around 15,000 inhabitants and, at their nearest point, are located 12 miles (19km) north of Skegness.

The Venue

Open-Air Swimming Pool

The games were played in the open-air swimming pool which is located along the seafront near to Skegness pier. Built in the 1920s and originally called the Skegness lido, it has been providing summer fun and great memories for over 80 years.

Over the decades, the pool has gone through several transformations and refurbishments and today forms part of the Skegness Swimming Pool and Fitness Suite. The complex now offers a heated outdoor swimming pool with a 'beach' area for children to paddle and plenty of seating on a grassed area. In addition to this, there is an indoor pool with a 108ft 3in (33m) long flume.

The Games in Detail

Game 1 - Canoe Race

The first game - 'Canoe Race' - saw Skegness delight the locals in attendance as they launched their It's A Knockout campaign with a victory in the canoes on the pool.

Marathon, Round 1 - Target Slide

The next game - 'Target Slide' - was the Marathon which was played alternately on three occasions or played in unison on six occasions throughout the programme.

Game 2 - Water Netball

The second game - 'Water Netball' - ended in another win for Skegness - and Mablethorpe and Sutton-on-Sea were struggling to establish themselves in the contest.

Marathon, Round 2 - Target Slide

The second round of the Marathon either saw the team that had not participated in the first round trying to emulate the target set by their rivals or saw both teams trying to improve on their scores or adding to their totals achieved in the previous round.

Game 3 - Pyjama Race

The third game - 'Pyjama Race' - offered hope to the travelling supporters of Mablethorpe and Sutton-on-Sea, who won the game and halved the deficit to their opponents Skegness.

Marathon, Round 3 - Target Slide

The third round of the Marathon either saw the team that had participated in the first round trying to improve on their score or adding to their total achieved earlier or saw both teams continuing to try and improve on their scores or adding to their totals achieved over the previous two rounds.

Game 4 - Island Crossing

The fourth game - 'Island Crossing' - was a crucial game in that after it the teams would either be level on points or Skegness would regain their 4pts advantage. When the final whistle blew, it was the second of these scenarios that had played out. Skegness recorded their third win and had now reasserted their authority on the contest.

Marathon, Round 4 - Target Slide

The fourth round of the Marathon either saw the team that had participated in the second round trying to improve on their score or adding to their total achieved earlier or saw both teams continuing to try and improve on their scores or adding to their totals achieved over the previous three rounds.

Game 5 - Boat Sinking

The fifth game - 'Boat Sinking' - witnessed Skegness presenting their Joker for play. Their competitors repaid the faith that had been placed on their abilities by taking another win, which took Skegness to the brink of overall victory.

Marathon, Round 5 - Target Slide

The fifth and penultimate round of the Marathon either saw the team that had participated in the first and third rounds making one last effort to improve on their score or adding to their total or saw both teams continuing to try and improve on their scores or adding to their totals achieved over the previous four rounds.

Game 6 - Netting the Ball

The sixth and penultimate game - 'Netting the Ball' - witnessed Mablethorpe and Sutton-on-Sea presenting their Joker for play, hoping to immediately claw back 4pts of their 8pts deficit to Skegness. Unfortunately for Mablethorpe and Sutton-on-Sea, they were held to a draw on the game, meaning that their double points score was worth only 2pts. With only 6pts left to play for and a 7pts deficit to make up, the visitors' hopes of winning It's A Knockout were now in tatters.

Marathon, Round 6 - Target Slide

The sixth and final round of the Marathon either saw the team that had participated in the second and fourth rounds making one last effort to improve on their score or adding to their total or saw both teams making one last effort to improve on their scores or adding to their totals achieved over the previous five rounds.

Mablethorpe and Sutton-on-Sea’s misery so far was only added to as the form of Skegness was simply too good on the day and the Marathon went their way, and they streaked further into the lead of the contest.

Game 7 - Raft Pyramid

The seventh and final game - 'Raft Pyramid' - saw Skegness take their sixth victory from eight events. The scores transferred to the master scoreboard told the tale of a competition that had been dominated by Skegness, who had led the contest from start to finish. On the day, Mablethorpe and Sutton-on-Sea had been beaten by a much better team.

Made in Colour • This programme does not exist in the BBC Archives

GB

It's A Knockout 1974

Heat 6

Event Scheduled: Sunday 26th May 1974 (not staged)
Scheduled Venue: Southsea Castle Park, Southsea, Hampshire, England

Scheduled Transmission:
BBC1 (GB): Friday 7th June 1974, 8.15-9.00pm (not transmitted)

This programme was scheduled but ultimately not recorded or broadcast due to an industrial dispute between the BBC and members of The National Association of Theatrical Television and Kine Employees. The strike was called in the early hours of the morning of the event's planned staging.

Weather Conditions: Not applicable as event was cancelled

Nationwide / Radio Times 'Miss Knockout': Hazel Wilson
Radio Times Trophy scheduled to have been presented by: John Holmes,
English Rugby League World Cup Winner

Teams: Portsmouth and Southsea v. Swanage

Team Members included:
Portsmouth and Southsea - Mike Ballard (Team Captain), Bob Atkinson, Ian Chivers, Terri Hadey, Alan Hallam, Steve Knutt, Debbie Walters;
Swanage - Bob Beauchamp (Team Manager), Désirée Haw (Team Coach), Chris Tonge (Team Captain), Tony Bessant, Philip Bird, Ann Bishop, Angela Burt, Clare Candy, Eddie Chinchen, George Crane, Sara Dodson, Elena Dunford, Maria Foot, Steven Foster, Kate Fry, Ray Graves, Ian Harris, Chris Haw, Marguerita Hennessey, Tony Hennessey, Karen Legg, Christine Lever, Peter Lovell, Linda Moore, Jeremy Olsen, Jonathan Olsen, Roger Pickering, Andy Prior, Susan Reddell, Nick Saville, Andrew Shaw, David Sole, Steve Stickland, Maurice Stockley, Sally Swann, Terrance ‘Herbie’ Swann, Robert Weekes, Margaret Wyatt.

Scheduled Games included: Wheelbarrow Race, Tightrope Balance, Shield Race, Waiter’s Slide.

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

-
-

 P+S • Portsmouth and Southsea
 S • Swanage

P
P

The winning team would have qualified for Jeux Sans Frontières at Bayreuth, West Germany:
staged on Wednesday 4th September 1974

The Scheduled Host Town

Southsea, Hampshire

Southsea's Clarence Pier sports architecture right out of Stingray... Image © Alys Hayes, 2024

Southsea is a seaside resort with a population of around 20,000 inhabitants in the county of Hampshire. It is located at the southern end of Portsea Island, 33 miles (53km) south of Basingstoke, 35 miles (57km) east of Bournemouth, 40 miles (64km) west of Brighton and Hove and 77 miles (124km) north of the French town of Barfleur on the opposite side of the English Channel.

The first references to the development of the suburb are recorded in 1790 and describe small areas of building and farming plots. Most of the land was undeveloped and composed of small farms, open grassland and undrained marshland (morass). In the early 19th century, development continued on land owned by American Thomas Croxton (1822-1903), and the community became known initially as Croxton Town. The first houses were built by 1809 for skilled workers in what were called the ‘mineral’ streets (such as Silver Street and Nickel Street).

The development of Southsea continued during the Napoleonic era and as the dockyard continued to grow, new homes were required for the increasing personnel, and many houses, villas and apartments were built. The architect and builder Thomas Ellis Owen (1805-1862) created many of these, and the surviving buildings retain a coherent late Georgian and early Victorian style, forming a conservation area today with many of the buildings having listed status. During the same period, Southsea grew as a leisure and bathing destination.

The remaining marshland was drained, leading to the creation of Southsea Common, some 480 acres (about 2km²) of open grassland. Due to military requirements for clear lines of fire adjacent to Southsea Castle, the area was developed and remains today as a park and garden. Apartments and hotels were constructed towards the common and waterfront, along Southsea Terrace, Western Parade and Clarence Parade. The first large hotel was the Portland Hotel (destroyed during the Second World War (1939-1945)) near Kent Road. Others soon followed, including the purpose-built Queens Hotel (1861), Pier Hotel (1865) and Beach Mansions Hotel (1866).

The Southsea Railway came in 1885 and brought further development to the area, although it was to be financially unsuccessful and eventually closed in 1914. By the mid-to-late Victorian era, the town had become recognised as a largely middle-class neighbourhood, with many naval officers and other professionals taking up residence. During this time, writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) lived in Portsmouth, moving to Southsea in June 1882 with less than £10 (equivalent to £841 in 2019) to his name. He set up a medical practice at 1 Bush Villas in Elm Grove.

The onset of the First World War (1914-1918) saw an increase in fortifications on the seafront. Southsea continued to thrive as a resort destination and a suburb of Portsmouth in the inter-war years, with many visitors in summer. At that time, parts of the Common were converted into ornamental gardens and the Ladies' Mile was set out in 1925. However, the Second World War (1939-1945) had an immense impact on the urban and social fabric of the area. Huge areas of Southsea were destroyed by bombing during The Blitz. Although some of Victorian Southsea escaped the bombing, the Palmerston Road shopping areas were completely destroyed. The beachfront, piers and promenades were closed for the duration of the war. Following the end of the war, Southsea and the rest of Portsmouth embarked on a massive clearance and rebuilding scheme. Although visitor numbers to the resort area never recovered, Southsea continued to develop throughout the 20th century and today remains a mixed residential area and leisure destination.

Born in the town, and its most famous son, was film actor and comedian Peter Sellers (1925-1980) who starred in many films including Ealing comedy I'm All Right Jack in 1959, Dr. Strangelove (1964), What's New, Pussycat? (1965) and Casino Royale (1967). However, it was his association with Spike Milligan (1918-2002), Harry Secombe (1921-2001) and Michael Bentine (1922-1996), collectively known as The Goons, and his five appearances portraying bumbling Inspector Jacques Clouseau in the Pink Panther film franchise (1963-1978), that he became known to a worldwide audience.

The Scheduled Visiting Town

Swanage is a coastal town with a population of around 9,600 inhabitants in the county of Dorset and is located 40 miles (64km) south-west of Southsea.

The Scheduled Venue

Southsea Castle Park

Image © Alys Hayes, 2024

The games were scheduled to be played at Southsea Castle Park, the site of the town’s castle which was built as part of the vast coastal defence programme by Henry VIII (1491-1547). It was substantially rebuilt in the early nineteenth century and continued to play an important role in coastal defence until World War II (1939-1945).

In 1536, Henry VIII declared himself Supreme Head of the Church of England thus breaking the link with Rome. His motivation was to secure a divorce from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon (1485-1536), which had been refused by the Pope. He subsequently granted himself the divorce and also commenced a wholesale confiscation of the vast wealth amassed by the Church prompting international condemnation. Despite this, England was safe from any intervention as Europe’s strongest powers - France and Spain - were locked in conflict with each other. However, in 1538, the two nations signed a ten-year truce prompting fears one or both could invade England. To mitigate the threat, a Device (Act) for the protection of the realm initiated a vast coastal defence programme on a scale unseen since the Romans. Government officials surveyed poorly defended areas along the coast with the Solent being regarded as particularly vulnerable due to the access it afforded to the town of Southampton as well as control of the Isle of Wight.

The invasion fears passed quickly as France and Spain resumed their hostilities. By 1544, Henry himself had joined with Charles V of Spain (1500-1558) and invaded France in a campaign that ended in the capture of Boulogne in September 1544. But shortly after, France and Spain once again made peace and the former looked to invade England. Further fortifications were commissioned to protect the Solent at Sandown, Yarmouth and Southsea. Henry’s forts of the 1539 programme had been predominantly concentric in design with rounded bastions. By contrast the new forts were influenced by the King’s exposure to the latest military concepts during his Boulogne campaign and were constructed with angular bastions and artillery that could cover all approaches. Southsea took the design one step further with both the north and south walls being angular allowing covering fire along their length.

The expected attack by France occurred in July 1545 when their fleet arrived in the Solent. They landed soldiers on the Isle of Wight with fighting around the unfinished structure of Sandown Castle. The French did not get in range of the guns of Southsea Castle but the King watched from the top of the keep as the English Fleet sailed to intercept and he witnessed the capsize of the Mary Rose.

The French attack was not repeated but the castle remained garrisoned throughout the rest of the Tudor era and thereafter the castle went into a period of decline. When James I (1566-1625) came to the throne in 1603, he sought peace with Spain resulting in the coastal defences being starved of funding. The situation was compounded in 1627 when the keep was gutted by fire and was not repaired until 1635.

Southsea Castle was upgraded in 1665 under the direction of Sir Bernard de Gomme (1620-1685). At this time Britain was engaged in a protracted struggle for maritime supremacy with the Netherlands. Wars had been fought between 1651 and 1654 over the Navigation Acts - legislation that imposed limits on third party carriers - which impacted upon the Dutch. War broke out again in 1665 and this prompted the upgrades to Southsea consisting of a new 30-gun platform external to the Tudor fortification and an earth bank (a glacis) surrounding the curtain wall to protect it from artillery fire.

After the Dutch Wars, the castle was neglected although it remained garrisoned. In 1759, the castle was devastated by a gunpowder explosion which killed 17 people. No funding was allocated to enable repairs and accordingly it became dilapidated. By 1785, the castle was considered to be beyond economical repair when a report by the Master-General of Ordnance - Charles Lennox, Duke of Richmond (1764-1819) - recommended it should be demolished and replaced with a new square redoubt. Ironically Lennox had been the commander of the 72nd Regiment of Foot whose gunpowder had caused the explosion in the first place. Regardless, financial difficulties frustrated the demolition plan and, when war broke out with France in 1793, urgent work was undertaken on the castle to restore it in readiness.

In 1844, the modified barracks added during the earlier upgrades were converted into a military prison. This role was short-lived though, as in 1850, the prisoners were relocated to a dedicated facility in Gosport. This was timely as Napoléon III became Emperor of France (1808-1873) in 1852 and commenced an arms race with Britain which prompted a review of its coastal defence. The armament of the castle itself was upgraded first and, in 1856, auxiliary batteries were added either side of the former Tudor fort. As the situation with France deteriorated further, a Royal Commission was initiated to report on further new fortifications which led to an entire network of new forts protecting Portsmouth.

Southsea Castle continued to perform a coastal defence role during both World Wars. In the First World War (1914-1918), searchlights were installed and a continuous watch made but it saw no action. By contrast during the Second World War (1939-1945), the castle was bombed with incendiaries on several occasions. It also came close to having a fire-fight with French Naval forces in June 1940 when, with the fall of France, the British Government issued a directive that they should surrender to the Royal Navy or be sunk. This crisis was only averted when the French ships were seized by boarding parties on 2nd July 1940.

With the advent of air power, coastal defence sites across the country were decommissioned in 1956. Southsea Castle was then sold to Portsmouth Council who restored the castle and opened it as a museum.

The Castle Park was partly relandscaped in 1984 to incorporate the D-Day Museum. This visitor attraction and the park space were further reworked for the 2018 relaunch of the museum as The D-Day Story. In the recent years Castle Park has been renamed Castle Field.

Presenters, Officials and Production Team

Presenters Stuart Hall and Eddie Waring arrived on location by helicopter during the morning of the scheduled recording, unaware that the programme had been cancelled.

Returning Teams and Competitors

As a compensation for the Portsmouth & Southsea and Swanage teams not being able to compete due to the union action, the BBC granted both teams entry into the new look It’s a Knockout in 1975.

Media Attention

An article in the Hampshire Telegraph dated May 30th 1974 reports: “It’s A Knockout was being called quite a few other short harsh-sounding phrases on Sunday afternoon. An unexpected strike by members of NATTKE blacked out all outside broadcast programmes that day. For six hours on Sunday morning, the BBC and Portsmouth Council struggled to salvage what was to have been a major Bank Holiday attraction at Southsea Castle”. A BBC spokesman explained, “We would offer the game to Portsmouth but the union says the whole site is blacked out and if any games are touched it could escalate to something worse”. The article continued by saying, “The council expects to lose something like £2,500 over the cancellation. Compensation is being discussed, and the teams, if they are still together have been offered a choice of dates in the 1975 series”. Producer Barney Colehan stated, “In nine years of the programme we have carried on in gales, torrential rain and everything else the weather could throw at us, and scoreboards have even blown down. This is the first time we have ever been put off the air!”

Additional Information

The winning team would have qualified for the West German heat, but the cancellation of the recording and broadcast caused the BBC to rethink the qualification process. As in previous years, in 1974 the BBC planned to award the final European place to the highest scoring losing team in the Domestic competitions. Due to the unexpected cancellation of the sixth heat at Southsea, the It's A Knockout organisers were forced to award another place to the second highest scoring losing team. This resulted in Rugby qualifying with 10 points and Ripon (with 9 points) receiving a surprise reprieve. As the losing team with the highest points, the BBC offered Rugby the chance to travel to Bayreuth in West Germany, and award the British International Heat to Ripon instead (as they had qualified with only second-highest losing status). Following consultations and a vote at the Rugby Knockout sub-committee meeting on Friday 31st May 1974, it was decided to stay with the Northampton option.

The broadcast was replaced with an unscheduled repeat of The Best of Knockout (the same edition shown on 1st January 1974).

JSFnetGB Series Guide pages researched by
Neil Storer and Alan Hayes
with Ischa Bijl, Julien Dessy, Sébastien Dias, David Hamilton, Denis Kirsanov, Paul Leaver, Philippe Minet,
Christos Moustakas, David Laich Ruiz, Marko Voštan and JSFnet Websites